RCA DRC8312n DVD Recorder/VCR COMBO
Does what it should...sort of.
I bought this recorder in early December when my old VCR bit the dust.  I needed a replacement, and it made sense to consider a combo unit with dual recorders.  At the time, almost all of the online reviews for this unit were very positive, so I took the chance on it.  Over all, I'm happy... I guess.  It's kind of hard to say. <br /> <br />The unit does work, but it's just not quite perfect.  For example, it won't turn off.  Well, I mean you can hit the power button, and it powers down.  But within 5 minutes it will turn itself back on.  And it does lock up.  I'm lucky that I've got it plugged into a convenient outlet, because the only way you can reset it is to unplug it for a few seconds.   <br /> <br />Others have reported that the lockups happen with store-bought DVDs.  I haven't had that problem, but then again, I don't watch purchased DVDs on it.  That's what the regular player is for.  But it has locked up when doing normal tasks like finalizing a disc or trying to navigate the menus. <br /> <br />It does have personality like someone else said.  The menus are for the most part logical, but it does taking some getting used to.  Some of the features aren't readily apparent, but a good read-through of the excellent manual points out what you need to know.  Once you get used to it, though, it's not hard to operate. <br /> <br />As far as I'm concerned, the single most important feature of the unit is the ability to record onto DVD from various sources.  From that aspect, it works as advertised.  I've used it to back up old VHS tapes easily, and I've used it to record television programs using the timer.  It \\"forgot\\" one timer setting that I made once, and I missed the show.  So I've never quite trusted it since then.  But when it's a non-essential program, it's worked ever since. <br /> <br />I've also used it to back up old laserdiscs.  The nice thing is that at top quality, the DVD recorder puts one hour onto a blank DVD.  Conveniently, that's also the maximumthat one side of a laserdisc will hold.  Once the side is recorded onto one DVD, I use free software on my PC to dump the digital video onto the computer and edit out the blank space and other non-essential stuff.  I then compress the video down to fit onto one blank DVD-R and create menus including chapter stops.  I then author a menu system and burn a final disc onto a DVD-R.  Since I use DVD-RWs for the original transfer, I can blank them and reuse them.  The process works well, and I've been happy with the results. <br /> <br />I have some specific likes about this unit.  First, the one-touch VCR transfer is very handy.  And I like the fact that even though I have this hooked up to a DirecTV receiver through an S-video connection, the name of the program being recorded shows up on the DVD recorder.  So when I go to watch the recording, it tells me what shows are recorded and the time and date.  I could never do this with a VCR!  The picture quality is acceptable at either the 1-hour or 2-hour modes (the 3+ hour modes definitely show some artifacts), but I hear there are better ones out there. <br /> <br />I also have some dislikes.  For example, the interface takes some getting used to.  And, the fact that it won't turn off kind of bugs me. <br /> <br />Bottom line is that I'm not overly sorry I bought the unit.  It just seems like it wasn't quite ready to be released, though.  When I'm in the market for my next recorder, I don't think I'll buy another one of these.