Pioneer DVR-550H-S Multi-System DVD Recorder with Built-in Hard Drive

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 16.5 x 11.3 x 3 inches ; 9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 pounds
• ASIN: B000QUN5HE
• Item model number: DVR-550H-S
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,601 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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  Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Multiroom Digital Music Systems

• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 25, 2007

Product Description

Product Description
The 550H has an integrated analog tuner and a 160GB hard disk drive, which will give you up to 455 hours of recording time. You can play, record and store almost every kind of media format, including DVD-R (Dual Layer) and DVD+R (Double Layer), DVD+RW and DVD-RAM.If you frequently download film content from the web, it also meets the DivX Home Theater certification standard to provide high quality playback of compressed video. You can also copy and edit footage from your digital camcorder via the DV-In.The 550H enables a scaling option up to 1080p via HDMI. So you're guaranteed the highest viewing resolution, regardless of the source.Time can also be come less of a challenge. If you miss parts of a program or are interrupted during viewing - the system allows Time Shifting. Pause live TV, or use Chase Play - which allows you to playback the program you're recording - while you're recording it.One-touch recording makes it easy to record - but the system also has an Electronic Program Guide, which allows you to browse through the multitude of TV channels on screen - making it even easier for timer setting and recording the specific program you're looking for.And you can control it all via a straightforward remote control, which has an easy-to-understand layout, so you have quick access to the functions you need.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for the US market!, April 22, 2008

By	Regina Walter "DVDwoman" (Indiana) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The previous review on this item, where it is stated that this unit does not work in the U.S. is completely inaccurate. The unit will play and record in both Pal and NTSC (US market). It has innitial settings that allow the user to select either of these formats and also to play on a television for either. The user just needs to set those settings to NTSC for both record and play. The unit does come with PAL as the default setting but there is simple code you input into the remote that changes it to NTSC. At that point, it is fully functional for the US market. All controls work in the US as well as the timer record. The only difference is that in inputting the date and time, you must rememeber that it uses military time, thus 11 PM is 23:00 hours and the date is recorded in terms of day / month / year. All the menus are in english and it is far better than units previous sold in the US. It has a DV input, and also can be used as a music jukebox. It still offers and manual mode that allows the user to adjust the bitrate to fit your project perfect on a disc. It is superior in editing than any other machine, you can cut cut clips from any part of a title. It works with all discs including both dual layer formats and automatically moves to the second layer when dubbing from the HDD to the media. It is the only unit to do this. It has 12 bit video, thus the image is better. It is superior with menu creation on discs. It also includes the former remote control that users loved. It is the best DVD/HDD machine on the market and works perfect in the U.S.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great machine, not all sellers created equal, September 15, 2008

By	Deborah M. Walsh "Deb Walsh - VidHead" (PA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This unit is really outstanding, and has become my favorite DVD recorder of all time (I own several different brands with hard drives). If you're not familiar with different voltages, as I wasn't when I first bought this, the seller can make a difference. The first seller I purchased from simply stated "not for use in the US" when I asked whether I needed an adapter or voltage converter, and wouldn't provide any additional advice or assistance. I returned that unit for fear of damaging it. The second seller I approached not only answered my questions, they provided the adapter, and I was off and recording within moments of receiving the unit. No digital tuner that I've been able to identify, so come June 2009, you'd need to use a set-top box for recording live or DVRed programming. I use this for recording from a satellite DVR and VHS and Beta tapes, so this isn't an issue for me. The quality is excellent, the editing features are a dream, and honestly, I could not be happier with this unit. So much so, I'm considering getting another, or possibly the next step up.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Might a good machine but . . . ., April 14, 2008

By	Kelly Snyder "Kelly" (Santa Clara, California USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Unfortunately, it is not made for use in the USA. Why on earth Amazon's website neglects to point this out is beyond me, but as a result, I had to return it for a refund and ended up losing $$$ on the shipping and handling charges. Which rather sucks, don't you think?