Toshiba DR560 1080p Upconverting DVD Recorder with Built In Tuner

Not problems with it. Excellent. More than I expected. Easy to use, works as easily as any VCR. This is the DVD recorder we have been waitng to arrive.

No problem playing back with HDMI cable but could not get to record. A call to Tec support got me started with a no wait response adding an input. A second no wait call got me recording. Great courteous well-spoken Tec support.Works great and excellent player
Hank

This is an otherwise satisfactory and workable DVD Recorder/Player, with all the features you'd expect in such a machine, including the HDTV tuner, which is the primary reason why I bought it. Granted, the price was right ($166 on Amazon vs. $229 on the Toshiba website), but you certainly get what you pay for. It has two main flaws, one of which is an annoyance, and the other, in my opinion, is fatal. The annoying flaw is the remote control. The button descriptions are very hard to read, and it's made with the cheapest plastic.

The fatal flaw is its Timer Recording. If you want to pre-record programs, the last step in so doing is to turn the machine off. Quoting from the Owner's Manual, "Timer recording will not work when the power is on". What genius programmed this idiocy? In other words, if you're watching the TV where the Toshiba unit is attached, and you want to set up some pre-recorded programs for tomorrow, you must turn off the Recorder until the programs have recorded. In my situation, I'm using the Toshiba as a digital tuner for a Sony tube TV, and this flaw means that I cannot watch the set until the timed programs have recorded. Unbelievable.

It's no wonder that Toshiba has discontinued their DVD Recorder/Player line.

Note: I have subsequently discovered that I can turn off the Toshiba just prior to the recording time, but leave the TV set on. When the Toshiba starts recording, the channel(s) selected appear on the TV set. However, during the recording time, you cannot change channels. When the recording is completed, the Toshiba turns off. Therefore, in fairness to Toshiba, I am upgrading my rating to two and a half stars instead of just two stars.

Does as advertised. I primarly picked this up for its DTV tuner. I am getting away from cable and their year to 2 year contract agreements. This in combination with the DB2 antenna has changed how I watch local TV.

Sure, I don't get HBO or comedy central, but with the DIVX playback on this DVDRec. all I need do is download my favorite shows and burn them to a dvd-rw/r. Please, don't download movies, it's illegal. But as far as I know, TV shows broadcast on tv are fine. :)

As the DTV tuner was my main reason of purchase, that is what I'll focus on. Reception with an decent antenna (DB2, I can't recommend it enough) quality is great. DTV channels take a few seconds to load, but that has been the case for most OTA DTV set top boxes. I can't compare times, but it is roughly 2-3 seconds for the channel to display. Nothing drastic. One touch recording works perfectly, so long as you pre-load a DVD-r/rw. Recording starts withing a half second of pressing record. And this model has a live pause feature called "time Slip" which lets you pause where you are watching and it will continue to record.

This combined with the "Play" while recording feature, is essentially a DVR. I've done this 2 times in the 30 days of ownership. It works as advertised. There is a one minute gap in what you can watch, as that is the buffer of recording.

Example: Program a show to record (yes, DTV broadcasts in HD can be recorded)for best results so that it will stop automatically. Now, press play and the recording will return to the beginning of the show, yet still continue to record in real time. Another option is the "Time Slip" function. The time slip will let you jump back to where you pressed Time slip and continue where you stopped.

Toshiba delivers again.

Only negative, like some have said, the DVD drive is loud on opening and closing, but I had an old RCA which sounded like a metal door opening under hydraulics... so this isn't too bad. The gears do sound shaky, so use the eject button at all times, even when closing. Pushing the drive in feels as though it will crumble.

DVD playback, is upconverting. 1080i over component and 1080p on HDMI. The front display will show you what resolution you are displaying if you have HDMI, but not with component (RGB). It makes my current DVD collection look amazing. Currently my Toshiba rear projection (5 years old and still looks great) does not have HDMI, but my Next HDTV will be a model with HDMI and it will be a Toshiba again. :)

Sorry for the long review.

I bought this for time-shifting broadcast digital TV and it works fine. I previously purchased an LG DVD/VCR combo but I couldn't get it to work with DVDs at all. This Toshiba powers up much quicker, has simple set up, doesn't fuss at all over the DVDs. I'll just use cables to copy my videotapes. I wish I had purchased this unit first.