Go Video VR2940 DVD Recorder/VCR Combo
Go Video VR2940 a No Go
I would have to write a book explaining the problems I experienced with this unit right out of the box so will only mention a few. Both recordings I made using the YESDVD option were hard to get at and could only be accessed in a round about way through the set-up menu. I couldn't bring up the Title & Disc Menu's on the screen only getting the Play icon to show for a few seconds, or sometimes the Stop icon would appear.   I had this same problem on discs recorded \\"normally\\" i.e. without YESDVD, but could generally access the Menus so I could rename the recording {Title} or finalize the disc.   Note, I said generally and this was usually after ejecting the disc and reinserting it back in the 2940. With one disc I was unable to access these Menus even after I tried ejecting it, then shutting off the power & firing the unit back up or unplugging it and resetting the factory defaults.   The next day, when I gave it another try, it worked fine on my first attempt.    On playback of discs recorded on the 2940 I found areas where upwards of 10-15 seconds of the recorded material were missing as well as \\"glitchy\\" spots. When I tried to \\"rewind\\" to get a better look at the \\"glitch\\" the unit paused where I observed the problem and wouldn't let me proceed any further. I found three such areas in about 15 minutes of recorded material on one disc.  Of the 6 discs I checked for recording issues they all had some problem, either program loss or those \\"glitchy\\" spots. Based on this I didn't even bother checking the other 7 or 8 discs I recorded on knowing that I was sending the unit back.     Any disc that is being recorded on for the first time has to be initialized {formatted} and this is accomplished when the recording process is started as opposed to being done prior, which seriously messes with any Cue that you may have set-up when recording on a \\"first time\\" disc. On one tape that I tried to transfer that had footage right from the start {no lead-in} I lost 38 seconds of material while the disc initailized itself. In order to get the entire program when recording from Tivo I had to hit record on the 2940 and watch the Initialization Bar displayed on the screen {progess} and when I thought it was almost finished start the program I wanted to record.   Like I said, it messes with any Cue you may have but I'm not sure if this is the way the 2940 is designed or is because of a problem with the particular unit I had. The only mention of disc initialization in the owners manual stated this was how it was done so I'm figuring the unit was designed this way.     When I hit record on a tape to disc transfer the icon in the display window on the unit itself appeared as if the tape was being held up until initialization finished in order to save my cue but that didn't prove to be the case when the recording was checked. That was the recording I lost the 38 seconds on.  The spools in the VHS icon in the display didn't start rotating until initialization finished, that's why I thought the recording process was being held up thus saving my cue.      GoVideo didn't answered the two emails I sent them so the unit was returned to the retailer a week after receiving it. Even though I have another GoVideo unit, DDV2110, {Dual deck VCR} that I've been happy with for years I don't think I'll be purchasing another product from GoVideo anytime soon based on their poor Customer Service. I will say this, the picture quality of the recordings made on the unit that I looked at were excellent, which was what I expected since they were recorded at the highest quality settings {HQ~1hr. & SP~2hr.}