Customer Reviews

Toshiba DR410 1080p Upconverting Tunerless DVD Recorder

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

We have had the recorder about three weeks. I am over 50 and completely new to video recording although considered the techno-twit in the family. The main reason we bought a recorder is because we have about a hundred Hi8 two hour tapes of our family adventures around the world some of which are 20 years old, and I needed to transfer them before they turned to dust! The reason we picked this unit were the price and the reviews on several websites. I had bought computer software and hardware back in 2000 and found it quirky,unreliable, poor quality and agonizingly slow to render. I gave up for a few years and decided to wait for the right standalone recorder. I had considered sending them off to be transferred, but that was rather expensive and might disappoint.


Setup and playback:
Set up with the HDMI cable to my 52" 1080p LCD TV was a breeze. Upconverting to 1080p with regular DVDs is superb! A very noticeable improvement over my regular player. Subtle details and colors we never noticed before seemed to jump out at us. The manual and menus were about what I expected with a new technology to learn. The manual is adequate, better than Sony manuals. The menus were confusing until I experimented a bit and looked up some terms online. I am still learning them.

Recording:
I set up my old Sony Hi8 camcorder to it with the S-video and audio RCA cables. We have a Sony Hi8 standalone VCR that needs repair thus using the camcorder for tape playback. I setup my first DVD+r recording for two hour SP mode and nothing! A coaster! But it showed by the color change on the back that it recorded , just no video on it. After reading the reviews that said they got nothing but coasters I began to hope that it was just a beginners mistake and read the manual again. After playing with the menus I realized that I might have not selected the right input. Got it set and tried again. Voila! It not only recorded but the combination of the superior Hi8 source, and this recorder and the image and sound quality were fantastic! Hi8 records in PCM sound so the audio was perfect!

I immediately tried it in my Sony dvd player because I read several reviews that said it produced DVDs that were only playable in that machine. Sure enough it would not play in it. So I tried it in all three of my computers in my home network, two desktops and a laptop. It only played back in one of them.

I double checked the menus on the recorder and I sure enough had it set to auto finalize when full or with the timer??????

So I hit the manual again and it dawned on me that perhaps it only would auto finalize when the DVD could hold no more, or when a timer was set. It has been my experience with CDr data and music recording that once you remove the media nothing more can be done to it. But just to try I took the recorded DVD and popped it back into the recorder and manually finalized it. It worked!!!!! I learned that I have to finalize every DVD, it would only finalize automatically, under those two specific conditions, full or on timer.

Now the same DVD that I took out and would not play in but one other computer played perfectly in the Sony player and all computers I tried it on. I even took it to work and played it on our five workstations and the network server I administer, and perfect playback on all!

I suspect the folks producing coasters and incompatible DVDs did not RTFD (Read The Freakin' Directions!)

Last week Office Depot had a sale on 100 pack Memorex DVD spindles for 24 bucks. I bought one to experiment with the features I am still not clear on. It appears that even with a DVD-r or +r I can pause and resume without losing the recording thus being able to edit out manually in real time things I don't want to keep. I haven't even gotten into title and chapters, I just set it to auto set chapters every ten minutes, so I can easily find specific items to view quickly. I have a catalogue of every tape and they are numbered, and I just have to revise the content from feet of tape to chapters as I transfer them in the word document I have them listed in as the numbers will remain the same for each DVD.

I give it 5 stars because all technology manuals are terrible and adequate is the best I can expect. As well, the menus will take some experimenting just like the first time using any new technology or software.

This is an excellent recorder with lots of hidden features and capabilities. If you RTFD and play with it.

I used this tunerless DVD recorder to convert my small collection of VHS home movies to DVD+R discs. It took several weeks, and the recorder did the dubbing smoothly and glitch-free. If you are using composite cables from VCR to DVD recorder, try not to use the cables that come in the box. I saw a slight but noticeable improvement in picture quality when I upgraded from the superthin video cable provided with the unit to a General Electric shielded cable I purchased from Target several years ago.

Well though it may record, the D-R410 is not perfect. If a large part of your viewing diet consists of material recorded with video cameras (e.g., TV programs on DVD, music videos, and concerts), playback on this unit will not yield good results in progressive-scan mode at 480p: you'll see distracting video artifacts such as uneven edges on diagonal lines. Moreover, the motor makes a ticking sound that some people might find annoying. Because of these issues, I wouldn't consider this recorder a bang for the buck.

Nevertheless, if you have a collection of videotapes that you'd like to convert to shiny plastic and the tapes aren't copyright-protected, this is an inexpensive, disposable machine that will effectively do the job.

This is an impressive upconverting player and a good recorder with automatic finalizing. But the consumer should be aware that the instruction manual is 100 pages, the remote is poorly laid out and illegible in dim light, and the claim about Regza compatibility may be exaggerated (important to me since I'm using it with a Regza HDTV). The player permits the user to provide the proper settings--480, 720, 1080i,1080p--which, moreover, are illuminated on the face panel. If you have an HDTV capable of 1080p, be sure to set the progressive scan rate in the recorder's menu system. At the same time, be realistic about what to expect. Like numerous other reviewers of "upconverting" DVD players, I notice very little difference in picture quality whether I'm using this Toshiba model with HDMI connection or a 4-year-old "cheap" Sylvania player with component cables (resolution seems equally sharp with both). No doubt the improvement becomes more noticeable as the size of the screen increases (though there's something to be said for counterclaims that the processing of non-HD discs occurs in your HD television set regardless of the converting/up-scaling or non-converting player providing the source signal).

My Sony DVD player remote operates my Sony television set and includes a volume control. The Toshiba remote not only excludes the volume control but something as basic as the off button is a mere stump in a forest of surrounding buttons on this player's user-unfriendly remote. Toshiba TV remotes, on the other hand, are generally of high quality and include DVD player control, but make sure yours is compatible with this player. Finally, the Toshiba, like the Sony, is wired with a copyguard sensor. So far the copyright protection seems to be less sensitive and more forgiving than Sony's (unlike Sony, Toshiba doesn't produce and market its own movies and commercial audio recordings).

This may be the least expensive DVD recorder available, and the workmanship, apart from the shabby labeling of the remote, strikes me as solid (just be aware that the machine is double the thickness and weight of many upconverting player-only machines).

[Update: This Toshiba model gets high marks for playing difficult discs. I have a scuffed copy of "Oklahoma" that repeatedly freezes and gets rejected by a new Sony upscaler as well as a Mac Superdrive. To my surprise, it played without a hitch in this Toshiba.]

The Toshiba D-R410 DVD Video Recorder combines simplicity of operation with high quality performance, all at a very affordable price. Connection between either a satellite receiver or a VCR and TV monitor via RCA audio/video cables was a breeze, and my first recordings looked great. For this manner of hookup, a built-in tuner isn't required, and its absence contributes to the unit's affordability. I've recorded using both DVD+R and +RW discs with equal satisfaction. I recommend it without reservation to anyone seeking a "no frills", "does its job well" DVD Recorder that will be used with either a cable, satellite, or home VCR signal input.

This just plugged right in and worked fine without any fuss. I am certainly satisfied and impressed so far.

I'm just curious, what does the 1 star reviewer think the word "tunerless" means? Other, that is, than what it says? I do not think that reviewer's evaluation should compromise the high level of the other ratings because of that reviewer's ignorance or oblivion.

Remember when these machines came out they were close to a thousand dollars? Along comes this Recorder. At this price I was a little worried about it and the 100 page manual Don't be.Believe me I'm not the one you go to when setting these things up.I get frustrated fast so you can see why i almost panicked when i saw the manual.Take your time if i can do it anyone can.So far it is a steal.The first time you set it up it will take a little time,it took me one hour.I've had no problems it works great,but can anyone tell me why put tuners on any of these recorders in the first place.Update 07-21-08.Be sure you finalize your d-v-d or it will not play on any other machine but yours.Just follow Auto Finalizing pages 27-28-29.It's easy!Update 07-26-08.My unit is hooked up to a 32 inch tube tv.I could not use it on my Sharp gaming tv because it's filled up with four video games plus cable.If you have a HDMI output use it that's a no brainer.If you don't make sure you use the Component video hookup on page 18.You Will still need to use the S-video to get your best picture plus using all the hookups on page 17.Take your time and you'll be happy.

Just got this thru Amazon after making a 3 week research on what kind of recorder I should get. First of all, I got this to mainly transfer VHS home movies and Hi-8 tapes to DVD. I have tried cumbersome and time-consuming methods including the type where you transfer the movies to your computer. Somehow with the transfer to PC method, I always encounter audio sync problems. The Toshiba beats them all for its ease of use, simplicity and affordability.

Pros:

*Affordable, by far the cheapest name brand out there for a stand-alone
recorder.
*Simple, easy to use, no holds barred recorder. No complicated set-up.
*It physically looks good.
*It is multi-format
*It has an array of connections including HDMI, S-video and DV input

Cons:

*The only thing that I have found fault in this recorder is the remote,
it is flimsy and lacking some basic controls such as a volume control


Other than the remote (which is really negligible but I must point out since this is a review), this is one user-friendly stand-alone recorder. I was thinking of getting a DVD/VCR recorder combo which is a bit expensive than a stand alone but I still have 2 usable VCR's at home so I might as well just utilize what I still have and save money in the process. Before finally settling with the D-R410, I had my sights on the Sony VRDMC5 DVDirect DVD Recorder, another stand-alone recorder which is compact, multi-format, has an array of connections including the ability to connect memory cards and a small LCD screen. A little bit expensive than this Toshiba but with all its bells and whistles, its no wonder. The only thing that drew me away from the Sony was not having the ability to monitor audio and video on your TV screen since it doesn't have any video/audio output. You can monitor your recording task (video only, no audio) on the small LCD screen. Reviews for the Sony were very good just like the Toshiba.

The very first time I used the D-R410 was a quick breeze. Doing all the necessary connections going in to the recorder and out the TV took less than 5 minutes. Not a lot of figuring out to do since you are basically doing the same connections like the previous set-up with your TV and DVD player. When you are ready to do your recording task: 1) insert a blank DVD (I use a DVD+R), 2) cue your VCR or Hi-8 camcorder to the exact point where you want to start recording, 3) go to the DVD recorder's set-up menu and 4) set the recording speed (SP in my case since almost all my VHS and Hi-8 tapes are the T-120 type where you get 2 hrs of recording), 5) also on the set-up menu, hit auto-finalize, 6) push the play button on your VCR or Hi-8 camcorder and hit the record button on the remote of the recorder and just wait until the recording is finished. NOTE: NEVER FORGET TO FINALIZE THE DISC. If you fail to do this, you will not be able to play the DVD in your other DVD players. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. If your recording finishes BEFORE the allotted recording time, you can finalize the disc manually. You can also set-up chapters and you can decide on how many minutes you want for each chapter, default is 5 minutes for each chapter.

If you have a MINI-DV camcorder, you can connect it to the IEEE 1394(firewire port) on the front of the recorder and you can manipulate the controls of your camcorder.

You CANNOT copy DVD's or tapes that is encrypted with copyright protection. I haven't tried this yet although some reviewer mentioned that this recorder is not that particular about copyright protection compared to Sony since Toshiba does not make or produce its own movies like Sony.

Other than all the things I mentioned, this is a very good recorder for basic recording of home movies. Tapes gets worn out, eaten by your VCR from constant playing. It can also grow molds in them if not used at all. Transferring to DVD preserves your precious memories for a long time.

I highly recommend this DVD recorder!!!

This product lives up to all that it promised, I wasn't ready to purchase a Blue Ray DVD player, but wanted to take advantage of my HMDI TV, I took the chance on Toshiba and I am NOT disappointed, and the low price including a recorder is unbelievable

This is my 3rd DVD recorder and my first new one. It is also my first DVD recorder without a VHS player built in. I selected the Toshiba DR 410 because of reviews like this.
It is easy to use (my criteria is: how far can I go without reading the manual). I used the manual very little.
This recorder worked right out of the box. A feature I am using on all of my VHS conversions is the 16:9 aspect ratio. This should be useful down the road when I get a wide screen TV.
My main advice on a product like this is: BUY NEW! When you consider all of the work and time you will spend on the converting process, don't rely on even reconditioned equipment and also buy a stand alone DVD recorder. If you are like me, you will have a VHS player or two or three somewhere. What I am saying is this: spend more money on what counts and that is the DVD recorder.
My only criticism of this machine so far is the lack of recording speeds. They jump from 1 hour to 2 hours, and then to 4 hours, then 6, and then 8 hours. Toshiba should have put in a 3 hour recording speed.
I am happy with the quality of video I am getting. Use a VHS recorder that gives you the output product you want.

The Toshiba DR410 recorder arrived broken. After setting it up, all I heard were gears grinding when I pressed the disk door open/close button. A big notice in the box said: STOP! CALL TOSHIBA, NOT YOUR RETAIL DEALER IF THE UNIT DOESN'T WORK!(I'm paraphrasing). So I called Toshiba. They said "Send it back to us at YOUR expense". I said that I received it broken...they basically said.... "tough!...you still pay shipping!"
I then planned on returning it to Amazon, who would have replaced the unit at absolutely no cost to me. But being an old mechanical engineer I decided to see if I could fix it. I could "hear" that the problem was mechanical so why not give it a try?
So I took the cover off, removed the disk playing mechanism (4 screws) and very gingerly unjammed the gears.(one must be very careful here. I don't recommend the procedure to the neophyte). I reassembled everything and it's been running fine ever since. All the electronic bells and whistles work but it does have a rather "cheap" feel to it.
As a DVD player and recorder it does everything expected of it. The 100 page manual explains EVERYTHING in great detail.
For $118.00 from Amazon, it's a satisfactory and fairly priced unit.