Customer Reviews

Sharp DV-SR45U DVD Recorder with MP3 Playback

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a great product. I copied an old VHS tape to a DVD-R and for the most part was happy with the results. The picture actually looked clearer on the DVD than playing from my VCR. I was able to make chapter marks on the DVD-R but had to stop recording to do this and then start recording again. You could make automatic marks in 5, 10, 15, 30 minute intervals as well. You could only make manual chapter marks with a DVD-RW.

I have an old Panasonic DVD player and was able to play the finished DVD in the player. The nice part was instead of this playing like a VHS tape I now have a menu with my own titles to skip through.

The only two negatives so far are that If you delete a titled section, instead of the section moving to the block before it, it is deleted for good. I actually had this issue when using it. The second negative was it took a little while to finalize the DVD when finished. I walked away and just came back later. The process finished on its own and the menu was showing on the screen when I cam back. The DVD worked fined and was able to play in my old machine - not before it was finalized though (which I expected).

Overall, for the price, I highly recommend this execellent machine. The only other gripe is there is no firewire connection for my camcorder. I did not make this a negative for the player since I can just use the RCA and S-video jacks.

This is a very good recorder with strong editing capabilities. Both the DVD-R & RW format disks offer track-editing options suitable for basic or more event-specific recordings from several sources. Recording from VHS often rewards you with a quality that in fact appears better than the original.

It has a quirk regarding the cooling fan which is easy to circumvent. What you can not work around however is its inability to function outside of 4X media. Though you may have an easier time with 2X or 1X, the proper media is DVD-R 4X (MAX) 4.7GB for this machine. You will not find this information easy to come by otherwise. Such 4X disks appear close to extinction, as they have often been replaced in catalogs and on shelves by 1x-8x disks -- DO NOT BUY THESE -- which are not compatible with this machine. There are no firmware upgrades available for this model.

If you have a stack of 4X max. disks on hand or know a source that can provide you with such media, then you will be quite satisfied. Without a firmware upgrade however, this recorder will soon suffer a fate not unlike death.

I just bought two. These machines replaced an old, very poor Phillips DVD recorder and all the VHS machines. Picture is great. I found it easy to use and had no problems with 1x, 2x, and 4x DVD-R's and 1x-2x DVD-RW's and they played fine in other DVD players. I don't know where the other reviewers shop, but I had little trouble finding both DVD-R's and DVD-RW's for this machine online AND at Office Depot, CompUSA, Staples, Best Buy and even Big Lots, and all at reasonable prices (CompUSA having the best selection and prices). It also played a variety of DVD+R's, DVD-R's, DVD-RW's, and regular DVD's. It did play a DVD+R/DL, but only one with just the movie and no menus (store bought DVD's played just fine). Tuner and timer recording work great and menus are easy to navigate. Like most Sharp products, the remote is ergonomic and easy to use.

Sure, DVD's and formatting takes quite a while and reading takes a few seconds, but nothing longer than my expensive Pioneer Elite DV-37. And it is a change from VHS, but this is not a lifetime product. I do think it is a big improvement over past DVD products.

Using a DVD-RW (Not DVD+RW) ver1.1/ 2x speed it works great and is re-recordable and simple. Haven't found a DVD-R that works with it yet (it tells you in the manual which ones will work but I just couldn't find the DVD-R of the correct write speed in stores). Recording works instantly (like a VCR) but takes between 20secs to a minute after recording is stopped to write to disc.

I purchased this recorder and it never even worked coming out of the box. It won't read the media and now Sharp wants me to mail it into them. Should've purchased from a local retailer so I don't have to deal with additional shipping. This is horrible.

This DVD recorder does everything I want a DVD recorder to do, and it is incredibly easy to use. I had to check the manual a few times, but for the most part it is easy to navigate through the menus and features. The finished disc was playable in my older machine, and the picture and sound quality are perfect. It's great for transferring old home movies, and also copying old tapes I recorded from the TV.

I did, however, have a few problems, but they weren't because the machine was of poor quality:

1. I found that the DVD recorder won't connect to a TV that doesn't have audio/video connections in the back. I happened to connect it to an older TV that doesn't have these, but I solved the problem by connecting it directly to my VCR/DVD player using the audio/video connections on that. It's true that the manual doesn't recommend doing this, but it seems to work just fine. I am able to play DVDs through the recorder provided both VCRs are on either "video 1" or "video 2" and I can record onto the DVD recorder as long as both VCRs are tuned to channel 3. It's a little inconvenient, but works just fine.

2. Also, I bought DVD-RW discs with a speed of 4X by accident, when the machine will only record onto -RWs with a speed of 2X. This was in the booklet, but not very prominent. Once I got the right discs, I was in business. I actually called the Sharp helpline and they were very nice and quick in diagnosing the problem.

Other than those small things, I am extremely satisfied with this machine. When you try to copy videos or DVDs that are copy protected, the recorder automatically stops recording. It only records one second of copy protected material onto the disc, so you not only know right away that they're copy protected, but you can delete that title without using up more than a second of disc space on a DVD-R. I was so happy to see such a reasonably-priced machine that works so well.

I don't know if the machine works well or not...I couldn't find a DVD it recognized to record on...It didn't accept an HP or a Maxell, both of which specs matched the requirements in the manual.

I gave up after the Maxell and returned the machine,,,I replaced it with a less expensive Lite-on with the All Write system...I highly recommend a multi-format machine, They're a lot easier to use and less expensive to buy blank discs for.

Absoulute garbage. I should have know better that to go Sharp so it serves me right that this DVD "recorder" only succesfully records half of the time and the other half it steals your money for the blank DVDs you buy.

I've had this thing for a year and a half and it's been nothing but trouble. There is no indication on the packaging that only 4X DVDs are required. After you search and search and finally find 4X DVDs(I had to get mine online) this thing turns half of them into coasters. No matter what brand DVD-R you use, it will only work half the time and you won;t know until after you think you've finished the recording.

And if it's after 90 days, forget it. Sharp charges you to send it to them, for a diagnostics, and estimate and repair.

The worst thing I ever bought in my entire life.

This is my first DVD recorder and so far it seems great. The recording quality is awesome using the XP speed. It got here in two days using the free shipping. This item is such a great deal!

it works fine . but have to choose right type of dvd . just a few type dvd recordable is compatible with this dvd recorder .