One of the reasons I bought this unit was primarily to archive on to DVD my old VHS tapes - an ideal way to magically free up some storage space and make those bulky old VHS cassettes disappear. Apart from this I also needed a decent DVD player/recorder. You won't be able to transfer any copy-protected films; at least I haven't yet found a way to do it, so it's unlikely you'll eliminate your VHS library entirely. Like most Samsung products the VR330 is sleekly designed in a black finish and looks the part.


DVD and VHS playback and Recording
Setting up the DVD was fairly straight forward connecting it to your TV via a Scart lead. DVD performance was has been satisfactory in terms of both picture performance and sound quality. I have not experienced any problems with images freezing. The VHS playback has also been satisfactory. When you insert a tape it plays straght away although you can set it to not start playing tapes automatically via the setup menu. The VCR works with the S-video and coaxial digital connections so you do not have to buy another set of cables. You can still record from the TV onto VHS tapes if you wish at the standard speeds (SP, SLP, EP).


Recording DVDs
I have recorded onto re-recordable DVD+RW discs and the process has been straight forward if not a little slow. When disc compartment drawer closes a menu will appear asking you to format the disc. This process isn't necessary for write-once DVD-R and DVD+R discs that require no formatting. The Samsung DVD recorder gives you four different recording speeds ranging from one hour to six hours. The shorter recording times offer better picture quality. The picture quality of recordings at SP (standard performance) is of exceptional quality. Recordings at this speed last for 2 hours. You will also find on the front panel a IEEE 1394 port for capturing home movies from your digital camcorder. A single cable connection carries both picture and sound in digital format.


Copying VHS to DVD
Copying your old VHS tapes to DVD can be done either by pressing the "TO DVD" button on the remote control or on the unit's front panel. Otherwise you can use the on-screen menu. This allows you to record specific portions of a VHS tape. With this method the tape plays in a window in the upper left corner of the screen. This is really handy for finding the precise starting and stopping points of a recording. You can also create a "recording list" for copying your favourite parts of a single tape in a single session. The picture quality of the copied VHS is similar to that of the original source tape. There's no loss in quality like there is when you record to VHS.


Problems
Some discs take ages to finalize. With a dual-layer disc it can take nearly half hour.
When copying a certain portion of a VHS tape to a DVD, the machine stops the tape when you press stop to end the recording, but it sometimes starts recording to the DVD again - which is a pain.
You can't record from DVD to video.
Some of the DVDs I recorded did not play on my PC DVD player.


Conclusion
I would recommend the Samsung DVD-VR330 based on my experience. It's good for those who wish to transfer movies to DVD from a camcorder or their old VHS tapes, or for those who want the convenience of a DVD player/recorder and VCR in one. The main attraction of purchasing this unit is no doubt its capacity to archive old collections on VHS tapes, but it's also a great choice for use as a primary DVD player. I have only had minor problems with my machine but I have read other reviews in which people have experienced more serious issues such as the picture constantly freezing and dodgy video playback.


Box Contents
Samsung DVD-VR330 DVD Recorder
Remote Control (with Batteries)
Instruction Manual

Price: £170 approximately at Amazon (10th Jan 2007)