Toshiba D-RW2 DVD Player/Recorder

• Single-disc DVD player/recorder with timer and one-touch recording; measures 17.1 x 2.6 x 9.6 inches (WxHxD)
• Records onto DVD-R/RW; plays CD-R/RW, VCD, MP3, WMA, JPEG
• JPEG Viewer enables you to create slideshows with digital photos stored on disc
• Connections: composite (2 in, 1 out), S-Video (2 in, 1 out), component (1 out), RF (1 in)
• DVD offer Dolby Digital/DTS decoding; coaxial digital audio output

As previous reviewers indicated, good basic DVD recorder. I suggest a starter recorder to replace VHS; you could buy a combo VHS/DVD recorder to archive your VHS library, but (1) dubbing is real time (if a tape is 2 hours, it takes 2 hours to dub to DVD), and (2) most commercial VHS tapes are coded to prevent dubbing.

Thus, as a basic DVD recorder:

(1) Easy user interface menu system (not many options available).

(2) East to use menu to insert Titles to recorded material; be sure to allocate a separate time program for each show to have a separate title (don't string several off-the-programs together as 1 recording).

(3) Timer programing lacks options for MON-FRI and SAT-SUN; this means you must individually program each repeating show (for example, recording the Tonight Show w/ J Leno requires 5 individual slots - very tedious and takes up 5 of 8 program slots). My JVC DVD recorder has repeat functions (but user interface is very complicated).

(4) Using it as a 2nd recorder is OK if primary recorder is also DVD -R (I believe Panasonic uses +R, so not a good match).

(5) Box has drawing of input connections - very nice. Does NOT have HDMI or DVI output (for those who insist on digital Video input to their Large Screeens. Primary output is Component. Samsung is pushing HDMI digital output; their "upconverting" is a waste of money you can't improve on source material).

(6) For those with DV Video (digital tape), must dubb using S-Video (probably no degration of source DV tape) no DV input (4 pin "mini" digital input -my JVC has this).

(7) Relatively compact size (much shorter than a VHS); depth is reasonably shallow, but width is still wide bacause stylists want to give a substantial look). Also very quiet while recording (has cooling fan).

Buy Toshiba D-RW2 DVD Player/Recorder Now

I picked this machine up a few weeks ago, and am most impressed with the ease of operation. Keep in mind it's a BASIC dvd recorder, single layer, dvd-r and dvd-rw, which is compatible with most players out there. I purchased this for the sole purpose of transferring old VHS material onto dvd, and this machine does a great job of that. And the low price of this machine makes it easy for anyone to make the move from VHS to dvd. Finally, I'll be able to get rid of those boxes of tapes. A real bargain.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba D-RW2 DVD Player/Recorder Here

This is a very basic DVD Recorder. It doesn't have a ton of bells and wistles which is what makes it perfect for beginners. The lack of DVD-ram is upsetting, considering the DR-W4 is only thirty more for many more features, but sometimes less features are nice, the simplicity makes it easy for my entire family to use. You cannot access menu items when discs are finalizing/formatting/or even when shows are recording, which is unfortunate. Otherwise, it is a great starter by a company that makes reliable products.

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Mine only records on DVD-. I tried DVD+ it doesn't read blanks but does play all recorded dvds. It's got your average cheesy remote, and the drop down menu is all uncommon symbol's (refer to manual.) The L.E.D readout tells you how much record time you have left, my cyberhome didn't do that, It gave%. I only had it 3 week's but so far it's great With the exception of only being able to do 1 function at a time, For instance if it's recording or playing a DVD you can't set the timer. Otherwise once you get use to it it's easy.

The quality is great at 1 or 2 hr mode however I find the quality unaceptable at 4hr or higher.

If you use DVD-rw I have found the quality improves using verbatim 4x media as opposed to memorex 2x.

The unit does get very hot during recording which is not a good sign of a long lasting machine. Also blank media life expectancy has been rated to be lower when discs are exposed to exessive heat.

There is no 3hr mode or any in-between quality modes it's 1,2,4,6,8,10 the 8 and 10 hr modes cannot be finalized to be fully DVD player compatible, however I would not condsider thoes modes anyway since 4hr mode looks rather bad. If you have a 2hr 30 min movie you will have to record using the 4hr mode. I find the unit great at recording 2hrs and under. The price for what you are getting is decent, although I have heard from another tekkie review site that this unit is not actually made by Toshiba?