Magnavox 160GB DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner

Got this so I could do away with the converter box and start recording my favorite network shows. It records great, it just doesn't pull in many channels. Maybe the tuner is weaker, I don't know.

I just wish the editing was a little more user friendly.

This is my 2nd attempt at a DVR with a digital tuner. And like the Philips DVDR3576H,
this Magnavox H2160MW9 did not recognize the basic digital sub-channels from my cable co-ax. My Samsung TV has no issues with cable and recognized literally dozens more channels than the Magnavox did. And if can't receive the stations, what's the point of buying a DVR? I have no idea if it’s a Qam tuner issue, but whatever it is, its already late '09 and these design defects should have been solved by now.

Other annoying aspects are the 'analog' stations and 'digital' stations are on different tuner bans of the DVR; that means you CAN'T channel surf continuously through all stations sequentially. You have to choose one or the other; a terrible design.

Also, while you do a channel up or down, there is a long pause with a 'channel scanning' message on the screen with a delay before going to the next station. It's like a 1950s Russian version of high-tech.

I cannot comment on DVD recording or playback, as I returned the unit because I wanted a modern version of a VCR to time shift shows with no subscription fee, and this device failed to do its basic premise, as did the equally poor Philips. Reading a review of a Polaroid DVR, the author had similar problems with his tuner. Hopefully things will be resolved by some manufacturer as there is a demand for a consumer DVR.

it was either $250 for this Magnavox or $200 and $20 a month for life for TiVo. I don't know why there aren't any other devices like this but this Magnavox and a Philips (same companies) were the only ones I could find.

There were rave reviews on the web for this little guy and it turned out they were absolutely right! Everyday its so awesome to come home and find the shows I wanted to watch (The Ellen Show) waiting for me, on my schedule! You can manually record things or you set it to timer recordings. I have not used the DVD funtions on it as I only bought it to use as a DVR. There are apparently issues with the DVD finalizing but if you search online there is a fix for it listed on a forum

The quality is great and for maximum storage space I have it set to only use the second best quality level.

This little gem is the best purchase I have ever made! I couldn't be happier with it! . You definitely need this if you don't want to pay for TiVo service and have that little box reporting all your viewing habits to advertisers!

This unit replaced an older model by a different manufacturer. This DVR s performance is far supoerior to the replaced unit. Better picture by far. I did have a little trouble with the operation at first but I attribute part of that to the difference with the old unit. In order to use all of the features it is necessary to connect using the HDMI output. Auto record does not function on the analog video out. If the life of this unit is good I would rate it as an excelent buy. The set I replaced only lasted a little over two years.

I love this machine. its amazing. i love that you can record in HD and easily transfer the recording to disc. the edit function which allows you to cut out commercials etc. is fantastic and super easy to use. The ability to edit your recording was the main reason why i purchased and this feature does not disappoint.

i should point out that the first machine i got fried after 3 days of use. It froze and after unplugging it, it would not turn back on. I simply returned to walmart and got another. This one has worked great so far (2 days).

my only minor complaint is the remote doesn't have a "previous channel" button. also, when you record something on the hard drive and then transfer to dvd, there is a function called "auto" which is supposed to automatically determine the best transfer rate and fill up the entire blank dvd disc. however, it took a 2 hour program and transfered it to dvd, and for some reason using the "auto" funtion, it still left me with 37 minutes of unused disc space. i thought that was strange, since its supposed to use up the entire disc, thus giving you a better quality dvd picture.

not the end of the world.... it was a football game i was transfering to disc so i used the edit function, cut the hard drive file in half, and put each half on a disc. after cutting it in half, the quality of my dvd transfer is AMAZING (it looks like High Definition and i LOVE watching Nebraska football in HD. GoBigRed!!!!)

When more people find out about this product, Tivo will be out of business.

I bought this in August and had it shipped to the local store. It came in a few days before they said it would so that was nice. And it was extremely easy to pick it up at the store.

I've worked with electronics for a long time so hooking it up was very easy for me. It also was very easy for me to start using it without reading the manual. Everything worked fine. I love being able to watch a recorded show while another is recording. I wish it had display information for the show you're watching, but that's not a huge problem. Also, it would be nice if all the timer programs I have set up would not get wiped out each time it loses power. Luckily, I know what programs I normally have set to record.

A couple days later after I started recording television shows onto the HDD, I noticed that if I used the fast-forward button, the reverse button or the pause button on the remote, the unit freaked out when I'd try to get it back to Play mode, and went into some weird screen where I had to turn the unit off and back on.

I called their C.S. and after a few minutes, they seemed to know what the problem was. When I called them, it was less than a week after I'd had the unit. They weren't willing to have me replace the unit. They wanted me to take it into to the nearest service center to have it repaired. The problem with that was that the nearest service center was about 28-30 miles from where I live. Their policy, apparently, is that I must be over 30 miles from the nearest service center to have them just replace the unit.

I understand that there are products sold in the world that are defective in some way off the shelf. But please give me a better option than to travel 60 miles round-trip to take it in for repair. Also, I called the service center and they told me I'd have to leave it there until it was repaired, so that would mean taking that 60 mile trip twice. Unfortunately my schedule just doesn't allow me that kind of free time to do that.

I ended up finally returning that unit to the Walmart store and I've reordered a new unit, hoping that the new one will not have the same defect as the one I just returned. I like the unit, and there really aren't that many options for a digital DVR out there, so I do want this product. I just think that for the money I'm spending on it, every feature on the unit and on the remote should work properly.

I purchased this as well as a Panasonic DVD based recorder so I could compared the two side-by-side. Although the Panasonic has some great features, is smartly laid-out and has attractive stlying the Magnavox wins the comparison hands-down by simply having a HDD. Be advised the Magnavox has a steep learning curve, terrible title entry, and no optical out. Also upscaling is only available through the HDMI output but not component. To me these are nitpicks but they could be deal breakers for others. I guess my only concern is the durability of Magnavox/Funai products. That said I would purchase this unit again.

I am extremley happy with my recorder. It has help me record my converter box TV programs with out having to leave the converter box on all day and night.