GoVideo VR5940 Dual-Deck DVD Recorder and VCR
No closed captioning on DVD's
Died after 1 year!<br /><br />This is my second GoRound with GoVideo.  The previous unit only used a DVD-R format, I didn't realize that when I picked it up at Costco.  It also froze once when I was trying to format a disk, Costco took it back no problem.<br /><br />No problems with the 5940.  I have copied several video tapes to DVD+R disks, it was really easy and the results really are better than the tape version.  I am very happy with this unit.<br /><br />I usually use DVD+RW's to record TV shows.  They say you can reuse these disks up to 1,000 times.<br /><br />WARNING here: closed captioning for the hearing impaired does not function with the DVD recorder.  I called GoVideo to verify this, they said closed captioning is not compatible with their DVD recording format.  (Long wait on the phone to speak live with a rep, the recording repeatedly tries to direct you to their website which does not cover questions such as this.)<br /><br />Taping TV programs onto the VCR works fine, but I usually use the DVD function because it's so easy to skip around from start to finish and from program to program.<br /><br />The unit has a cool feature where you see a thumbnail of each TV show you have recorded on a DVD.  Point to one of these thumbnails and that show begins to play.  You can even fast forward within the preview to see if it's the one you're looking for.  Also, you can easily delete ANY segment of a program on a DVD-RW.  You could, for instance, delete commercials from a special TV program that you want to save, or you could delete a scene that you didn't want your kids to watch.<br /><br />A minor complaint; they call it \\"one-touch recording\\" but it really takes two or three or four touches, which is ok but why not call it \\"easy touch\\" or something?  You need to determine the length of the videotape you are copying and then select the appropriate DVD record speed.  The speeds are XP, SP, LP, and EP.  These correspond to 1, 2, 4, or 6 hours per disk.  Picture quality suffers at EP speed, like when you blow up a JPG a little too much.  LP works well for most TV shows.  SP works great for transferring a typical 2-hour videotape home movie to DVD.  (The unit is very smart about copy-protected material, it's strictly David Spade: \\"Video? No!\\" from either tape to DVD or DVD to tape.)<br /><br />The manual lacks an index, so I downloaded it from the Amazon page and use the Adobe search function to look stuff up.  Otherwise you end up searching thru the Table Of Contents.  The unit is easy to set up and use.  The \\"Easy Start\\" sheet tells you almost everything you need to know.  The instruction manual is easy to follow, once you find the right section.uality suffers at EP speed, like when you blow up a JPG a little too much.  LP works well for most TV shows.  SP works great for transferring a typical 2-hour videotape home movie to DVD.  (The unit is very smart about copy-protected material, it's strictly David Spade: \\"Video? No!\\" from either tape to DVD or DVD to tape.)<br /><br />The manual lacks an index, so I downloaded it from the Amazon page and use the Adobe search function to look stuff up.  Otherwise you end up searching thru the Table Of Contents.  The unit is easy to set up and use.  The \\"Easy Start\\" sheet tells you almost everything you need to know.  The instruction manual is easy to follow, once you find the right section.