Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder
My story's a broken record...er, DVD recorder
I read through a few reviews here AFTER my experience, and 4 or 5 told my story for me.   99 times out of a 100, I'm meticulous about doing my research on consumer electronics before I buy, and of course, this happened to be the one out of a hundred where I found my self at Best Buy with money in my pocket but no reviews in my head.  Like others who bought this recorder, I did so for the price, but avoided the no-name brands, thinking paying $40-50 more for a well-known name brand is worth the peace of mind. Well, long story short, I'm headed to get one of those no-name brand recorders after work today.   I was initially impressed with the variety of inputs and features it had. The menu was complex, but I figured I could get used to it. After 3 weeks of minimal use, however, it wouldn't read a disc- DVD+R or factory. That's all it took for me to throw it back in the box. Luckily for me, I was still under the 30 days return policy and was able to get a refund without a problem. I'll definitely think twice before paying for a 'reputable' name brand machine when I can get a cheapo that does the same thing and will last at least a month.  I'm happy for the people who have favorable things to say about this recorder, but I have to think they're in the minority for sure.