Toshiba RD-XS52 DVD Player/Recorder with HDMI
Basic use for this product does not work.
If you are a cable subscriber and want to use the RD-XS52 to record and save your HBO or other premium service movies, you're out of luck.  I had this unit out of the box 2 days and am returning it.   <br /> <br />I will give it this - it was very easy to set up and use - I hardly had to refer to the manual.  The problem comes when you want to record movies from pay channels.  HBO and Max (I don't know about the rest, I don't subscribe) will not record onto DVD-R disks, due to a copy once protection that is in the HBO feed.  HBO encodes their programming to be \\"copy once\\" -- Copy once should mean that you should be able to make 1 copy, but it will not work with the DVD-R disks on the RD-XS52.  From reviews I read, it should work with DVD-RAM disks, but these disks cost about $5 each, compared to about a quarter for DVD-R disks in bulk.  If you plan to record and save alot of movies, this will get quite expensive. <br /> <br />From what I read on-line - there are 2 fixs - 1, use the DVD-RAM, or 2, buy the SIMA CT-2, which will cost you around $100 extra.  But my recommendation is #3 - what I did - return the unit (or don't buy it).  From other reviews of other Toshiba DVR's, they all have this same problem.