Sylvania DVR90VE DVD Player/Recorder and Hi-Fi VCR Combo
Great Value & Even Better With Firmware Upgrade
Update 04/24/05: Thanks to J. Binder for posting that Funai now offers a firmware upgrade. I've been extremely happy with this unit and the upgrade makes it even better. It now accepts virtually any brand -R disc up to 8X speed. When you get the disc, Funai says you must call them to do the install. Here is all you need to do: get your remote and press the CM Skip key followed by the 6, 5, and 4 keys in quick succession. The DVD tray will open. Insert the upgrade disc and close the tray. The upgrade will start automatically and completes in about 45 seconds. That's it. I was on hold for over 40 minutes with Funai to find this out. They should just include the instructions with the disc. With the upgrade, this unit matches up with any others out there.     If you're looking for a good deal that offers quality results, basic features, versatility, and is easy to set up and use, save your time and buy the Sylvania DVR 90VE. I was recording DVDs 20 minutes after opening the box. The one-touch recording to VHS and DVD as well as dubbing from VHS to DVD could not be simpler. I've recorded to over 100 discs so far with no problems. All finalized discs have worked on other players.           DVD recording quality is very good to excellent. I use the Sylvania in tandem with a DVR to transfer recordings I want to keep to DVD. There is no loss of quality in the transfer when using the 2 hour mode. There is a very small drop when using the four hour mode but it still produces a very good picture. The 6 hour mode produces basic VHS quality images and 8 and 10 hour mode are also available. The same applies when dubbing tapes to DVD. The recording quality is as good as the source material when using the 2 hour mode.           The tuner provides a clear, crisp picture with very good contrast. I don't use advanced editing features so I can't compare how the Sylvania stacks up in that regard. However, it is very easy to title disc menus and chapters. Unwanted segments can be edited out in all but the dubbing mode using the pause button while recording.     I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and versatility of this recorder. If you're looking for a no frills all-in-one machine that can be used for basic everyday viewing and recording, with the added bonus of tape to DVD dubbing, I would highly recommend this unit. As another review noted, the Emerson EWR20VR sold at Wal-Mart is the same machine, as is the Sylvania SRDV495 sold at Sears. All are made by Funai corporation.