Review on Toshiba D-R550 DVD Recorder with 📀 Built-in Tuner – Upconverting to 1080p, Div-X Certified by Curtis Castillo

I bought this product in December 2007 for my relatives to have something to record and be ready for the digital age. Good things first: It's incredibly easy to set up, which is great for seniors. It picks up all digital channels just as well as any other device I've tried. Now for the bad: There is no digital signal out of the antenna/cable out connector. This isn't a problem if your TV has RCA inputs. Unfortunately, my relatives had an extra old TV that they didn't have. Second, the 480p signal is no better than 480i, which isn't a problem if you don't have an HDTV. After all, the only way to get an HD signal is to connect it via the HDMI output. This means your HDTV can only receive 780p, 1080i or 1080p pictures through the HDMI output. My HDTV is older and only has a component input and no HDMI input. Bad for her because I would buy one myself. Since I don't have an HDMI port, I can't tell you what the picture looks like over HD. If you're buying this unit for an older TV that's less than 36 inches, it will serve your needs as long as your TV has RCA inputs or better. However, if you're buying this for your HDTV, I'd wait another year to buy it. I tried Panasonic but gave up because of the same HD signal issue, which was only good through the HDMI output. In addition, judging by the reviews, Panasonic has a lot of problems with the software. There is LG and judging by the reviews it is the worst.