Grundig DVDR550 Player

UPDATE May 26 2008: After sending my DVD recorder back to Toshiba twice, they decided to send me this year's model (number 560). There seems to be no difference in the units; the 550 and the 560 do the same things and have the same limitations. They look almost identical as well. The good news is that, at least for the last four weeks, I have had no problems to report. So all in all, I spent a couple of hours on the phone, a couple of hours mailing it back to them, and three weeks without any DVD recorder. Toshiba, for their part, extended my warranty coverage beyond the original 90 days and arranged for free shipping on three of the four trips my units made from the repair center. I feel like I have been treated fairly, but I don't like buying shoddy products. [END OF UPDATE]

The Toshiba D-R550 is a DVD recorder that allows you to record TV shows onto a variety of DVD disks, including DVD rewriteables. Thus, it is a 21st century answer to the VCR. While it is not as slick as a TIVO subscription, it works well and allows you to record digital TV broadcasts, so it won't be obsolete after the 2009 Big Change. And unlike TIVO, there's no subscription fee!

Toshiba has made a flexible product that will serve many needs. It records DVD (+ and -) R and RW, plays DVDs and CDs (R,RW,DA), and can play back MP3, WMA, Jpeg, and DivX files on CD. This means that while you might use it mostly to record TV shows and play back DVD movies, it also will stand in as a CD player and will display the photo collection you have on your computer.

The 100 page instruction book can be daunting, but it is well organized and fairly clear. You should learn your basics first: DVD-RW will allow the greatest flexibility in recording, so buy some of those disks. You can hook it up with the old cables you have from your VCR, but an HDMI cable will allow more features if your TV has that new type of input. And remember, unlike a VCR tape, a DVD needs a few minutes to be "formated" before you first use it.

Once you plug the Toshiba into the TV (or receiver, if you are so equipped) and the wall, you will go through a simple set-up to program the channels and set the clock. After that point, it will act much like a VCR; it will tune in both analog and digital channels, and at the push of a button, will record the show being broadcast. Note, however, that the resolution (quality) is limited: it is better than a VCR tape at faster speeds, but not of HD quality. The DVD will record at 480i, which is good, but not great.

One feature that is really great is referred to as "time slip": it allows you to start a recording and then watch it a few minutes later, but before the end of the show. So if the Big Game is on, you can record it from the start and start watching it a few minutes later, zapping the commercials, reviewing the controversies, (and so on) along the way. Also, as the TIVO ad brags, you can keep watching the game even if an interruption would drag you away...you are just a few minutes behind the rest of us.

The D-R550 features an upconversion to 1080P (the highest HD resolution currently available) if you use an HDMI connection to your TV. Each level of output can be upconverted, but if the source of the original show is a 480, you will be watching a 480 picture that is sent using a 1080 signal. The picture will be nice, but don't expect miracles. While using an HDMI cable, you will automatically feed a full screen version of the picture to the TV, which is a nice way to maximize your big-screen. Without the HDMI signal, you will see the original signal size, which may not be sized to fit a big-screen image.

The remote is fine, although some of the buttons are not intuitive. For instance, one button near the play button is used to adjust the speed of playback slightly, and is much larger than the nearby "Stop" button that you really use a lot. Also, channel entry is rather cumbersome for those digital channels (6-1, 8-2, etc) and you often don't have enough time to enter the number before it moves on.

In conclusion, this is a good unit at a great price. It won't be outdated for at least a few years, and in the meantime you can take all those old VCR tapes and copy them onto a new DVD collection.

UPDATE December 2007: After using the unit for five months, it is apparent that there is a flaw in the circuitry. At irregular intervals, the unit loses the channels that have been programmed. This can result in setting the recorder timer, and getting an hour's worth of blank screen. While it is easy to reprogram, I don't know when the channels will be lost. Contact with the service department indicates that this is NOT usual, and the unreasonably short warranty period (90 days parts, one year labor) means that I will have to pay shipping and $70 for a repair, as well as be without the unit for two weeks. FRUSTRATING! I have downgraded the ratings in this review for the durability of the unit, and I planned on using my Credit Card Warranty Extension Program to cover the expense. However, before I sent it off, I was pleasantly surprised to be told that they were going to double the labor coverage, so that I would owe nothing! The clerk told me that this is "up to his discretion," and since it is the holiday season, he said he was going to do it (without my asking or complaining). Great service, John!

I trust that the unit will work when I get it back, and will update this post again. I'd tell you to "Stay Tuned for Further Details," but unfortunately, my Toshiba won't let me!

[APRIL 2008] After getting the unit back from Toshiba, complete with a new scratch, it is doing the same thing. It has not been fixed! More phone calls and hassles to send the unit back again!