Philips/ Magnavox MDV630R DVD Recorder / Player
Written: Dec 17 '04 (Updated Aug 08 '05)
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Pros: Acceptable price, nice color, dependable.
Cons: Large, bulky. Manual could be more informative. Needed easier way to type information onto discs.
The Bottom Line: This recorder is a worthy investment for those looking to upgrade from VHS to DVD. It is a no frills DVD recorder, however fulfills your basic wants and needs.
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| e-reviewer's Full Review: Philips MDV630R DVD Recorder |
This is my first review ever. If at least one person on the planet finds this review helpful, then I'll be satisfied.
Apparently there are two different names for the same recorder. One is "Philips MDV630R" and "Magnavox MDV630R". Philips is the parent company to Magnavox so guess it isn't all that weird. However the reasoning for this isn't clear. On my box it says Magnavox MDV630R. This review applies to both the "Philips MDV630R" and "Magnavox MDV630R".
I brought my DVD recorder in April 2004 on Ebay. I brought it then for $250.00 plus $25.00 shipping brand new. There were plenty of higher priced DVD recorders and some lower ones. I chose this one because of the two reviews placed on Epinions giving it good reviews. In addition I thought the price of $250.00 sounded pretty good compared to other, scarier prices ($300-$800!! Yikes!).
The day of its arrival came at last. Right out of the box came the DVD recorder ( 17.2 width x 12.8 depth x 3.5 height in inches), the remote control with batteries, video cable(yellow plugs), audio cable(red/white plugs, antenna cable, power cable, owners manual, warranty booklet, quick start guide and a DVD+RW disc.
Setup was pretty easy since I read the owner's manual. I think that's the key when buying new technology like this. Reading the manual beforehand is essential to avoiding alot frustration and making costly mistakes.
After setup was complete it was time to test it out. First I recorded television programs on digital cable. There are four modes to record on. HQ(1 hour),SP+( 2 hours 30 min), EP(3 hours 56 min) and EP+( 6 hours). Needless to say if you want the best possible quality you must use HQ mode. SP+ is also very good. Recording TV programs on HQ or SP+ make the recorded version better looking than the original! EP mode is ok but the EP+ mode is absolutely horrible. There is constant scramble on playback and is not recommended. It should be noted that this DVD recorder has a VCR+ programming system.
Next I wanted to try getting my old VHS recordings onto DVD. This was the main reason for me buying a DVD recorder. This is where the manual falters. It only gives a vague outview on how to connect your DVD, VCR and TV together to dub your old VHS tapes. Ultimately I had to do some experimentation to get it right. When dubbing into HQ and SP+ mode it made the picture a little better than the VHS picture.
Once your done recording you can input titles and names in the disc. The only problem is you have to input the information using a very monotonous method of pushing the up, down, left and right arrow buttons on the remote. I only wish they could of thought of a faster way of typing. The remote also has no eject button
You can also edit the content on your recorded disc to an extent. You can edit the picture index, erase titles, split titles on DVD+RW discs among a few other things.
This particular recorder ONLY records DVD+R or DVD+RW discs. There isn't much difference between the +R/+RW and -R/-RW discs. They perform the exact same function except you can only record +R/+RW discs on + specific recorders and -R/-RW on - specific recorders. However there are some DVD recorders coming out that can record on both formats. But like I said before this recorder only records on DVD+R and DVD+RW. DVD+R discs are intended for recording on once. These discs can only be played on other DVD players once it has gone through a process called finalization. It only takes a minute. DVD+RW discs on the other hand can be erased and be recorded on over and over again like a VHS tape. They don't need to be finalized but don't play on as many DVD players as +R discs do.
The exterior look of the recorder looks nice. It doesn't look like the most advanced recorder on the market but it isn't ugly. It is however bulky. It will take up space. It has a big LED screen and the information on it can be seen many feet away. It has your standard buttons: Standby, Rec mode, channels, fast forward, rewind, record, pause and stop.
Also it doubles nicely as a DVD and CD player. Picture and sound was very crisp and clear playing movies and music CDs. It'll play DVDs, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CDs, CD-RW, CD-R, MP3s and VCD.
I've had my recorder for 8 months and had no major problems. Still standing strong!
UPDATE 8/8/2005
I've had this recorder for more than a year now and it still works with no major problems. Always been reliable.
This recorder is a worthy investment for those looking to upgrade from VHS to DVD. It is a no frills DVD recorder, however fulfills your basic wants and needs.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 275
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Epinions.com ID:
e-reviewer
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Location: U.S.A.
Reviews written: 3
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