Toshiba RD-XS32 Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder with 80 GB Hard Drive
A Great Unit...
I admit, I didn't buy my RD-XS32 from amazon--I went to a national chain electronics store (one known for its buys which aren't good buys, not better buys, but one level higher...) <br /> <br />I went in with the intention of buying just a basic DVD-R drive, without the hard drive.  While I was there, they had the RD-XS32 as an open-box special for $15 more than I was planning to pay for the DVD-R, so I figured I'd give it a shot. <br /> <br />And boy, am I ever glad I did!  I can't imagine trying to burn DVD's without having the hard drive available.  I've got over 300 videotapes (not pre-recorded movies, but stuff I've taped over the years) that I'd been planning to transfer to DVD.  With the hard drive built in, I can go through my collection, digitize stuff to the hard drive in whatever order I want (rather than burning one tape to one disc, then burning another tape to another disc, etc.), reorder, reorganize, and make my video collection the way *I* want it to be. <br /> <br />The first I'd heard of these issues with player compatibility was when I read the reviews here at amazon.  I've had absolutely no problems with disc compatibility, and boy, should I know--I've got no fewer than three different players.  Obviously, the Toshiba plays the disc perfectly, but so does the Panasonic player the Toshiba is replacing.  As does the Playstation 2.  And as does my Philips \\"home theatre in a box\\" receiver.  (The Philips doesn't play the menus on the disc properly, but it's *always* had problems, even with commercial DVD's.)  Black levels look fine, colors look fine, everything looks fine. <br /> <br />Don't be fooled--there is absolutely, positively a learning curve with the Toshiba.  It's a serious piece of equipment--this ain't the $30 Funai VCR from Wal-mart.  Plan to take a few hours, maybe even a couple of days, to get really familiar with everything in this unit.  Once you learn how the system works, it's actually fairly easy to use.  But the more a piece of equipment does, the more you'll need to learn. <br /> <br />Everything your old VCR does, the Toshiba will do as well--other reviewers have suggested that there's no way to program recurring recordings, or that there's no way to delete channels from the channel lists.  Both problems are easily solved by reading the instructions.  Again, this is not a unit that you're gonna be able to pull out of the box, plug in, and start doing stuff with it.  It's all about reading the manuals...the Toshiba has already assimilated itself nicely into my daily routine. <br /> <br />It seems like all the other reviews have mentioned the downsides of this recorder, so I suppose I'll have to do so as well.  First of all, the manual is a bit confusing in spots--nothing beyond comprehension, but there's sometimes some dodgy translation from the original Japanese.  (Interestingly, the RD-SX32 has a series of preset genres in its library system, but on my model, they're all Japanese themed categories...I doubt I'll have much use for a \\"kabuki\\" category...:-) )  Another downside, which is definitely minor, is that the front-panel buttons on the unit aren't on the front panel--they're along the front edge of the top of the unit.  Not a problem if it's sitting on top of a desk, but once you put this unit into a cabinet, the buttons become somewhat inaccessible.  (Even leaving room for ventilation, you can reach the buttons, but the labels aren't visible.) <br /> <br />But the good far outweighs the bad on this unit, and overall, this is an excellent unit which I'm happy to have as part of my home theater system.