Toshiba DR-2 DVD Recorder/Player with Simultaneous Play and Record
Annoyances and one defect
I was pleased with this unit when it first arrived.  The picture quality was good, recording to a DVD-R was straightforward (you can use the default settings and just push the \\"record\\" button), and the Time Slip feature using the included DVD-RAM disk was very slick.  The recorded DVD-R's played fine in other players I tested.  MP3 CD's played fine too. <br /> <br />However, one major annoyance from day one was the slow loading of discs.  If you think you're going to pop in a blank DVD-R quickly and start recording, as you could with a VHS VCR, think again.  It takes over a minute for the unit to recognize the blank DVD-R.  Likewise pre-recorded movie DVDs and music CD's take an excessive amount of time to begin playing. <br /> <br />If you stop recording, the unit takes a minute to actually write all the content it captured, and you can't press the record button again until the unit finishes.  So, don't stop the recording (to skip a commercial, for example) unless you know the show isn't going to come back on for at least 30-45 seconds.  This particular annoyance may be common to any DVD-R recorder. <br /> <br />The defect that prompted me to return the unit involved music CD's.  One brand new CD would not play at all.  The unit would not recognize the disc.  If I kept removing and reinserting the disc, it might finally recognize and play on the 3rd or 4th try.  With another brand new music CD, the unit stopped playing after the 4th song.  Both of the CD's in question played without error on other CD players. <br /> <br />It is possible that my unit was unique in its defectiveness, and that the slow loading of all discs and the failure to play certain CD's were both the result of the same defect.  As long as you purchase this unit from a place with a good return policy, it may still be worth your attention.  Speaking of which, kudos to Amazon for smooth handling of the return. <br /> <br />After experiencing DVD-R recording first-hand, I've decided the unit I purchase to replace this one should have a hard drive, which will allow editing prior to burning the DVD-R.  Without a hard drive, the only way to insert chapter breaks or remove commercials is to do this real-time while recording to the DVD-R.  With dozens of hours of home video to copy from VHS to DVD, it will be nice to get the entire VHS on the hard drive without being present, then interact with the speedy hard drive to insert chapter breaks and delete scenes, and then fast-dub the result to a DVD-R.