Posted by Stan Brown on 10/08/06 22:00

I'm getting rid of a Pioneer 533 (80 GB) and looking for a new
machine. Web searches make the Pioneer DVR640HS and Toshiba RD-XS52
look pretty promising, but I'm wondering if anybody knows (a) another
good unit I'm missing or (b) something horrible with either of those.

My criteria:

** Must timer record from RF (basic cable) with its own tuner, or
component input (output of cable box). If I can schedule half a dozen
programs in advance, that's plenty.

** TV Guide not in the unit, or able to be 100% disabled. TVGOS was a
*giant* problem in my Pioneer 533. I have no problem scheduling
recordings manually and setting the cable box to turn on to the right
channel at the right time.

** No Tivo -- again, I'm fine with scheduling manual recording.

** Must be able to edit on hard drive (e.g. delete commercials)
before burning to DVD.

** Must be able to put chapter marks into recording on HDD and have
them transfer to DVD when burning.

** Nice to have, if possible: two-level menus on burned DVDs that
show chapters within titles. (The Pioneer 533 has only title-level
menus.)

** Nice to have, not essential: burn DVD-RW and DVD-R DL. Essential:
DVD-R, though I imagine any unit nowadays can do that.

I've had really, really bad experiences with Pioneer customer
service, so if you could say anything about customer service from the
manufacturers that would be nice too. If the Pioneer 640 is reliable
and I never have to deal with Pioneer customer service, that would be
a plus.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com/

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