It doesn't do the dance of the 7 veils but it does what we bought it for (Samsung DVD-VR350)

Member Name: whatanoldbag

Product:	Samsung DVD-VR350
Date:	03/02/08 (586 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good range of features for the price

Disadvantages: No HD. No built in Freeview.

Around Christmas time DH and I decided it was time to give up on using the old VHS to record things, and this was compounded by the integral-to-the TV DVD player packing up (review available - DMTech LQ 20X). Since we've just taken out a subscription to LoveFilm.com (Review also available LOL) we needed a DVD player, and with all those great films on over Christmas (er, shome mishktate shurely, ED), one that recorded seemed the perfect answer.

Why we chose this is it combines DVD with VCR, so you can still watch those old Bond movies ....It cost me £180, but I think you can get it cheaper now. It records to DVDs, but doesn't have a hard drive. It doesn't support HD. But then I don't have an HD telly or box, so that doesn't worry me at the moment.

It's black and grey (like brushed aluminium things best myself) but is not offensive to look at. Being dual purpose it is quite bulky compared to a straightforward DVD player.

It doesn't have a built in Freeview either, but then we already have a box, so that didn't bother us either.

It was really easy to set up - took 5 minutes to plug in etc and another 10 or so to set up the channels etc. No problems.

The techy stuff is this:

Disc Recordability DVD
Built-In VCR Yes
Built-In Hard Drive No
Changer No
TV Tuner Analogue
Multi-Region No

Playable Disc Formats CD/CD-R/CD-RW/DVD/DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD+R/DVD+RW/DVD-RA M/VCD/SVCD
Recordable Disc Formats DVD-R/DVD-R DL/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM
XviD Playback No
DivX Playback Yes
MP3 Playback Yes
Picture Support JPEG (This lets you put a CD of your JPEG photos in to view.)
Manufacturer Samsung
Dolby Digital Decoder No
THX Certified No
Surround Support Dolby Digital, DTS
Video:
Progressive Scan Yes (NTSC/PAL) This makes your videos play back better quality
Scart Sockets 2
S-Video Outputs 1
Component Video Ouputs 1
HDMI Outputs None H
Analog Audio Outputs 2
Digital Audio Outputs 1xoptical/1xcoaxial
Dimensions (WxHxD) 430x79x331 mm
Weight 4.4 kg

What all that means to me as user is that it does what I want it to! It is easy to use, and I think it's programmable but haven't got that far yet. It records quickly and play on the video especially is loads better than my old machine.

It has a parental lock feature which is passworded. I do use that and it's not difficult - not worse than logging on to the computer. The remote is sensible and works well.

It has enough Scarts/jacks etc to connect it up to everything else with no problem.

All in all it is a perfectly good product, which was good value for money; reliable (so far) not overly loaded with gismos I won't use but just good at doing what you want it to do. If you have loads of HD equipment etc then this won't have a high enough spec, but if you just want a recordable DVD/VCR combo for £150 then this is a good choice.

I don't really have anything negative to say about it. It hasn't changed my life mind, and it doesn't do the laundry, but at least you can record a film off the telly.

Summary: For a mid-range user this has everything you need.

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