Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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154 of 160 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
NOT YOUR FATHER'S VCR!!, July 12, 2006
We bought this unit to supplement our TIVO which, because of its single tuner and inflexible program guide, has difficulty recording both cable-scrambled and unscrambled channels. The 640H is directly replacing a VCR that we used to record scrambled channels and, for the moment, will give us a second DVD player.
This is our first experience with a DVD recorder and I suspect that, since we don't do home video or want the jukebox, we do not need many of the included features.
One of the reasons we chose this particular unit is that it DOES NOT depend on either the TV Guide video input or a TIVO-like service but rather, has its own programming options very much like a VCR. Note, though, that for scrambled channels, both the cable box AND the unit timer need to be set.
For us the DVR-640-H-S does the following:
-Records cable-box scrambled channels directly into the unit's channel 3 and then onto the hard drive (HDD) or a DVD. Again, the individual channel must be set on the cable box, either manually or using the cable box timer and the recording time must be set on the unit. If a blank DVD is used as the recording media, several settings must be made to accomodate the specific type of DVD. The HDD is more forgiving.
-Records cable non scrambled channels without going thru the cable box using the unit's built-in tuner and the recording timer. Same settings as for scrambled channel recordings cited above. Note that on the Pioneer web site (but NOT in the manual) there is a footnote stating that the unit's tuner is analog and may need a converter starting in the year 2009.
-Records from the HDD onto a DVD for permanent storage. Depending on the media selected, this can be done at high speed rather than real time.
-Records from a DVD onto the HDD. Important: copy protected commercial movies cannot be recorded or copied so do not plan to create your own library from rented movies. Non copy- protected prerecorded disks can only be copied in real time.
-AN ADDED PLUS: Records from VCR (video tape) to the HDD or a DVD, thus allowing archiving of video tapes and eliminating the need for an extra piece of equipment to perform this function.
The list of recorded programs is accessed thru a "disk navigator". The screen contains a block of info for each recorded program including a playing thumbnail and the time/channel of the recording. Unfortunately, the screen does NOT contain the title or program name so that, even if you put it in manually when you set up the time record parameters, you need to input it manually again. We find this system not as user friendly and much slower than TIVO's, but it is functional and the thumbnails are a plus.
There are also a series of playback adjustment options to improve the picture.
Undocumented feature: The "slowest" of the fast forward speeds includes sound, sped up but still intelligible.
Be aware that, because of the fluid standards, ridiculous jargon and general lack of intuitive nomenclature in the DVD industry (-r; -rw; +r; video mode; vr mode, etc.) plus multiple disk, speed and other adjustment options, the DVR-640H-S manual is some 135 pages long!! It is comprehensive and well written. I suspect this little book will be our companion at least for a while. I also recommend downloading the manual from the Pioneer web site. Read it before you buy the unit and keep it as a easily searched PDF reference.
And, quite frankly, be prepared to experiment and make some mistakes before everything works out.
So far, we give the Pioneer DVR-640H-S five stars, not necessarily for its ease of use but because, if you read the manual, hook it up correctly and make the effort, it can replace a TIVO, VCR and DVD player while performing functions that these units probably can't do alone or in combination.
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88 of 95 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Missing 2 things from being perfect, July 11, 2006
I dont think the previous rating can be taken seriously, because shipping problems should not affect the product rating.
Having owned 3 previous DVD recorders (Philips, Panasonic 100 and Pioneer 320), i was anxious to check out this product. To make a long story pretty short. This recorder is just about perfect, but missing 2 things.... if you need them.
1) believe it or not.... this recorder does NOT have a DV in. Every cheap 90 dollar DVD recorder has it now, for some strange reason, Pioneer does not include it in this year's model.
2) An HDMI out, if you need it. For a 400 Dollar model, you would assume, this is included for the 2006 model year.
Now the good thing. This year, for the first time. Pioneer recorders finally do record on ANY media, even DVD+RW and DVD-RAM and Dual-Layers.
Whats very unique on this recorder and not available anywhere else is the jukebox function, which lets you store several CD's on the harddrive, an alternative to an IPOD.
The Pioneer quality is the best next to Panasonic. So if you miss the DV and the HDMI, i suggest you purchase the Panasonic 55 model (just coming out now in july 2006). The Panasonic runs about 100 bucks more, but would miss the jukebox.
Those two models are clearly the best for the calendar year 2006.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Love It!, November 5, 2006
I purchased this DVR a couple of months ago to replace my Sony DVR that could not be relied upon to time record. My purposes are pretty simple, just recording TV programs directly off the analog portion of my cable so I can't say that my usage has been anything involved. I haven't even recorded to the DVD yet, only to the HDD. But, my experience is that it's very easy to set the time recording, the time and counter display is easy to read, playback is simple, deleting is simple, and I like the fact that it fast forwards much easier than my Sony. It also has a nice large hard drive so I don't have to worry about running out of room. I love it so much that I'm even putting it on my Christmas list in hopes Santa will bring me a second one since I often like to record more than one program at a time. Good-bye VCR!
There is a disclaimer on the Frontier website that this unit does not have a digital tuner so in 2009 when everything goes digital, it may not be able to record without going through a digital cable box. But, I feel that for the money it's still worth it even if I can't use it without a cable box in 2009. I suspect there will be significant changes in these devices in the next few years to accomodate the upcoming changes ordered by the FCC.
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