Toshiba DVD/VHS Recorder (DVR620) No Tuner (Discontinued 2009 Model)

The delivery took longer than I would have liked; however, it did arrive within the time window. I purchased this item for one reason ONLY: to convert old VHS tapes to DVD. I have no knowledge of other uses of the machine.I previously paid almost the price of the Toshiba DVR620 to have 15 VHS tapes “professionally” copied, plus I had to wait for over a month for my tapes/dvds to be returned.My TV monitor is connected to the Toshiba by HDMI, so no time spent sorting and connecting RCA cables. Thanks to reviewer “G.B. Packert” I hardly looked at the owner’s manual yet I was set up and copying DVDs within 30 minutes. I have now copied dozens of tapes with no problems.The only downside is that transfer from VHS to DVD is done in “real time”. This is not a big problem since I get to watch my old tapes while I copy them to DVD and there are some I have not seen in years (decades), so it’s not too tiresome to wait and watch during the transfer.Some reviewers commented that the remote was required to eject the tape/dvds – this is not the case. There is a hinged front cover that will open to reveal most all functions that are found on the remote. I leave the front cover down all the time on mine.Because “BG Packert” did not completely idiot proof his/her steps I have clarified/modified and added to those steps in order to make the VHS to DVD process a little clearer (at least for a non-techie like me). My changes are spelled out below (and I liberally quote directly from BGP’s review throughout my comments).1. Because old videotapes may not track well when they have been unused for several years, fast forward to the end of the tape and rewind the tape before copying it. The recorder may refuse to copy a tape if it does not track well.2. Eject the videotape. Apparently Toshiba DVRs (both the 610 and 620) can balk if the videotape is inserted before the DVD.3. Push the DVD button and insert the blank DVD. Allow blank DVD to load.a. By-the-way “Verbatim DVD-R” disc’s work fine for making copy to DVD.4. Press Record Mode (not Record) button (on the remote) and set the speed (typically use: “SP”). The monitor will go blank after selection is made; or, if you press “Enter” on the remote.5. Press the “Setup” button (on the remote) and select “General Settings” then “Recording” (on the monitor).6. From the “Recording” menu (on the monitor): select “Dubbing Mode”;a. Then Select: “VCR > DVD”.7. To get out of the “Recording” menu, press “Set-Up” button again. (Monitor goes to blank blue screen.)8. Press the VCR button and insert the videotape.9. On the remote, press “Play” and then “Pause” (not Stop) at the point slightly before you wish to start copying. Press the “Dubbing” button to begin the process.10. When you want to stop dubbing, press “Stop” on the remote. (Allow “Writing to disk” process to finish. You can then insert another videotape to dub onto the same DVD, until the DVD is full.) If you replace the VHS tape: press “Dubbing” to begin copying again on the same DVD.11. To add titles onto the DVD disk: Using the “Top Menu” button (on the remote) select the part (Chapter) of the new DVD you wish to title then press “Enter”.a. Then (using the monitor) select Edit to create your Title. (Refer to pp 76-77 in the Owners Guide for how to use the remote to create titles.)b. After naming the Title press “Enter” and then select “yes”c. Press “Return” button on remote, 2-3 times until blue screen appears. (Allow “Writing to disk” process to finish.)12. “Finalize” the DVD (after adding titles): Press the “Setup” button (on the remote), then select “DVD Menu” and then “Finalize” on the monitor. (Finalizing may take a few minutes). This step is not required but failure to follow it may result in your new DVD being unable to play on another machine. Also using a DVD-RW disc may allow you change titles after it’s finalized.When finished with the “12 Steps” you are good to go… unless, you want/need additional copies. If so, you will need a program to copy DVD to DVD (unless you want to re-copy your VHS tape again).To do copies: I bought “easy CD & DVD burning” by Roxio. While available from Amazon I did not buy from Amazon, because I needed it immediately. The program is simple and easy to use for a novice, such as myself. Overall I was very pleased with Roxio’s “easy CD & DVD” except for one thing: If you want to copy a single “title/chapter” that you’ve created (and not the entire DVD) Roxio will copy without sound (!). You will get a message that “AC3 codec” is not supported. Roxio’s tech support will tell you to buy “Creator Nxt 3”; but reviews on Amazon (for that product) convinced me not to waste the money.Actually, if you intend to copy the entire new DVD (not just selected titles/chapters) “easy CD & DVD” works perfectly. In my case, when I only wanted one “chapter/title” (with sound) and not the entire DVD I recopied just that portion of the VHS tape (again) to DVD. No problem, just took more time.I also found that it takes approximately 3 hours to play, convert, title and copy each standard SP (2 hours recording) VHS tape. My old VHS tapes were already well labeled with subject and time markers. If your tapes are not already labeled you will need additional time to locate the places at which you want add your title/chapters (step 11 above). Alternatively, you can let the machine set chapter marks at a specified time interval (5, 10 minutes, etc.).SUMMARY: For what I bought this for (converting VHS tape to DVD) the Toshiba DVR620 DVD/VHS Recorder works perfectly.

My only interest in a product like this was to copy a large collection of homemade and store-bought VHS tapes to DVD. I read all of the reviews and researched all of the brands and models available on Amazon that met the following criteria:1) An easy dubbing process - as close to "one button touch" as possible.2) Composite (RCA style) Video and Audio output for monitoring.3) Automatic tracking, with manual tracking control available.4) Good customer review rating.Here are the products I ended up comparing:$98 Magnavox ZV427MG9 DVD Recorder/VCR Combo, HDMI 1080p Up-Conversion, No Tuner (Manufacturer Refurbished)$178 Magnavox ZV457MG9 Dual Deck DVD/VCR Recorder with Tuner$145 Toshiba DVR620 DVD/VHS Recorder, Black$214 Toshiba DVR670/DVR670KU DVD/VHS Recorder with Built in Tuner, Black$250 Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder with Built In TunerI didn't need a built-in tuner, and since that was only difference between the two Magnavox models listed above, I was able to eliminate the more expensive one from my list. Same goes for the two Toshibas models.The Panasonic was nearly twice the price as the other two brands, didn't seem to offer any additional useful features, and had the lowest review rating, so I eliminated it next.After reading all of the reviews for the last two on my list, I ended up going with the Toshiba DVR620 over the Magnavox ZV427MG9 for the following reasons:1) Several people mentioned that the labeling on the Magnavox remote was nearly impossible to read.2) There were 3 complaints about tracking problems on the Magnavox. For the Toshiba there were 2 complaints, but 1 person said they were actually impressed with its auto-tracking across a wide variety of tape brands and ages.3) The Magnavox was refurbished, and I would rather have something newly manufactured.4) Aesthetically I found the Toshiba a little more appealing.So far I have had the Toshiba DVR620 about a week, and have transferred many home movies as well as store-bought tapes. (Note: Many store-bought tapes employ copy-protection in which case the unit will display an error saying that the tape can't be copied, however I've tried over 20 so far and am happy to report that 2/3rds of them are not copy-protected.)I am very pleased with the performance and quality of the unit. It took a little bit of manual reading to get familiar with the VHS-DVD dubbing process and to make sure I had all settings set optimally. But once I went through the steps a couple of times I was able to put the manual away. The process is about as close to "one button touch" as possible. Simply insert a blank disc (I've been using Kodak brand DVD-Rs) and the video tape, pause the tape at the point you want it to start, select the disc recording length (you can choose between 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 hours), hit the dubbing button, and away it goes.The remote is lightweight, well labeled, and easy to use. The placement of a couple of the buttons are a bit non-intuitive, but that's just nit-picking. Do beware that the remote is *vital* to all operations as the only button of any kind on the unit itself is for disc open/close. You cannot play/stop/rew/ff anything, nor can you eject a tape without the remote.It has a some handy features such the ability to auto-create disc titles, auto-insert chapter markers, auto-finalize the disc if it fills to capacity, and auto-stop dubbing if it detects a 3-minute span of no video content.I fully expected to waste a few discs in the beginning as I learned how to use the unit, but I'm happy to report that I've burned over 30 discs now and have not created one coaster! The discs play fine on all of the different players I have - the Toshiba unit itself, my PC, and a standalone Panasonic Blu-Ray/DVD player.My only complaint about the unit is that there is no easy way to tell what recording mode was used for the VHS tape, so for home movies, you don't know if you are dealing with 2, 4, 6, or 8 hours of material. The only way to find out is to fast forward the tape from beginning to end and see what the tape counter says. Unfortunately this isn't completely reliable as sometimes the counter doesn't "catch" and just sits idle even though the tape is moving. (I seem to recall this often being a problem with VCRs of old, and may have more to do with the tape itself and/or its contents that is has to do with the VCR.)I can't speak to any of the other major purposes of the unit such as timer-based recording of an external source such as a cable box, or its HDMI interface and other I/O capabilities, but as a standalone unit for dubbing VHS to DVD-R, I think it's a great product and I would highly recommend it!