Apex DRX-9200 DVD Recorder/Player
Does the job, but...
At the highest video quality setting of one hour per DVD disc the picture quality is indistinguishable from the source.  The picture quality is good at lower settings.  <br /> <br />The price is right. <br /> <br />But... <br /> <br />The menu setup was programmed to maximize inefficiency.  It takes six button pushes just to get to the program setup menu.  Once there, it will take at least 18 more button pushes.  OK, I am used to VCRplus where you could finish your programming in as few as seven button pushes. <br /> <br />All these button pushes wouldn't be so frustrating if you didn't have to perfectly aim the remote as you push the button.  I like remotes that let you bounce the signal off your friend's face and it still works. <br /> <br />The clock runs fast.  It gains a couple minutes every few days. If you forget to reset it, you will miss the ending of your TV show.  Even $40 VCR's have automatic PBS time clocks.  A $10 watch keeps better time. <br /> <br />The manual is almost useless.  You have to hunt around the DVR's on screen menu to find out what's available. For example, when setting a time to start your recording the AM/PM is not adjustable.  If you enter 7 you will get 7 AM.  To get 7 PM you have to enter 19 (military time I guess).  Or you can just keep pushing the up button like you do on a $9 alarm clock.  There is no mention in the manual about how to automatically record every weekday but if you push `up' when the date is highlighted it is available (but easy to miss).  Neither of these (or many other issues) is covered in the manual. <br /> <br />The audio on the recorded discs (and when watching TV through the DVR) is low (about 2/3rds of my TV). It is also tinny.  Additionally if you turn on the DVR without first changing the TV to its DVR input channel you get 2 seconds of LOUD static before it returns you to your show. <br /> <br />The playback usually 'blips' with a second long freeze-frame at least twice an hour. <br /> <br />My penultimate complaint is that the DVD locks up about once a week. It won't accept any input from the remote or on the console itself.  You can't even turn it off. The only thing you can do is unplug it and start over. <br /> <br />My last complaint is the 25 Memorex (off brand?) DVD+RW's I bought for the Apex.  They recorded once just fine but never again.  They still work just fine on my computer's DVD recorder though. <br /> <br />This is my second but... last Apex. <br />