Pioneer DVR-533H-S Slim Design DVD Recorder with 80 GB Hard Disk Drive
Five Star rating if the TV Guide function was reliable!
First the good news:     Recording, editing, copying is great.  Sound and Vision mag gave the Pioneer DVR-633H (identical to the DVR-533H except 160GB drive) their nod for the best overall hard-drive DVR last year.  They said Pioneer editing function is the best short of a computer.  I agree, as I love the ease and accuracy of edits. <br /> <br /> <br />     Now the bad news:     As others have pointed out, the TV Guide function is the real Achilles heel on this dvr.  The same system is used on other dvr's as well.  Pioneer licensces the system from TV Guide.  My unit reset itself more a half a dozen times since I bought it in August 2005, without any input from me.  (Just like Sean M. says in an earlier review.)  When that happens, you lose the program guide data and it has to rebuild it all over again over a period of a week.  When it works, it's slow, but handy and capable. <br /> <br /> <br />      Today, the TV Guide function died altogether. (Again, just like Sean M.'s unit.  Now mine works only as a manual recoder, too!) After a 25 minute wait on a Pioneer 800 number, I explained to a Pioneer rep what was happening.  After he looked up the problem on his computer, he said they would have to fix it \\"at the factory\\".  Sounds like they know about the problem but don't say how often it happens. Pioneer says it's a one week turnaround for repairs.   <br /> <br />     Love the machine, but hate the hassles!