RCA SCENIUM Digital Media Recorder with DVD Player (DRS7000N)

After purchasing this unit and programming it to record my favorite shows, I found that it often displays "An error occurred" when it is time for it to begin recording a show.

The errors were intermitent, and there was no apparent cause, so I exchanged the unit for a new one. The new one does the same thing.

I sent an e-mail message to RCA technical support, but they did not respond. If I cannot resolve this problem, I will probably return the unit for a refund.

My issues:

I also get errors when trying to record with unhelpful messages

Having it switch channels on my cable box doesn't always work (doesn't always enter all the numbers)

It won't let me enter most 3-digit channel numbers

Crashed on me twice so far. Unit still had clock working, but won't turn on & status light off. Unplug/Replug to work again.

No support on website for this product yet

Limited naming convention on recorded shows (i.e. can't specify caps where I want them, names have to be very short).

Opening/Closing DVD drawer takes you to menu (i.e. can't put movie in to watch later without disrupting what you're watching).

Can't record show on one channel & still watch another

When it does record, it works great.

Am hoping for some sort of firmware update(s) to fix these issues

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I think maybe people that are unhappy with a product purchase are more likely to take the time to write a review, than are people that are satisfied.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with this RCA Scenium hard drive recorder/DVD player.

The good: Great picture from both the DVD and hard drive, I like the Guide+ (much more accurate than the TV listing in our local Gannet newspaper)and the simplicity of one click recording w/o messing with tape and VCR programming.

The bad: Not much. The hard drive could be bigger, I look forward to the next generation product that includes a DVD recorder in which to dump off hard drive material. And the channels do change a bit too slowly.

Anyway, there was no way I was going to give the TIVO people one or two hundred dollars AND a monthly annuity of $13.00 (just for a program guide). This RCA unit was just what I was looking for.

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My wife and I absolutely love this unit in conjunction with our DirecTV. Frankly, we don't use the Guide+ because we have the DirecTV grid. Yes, we have to manually set the record time on the DMR, but it takes about 45 seconds and can be set for once, everyday, M -F or whatever you want. I think the complainers must be those who could never figure out how to set the clock on their VCR.

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This is so much better than an old VCR that I used to have. Now I can record on the go and program as well. I like the ease of use and also the size of the internal hard drive. I do wish it was a little smaller and that it would completely shut down when turned off, but besides that..nothing bad from my point of view.