Pioneer DVR-650H-S (250 GB) DVD Recorder / HDD Recorder

We purchased a Toshiba DVR650KU about 6 months ago. We already had another Toshiba machine, a D-VKR3SU, which we had been using for several years to record over-the-air TV programs. When digital programs began to be broadcast, we wanted the capability of receiving digital programs and
recording them to watch later at a more convenient time. For the most part, that is all we do with the DVR, nothing fancy or complicated. We were influenced to buy another Toshiba because our old one performed well and was easy to operate. Big mistake.

1) The remote: The first problem we noticed was that the remote for the DVR650 also controlled our old recorder. One recorder sits just above the other in the video cabinet, so when we turned off the new recorder, for example, the old one got turned off as well. There was no way to reprogram the remote; we ended up rigging a shield from a foil-wrapped manila folder to cover the front of whichever machine we aren't actively using.

2) Timer recording:

The Timer Recording screen is a huge irritant. Simply accessing the screen is a multi-button operation consisting of about 5 different steps.

Inputting information to record a program is often an exercise in frustration. Although the procedure appears to be fairly straightforward (input start-time and date, end-time and date, source, occurrence, record-to, and record-mode), depending on what is input for 'occurrence', the machine will arbitrarily change the start date. When this happens, the user has no option but to click through the entire procedure again in order to re-input the correct date.

Even after a program has been input correctly and entered, it will not be recorded unless the timer is then turned on. This last step does not exist on our old recorder. Having to remember to do it on the DVR650 is a royal pain.

Whether the timer is turned on may be seen only via a Timer Indicator located in the front panel of the machine. This indicator, which is required for delayed recording of a program, is a 1/8-inch by 1/16-inch symbol that is very dimly lighted when the timer is turned on. When lighted, it appears as faint red on a black background. Try seeing that sucker from where we sit (a good 15 feet away). We have to walk over to the machine in order to verify whether the timer light is actually ON. A bright LED that could be seen easily from a distance would have been sooo much nicer.

Add to this the fact that the timer must be turned OFF before rewinding (and some other operations) can be performed. After rewinding, the user then has to remember to turn the timer back on before shutting off the machine.

One would think, with all this turning on and off of the timer that the timer button would at least be prominently located on the remote where it would be easy to find. But no.

Timer recording of back-to-back programs on different channels is tricky. Although we haven't found this mentioned in the manual, we've learned through experience that two back-to-back programs cannot be input as, for example, 8:00 to 9:00 and 9:00 to 10:00. Apparently, the recorder interprets this as a scheduling conflict and does not record the second program. To overcome this, we now set the start time for the second program at one minute late (e.g., 9:01).

For reasons we haven't yet been able to figure out, the machine sometimes deletes or suspends or only partially records a program set up for delayed recording.

3) Recording digital programs: Since a desire to record digital programs was our main reason for buying the DVR650, we were dismayed to discover that it will not record many digital programs. A few seconds into the program, a screen comes up saying that the program is content-protected. According to the manual, it should be possible to record Copy-Once material, but, even when following the instructions in the manual to the letter, we weren't able to record our favorite programs. Since many of the programs we wanted to record were on PBS channels, I contacted PBS and asked whether the programs were coded Copy-Once or Copy-Never. The response from PBS: none of their programs is coded with a content-protection signal. This is a MAJOR dissatisfaction with the recorder.

Bottom line:
This DVR has lots of bells and whistles, almost none of which we use.

Recording quality is satisfactory, but, for all the reasons explained above, we would not purchase the Toshiba DVR650 again, nor would we recommend it to anyone else.