I purchased this unit to replace a 15 year old PROSCAN VCR which was eating my VHS tapes. Before I selected this unit, I read all of the INVALUABLE reviews of VCR/DVD machines on this web site and I'm glad I did. If you have not purchased VCR and/or DVD replacement equipment in a while, there are a number of considerations you need to be aware of.
First, if you want to go from your antenna line-in and/or your cable line-in directly to the back of the VRC/DVD unit to record OTA or cable programs while watching other programs on your TV, then you need a VCR/DVD unit with a tuner. Not all units listed have tuners; this one does. A tunerless unit will require a more complicated hookup and you can only record what you are watching.
Next, there is the issue of analog versus digital equipment. Be sure to pay attention to the statements posted about analog equipment. Also, pay attention to the measurements to be sure the unit you purchase will fit wherever you wish to place it. Some combo units are bigger than stand alone VCRs & DVD players.
Finally, you should be aware of the input/output connections on the back of your TV to be sure they will accommodate the input/output connections on the back of the VRC/DVD unit that you purchase. Some web sites ([...]
Except for the complicated Owner's Manual & the noisy opening & closing of the DVD tray, this unit has met or exceeded all my expectations.
Best regards. Toshiba DVR670/DVR670KU DVD/VHS Recorder with Built in Tuner, Black
The Toshiba DVR 670 is virtually the same as its predecessor the DVR 660. The major difference being that you have to flip down a panel on the front of the unit to access the VCR/DVD buttons whereas on the DVR 660 these are on the outside.
The DVR 670 is one of the few VCR/DVD combos on the market that allow you to record Off The Air Digital broadcasts on VHS tape. While the quality of HDTV programs on VHS tape is inferior to DVD, it's a quicker, easier, and cheaper way to make recordings if you just want a temporary recording of a TV program you don't want to miss, plus you save money in not having to pay monthly fees for a DVR service.
The Toshiba DVR 670 VCR/DVD combo has a Digital tuner so you can record Off The Air OTA channels with it. It is a little bit complicated to use but the manual has a lot of information. If you want to make quick recordings of HDTV and don't care about high image quality you can easily use VHS tapes and reuse them to record over and over. If you want high quality HDTV recordings then you need to use the DVD recorder part of the VCR/DVD combo.
The Digital tuner works very well, it produces high quality images from HDTV, however the audio is not as loud as when I watch HDTV through my Digital converter box.
If you have an analog Tube TV and you want to record one OTA channel and watch another OTA channel at the same time you can do it with the DVR 670.
The following are instructions on how to do this:
ITEMS NEEDED:
2 Rabbit ear antennas
1 Digital converter box
1 tube TV with analog tuner only
1 RF Coaxial cable (included with the DVR 670)
1 set of Composite cables (included with the DVR 670)
1 set of Stereo Audio cables colored white and red (included with the DVR670)
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Connect TV antenna into RF IN on converter box.
2. Connect one end of RF Coaxial cable to TV RF OUT on converter box.
3. Connect other end of RF Coaxial cable to RF IN on TV.
4. Connect 2nd antenna into antenna IN on the back of the DVR 670.(You will NOT need to use the antenna OUT on the back of the DVR 670).
5. Connect one end of the composite cable, the yellow one, to OUT on the back of the DVR 670.
6. Connect the other end of the composite cable to the IN on the TV.
7. Connect the Stereo audio cables to OUT on the back of the DVR 670.
8. Connect the other end of the Stereo Audio cables to the IN on the TV.
You are done. Now you will be able to watch one channel and record another channel at the same time.
To watch a channel with your converter box, turn your TV to channel 3 and turn on the converter box and use the CONVERTER REMOTE to switch channels. To check on what you are recording press the VIDEO or GAME button on your TV REMOTE and this will switch you over to the DVR 670 tuner. To go back to watching multiple channels with your converter box while the DVR is recording one channel, press VIDEO or GAME on your TV REMOTE, now you can use your CONVERTER REMOTE to watch multiple channels.
***UPDATE 3-12-10***
I have to down grade this from 4 to 3 stars because of a couple of minor problems: 1. once in a while it will freeze for a second or two when playing DVDs. It seems to be hypersensitive to dust or light scratches on the DVD, if you clean the DVD well this momentary freezing goes away. 2. when I tune in OTA Digital stations on some it goes out of order when I change channels, for example when using the remote up or down channel button it will go to 2-3 then 2-4 then 2-1 then 2-2 instead of 2-1 then 2-2 then 2-3 then 2-4. It only does this on a couple of channels but it's irritating.
This unit can be noisy too, the exhaust fan turns itself on a lot, even when the unit is turned off it will run.
I would probably still buy this because there is not a lot to choose from on the market, the JVC DVD/VCR combo has a lot of problems(see Amazon reviews) and the Panasonic DVD/VCR combo doesn't record OTA DTV on VHS tape. - Vhs To Dvd - Dvd Recorder With Tuner - Digital Tuner - Dvd Vcr Combo'
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