Sony RDR-VX500 DVD Player/Recorder with VCR
Good, but poor editing features
First, the good stuff: I was able to set up the machine in less than a half hour, and make a copy of home videos from VHS to a DVD+RW disk. If anything, it was too easy. Just touch a button and off it runs. I would be scared about how many of my DVD's accidentally get erased by my kids pressing the wrong button. The machine is quiet, too, unlike what I've read about competing devices. <br /> <br />However, I'm returning the Sony because it lacks the features I got used to with my old Philips DVDR985, which broke down recently. Specifically, with the Philips I could append a new video recording to a previously recorded Title, so that I could overwrite undesirable parts of my home video on a DVD+RW disk. The Sony can't do this. The Sony cannot even divide a title into two, which would allow deletion of the undesired portion of a video recording. What the Sony can do is have its playlist skip over undesired portions on a DVD-RW using the VR feature, but then I'd have to worry about finalizing the disk and compatibility with other DVD players. <br /> <br />So now I'm considering a Philips DVDR600VR, which probably has the same awful menu that my old Philips had, but which I've gotten used to, or the GoVideo VR5940 which allows for dividing titles.