Toshiba DR4 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 VCD SVCD DVD-RAM DVD-R DVD-RW CD (Audio) CD-R CD-RW
- Playable File Formats: MP3 WMA
- DVD Type: DVD Recorder
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Toshiba DVD Recorder DR430
$119.00
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Your money could be better spent...
Pros
Excellent picture quality, easy to schedule recordings, nice selection of menu templates.
Cons
Poorly written documentation, frequent disk read errors, max 6 hour record time.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
There are other DVRs with similar features, that cost less, are easier to use, and come with better documentation.
I purchased the Toshiba DR4 to replace my Panasonic DMR-E55, because the E-55 cannot record to RW disks. I was tempted to write a scathing Epinions review of the DR-4 within hours of hooking it up and using it, but decided to try to get more familiar with the unit before writing my review. After a month of using the product, and having a previous DVR to compare it to, I am prepared to offer my analysis.
I'll start with the negative:
1. The manuals are poorly written, both grammatically, and in terms of how the information is organized. The manual often mentions features that the unit has, but does not always explain how to use or access them. Keep this in mind if you are someone who relies on manuals to explain how to use a product.
2. I frequently get "Disk Read Error" error messages - even when inserting a brand new disk that is not dirty. I usually just eject the disk, re-insert, and then the unit reads it just fine.
3. The unit is slow when it initially reads a disk. When inserting a recordable DVD, the unit will display "Loading" on the screen anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds. (My Panasonic took 5 to 10 seconds to load a disk.)
4. When using the on-screen menus, the cursor sensitivity is way too high. Pressing the directional pad for more than a split second causes the cursor to move beyond the menu item you intended. This makes it easy to inadvertently select wrong values/options.
5. It does not autoformat new re-recordable media. Unlike the E55, which automatically formats -RAM media, when a brand new -RW/-RAM disk is inserted into the Toshiba, an error message is display stating that "Invalid Media" has been inserted.
6. You can only record a maximum of 6 hours at the lowest bitrate (quality). The Panasonic E55 let me record 8 hours at its lowest bitrate.
7. When scheduling a recording, the quality setting indicates the bitrate instead of the relative amount of diskspace in minutes. For example, if using the quality setting of SP, the value "9.2" is displayed, instead of something more useful, like "2 hours". There is a "Remaining" function that displays how many available minutes are left on the disk at the current recording quality, but this function is not accessible when entering a Timer recording.
Now for the positives:
1. In spite of the poor documentation, it is easy to set up timer recording.
2. When using -R/-RW disks, it is very easy to create customized menus using templates.
3. The picture quality is VERY good when playing back pre-recorded disks, as well as my own DVR recordings. Its playback rivals that of my Toshiba SD5980 (which upconverts its signal to 1080i, via an HDMI connection.)
4. Moderately priced.
I'll start with the negative:
1. The manuals are poorly written, both grammatically, and in terms of how the information is organized. The manual often mentions features that the unit has, but does not always explain how to use or access them. Keep this in mind if you are someone who relies on manuals to explain how to use a product.
2. I frequently get "Disk Read Error" error messages - even when inserting a brand new disk that is not dirty. I usually just eject the disk, re-insert, and then the unit reads it just fine.
3. The unit is slow when it initially reads a disk. When inserting a recordable DVD, the unit will display "Loading" on the screen anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds. (My Panasonic took 5 to 10 seconds to load a disk.)
4. When using the on-screen menus, the cursor sensitivity is way too high. Pressing the directional pad for more than a split second causes the cursor to move beyond the menu item you intended. This makes it easy to inadvertently select wrong values/options.
5. It does not autoformat new re-recordable media. Unlike the E55, which automatically formats -RAM media, when a brand new -RW/-RAM disk is inserted into the Toshiba, an error message is display stating that "Invalid Media" has been inserted.
6. You can only record a maximum of 6 hours at the lowest bitrate (quality). The Panasonic E55 let me record 8 hours at its lowest bitrate.
7. When scheduling a recording, the quality setting indicates the bitrate instead of the relative amount of diskspace in minutes. For example, if using the quality setting of SP, the value "9.2" is displayed, instead of something more useful, like "2 hours". There is a "Remaining" function that displays how many available minutes are left on the disk at the current recording quality, but this function is not accessible when entering a Timer recording.
Now for the positives:
1. In spite of the poor documentation, it is easy to set up timer recording.
2. When using -R/-RW disks, it is very easy to create customized menus using templates.
3. The picture quality is VERY good when playing back pre-recorded disks, as well as my own DVR recordings. Its playback rivals that of my Toshiba SD5980 (which upconverts its signal to 1080i, via an HDMI connection.)
4. Moderately priced.
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