Sharp DV-HR300U (80 GB) DVD Recorder
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- Number of Discs: 1
- Progressive Scan: With Progressive Scan
- TV Tuner: With TV Tuner
- Playable Disk Types: DVD Video DVD-R DVD-RW CD (Audio)
- Playable File Formats: MP3
- DVD Type: DVD Recorder
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Functional but with problems...
Pros
Plenty of encoding options; Attractive Case; Ample audio/video outputs front and rear; Upgradeable HD
Cons
Terrible onscreen menu/remote control combinations; Noisy; Needs firmware upgrade to be usuable
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
Buy it to replace a VCR but don't expect it to perform as a PVR. Verify firmware upgrade applied before purchase.
I initially bought the DV-HR300U because of a price point of $100 less than its nearest competitor. This was a bad decision.
After less than 3 months of use the recorder began experiencing record failures due to "DISC ERROR"s. Also, lockups and loss of recordings were happening fairly regularly. Most could be recovered by unplugging the box and after a few minutes reapplying power. This would clear the hung state but the lost recordings were never recovered.
I contacted SHARP technical support and although they were helpful it still required a return to SHARP for a "FIRMWARE" upgrade. Using their (SHARP's) required return for service procedures the R/T shipping costs were $75.
After the repair the device has worked with minor glitches. (The clock will not correctly autoupdate using EDS signals and needs to be regularly checked to insure you get the recordings you want.
The onscreen menu "logic" and remote control layout make editing your recording (removing commercials etc...) almost unbearably complicated. Just managing your recording list is a herculean task. At this point this recorder is as usuable as a VCR, only digital and can write to DVD. And... it's noisy! The fan needs some noise abatement buffers to quieten it. BTW, VCR+ is not any better than simply using the onscreen "quick record" facility in the menu.
On the good side, the box has plenty of audio/video options and connector including 480x480 component outputs both front and rear. It has the ability to record tv shows with a HI-SPEED DUBBING option which substantially reduces the DVD write time. Using DVD"-"R DVD"-"RW media I've had no problems with compatibility with any off the shelf brand. It's compact and attractive. I understand that a HD upgrade is as simple as installing a 160GB (MAXIMUM SIZE) IDE drive in place of the 80GB and running the HD Initialization routine from the onscreen menu... Notice this voids any waranty and is at your own risk.
If you buy this device insure that it has had the necessary firmware upgrade or you'll have nothing but troubles.
After less than 3 months of use the recorder began experiencing record failures due to "DISC ERROR"s. Also, lockups and loss of recordings were happening fairly regularly. Most could be recovered by unplugging the box and after a few minutes reapplying power. This would clear the hung state but the lost recordings were never recovered.
I contacted SHARP technical support and although they were helpful it still required a return to SHARP for a "FIRMWARE" upgrade. Using their (SHARP's) required return for service procedures the R/T shipping costs were $75.
After the repair the device has worked with minor glitches. (The clock will not correctly autoupdate using EDS signals and needs to be regularly checked to insure you get the recordings you want.
The onscreen menu "logic" and remote control layout make editing your recording (removing commercials etc...) almost unbearably complicated. Just managing your recording list is a herculean task. At this point this recorder is as usuable as a VCR, only digital and can write to DVD. And... it's noisy! The fan needs some noise abatement buffers to quieten it. BTW, VCR+ is not any better than simply using the onscreen "quick record" facility in the menu.
On the good side, the box has plenty of audio/video options and connector including 480x480 component outputs both front and rear. It has the ability to record tv shows with a HI-SPEED DUBBING option which substantially reduces the DVD write time. Using DVD"-"R DVD"-"RW media I've had no problems with compatibility with any off the shelf brand. It's compact and attractive. I understand that a HD upgrade is as simple as installing a 160GB (MAXIMUM SIZE) IDE drive in place of the 80GB and running the HD Initialization routine from the onscreen menu... Notice this voids any waranty and is at your own risk.
If you buy this device insure that it has had the necessary firmware upgrade or you'll have nothing but troubles.
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