JVC DR-MV150B DVD Recorder / VCR Combo

Compared to Panasonic's DMR-EZ line (and some hard-drive or TIVO-like machines), the JVC machine is very simple: there's no access to the menu system while recording, no trailing viewing (watching the recorded part of program while it's still recording), no watching one drive while the other drive is recording, no 8-hour or variable recording speeds, no automatic writing of program titles, etc. Also, DVD+RW discs recorded on the JVC will not play audio on all DVD players (in particular a Panasonic DVD-S52).

But the JVC has two advantages over the Panasonic: it has never locked up during operation with the remote, and reliably does scheduled recording (with one exception - see below). When my Panasonic DMR-EZ37V died after two years, I bought the JVC, and it's been a real relief not to have the DVR lock up in the middle of recording and/or editing a program.

There's another feature on the JVC that I like: programs recorded on DVD-RW or DVD-RAM discs can be edited to remove parts - like the commercials! The interface is simple and works well, provided you don't try to take out a piece shorter than 3 seconds.

There is one small problem with the JVC: it will lock up while recording if it receives some sort of copy-protect signal. I've reported this to JVC "support", but so far they've just asked a lot of questions that show they want me to solve the problem for them (or just go away). This problem was reported for an older model - the DR-MV100 - so I don't know why they're being so difficult.

All in all, I've found this machine, while lacking a lot of features found on other DVD recorders, to be a reliable replacement for a VCR. Other reviewers have reported many problems with initialising, locking up, and such like; but I've been using this machine since September 2009, with only the problem I described above.