Customer Reviews

Toshiba D-R5 Multi Drive DVD Recorder

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I was looking for something to work instead of a Tivo. With DVD-RAM disks, this gets close. But it doesn't have an on-screen program guide (best buy's website is wrong in this regard). The TimeSlip feature lets you watch the already-recorded part of the currently recording show--you can't watch any other shows that have already been recorded. The feature also limits you to watch at least thirty seconds behind realtime, no closer.

Please note, that if you're trying to schedule recordings, you can't watch anything except what's currently being recorded. So if you schedule two programs on different channels for 6:00 and 6:30, and you want to start watching the first program at 6:20, you'll get about halfway through the first program before the second program starts to record, and it will force you to stop watching the first and start watching the second. This misfeature is going to make me return the unit for something more capable.

The unit is also rather slow and choppy while fast-forwarding or rewinding while recording, making it tedious to use. I've had it for two days, and once it's frozen on me for about thirty seconds while skipping through chapters before continuing. Also, there is no easy way to activate the TimeSlip feature and go to the end of the currently recorded track. As soon as you activate timeslip, it takes you to the beginning of the track and you have to move forward chapter by chapter (automatically created at 5 minute marks) or fast forward. This is quite annoying.

There is a feature that lets you quickly put in which chapter to jump to without having to traverse the intermediate ones. It would be a really nice feature to use during TimeSlip, but for some reason you can't use it while using TimeSlip, and this makes using it to buffer live TV quite slow and tedious.

I always appreciate the people who take time to write reviews. It helps me decide what to buy.

I purchased two of these units. I've always recorded to VHS tapes. This is my first DVD recorder. Both units will record from TV cable. The first unit (let's call it U1) records OK except when I schedule a recording from 17:30 to 17:59, then 18:00 to 18:59 and then one for 20:00 to 21:00 on the same day, the unit will record the first 2 just fine then start recording at 18:00 and keep recording until the disk is full. Very annoying. The other unit (call it U2) works fine.

If you try to interrupt U1 during a recording session it will ignore you completely. You have to pull the power plug to finally get it to stop. U2 will politely ask if you want to interrupt the recording and then stop like a good machine should.

What I found interesting is you can record TV shows to the unit and then select an item called "finalize" and this will create all the data structures for a true dvd. Then this disk will play on any dvd.

Entering recording times and dates is somewhat awkward. I think this could have been designed better.

If you have an older TV which does not have separate audio inputs then you cannot play back the sound from this unit. I happen to have old TV's so I connect the D-R5 to an old VHS recorder and output the audio and video thru it.

I purchased this unit after reading reviews of a close cousin to this recorder, its predecessor, which is apparently very picky about the specific -r, -rw or dvd ram disk you purchase for recording media. I've had no issues in this regard. I followed the purchase recommendations in the manual for blank media, and the recorder has worked well for me. Even when recording to 1-16 X DVD -R's, something I thought might cause a hick-up, I found no problem.

I have this unit hooked up to a Panasonic Plasma TV. I use it as the tuner for my non-high-def cable signal. I have an alternate input for a television antenna. This whole system plugs into a Bose surround sound home theater system. Since the DVD recordings cannot be in high def anyhow, using the Toshiba DVD recorder for a cable box works out well. Were it not for this DVD player, I'd have to reprogram the Panasonic HD tuner for cable stations when I wanted to switch from the high def antenna input to standard cable. (I don't want to pay for high def cable service, otherwise this would be an option as well.)

One issue I have run into, that was mystyifying at the time, is that if I have a disk ready to record in the dvd player, and I turn to the History channel here in Detroit, the copy protect mechanism in the DVD recorder messes up the reception. If I simply open the disk carrier, so that recording is impossible, the signal clears immediately. This is the only channel that I have this problem on. I believe there is some sort of digital protection on this particular cable channel that the Toshiba responds to by distorting the signal so it cannot be recorded.

I use this recorder to record many shows I like. Unfortunately, I cannot record the history channel shows, for reasons discussed above.

Other than this glitch, I really like this recorder. The image it produces for my 1080i plasma when playing DVDs is outstanding-- as good and maybe better than a much more expensive unit from Bose. The HDMI and optical output is nice to have, and the price is outstanding.

OK, I am going to keep this shorter then most.

Pros:

Good functionality, 1080i up conversion looks good, Nice over all look to the product,

Cons:

Not a very intuitive menu system, slow start up, does not play xvid's with ac3 encoding (not that it claims to)

Over all I like the unit and am happy I made the purchase. The price point was great and the options and features are nice.

Sure you could do better but not at this price point. I got it a Jr's for $104 but they're sold out right now. however I saw it a couple other places on the net for about the same. The player is slow to load and will test your patience. however the redeming qualities (HDMI,UPSCALEING,RAM) outway the small issues. There is a wide price range on this player and if i paid much more I wouldn't have given it such a high rating.

Great service from Electronics Expo. - great price and fast delivery. Got this because of selectable image resolution (only with HDMI), matches to Vizio 42 inch LCD, gives great picture especially when used with HDMI (cable much less expensive online than from local stores). Also can use tuner to view TV image live - allows for PIP on TVs with limited inputs/PIP possibilities. Had problem setting up - would not go to Welcome screen and would not respond to remote except for resolution button. Finally found that if unit was unplugged for a couple of minutes and then plugged in again (reboot) that it would work as per manual and without further problems. Is slow to boot when switched on. Operates silently.

I bought this player/recorder 11 months ago, and now I have to get a new one because it no longer works. I got it because it was the cheapest recorder I could find, and I guess you get what you pay for. After a few months it wouldn't record new discs, but unfortunately for me that was after the 90-day warrantee on labor ran out. Now it occasionally refuses to play store-bought DVDs that work fine on other players, so I'm junking it.

As for functionality, the rewind is pretty annoying, because it doesn't come close to stopping where you release the button, even if you are in the slowest scan mode.

The product arrived quickly and in excellent condition. The Toshiba has proven easy to use and in playback produces a good picture. I am very pleased with the product.

This is one of the best drives I have used and use it as a Tv Tuner for my lcd. Great Product takes a little time to get used to, but no flaws really that I can see :)

We ordered this after our VHS/DVD combo unit broke. We love the unit and the remote navigation is relatively easy to learn. If there is one complaint, it's that the unit takes quite awhile to load the DVD after inserting in the tray. Other than that, no problems.