Philips DVDR985 Progressive-Scan DVD Recorder and Player
VHS? Bwahahaha!
First, if you want to burn your own DVDs using TV/VCR input, a stand-alone unit is the way to go over a drive on your computer.<BR>Second, after doing the research on the various formats, I chose the Philips DVDR985. I'd been told that the DVD+R &amp; DVD+RW formats were generally more compatible with existing players than the -R and -RAM formats and I had lots of old VHS tapes that I wanted to convert to DVD.<BR>After I recorded my first video onto a +RW disk, it played fine on my Pioneer DVD player, but wouldn't play on my GO dual deck, my sister's noname brand player or my PlayStation 2 (sigh...). However, when I recorded a video onto a DVD+R disk, it has played on virtually every DVD player I've tried it in (though not the GO deck). Honestly, this really isn't a problem since most of the DVDs I record I'll be watching on the Philips, but was something to take into account when I wanted to share my DVDs (and if I buy another DVD player, I'll be sure to bring one of my disks to see if it will play in it).<BR>This is a great machine for everyday recording and chapter breaks can be set to appear automatically every 5 or 6 minutes (depending on the recording speed) or can be input manually at the touch of a button. On the I/O side, there are tons of jacks on the back (and a few on the front) which make it simple to hook it up to other playback/recording devices.<BR>Instruction manual is okay - but could be better, and my only experience with customer service dealt with a few emails about compatibility issues that went unanswered (well, actually I got return emails that asked if I was given a helpful response).<BR>Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. I use the machine every day which is generally a good indication (of any purchase) that it was money well spent.