Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder

by Philips

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 14 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0002472QE
• Item model number: MRV640
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,203 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Magnavox MRV640 is a first-rate DVD player and recorder, a state-of-the-art source component that's also fixed to displace your VCR. Now you can archive your home movies and edit favorite scenes to share with loved ones: use recordable DVD+R and re-recordable DVD+RW media for compiling home-video highlights or for storing TV programs, then mail them to loved ones or, with TV programs, watch them at your convenience. The MRV640 stores up to 8 hours of audio and video at varying quality levels, from sub-VHS quality to VHS/S-VHS quality, DVD quality, and full DV quality.

Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the MRV640 stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.

The MRV640 also performs 3:2 pulldown detection. DVD mastering introduces a common distortion when adjusting 24-frames-per-second movies to 30 fps video; reverse 3:2 pulldown digitally corrects this distortion, removing the redundant information to display a film-frame-accurate picture.

Top-of-the-line component-video inputs and outputs help minimize digital and line-scan artifacts on compatible advanced televisions, while composite- and S-video inputs/outputs bring compatibility with nearly any input source and television. One each RF coaxial video input and output simplify hookup with antennas, older VCRs, and cable boxes. The unit's front panel sports a set of inputs for your temporary AV connections.

What's in the Box
DVD recorder, remote control, remote batteries, an RF coaxial A/V cable, a stereo analog audio interconnect, a composite-video interconnect, a user's manual (English/Spanish), a quick-use guide, and an AC power cord.

Product Description

Magnavox DVD Recorder, DVD+R, DVD+RW, 8 hours recording, Progressive Scan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For a first timer,pretty good!, November 22, 2004

By 

leebo "World Affairs Junkie" (dallas, tx) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder (Electronics)

Well, I waited a long while to make the foray into dvd recording and missed years of using a vcr because I was tired of those tapes that were the size of a house. So I finally bought this thing at Best Buy for a pretty good price and I am satisfied.

For all those out there who are going-What the heck is all this DVD+-_!@#$%^&**()":<>? R's? I hate that crap too. But all you need to do is buy DVD + R's from any store and they should work- JUST REMEMBER, THIS ONLY RECORDS ON DVD+R'S AND DVD+RW'S-ITS REALLY SIMPLE AND IT ALWAYS SAYS IT IN BIG EASY TO READ LETTERS ON THE BOX/CASE/WHATEVER...

I read the earlier review and I havent had any problems like that yet. Although once it did freeze once and I had to unplug it once to get it to reset or whatever. If you understand that its kind of like a computer and freezes like one than its no big deal. I have only bought 1 set of DVD+R's by memorex and they have worked flawlessly. And yes you can record anything that a vcr can also. And if you still have your vcr and those Gigantic VCR tapes and you want to transfer to digital for good, you can do that with ease (If you need help dont hesitate to ask).

It is a good looking gadget with pretty user friendly controls (except for that Phil guy! What the h@#$!)I record all my disposable shows (Seinfeld,JJudy,60 minutes) on my one supplied DVD+RW and I record and erase-just like a tape. And it says that you need to finalize your DVD+R's to play them on most dvd players(You cannot finalize DVD+RW's) but I tried to play the unfinalized DVD+RW in my cheap AMD DVD player and it played! I record on the lowest quality which is adequate for me and I get 8 hours of recording on one disc. This thing has 6 recording settings so you can adjust the quality accordingly-M1 for highest quality(1 Hour) and M8 (8 Hours) So far so good, and for the price you cant beat this deal if you are making the jump into digital recording. DONT BE AFRAID!

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STILL GOING STRONG!

This is a 2nd review...

Well, I have had this thing for about 5 months now, and I am pleased. I still cant for the life of me believe all that has been happening to the other reviewers, but perhaps a portion of these DVD recorders were just lemons. I have never had a disc warning problem, I have had to reset it once, and most of the other various problems have never happened either.
If it is discontinued, I guess this review is moot, but I want to defend the reputation of this machine.
Anyways, I have recorded hundreds of shows on Imation DVD+R's, and the one supplied Memorex DVD+RW-which recently stopped playing and recording altogether...but after I recorded dozens of favorites. If you do still find them new, you cant beat the price-I highly recommend it! You have to remember, you cannot expect perfection frow the lowest tier DVD recorders! But at this point it is close and I am still pleased.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't be too quick to give up on it, February 8, 2005

By 

web surfer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder (Electronics)

This recorder is a good deal for the capability it has. There are a few tips I came up with that will help you get the most out of it:

1. Stick to using it for recording and don't use it very often to play dvds. Not only do movies tend to freeze up on this thing but it will save on the life of the machine.

2. DVD+Rs are the standard this was designed to use, the dvd+rw's work well also but cost more usually. I've burned over 40 discs so far and have had no problems, the brands I used were Memorex and Philips. Buy them in spindles and you will pay only half as much as w/cases (buy cheap cases separately).

3. Don't over-work the thing. After a couple hours burning, put it on stanby and let it cool off. This is true of any electronic device. Also a good idea is to cover it from dust while not in use.

4. It has the potential to lock up for no apparent reason. When this happens unplug it and go through the set up again. This is a hassle but at least you can fix it.

5. Always refer to the manual, especially if a problem comes up. The trouble shooting section in the back will likely solve the issue. This is good to remember before returning it or getting upset.

This recorder has worked great for me, it performs basic operations well. One thing to keep in mind before buying is this doesn't seem to have a lot of the convenient features that other more expensive ones might. It's a bit slow and you've got to read up on how to do some of the more complicated tasks such as editing.

It's ultimately simple though once you have used it a few times, all you have to do to transfer camcorder/vhs tapes is hook up the cables and press record (not much different than a vcr). For this reason I'm favoring it over dvd burners, which have a lot more going on. However you can't burn a dvd in 10 minutes with this. Shop around and get a good deal, you will get a lot for the money.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing fancy. However a fair DVD+R, +RW Recorder., December 7, 2004

By 

Faerie Moonchild "FaerieMoonchild" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder (Electronics)

Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder

There are pros and cons about the Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder. However for me, I've not experienced any problems with it while playing DVD's, CD's, and recording DVD+R,+RW's. I like that you have a choice of up to 8 hours recording (depending on what discs you use), I've had no problems using the audio and video inputs and outputs. I've been able to hook up the Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder to my Panasonic VCR with ease to make back-up copies of my beloved, wearing VHS's.

The cons of the recorder are it's manual, remote control, and the color of its interface. The manual is black and white with few photos. It has in it what you need to learn how to use the Recorder however it's not excellent. There's a lot to read. The remote control is easy to use once you get a hang of it. There are buttons that do more than one task, which the manual also fails to point out. Last is the Magnavox picture interface that appears on you television screen. The con about this is the colors are blue on blue, which can make it a tad bit difficult viewing the menus, as there's not much contrast. Also the font on the screen is small.

The pros of the Magnavox MRV650 DVD Recorder are that it's a good price for the features it includes, such as progressive scan, up to eight hours recording time, Front-panel inputs. It burns DVD's and finalizes them quickly. It doesn't take long at all to turn it on. It begins recording almost instantly. Also it's not a hassle to set up physically. You can record from television your favorite shows. I've called Magnavox's customer care phone number several times and they were helpful. It's not fancy, if I were wanting fancy I would not choose this. However over all I'd say this is an Ok DVD Recorder. I'm happy with it.