Toshiba D-R4 Multi-Drive DVD Recorder
Avoid, Unless You Enjoy Frustration
I should have paid attention to Amazon reviews before buying this unit...but I was rapidly running out of choices, as I had purchased two other brands of DVD recorders in the past week, experiencing different issues with each.     First model was an inexpensive off-brand, a Daewoo, that enjoyed shutting off in the middle of playing discs...also lip-sync issues.    Second model was a very recent Panasonic unit--beautiful in all respects except for interference lines that periodically showed up in the video input signal...both RCA input and S-Video. A replacement exhibited the same issue...yet the cheap Daewoo and a 10 year old Sharp VCR exhibited no such interference when hooked up using the same cables.    Weary, and still wanting a DVD recorder, I tried the Toshiba D-R4. Lip sync was perfect, no visible interference...but the darned thing was so ridiculously fussy/unpredictable when it comes to blank media.    It rejected three seldom-used Memorex DVD-RW 2x discs, which I purchased with my first computer drive in late 2003. When attempting to format them, the D-R4 routinely gave up at the 39% level, with a \\"Can't format\\" error. Odd...even the $110 Daewoo accepted these discs with no issues. They weren't smudged, dirty, or scratched--I take meticulous care of things, especially blank media. I even fully reformatted one of the DVD-RWs using my cheap little $40.00 NEC computer drive (which handles everything you can throw at it, by the way)...but the Toshiba still refused to do anything with the disc.    Not wanting to give up, I went out and purchased a pack of 3 TDK DVD-RW discs, 2x speed. The manual recommended JVC, but no one around here carries that brand--and besides, the brand on the box is not necessarily the manufacturer that makes the actual disc inside. It's not unusual these days for companies, even major ones, to use two or three different suppliers.    Anyway, this media seemed to work reasonably well in testing last night. No formatting errors, a disc finalized correctly as well. Only problem I had was the player locking up during rapid search one time.    Again, everything seemed okay for the most part...so I successfully reformatted the disc that had been used for testing, set the Toshiba up for timer recording, and went off to work this morning.    When returning home, what was on the display? EXACTLY what another Amazon user reported--an Error 14 message on the display, meaning that the recorder had a problem working with the same disc that it had no issues with the night before.    Neither the Panasonic or that cheap Daewoo had this type of problems with blank discs...and I wasn't about to spend good money on something that can't be relied on...nor was I willing to waste money on brand after brand of blank DVDs, in the hopes that one would meet with this recorder's approval.    As a last ditch effort, I called Toshiba tech support, hoping that there might be a firmware upgrade for the drive that would correct these issues. None could be found at their website, but I felt it would be at least worth a phone inquiry. After being on hold for almost 10 minutes, what seemed like a polite person picked the phone up. I told him the model number, tried to politely explain the issue (I wanted to keep the recorder, it's wonderful and feature-laden otherwise), and he hung up in the middle of what I was trying to say.     If this is the best that Toshiba can offer, both in the way of products and customer support, I will NEVER purchase the brand again.     This entire ordeal has been nothing but ridiculous. DVD recorders have been on the market for several years, long enough for the kinks to be ironed out. Manufacturers are obviously cutting too many corners in a frantic attempt to meet a price point--and it's unacceptable.     I only wish that a model could be released that combines the best of both the Panasonic and Toshiba units, with none of their defects--I would snap it up in a heartbeat. As things stand though, I'mgoing back to my old VCR.    ***3/30/06*** Small update--a couple of days after reviewing the Toshiba unit, I took a huge chance and purchased a $114 dollar Lite-On DVD recorder. It has no front panel display, no S-Video inputs or outputs, and a monaural tuner. However, it records DVDs without any noticeable issue, there's no interference observed during playback, the timer has worked flawlessly, the unit stay so cool during operation that it's almost scary, and it has yet to refuse to record on any DVD. 30 days later, I'm still amazed.