Akai DVDRW120 Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder
Good Basic Functionality
This is the only DVD recorder I have ever used so I have no frame of reference. However, I have used four regular DVD players and read the specs on many DVD recorders so I can kind of compare functionality. <br />First, it works fine. I was able to record to DVD+RW's no problem right out of the box. You can control how often it places scene/track markers. I think default is every 5 minutes. It records each session as a separate file and places the scene/track markers within those sessions. The menu for replay of the sessions is convenient as it's a graphical user interface showing time, date, and a representative picture from the session. <br />It does take longer than a regular DVD player to recognize the type of disc it has in... up to 20 seconds or so (even with regular store-bought movie DVDs). Sometimes (rarely) it will not recognize the type of disc. You can remedy this by powering off and on and it always recognizes the disc when the disc is in when it powers on. <br />Maybe I am expecting too much, but this unit does not have the ability to edit the sessions. I would like to edit out commercials but you can't do that with this model. I think you *can* do that on many other models. <br />You also cannot &quot;slipstream,&quot; i.e, where you go back and watch a part of the recorded movie while you are still recording. I think some Panasonics offer this feature. It also does not have &quot;commercial skipping.&quot;<br />Anyway, like I said, it has good basic functionality but is missing some of the bells and whistles I would want.