Sylvania DVR90VE DVD Player Recorder and Hi-Fi VCR Combo

Update 04/24/05: Thanks to J. Binder for posting that Funai now offers a firmware upgrade. I've been extremely happy with this unit and the upgrade makes it even better. It now accepts virtually any brand -R disc up to 8X speed. When you get the disc, Funai says you must call them to do the install. Here is all you need to do: get your remote and press the CM Skip key followed by the 6, 5, and 4 keys in quick succession. The DVD tray will open. Insert the upgrade disc and close the tray. The upgrade will start automatically and completes in about 45 seconds. That's it. I was on hold for over 40 minutes with Funai to find this out. They should just include the instructions with the disc. With the upgrade, this unit matches up with any others out there. If you're looking for a good deal that offers quality results, basic features, versatility, and is easy to set up and use, save your time and buy the Sylvania DVR 90VE. I was recording DVDs 20 minutes after opening the box. The one-touch recording to VHS and DVD as well as dubbing from VHS to DVD could not be simpler. I've recorded to over 100 discs so far with no problems. All finalized discs have worked on other players. DVD recording quality is very good to excellent. I use the Sylvania in tandem with a DVR to transfer recordings I want to keep to DVD. There is no loss of quality in the transfer when using the 2 hour mode. There is a very small drop when using the four hour mode but it still produces a very good picture. The 6 hour mode produces basic VHS quality images and 8 and 10 hour mode are also available. The same applies when dubbing tapes to DVD. The recording quality is as good as the source material when using the 2 hour mode. The tuner provides a clear, crisp picture with very good contrast. I don't use advanced editing features so I can't compare how the Sylvania stacks up in that regard. However, it is very easy to title disc menus and chapters. Unwanted segments can be edited out in all but the dubbing mode using the pause button while recording. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and versatility of this recorder. If you're looking for a no frills all-in-one machine that can be used for basic everyday viewing and recording, with the added bonus of tape to DVD dubbing, I would highly recommend this unit. As another review noted, the Emerson EWR20VR sold at Wal-Mart is the same machine, as is the Sylvania SRDV495 sold at Sears. All are made by Funai corporation. Read more

I've had this dvd/vcr combo for two years. It has been a great dvd player and vhs player and recorder. The problem is the dvd recorder doesn't last long. I have older vcr's and dvd players that still work fine. But this dvd recorder stopped working. I tried early on to give disks it could burm without trouble: TDK, Memorex, Verbatim. Some other brands would not work. Then a couple months ago, every disk I tried would not be recognized by the DVDR90VE. No dvd writing at all, just the dreaded E25 error. Every disk was "bad." I took the machine to a local electronics repair shop. They've fixed things for me before; they're pretty good. They said it couldn't be fixed and called it cheap. Though I've owned this machine a long time, I've made perhaps 20 dvds with it. So it was not a good purchase as a dvd recorder. Look for a better brand. I have an LG I like now. (Not a combo unit, it handles just dvds.) After I burn 25 or 50 disks, I'll let you know how it holds up. Maybe dvd recorders are temperamental devices and after a while, they stop working. Nevertheless, I would be wary of this brand. Read more

Have had mine since Dec 2004. Tried to record my old 8mm tapes that I put into a VCR converter case - it did not work and broke the tape. That happened twice. Was little hard to get the converter out of the machine. I have lost the cable to attach my RCA 8mm movie camera to the DVD/VCR recorder, and have no idea what the cable looked like or which one will work. I bought the camcorder in 1993. Can anyone help me with what type of cable I need for this RCA camcorder or suggest what type of converter case I should use. They are useless in the local stores for helping with old equipment. or suggest what type of converter case I should use. Now I have a Digital 8 camcorder and it works great with the recorder. I have tried 8X in there and it would not accept them, but I understand from reviews that you can call and get the upgrade. I bought my unit from Amazon so I hope I can get that upgrade disc. Amazing these companies are not looking further forward. Bad as computers, always got to have updates!! Last night I tried doing a timer recorder from the TV on Andre Rieus. I finalized an Office Depot DVD-RW disc and played it back on the TV where I had recorded it and it worked great. Then I tried to play it in my Panasonic Home Theater DVD player, and it kept telling me that it could not accept the disc. Overall though I think it is a wonderful machine. At first I had a problem remembering to change the input on the DVD/VCR recorder, but trained myself. Since then it has been a breeze. Fantastic machine. Read more