Customer Reviews
not the best,of course, 
2008-08-12
but a basic product that performs a few basic functions laboriously-but still a good buy,at that price...
Dubbing Rarely Works So Don't Waste Your Money 
2008-06-04
I bought this unit with the intention of dubbing some of my VHS and Hi-8 tapes to DVD and have never reliably able to do it with the D-VR600. I think I have wasted a couple dozen DVDs and only successfully dubbed anything several times. I get the cryptic, undocumented message "Can't record. TV system of input video has changed." When I emailed Toshiba for an explanation I received none, but instead was told to unplug the unit for about a minute so the system could reset. Needless to say that did not work.
I read in another review that Toshiba said this problem was due to a noisy signal from the tape. But I have had the problem whether dubbing the tapes or recording them from external VCRs, including commercial S-VHS and Hi-8 VCRs. At the same time, using a Canopus ADVC-300 analog to digital converter I am able to load every tape into a computer without it ever dropping a frame. I think the problem is the D-VR600 has a crappy analog to digital converter. (Why do do reviews nowadays only tell about the features that appliances have and not how well they work?)
In summary, the D-VR600 was a complete waste of money for recording DVDs. (I was very disappointed, because I have an old Toshiba DVD player that works great.) The bottom line is that I will never buy another Toshiba product (although I am sure other consumer electronic companies are just as bad). And unfortunately in the future I will have to fork over the extra money to buy commercial grade equipment even when it comes to performing simple, routine tasks like recording a DVD.
Also, I cannot recommend the Canopus analog to digital converters highly enough. I have tried many analog to digital converters and have always had problems with them dropping frames. But after hundreds of hours of use, my ADVC-300 has yet to drop any frames. And you can adjust the picture too. It's great.
Does what it's supposed to do 
2008-05-05
This product is great for being able to view AND record on video or dvd and serves the purpose for which I bought it - to accompany my new 37" Toshiba Flat screen for movie viewing, and also to record shows that I might not have time to watch in real-time for later viewing. The only thing that is a little frustrating is that the response time from remote to machine is delayed. Also - even if you push the buttons on the unit itself, it doesn't respond quickly. You have to wait for a few seconds for it to do what you tell it, so just make sure you don't press the buttons a whole bunch of times if it's not reacting fast enough - and learn how to be patient with it.....
disappointed 2008-04-28
the software for this machine is poorly designed. The user guide is disorganized and probably written by a person whose primary language is not English; and worst of all the recording feature did not work.
I gave it to a neighbor who has too much free time in order to avoid the inconvenience of taking it to the land fill.
The negative reviews are correct! 2008-04-21
Unfortunately, the negative reviews turned out to be correct. I just bought it and I am returning it! It's awful. I then went out and bought a Sony and it is SO much better! It does whatever you program it to do -- there are no "failures" like the Toshiba had. What a pleasure.
Toshiba D-VR 600 2008-03-27
The Toshiba DVR600 Multi-Drive DVD recorder is designed to provide the greatest flexibility in recording and playback by comboning a VHS VCR and a DVD recorder in one component suited for your home-theater system. ColorStream Pro Component Video outputs allow the highest quality video signal to be sent from the DVD player to a component video equipped progressive scan TV. Digital Cinema Progressive Scan with 3/2 Pulldown delivers the smoothest, most film-like images to any progressive scan television, such as an HD-compatible one and ensures maximum resolution. Use of HDMI connectivity provides for upconversion of standard DVD material for optimal play on 720p and 1080i HDTV screens. 720p/1080i Video Upconversion via HDMI - A HDTV or HD Monitor with an HDCP capable HDMI or DVI input is required for video upconversion. To upconvert to 720p, 1080i, or 1080p resolution, a 720p, 1080i, or 1080p capable HDTV or HD Monitor (as applicable) is required Recording Modes - 1 Hour (XP), 2 Hour (SP), 4 Hour (LP) & 6 Hour (SLP) Timer Recording - 12 Programs/1 Month Dolby Digital Recording (2-Channel) 3D (Virtual Surround Sound) - Q-Sound On-Screen Display Language - English, French & Spanish Scan FF/REW - 2x, 12x, 24x, 100x Slow Motion - 1/2x, 1/4x, 1/8x (FWD) Timer Back Up at Standby Mode - 30 Minutes Editing Features - Playlist, Rename/Replace Title, Thumbnail, Chapter Creation (User and Auto) HDMI Output, Front DV Input, Component Video Out, S-Video In/Out, Front A/V Input, Optical Digital Audio Output, RCA-Video In/Out, Analog Audio In/Out Dimensions - Width 16.93 x Height 3.60 x Depth 13.21 inches Weight - 11.02 pounds
Should have listened to the other reviews 
2008-03-27
I should have paid more attention to the other reviews. This has got to be the most complicated vcr/dvd I have ever owned. It does take FOREVER to do anything, even turn on. Plan on having 15 or 20 minutes to get everything set up if you want to watch a movie or record anything. I finally was able to figure out how to use it and it does do a good job of recording and playback, although vcr playback isn't great. You have to use three remotes in order to playback or record anything and I am afraid to even try to set up a timed recording. I have not attempted that yet. Overall, I really don't like this product and would not recommend it.
A Really Great Product - I am more then pleased! 2008-03-25
I think this product has gotten a bit of a bum rap from other reviewers. For the price I think it is an excellent example of its type.
A few notes to clarify some of the discontents the other reviewers have had.
1. DVD direct recording will ALWAYS be slow by nature of the write speed of the media.
2. With no hard drive there is no buffering or caching of jobs leading to slower times.
My take is as follows:
Good - Great features, intuitive to use, multiple inputs in back (RCA), plays divx (WOW!), shows pictures and plays MP3's. Also uses just about all types of DVD formats. I found DVD-RW gave the most flexibility in editing and adding features.
Bad- I hate typing in titles with the numeric keypad on the remote. Not sure what the alternative is but I really, really hate that.
Otherwise this is a great device. I have moved lots of things form tape to DVD with this device. No coasters. I have had a few lockups with bad media but a simple power off has resolved these issues.
For the price and for what it is I whole heartedly recommend!
A very bad product 2008-03-23
I got this VCR/DVD Recorder to get some of my old VCR tapes onto DVD. I haven't used that feature yet but the product is so bad in other ways I wanted to get this review out now. The unit overheats after about an hour or two of DVD play. This causes the unit to lock up and then you have to unplug it from the outlet. It does a terrible job at playing DVD-R and CD-R recorded discs. It does not handle many types of AVI and MPG recorded files and when it does play them the playback is choppy. There have to be better units out there; I suggest looking around at other brands.
Didn't work for me 2008-03-06
This product sounded like it was just what I wanted-something to record my old VHS home movies onto DVD. However, could never get the dubbing to work for more than a few minutes--kept sending error signals and stopped recording. Toshiba's phone assistance folks tried to be helpful but never found a solution.
I had to return it, and I have to give high praise to Amazon for the ease with which I was able to return the product.
