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Review on πŸ“Ό 2013 Model Magnavox MDR533H/F7 HDD DVD Recorder for Improved SEO by Daniel Elgee

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Exactly what I wanted - TV & Video

I had a Panasonic VHS DVD combo recorder that I really liked. I've been using it for years and have released many DVDs for my husband's daughter and her family who live in an area with no TV coverage (yes, places like that exist). After 5+ years of excellent service it started making those amazing obnoxious grinding noises when recording and finalizing discs. I was told the circuit board was defective and the unit needed to be replaced. The first device I bought was a Toshiba DVR620 DVD/VHS recorder. When I bought it I knew it didn't have a tuner but I didn't think there would be any problems because I had it plugged into my cable box which has a tuner. When it arrived I tried to connect it exactly as I connected the Panasonic. I couldn't do it because Toshiba doesn't have an RF (there's that pesky no-tuner thing). I connected it to a cable box with RCA cables and then connected the Toshiba to the TV via HDMI. I couldn't get sound with HDMI and when I checked the manual I found a warning that HDMI might not work if my other devices aren't HDCP compliant. still with me My Samsung TV is less than 6 months old and is definitely HDCP compliant leaving only the cable box. Instead of going to Comcast (the place is a nightmare) I just returned the Toshiba and ordered the Magnavox which has the tuner and all the inputs needed to connect it just like I had the old Panasonic. When the Magnavox arrived I connected it to the cable box via RF and connected it to the TV via an HDMI cable. I had to turn the device off and on again to get the sound (which didn't work when I tried it with Toshiba) and the picture. Simply put, I use Magnavox to transmit the signal so I can record from the TV. I found this easy with the Magnavox because it has its own tuner that tunes itself to channel 3 after the channels have been programmed. It works just like the Panasonic with a few nice upgrades. The Magnavox has a 320GB hard drive that allows me to burn programs without using a DVD (think Tivo). If I later want to burn the program to disk, I can edit its content before burning it to disk. Programs that I don't want to burn all the time can be easily removed from the hard drive. It's the best of both worlds. So far I like this device. The only downside I found is that the power button sticks out and I accidentally turned the device off a couple of times. I'll get used to its location and I'm sure it won't be a problem anymore. I would also like to point out that Magnavox does not have a VHS player. I left the old Panasonic and hooked it up to the Magnavox because it has a working VHS player. So if you are looking for a way to convert VHS tapes to DVD, this device might not be for you. Toshiba would probably be a better choice as it's designed to work with both tape and disk and duplicate them on top of each other. And the last remark. Before you buy, think about what you intend to use the device for. Look at the photos of the back of the device to see the inputs and outputs and carefully read the list given in the product description. Read the many reviews from people who already own the device. If you have any questions, please post them on Revain or look for answers on other sites.

Pros
  • Nice
Cons
  • Older model