Customer Reviews

Sylvania DVR90DEA DVD Recorder

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Have fun trying to get the answer from the vendor, Amazon.com, Funai or Sylvania on which DVD-RW discs to use with this unit! (But as a "PSA", I'll give you the answer below!)

I received item in timely fashion, however trying figure out what brand and speed DVD-RW discs to use has been quite an adventure and costly since I had to order and try different brands and speeds to see what worked and what didn't work!

I emailed the vendor, Amazon.com, Funai (parent company) and Sylvania to try to find the necessary information on DVD-RW discs to use with this unit!

Well, I never did get a definitive answer from the NUMEROUS emails exchanged.

The only specific answer from one of the Sylvania techs was to stick with Verbatim "since they work the best" in our units. (Which is not true for my unit. See below...)

So, what is the answer as to which DVD-RW discs to use?

Here are the DVD-RW discs that I purchased that I got to work: Verbatim 2X, JVC 2X, and JVC 4x!

Here are the DVD-RW discs that I purchased that did NOT work: MAXELL 2X, Verbatim 4X, Verbatim 6X and Imation 4X.

The unit arrived with an Imation DVD-R 8X disc and that worked great. (Silly me for thinking an Imation 4X DVD-RW would work. It didn't)

As far as DVD-R discs, I also had success with MAXELL 16X and HP 16X discs.

OK, now that I got the unit to function, how do I rate the unit itself? I give it a strong 4 and perhaps a 5!

Now keep in mind, I primarily bought this unit to function as a VCR -- that is, to record, erase, and re-record again TV shows! (Thus my desire to use the -RW discs...)

Even at the slowest recording SEP speed of 10 hours, the picture and audio are pretty clear. However, if I were recording things to keep, I'd probably would go no lower than the EP speed of 6 hours.

All things seem to work great, but there are 2 things that irk me when comparing it to my other DVR!

1) The unit does not give you the remaining time or total time of each recorded segment. (You are shown the total remaining time of the entire disc, though.)

2) You can't split a recorded segment into 2 or more segments. (Or at least I haven't figured out how to do it!)

Also, you can't ERASE an entire disc per se. You can however FORMAT the disc which will, in effect, also erase the disc.

But, overall, now that I can record on -RW discs, I am very pleased with this unit!

Great unit,especially for the price. Even though it only does DVD-R/-RW(at least thats what the manufacturer says) it does an outstanding job.Several speeds to choose from, although I recommend staying with the 2 hours as quality loses luster after that point. Handles DVD-r like a champ,even though I have been told you cannot stop recording once you have started or it only recognizes the last starting point, I found this to be false. I stopped several times and it replays it all after finalization.

Editing seems to be a nightmare somewhat. I haven't been able to figure out the ins and outs. So far, record what I have,leave it alone. The remote is pretty good,and setup is not too complicated if you know a little about recording.
The one bad thing is having to use nothing higher than 4x discs for DVD-R,although I am awaiting a firmware upgrade from Sylvania to remedy that probelem.
Video quality is excellent. Sound quality is pretty good,but could be a bit louder. Doesn't play JPEGs but does cd-r MP3s great.Progressive scan is better than average and makes the picture quality VERY good! Best feature on this unit!
Not the best unit out there,but for the price,well worth it to us "just starting out" in DVD recording!

My only purpose for getting the Sylvania DVRDEA DVD Recorder was to watch TV on an HD monitor (Westinghouse LVM-37w3) that doesn't have a built-in tuner. So I am using the NTSC tuner in the Sylvania to watch TV, as well as recording programs on DVD occasionally.

While not the best unit I have used, it's certainly great for the price and very user-friendly. The unit tuned and stored all 100+ cable channels in under a minute. Viewing is a breeze, as is recording. I'VE BEEN USING 8X DVD-Rs BRANDED "IMATION" AND HAVE NOT HAD A SINGLE PROBLEM. It writes to disc quickly and the quality is VERY good for such a cheap product.

Of course, watching TV @ 480i on a large HD monitor isn't going to be the best quality, but it's the TV's "fault" for being so darn high-quality, and not the recorder's. Overall, this is a great purchase for anyone who needs either an entry-level DVD recorder with all the basic functions and a lot of inputs/outputs, or anyone who needs a cheap, reliable, and very simple external TV tuner.

PROS:
+ Very easy to use
+ Price
+ Scores of inputs/outputs, and does 480p over component
+ Comprehensive manual
+ Decent remote

CONS
- Not great for DVD playback if you have an HDTV set; good otherwise
- Somewhat limited media compatibility
- Larger than it seemed (about two Letter-sized sheets side-by-side)

Finding recordable media can be a problem... Buy from shop4tech.com & other online stores ( just be SURE you buy 2x DVD-RWs or 4X DVD-Rs otherwise you will not be able to record anything ). As far as the unit, it works great, almost like a regular VCR. It is also an excellent player. I just ordered 100 discs (50 DVD-R, 50 DVD-RWs at $14.00 for 50. I`m really hoping these burn OK, if they do I`ll be 100% happy with it.

I have owned this player for almost a year now and use it to record TV shows off cable. For the price it is great. I can program a week's worth of shows very easily and it allows for daily recording, Mon - Fri, Mon-Sat, or a one time event.

On the downside, it currently only supports 4x DVD-R media so if you find a source that works for you, buy a bunch of it. I have also found that recording past the 2 hour per disk setting really causes the quality to drop off. I have submitted a request to Sylvania asking about a firmware upgrade and await their response.

I'm sure the more expensive units are much better, but for the price, this is a GREAT unit.

Michael

Before I bought it, I read all the reviews. The only drawback that I could see was that you could only record on Maxell or Imation DVDs. If that is the only significant problem for using it with a regular (not HD) TV, it seemed like a no brainer. Use only Imation or Maxell DVDs. I live in a big city; so most brands are available to me. I just recorded on an Imation DVD. The video and sound were top quality. As for the manual, I felt that the section on hooking it up could have been more clear; but the rest of it is very easy to understand. Overall, I highly recommend this product. I am very happy that I bought it.

I originally bought one of these units from an electronics retail store to replace my ailing VCR. I liked it so much that I wanted a second one to use in my TV and video production work. Since it had been a "special purchase" item, the retailer didn't have any more available for sale. A quick internet model # search led me to Amazon and for $1 more than I paid at the store [and free shipping], I was able to buy my second unit. This item is easy to configure, the menus make sense, and best of all it works just like a VCR, using discs instead of yesterday's bulky and more expensive video tapes. The image quality in 1 and 2 hour mode is such an improvement over VHS tape it renders any debate or comparison pointless. I do wish there was a recording mode between 2 and 4 hours that upheld the image quality of the 2 hour mode [since occasionally movies and programs run longer than 2 hours]; but that is really the only significant criticism I have. Granted, the image quality beyond 2 hour mode is increasingly poor [4 hour mode looks comparable to EP mode VHS], but with blank discs available in bulk for about 20 CENTS a piece, that's not a huge complaint [unless you just have to have a miniseries on one disc for some reason]. The remote control is very generic and the button layout is a bit awkward, but that's really a minor point.

IMPORTANT NOTE..... I see some reviewers have posted disc speed issues and brand compatibility complaints; but I can report that I have used currently available discs from Memorex, TDK, and Windata [which is the CHEAPEST brand available at the Micro Center store chain] with NO recording problems whatsoever in either of my two units - regardless of whether it's a "write" or "re-write" disc!

ALSO, although both of my units display "8x" stickers on the rear panel, I bought and had already recorded to 16x discs with no problems before I even noticed. Why doesn't it matter? I don't know, but my units record on 16x discs properly nevertheless!

Do yourself a home entertainment favor.... pick up this bargain DVD recorder and kick your old VCR to the curb [you won't miss it]. I hope this info is useful.

THANKS AMAZON!

Before I purchased this DVD recorder I read many reviews all were positive except a small number complaining about the DVD discs to use.Well I am shocked at the easy set up and use-age of this recorder.I am 80 yrs.young and not a geek with electronics buying this unit a challenge I though to my limited electronic techknowledge.Wrong it was a gem to install to my system and works great so far with 12x memorex DVD-r disc.Easy to follow Manuel in all parts of set up connection and use age.

I have had this machine for 2 days. I have tried 5 different brands of DVD-R discs, and so far I haven't found any which will work in this unit. No matter what I try to use, I get the "Disc Error" message. I spoke to Sylvania's customer support people, who told me it will only work with Maxell CD-R discs and DVD-RW discs. I can't find anyone around me who has Maxell, they all carry Memorex, Fuji, Verbatim, Sony,TDK, but no Maxells. I tested it to see if it will play a DVD, and it will. So basically this thing only functions as a conventional DVD player with no recording capabilities. It is either a very poor quality item, or it is defective, or damaged in shipping. In any case, I am back where I started, and I need to buy a DVD recorder.

This DVD Recorder worked great right out of the box with 16x DVD-Rs and 16x DVD-RWs. Good quality video usually gets 4 hours to a disc. I cycle 3 DVD RWs and can record shows and TV movies for watching later. TV tuner is great.