CyberHome CH-DVR 1500 Progressive-Scan DVD+R/+RW Recorder and Player , Silver
My experience, CyberHome 1500.....3rd one's a winner!
Like everyone else here, and in other forums, I was impressed with the Wal-Mart price of $248.00..... Also, I like recording in real time with hardware Mpeg compression.  This is improvement to slow process on the computer burner. I got 3 units before I finally got a good one, back in early February.<br />Unit #1.  NO cord in box.....back to Wal-Mart.<br />Unit #2.  Skipping and stuttering toward end of discs in HQ mode. Low sound output from onboard tuner and poor high frequency response. Also, Sony +R discs incompatible with my Sony player, burned lots of coasters....back to Wal-Mart.....at this point, feeling sorry for Wal-Mart (not their fault!)<br />Unit #3.  Read about similar problems of others, so realized that Wal-Mart returns was not the answer.....raised heck with CyberHome by sending nasty e-mail. Told them &quot;I want a unit that works as advertised&quot;....!  Sometimes I tend to cheer for the underdog, so I did not want to &quot;give up&quot;.....UPS/Insurance, sent my unit to CyberHome via RMA.  They told me that I would be happy with the repaired unit.  BTW, I contacted sales via e-mail to get immediate action....forget service and tech support!<br />4.  Got repaired unit back from CyberHome in around 10 days (total turn-around time).  It was packaged and shipped like new.<BR>Unit has worked well since then.  Have applied the latest firmware upgrade, without incident.  Minor problem for me: Video Output from onboard tuner sometimes &quot;washed out and too bright&quot; on bright areas of picture.....a little overdriven, similar to &quot;blooming&quot;.  Not that bad though, and generally acceptable.  Was not going to complain about this unit, as all the other problems were solved....TV recording is not MY concern, anyway.  Pretty much happy, now! <br />Yes, frustrating, but all in all, lots of bang for the buck, even though it's made in China.....and what isn't these days?  A new technology that needs refinement, for sure.  The unit is slim and attractive, which impressed me. The included accessories and excellent packaging also impressed me.  Video/Audio quality is superb!  For the low price, are we all expecting perfection here?  I would recommend the CyberHome DVR 1500 as a good, low priced, entry level recorder.  A little buggy, but CyberHome will eventually solve all of them.  With all the returns, they will have to do something!!<br />WARNING!   Do NOT use cheap media, like that sold on ebay.  tried it, and forget it!  Not the recorder's fault, either.  Stay with Maxell +R/RW media. Like for me, they work the best, and NO coasters! CyberHome compatibility list is reliable. <br />Cheers!