Just to mention that I've had significant quality problems with this product. The first one I received from Amazon stopped opening/closing the disc tray all together after 1 day. The second one I received worked ok for 2 months, and then all the buttons on the unit itself stopped working (now I can only control the unit from the remote.) Also, when copying VCR to DVD, all my copies have significant distortion on the lower 3-5% of the screen.

I probably should have returned this item, but after spending a half an hour on the phone with the service people, I concluded this item would never perform properly. I decided to keep it as there are work arounds that I find acceptable. But I recommend those who purchase this because of the HDMI output, look elsewhere.

After a month, it lost the color from its video output, both composite and S-vid. Sent it back to Samsung (my shipping $$), but they returned it to me with same problem, unfixed--said it performed properly. So I returned it to Amazon and got another one--works OK so far.

This is made worse in that sometimes the DVR responds slowly, or if it is in the wrong "mode," not at all, to a remote command. So you mash and grind on the flimsy rubber button until you get a response or give up. The second problem is an awkward, poorly designed user interface that shows up in two places: recording from VHS and editing names of Titles.

My Go Video unit finally gave out, and since they are essentially out of business (and the cost of a repair was more than a new one would cost), I decided to give this one a try. It not only cost far less than the other one, but seems to work better. It's a bit tricky trying to figure out how to work it -- the auto copy doesn't seem to work as well as setting it up onscreen -- but overall, I am delighted with it.

The DVD quality is good, but the VCR quality is poor. And the damn thing wont let you copy purchased VCRs- they all appear to be copy protected. This is the kind of garbage that I would have expected from SONY, but Samsung's are supposed to be more flexible.

It only works in low resolution mode, and the service people admitted that this is a common problem. They said I could send it to them for repair, but I wouldn't see the unit for a month. Programming this unit is a highly frustrating experience.

Took me several ruined DVDs to figure out what the manual should have said but did not: when recording VHS to DVD, make sure the unit is in VHS mode and leave it there. Otherwise you will get a short bit of what you wanted, and then it will start recording off the back panel inputs. Problem for me was no indication it was recording when in the VHS mode.

It looks as if the interface was shipped half-finished, or they cut back on device memory at the last minute, or something. The other interface issue is in renaming the Disk or any of the Titles. You do this with an on-screen virtual keyboard that is horrible to use, especially when the remote is so balky and uncomfortable.

Again, the only option was to send the recorder in for "repair" with little hope of solving the actual problem. As I told the second Samsung rep, I will NEVER buy another product from Samsung. Neither should you.

Too bad there is not a "users group" forum for it, that would help get people going. I think a lot of the negative stuff in the reviews is from difficulty understanding how to run the thing, not bad units.

It got returned even though it arrived the day before the other one that I did keep arrived. Not bad. The unit (which is being rated) is fine ...

Tried it again, same thing only now it's locked up. Had to unplug the power cord to reset. Called Samsung and was told to try a DVD -R.

Switch over to DVD, and the REC lights up, figured that was the correct thing to do, but you just screwed up your recording. You don't know it until the time is up either. Leave it on VHS and all is well, but the manual says nothing on which way to set it.

However this name only appears on the Top Menu. If you put the finalized disk in a PC, its volume name is generic, not the disk name you tediously entered. In short, this device works but the remote and on-screen interface make it somewhat painful to use.

Playback in both modes is fine except for a problem with the HDMI output that I still haven't resolved. I can get the HDMI video to work just fine while displaying the setup menu, but every time I try to play a DVD, the screen goes black (the sound works fine). My workaround was to hook up the component outputs instead--the video looks quite good this way, but may have been slightly better using HDMI.

I've heard of "DVD burners," but this was not quite what I had in mind!! I packaged it up and had it back to the store I purchased it from within the hour. Just ordered a Samsung V9700 from Amazon -- there's no DVD recorder with that unit -- repeat, NO DVD RECORDER -- but I'm really only interested in an upconverting DVD player and any 'ol type of VHS player.

I've only gotten one coaster, and while I can't recreate the circumstances that produced it, I have a hunch it was my fault--that I tried to make it do two things at once that I shouldn't have. Other than that one time it's just worked. I have an older, low end DVD player that couldn't read the disks, but all the newer DVD players I've tried do fine.

I figured, I pay that much for something, it should work right out of the box. Sent it back next day.

Right out of the box and clean and they have the nerve to say it's dirty. And that if I didn't like it to just return it! The LAST SAMSUNG product I will ever buy!

Just to mention that I've had significant quality problems with this product. The first one I received from Amazon stopped opening/closing the disc tray all together after 1 day. The second one I received worked ok for 2 months, and then all the buttons on the unit itself stopped working (now I can only control the unit from the remote.) Also, when copying VCR to DVD, all my copies have significant distortion on the lower 3-5% of the screen.

This is made worse in that sometimes the DVR responds slowly, or if it is in the wrong "mode," not at all, to a remote command. So you mash and grind on the flimsy rubber button until you get a response or give up. The second problem is an awkward, poorly designed user interface that shows up in two places: recording from VHS and editing names of Titles.

It looks as if the interface was shipped half-finished, or they cut back on device memory at the last minute, or something. The other interface issue is in renaming the Disk or any of the Titles. You do this with an on-screen virtual keyboard that is horrible to use, especially when the remote is so balky and uncomfortable.

However this name only appears on the Top Menu. If you put the finalized disk in a PC, its volume name is generic, not the disk name you tediously entered. In short, this device works but the remote and on-screen interface make it somewhat painful to use.

The remote control is terrible: tiny buttons that are very unresponsive, and no ergonomic layout at all.

When you finalize the DVD, it creates a Menu (not the Top) menu listing each chapter with a thumbnail. I am only giving 3 stars because of two shortcomings. First is the cheesy remote, which has rubber keys that you have to mash unmercifully to get a result.

The same amount of thought went into writing the manual that went into designing the remote, which is to say, not dang much. But that also isn't why I hate it. I hate it because if you lovingly record an old VHS tape or two, editing carefully, and then neglect to finalize the disc before ejecting it, this machine will now refuse to recognize the disc it just created!

However, the remote control is very difficult to read and use. The buttons are very small and they are all the same color. It is not something you can use in a dim light.

stick a disk in the Samsung. If it's new a dialog box will pop up asking if you want to initialize the disk. Hit Enter on your remote.

This is made worse in that sometimes the DVR responds slowly, or if it is in the wrong "mode," not at all, to a remote command. So you mash and grind on the flimsy rubber button until you get a response or give up. The second problem is an awkward, poorly designed user interface that shows up in two places: recording from VHS and editing names of Titles.

Took me several ruined DVDs to figure out what the manual should have said but did not: when recording VHS to DVD, make sure the unit is in VHS mode and leave it there. Otherwise you will get a short bit of what you wanted, and then it will start recording off the back panel inputs. Problem for me was no indication it was recording when in the VHS mode.

Switch over to DVD, and the REC lights up, figured that was the correct thing to do, but you just screwed up your recording. You don't know it until the time is up either. Leave it on VHS and all is well, but the manual says nothing on which way to set it.

One receiver controls two TVs, so I can only attach this to the TV that connected directly to the receiver. It also means that many advanced features are not available, like recording one source while watching another and PIP. I am very, very disappointed with this product.

Each time you are recording and press Stop, the DVR creates a video segment it calls a "title." When you finalize the DVD, it creates a DVD "Top Menu" which lists each Title in sequence, with a thumbnail made from its opening frame. You can turn on a "chapter creator" and when you end a long (15+ minute) Title, the DVR creates chapter markers at equal 5-minute intervals through that segment.

We have one from Comcast that came with the digital TV service. So 99% of the time we're recording from that and not from the TV directly.

If you push it again, it times the recording for 30 minutes, then stops. Hit this button again and it records for 60 minutes, and so forth. 3.

This is made worse in that sometimes the DVR responds slowly, or if it is in the wrong "mode," not at all, to a remote command. So you mash and grind on the flimsy rubber button until you get a response or give up. The second problem is an awkward, poorly designed user interface that shows up in two places: recording from vhs and editing names of Titles.

Took me several ruined DVDs to figure out what the manual should have said but did not: when recording vhs to DVD, make sure the unit is in vhs mode and leave it there. Otherwise you will get a short bit of what you wanted, and then it will start recording off the back panel inputs. Problem for me was no indication it was recording when in the vhs mode.

Switch over to DVD, and the REC lights up, figured that was the correct thing to do, but you just screwed up your recording. You don't know it until the time is up either. Leave it on vhs and all is well, but the manual says nothing on which way to set it.

I've heard of "DVD burners," but this was not quite what I had in mind!! I packaged it up and had it back to the store I purchased it from within the hour. Just ordered a Samsung V9700 from Amazon -- there's no DVD recorder with that unit -- repeat, NO DVD RECORDER -- but I'm really only interested in an upconverting DVD player and any 'ol type of vhs player.

The same amount of thought went into writing the manual that went into designing the remote, which is to say, not dang much. But that also isn't why I hate it. I hate it because if you lovingly record an old vhs tape or two, editing carefully, and then neglect to finalize the disc before ejecting it, this machine will now refuse to recognize the disc it just created!

vhs works fine. Calls to a fairly arrogant customer service told me that the unit needs a lens cleaner.

To record from vhs you are given a "copy list" menu that shows the vhs tape in a small window. You use the vhs play/ff/stop/rew controls (the pause doesn't work for some reason) to cue up the start of the segment you want, and press Enter.

I had two drawer fulls of vhs-C tapes that were 15-20 years old and wanted to get them on DVD before they were unplayable.

Already have a Panasonic DVD/vhs (and two at my job in technical support); yes, also good units, but a little unwieldy (especially menuwise), so I decided to give Samsung a try.

Hints would have been great, such as when using the "Copylist" setting up a copy from vhs, stop the tape and do a fast rewind back to the start time. Otherwise the unit will start playing the tape and very slowly start reverse play back to the start. I am sure I will find more mistakes and unmentioned required steps.

The same amount of thought went into writing the manual that went into designing the remote, which is to say, not dang much. But that also isn't why I hate it. I hate it because if you lovingly record an old VHS tape or two, editing carefully, and then neglect to finalize the disc before ejecting it, this machine will now refuse to recognize the disc it just created!

After a couple of these incidents, I decided to pitch this machine in the trash. I wouldn't even wish it upon someone at a yard sale...those people know where you live and they might come back seeking revenge after this machine has driven them insane. Buy something else.

But that alone isn't why I hate the machine. It is frustratingly complicated to use. Very UNintuitive and the manual is not a lot of help.

However this name only appears on the Top menu. If you put the finalized disk in a PC, its volume name is generic, not the disk name you tediously entered. In short, this device works but the remote and on-screen interface make it somewhat painful to use.

Playback in both modes is fine except for a problem with the HDMI output that I still haven't resolved. I can get the HDMI video to work just fine while displaying the setup menu, but every time I try to play a DVD, the screen goes black (the sound works fine). My workaround was to hook up the component outputs instead--the video looks quite good this way, but may have been slightly better using HDMI.

When you finalize the DVD, it creates a menu (not the Top) menu listing each chapter with a thumbnail. I am only giving 3 stars because of two shortcomings. First is the cheesy remote, which has rubber keys that you have to mash unmercifully to get a result.

Each time you are recording and press Stop, the DVR creates a video segment it calls a "title." When you finalize the DVD, it creates a DVD "Top menu" which lists each Title in sequence, with a thumbnail made from its opening frame. You can turn on a "chapter creator" and when you end a long (15+ minute) Title, the DVR creates chapter markers at equal 5-minute intervals through that segment.

To record from VHS you are given a "copy list" menu that shows the VHS tape in a small window. You use the VHS play/ff/stop/rew controls (the pause doesn't work for some reason) to cue up the start of the segment you want, and press Enter.

When you tell it to copy this segment, the DVR rewinds (slowly) to the start point, plays and records one Title, and exits the menu completely. The stupid thing is that the copy list menu has positions for up to 6 start/stop segments.

My primary complaint with the device is that the menus are so ugly. Usually I just turn the menu feature off (so the video plays immediately on insertion), but if I have multiple items I will usually create the DVD then transfer the files to my Mac laptop, do some converting (from . VOB to .

menu is intuitive, no obvious flaws or major issues there. Quality seems fine.

Advertising clearly says it doesn't have a tuner. If you dont have a cable box or separate tuner dont buy this version! Again: this unit does not have a tuner!

The same amount of thought went into writing the manual that went into designing the remote, which is to say, not dang much. But that also isn't why I hate it. I hate it because if you lovingly record an old VHS tape or two, editing carefully, and then neglect to finalize the disc before ejecting it, this machine will now refuse to recognize the disc it just created!

To record from VHS you are given a "copy list" menu that shows the VHS tape in a small window. You use the VHS play/ff/stop/rew controls (the pause doesn't work for some reason) to cue up the start of the segment you want, and press Enter.

However, for a badly worn (not sure if due to playing or just age) tape, the Sony does much better. Only 1 or 2 of my oldest tapes had this problem - but I was really glad to be able to recover them on the Sony.

Hints would have been great, such as when using the "Copylist" setting up a copy from VHS, stop the tape and do a fast rewind back to the start time. Otherwise the unit will start playing the tape and very slowly start reverse play back to the start. I am sure I will find more mistakes and unmentioned required steps.

After a month, it lost the color from its video output, both composite and S-vid. Sent it back to Samsung (my shipping $$), but they returned it to me with same problem, unfixed--said it performed properly. So I returned it to Amazon and got another one--works OK so far.

My Go video unit finally gave out, and since they are essentially out of business (and the cost of a repair was more than a new one would cost), I decided to give this one a try. It not only cost far less than the other one, but seems to work better. It's a bit tricky trying to figure out how to work it -- the auto copy doesn't seem to work as well as setting it up onscreen -- but overall, I am delighted with it.

Playback in both modes is fine except for a problem with the HDMI output that I still haven't resolved. I can get the HDMI video to work just fine while displaying the setup menu, but every time I try to play a DVD, the screen goes black (the sound works fine). My workaround was to hook up the component outputs instead--the video looks quite good this way, but may have been slightly better using HDMI.

Each time you are recording and press Stop, the DVR creates a video segment it calls a "title." When you finalize the DVD, it creates a DVD "Top Menu" which lists each Title in sequence, with a thumbnail made from its opening frame. You can turn on a "chapter creator" and when you end a long (15+ minute) Title, the DVR creates chapter markers at equal 5-minute intervals through that segment.

My primary complaint with the device is that the menus are so ugly. Usually I just turn the menu feature off (so the video plays immediately on insertion), but if I have multiple items I will usually create the DVD then transfer the files to my Mac laptop, do some converting (from . VOB to .

Took me several ruined DVDs to figure out what the manual should have said but did not: when recording VHS to DVD, make sure the unit is in VHS mode and leave it there. Otherwise you will get a short bit of what you wanted, and then it will start recording off the back panel inputs. Problem for me was no indication it was recording when in the VHS mode.

Switch over to DVD, and the REC lights up, figured that was the correct thing to do, but you just screwed up your recording. You don't know it until the time is up either. Leave it on VHS and all is well, but the manual says nothing on which way to set it.

The same amount of thought went into writing the manual that went into designing the remote, which is to say, not dang much. But that also isn't why I hate it. I hate it because if you lovingly record an old VHS tape or two, editing carefully, and then neglect to finalize the disc before ejecting it, this machine will now refuse to recognize the disc it just created!

But that alone isn't why I hate the machine. It is frustratingly complicated to use. Very UNintuitive and the manual is not a lot of help.

Just to mention that I've had significant quality problems with this product. The first one I received from Amazon stopped opening/closing the disc tray all together after 1 day. The second one I received worked ok for 2 months, and then all the buttons on the unit itself stopped working (now I can only control the unit from the remote.) Also, when copying VCR to DVD, all my copies have significant distortion on the lower 3-5% of the screen.

The remote control is terrible: tiny buttons that are very unresponsive, and no ergonomic layout at all.

What confuses is some buttons become non-functional depending on what mode the box is in or what you are doing. No indication what the problem is, just dead buttons you think should work.

However, the remote control is very difficult to read and use. The buttons are very small and they are all the same color. It is not something you can use in a dim light.