Toshiba RD-XS35 DVD Player/Recorder with 160 GB Hard Drive
Disappointing.
I have only had this DVR/DVD Recorder for a few days, but so far I have found it not particularly user friendly.  I haven't used the DVD burner yet, so I'll only review the DVR part at the moment.   <br /> <br />I was really only looking for a DVD Recorder, but I love the DVR supplied by Cox cable and thought it would be great to have one in the bedroom.  The fan noise was a big concern since it was going in the bedroom.  So far, the fan has NOT shut off even with the unit in Standby mode.  I don't expect that it ever will.  It's pretty loud, but a very consistent white noise.  I would say it is softer than a bathroom exhaust fan, but louder than a ceiling fan on its highest speed, if that helps anyone.  I use those examples since those noises are also in the same proximity.  I will say that the fan noise is better than the noise from the cable DVR, which is a chattering noise from the hard drive since it is always recording and is much more annoying in a quiet room. <br /> <br />The interface is very clunky compared to the cable DVR and ease of use in not even in the same continent as the cable DVR.  The TVGOS is terrible in my opinion because viewing other channels in the guide actually changes the channels in the guide, so you can't watch a program and surf the guide to see if something better is on.  That's the way it works on the cable DVR and we have become very spoiled by that function.  I also have not found a way to bring up info for the program currently being viewed in an unobtrusive way except to go all the way to the guide.  You'd think the INFO button on the remote would work that way.  Like I said early, we have become very spoiled by the cable DVR and I could go on an on about what functions it does better than this unit, but I don't have the time.  One more thing I will say is that I also don't like the inability to rewind live TV on a whim.  You have to remember to hit the Time Slip button when you start watching so you can rewind back to that point in the future. <br /> <br />Finally, a reviewer complained that the audio was really low on the TV and I had a similar problem, but I believe the TV is the culprit.  I often find the audio low even with the volume turned up and believe it to be caused by the auto sound level feature on the TV (the one that keeps the sound at about the same level when you change channels or over an zealous advertiser comes on.  If I turn the TV off and then back on, the sound level is back to normal.  Now I just make sure the unit is on before turning on the TV (btw, it's a Samsung 32\\" LCD HDTV).  I hope this helps. <br /> <br />I will try to remember to update this review as I use more features.  At this point though, I can't say I'm very happy with this purchase.  From reading reviews of other manufacturer's similar units, I do believe that this unit is about as good as it gets in the mid-price range DVR/DVD Recorders, so I can't say that there is anything better.