Posted by Mark Burns on 09/15/06 22:54

MarMac1 wrote:
> Perhaps a gripe, more of a call for advice!
>
> Can anyone here answer a question for me? Over the past year, I have
> purchased 4 DVDRecorder/VCRcombos. Three of them are GoVideo machines. One
> is a Sharp. Each one of these have quit working on the DVD recording side.
> One of the GoVideo machines lasted a year and it just messed up today. Two
> of the GoVideo machines quit within 60 days of purchase. The Sharp machine
> quit working 7 months after I bought it. It is in the shop now. It is still
> under the "parts" warranty, but I will have to pay between $60 and $100
> labor.
>
> I have owned about 25 VCRs over the past 20 years and each of them has
> lasted several years before just wearing out. Just kissed them goodbye,
> thanked them for their service and threw them in the trash. Five of these
> have been GoVideo dual deck machines. I still have two of them, each one
> about 5 years old. Work great! What is up with DVD Recorders?? Why the sorry
> service on these??
>
> I've been transferring about 1200 hours of VHS to DVD and have been using
> them a lot, but not nearly enough that they ought to quitting on me. I've
> probably only done about 400 hours total over the past few months on two
> machines. I might just have to wait a while and keep using my VHS machines
> and tapes.
>
> I do copy some DVD-DVD from time to time, not for resale, but for time
> shifting purposes. One of the nice things about the GoVideo machines is that
> I was able to "trick" the machines Copyguard by using a DVDPlayer/VCR combo
> unit as the source machine. If a disk was playing and it popped on screen
> that it could not record because it was copyrighted material, I could just
> push the "VCR" button on the source machine which would let the recording
> start on the recording machine and then push the "DVD" button and start the
> DVD player. Worked on a number of disks. The Sharp will not let me do this.
> When the movie would start playing, it would stop the recording process.
>
> Does anyone have any recommendations as to a good, RELIABLE brand of
> DVDRecorder/VCR? Do you know of any that use the same type of copyguard
> system that would let me do what the GoVideo would?
>
>
> Thanks.
>
> Marty

I would recommend a 4-year warranty. It sounds that you may be pushing
the machines past their intended usage. This is not a bad thing, just
a personal one. One cannot say for sure if a better DVDR would last
longer or just cost more.

Another item would be to put your recorders on a UPS. I do with mine.
The biggest threat to computer equipment is their power supplies. That
can often take out disk drives and other components before the power
supply itself fails. It is LOW voltage when the power comes back on,
not spikes which many believe, that does in most computer equipment
before their time. I can only guess if this is a problem in your
particular situation. Also with a UPS one doesn't lose any programming
during short blips.

I have an APC 1100 UPS for my JVC RPTV, PVR, RECEIVER, and OPPO and it
stays up just fine during power outages. About $120 from SAM's. The
components can then be powered down properly during longer outages and
the fan continues to cool my bulb on the JVC for that additional couple
of minutes.

Cheers...

Mark

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