It's not online right now. It was removed by accident a year or two ago, and is part of the 2010 updates. There are many mentions, however, in the forums.
These are the best DVD recorders for converting VHS to DVD, because the machines can be set to clean up the quality -- or have native hardware (i.e., the LSI Logic DoMiNo/DMN chipsets) that cleans quality.
#1 Choice: JVC LSI Logic series recorders (2004-2006):
- JVC DR-M10 / M10S
- JVC DR-M100 / M100S
- JVC DR-MV1 / MV1S
- JVC DR-MV5
- JVC SR-MV45 / MV45US
- and a bunch more
#2 Choice: Toshiba RDR-XS series DVD recorders (2003-2006)
- Toshiba RDR-XS32
- Toshiba RDR-XS34
- Toshiba RDR-XS35
- Toshiba RDR-XS36
- Toshiba RDR-KX50
- and several more (going off memory)
#3 Choice: LiteOn DVD recorders (2003-2004)
- LiteOn LVW-5001
- LiteOn LVW-5005
- and quite a few more, all LiteOn machines
- Daytek clones
- Gateway clones
- iLo DVDR04 / HD04 clones from Walmart
JVC issues:
The JVC machines, especially the early ones, had the "LOADING" issue as explained in this thread:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/show...-dvd-2008.html
In some cases, disabling the "power save" mode fixed the excessive pull on the unit's capacitors, but it also prevented the timer recording from working. In these situations, the JVC effectively had no timer, making it unfriendly for TV recording.
Some units would also record video too light, a known IRE problem. (However, this is a bit of a moot point, as IRE is all over the place, be it in cameras, VCRs or broadcasts. Even pro DVDs get it wrong!)
All in all, the machines were reliable and offered top quality.
Toshiba issues:
Toshiba had a bad design in my opinion, as it used the built-in "TVGOS" television guide system. It forced the machine to run 24/7, which caused some heat, and the fan ran in the unit almost 24/7/365. I considered that a fire hazard, so it was something I had to unplug when not using it.
It also falsely detected non-existent "copy protection" not only in VHS tapes (or any input signal, to be honest), but also from broadcast TV. It infamously refused to record many channels, especially on Comcast, and especially on HBO and pay-per-view channels. No broadcast flag was present, it was bad detection.
But it clean up video nicely, with a built-in adjustable filter system, as well as user-alterable bitrates.
LiteOn issues:
The LiteOn units was cheaply put together from kits, making them popular. At the time, it was the only unit at the $200 price point. Like the JVC series, it's used LSI Logic DoMiNo chipsets, giving it the same basic filtering abilities (suppress grain, remove chroma noise).
The units had hidden menus, unlocked by simply flashing the firmware. This site archived many of those firmware hacks at
http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/show...aytek-402.html
The flashes disabled copy-protection detection ("remove Macrovision" as some would say, albeit inaccurate), as well as allow for a 3-hour mode. Some would also remove region protection, to allow worldwide playback of DVDs.
The early units had no fans inside, and the player would severely overheat. I have one of the units, but custom modded it with heatsinks on the LSI processor, and fans that could be turned on and off, with accompanying air vent holes.
And it that wasn't enough, sometimes the machine would "jitter" -- alternating between the interlace fields, with some picture bouncing. I get this when using the machine in 3-hour mode for long periods of time (hacked mode +overheating). It's been speculated that the 3-hour was hidden because of its apparent unreliable interlace bounce issue. LiteOn never commented on it.
Oh, and it used standard LiteOn burners that were easy to replace.
LiteOn ran a really nice forum, where LiteOn Taiwan techs interacted with machine owners, often offering up official firmwares, as well as unofficial ones. The site crashed one day -- a typical symptom of using the very, very crappy phpBB2 forum system -- and was never put back. It stayed in crashed form for probably 2-3 years before being deleted from the site. Pathetic. LiteOn lost a bunch of respect among the video community, after that.
IRE was sometimes off by +/-1 or 2, and sometimes luma shifted green on latter-generation units (especially the iLo clones and LiteOn 5106).
As of 2010...
JVC models are easier to come by these days, albeit in various states of condition. Some work like new, others have been victim of LOADING
and were broken by poor repair attempts. And then there's everythng in between those two.
Toshiba recorders were hard to find when new. Most of them have disappeared entirely, carefully maintained by happy owners. When available for sale, they're often expensive and/or very used.
LiteOn machines were considered "cheap" (under $200) at their time, and a "no name brand" by general consumers. For whatever reason, many were trashed for no good reason, instead of being repaired and well maintained. As such, few seem to be available.
I have a LiteOn -- the custom modded 5001 mentioned above --
that I'd sell for $100 as-is*. It worked fine, I recorded something with it last month. I used it as a player for about 6 hours one day in mid December. Prior to that, it sat dormant for about 2-3 years, being a backup deck only. I bought it new, and it has maybe 200 hours of use max (both as player, and recorder) -- essentially "like new" condition. It's an excellent machine, but I just don't really need it, and I'd rather have some funds to buy other needed gear, as well as pass along a great item to somebody who does need it. It does me no good in a closet. My other LiteOn units sold in 2008-2009, for about the same price, and the owners all loved them. I planned to put it in the marketplace around Feb 10 or so, but may as well offer it now.
*I say "as is" only because I don't do refunds, it's tested used equipment, often sold for less than true value.