Free babysitter with the purchase of DDV9550
Written: Oct 19 '00 (Updated Oct 19 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It can copy any tape.
Cons: No LP mode!
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| maverick0516's Full Review: Rio Go Video DDV9550 VCR |
Why settle for an ordinary VCR? This is the sales pitch of Sensory Science, the makers of Go-Video dual-deck VCRs! As good as it might sound, the only reason I bought this VCR was because it was on sale for less than $200 at cameraworld.com and also because I can’t resist new electronics =Þ ! That bargain is very hard to ignore especially when the unit sells for around $350 to $400 anywhere else!
Dual-deck VCRs, even with their clear advantages over regular VCRs, are still not that popular with a lot of people mainly because of price, its size maybe and also because of the simple fact that they don't need one. Most people just want to get a simple VCR for simple viewing of movies and simple recording.
It’s not hard to imagine people getting intimidated by just looking at dual-deck VCRs. A lot of people think this unit is hard to operate. They’re probably having a hard time setting up their “simple” VCR, that they don’t want to mess with a dual-deck! But this is absolutely not true. The DDV9550 is very easy to use. You can say the same thing about the other dual-deck VCRs from Go-Video.
So what can you do with a dual-deck VCR anyway?
You’re basically getting two VCRs with this unit. One obvious function of this VCR is to let you record a tape from Deck 1 to a blank tape on Deck 2 (or vice versa). But this unit would be a waste if that’s the only thing it can do. Because this unit is basically two VCRs, you can program each Deck to record from two different sources. One example would be to let Deck 1 record from the TV while Deck 2 records from a camcorder connected to its front jacks. Or let the two Decks record the same TV program at the same time. You can even watch a movie with one Deck while recording something from the TV or any other source using the other Deck! So there’s quite a bit of combinations you can do with this one. And the most important thing that it does? It can copy any tape. =Þ This is one of the main reasons why people buy this VCR!
What I like about this VCR
This VCR is very easy to set up. How easy? Well, just attach the TV cable/antenna (as you would normally do with regular VCRs) and plug in the power cord. The first screen that you will see will ask for what language you prefer. After you choose the language of your choice, it will now run an automatic channel search and will also set up your time! And that’s it! If you just have to do things manually, of course, this VCR will also let you configure your settings manually.
The Go-Video DDV9550 is a 4-head Hi-Fi VCR on both decks. You can expect good quality video from both decks, playing or paused. You get a good picture when you pause or when you put the VCR in slow motion, instead of the “scratchy” picture you get with just 2-head VCRs. This is an important feature especially when you’re doing a lot of recording or editing.
This dual-deck VCR produces picture-perfect copies of original tapes because of the Americhrome Circuitry, which let you copy any tape including Macrovision-encoded tapes. You won’t be able to see the difference between a copied tape and an original tape.
Ok! Ok! Enough with the technical wordings! This basically means that you can borrow your friend’s movies – any movie - and record them so you don’t have to buy the original tape! Bottom line, this VCR makes it very easy for pirating. Sorry to say, but this is what sells the VCR – its ability to copy copyrighted material.
I personally use it for making copies of our pre-recorded movies (the ones you buy in stores). I have quite a collection; the ones I make copies of are the ones that my son watches all the time. You just don’t know how many times my son watches the same video in a day! Kids will just drive you nuts when they say – Daddy! Daddy! Rewind! Rewind! I’m like, dang! Are you really my son?! lolz Our Toy Story tape is now ruined because he only watched it about a couple of thousand times! So it’s really good making copies for the kids.
We also shoot a lot of home videos, so this VCR makes it easy for us to make duplicates to give away to our relatives. Ok! Ok! I do not rent at Blockbuster just to make a copy of their new releases ok!! I know some of you guys are itching to ask me that! There I said it! I always abide by the law ok… (ehem!) and… and… uhmmm… will never do such a thing… yeah! (ehem!) lolz What do you guys think?? =)
With EZ Copy, you can copy a tape with just a press of a button! By pressing “Copy Tape”, the VCR will automatically rewind both the original and the blank tape before it begins recording. After it’s done recording, it will rewind both decks again so it’s ready to watch. Oh and just in case the source tape is longer than your blank tape, the VCR will automatically adjust the speed of the blank tape in order to record the entire source tape. You can also do One-Touch Recording (OTR). The length of the recording depends on how many times you press the “record” button. One press equals 30 minutes.
It also has this cool feature where you can put the videos in loop. When you put movies on both decks. The VCR will play the first movie in deck 1, when the movie ends, it will rewind automatically. This is when deck 2 starts playing. This loop will continue until you press the stop button. This is very useful when you’re a parent and you don’t have a baby sitter. Just imagine if you have two 6-hour kiddy tapes in your hands. Man! You can do a ton of things for 12 hours while the kids are having a good time! Just perfect! (I’m just kidding guys!! Don’t y’all put me on your WOD now!! =Þ )
Editing your home videos with this VCR is fairly easy. The manual gives you detailed, easy-to-understand instructions on how to do so. You can also add an audio track to your videos with the DDV9550. Good when you want to do a narration or play music on a wedding video. When you insert an audio track, note that it will replace the tape’s original audio track.
I also like the front jacks. They’re always convenient when hooking up another video source. The remote is very easy to use and is very functional. Oh and it’s also a multi-brand remote. You can control your TV and your Cable/DSS with it. Just in case you loose the remote, there is also menu buttons on the VCR. Now on to what I don’t like about this VCR…
What I don’t like about this VCR
There’s only one thing that bothers me about this VCR, well maybe a couple. The first complaint I have is that this VCR does not have the LP mode. Just a refresher – there are 3 modes in which you can record, Standard Play (SP), Long Play (LP) and Super Long Play (SLP). With SP, you get the best video quality. With LP, you get good video quality. And with SLP, you just don’t care about the quality. =)
When I record football games, I usually do it with the LP mode, so I can get the whole game and still get a good picture. But this VCR won’t let me do that! A lot of VCRs are coming out without the LP mode, I just wonder why. I was quite surprised about how well the SLP mode looked like though. I still got a good quality picture using this mode.
I didn’t really think of the size of this VCR when I ordered it. I had a hard time fitting it with my other components. I ended up putting it on top of the TV furniture and below my center speaker, away with the other components. Here are the dimensions: 21”(w) x 4”(h) x 13”(d)
Other than my little complaints, I’m completely satisfied with this unit. It always produces good copies even on cheap tape! =) I highly recommend it! Make sure to look for deals since most of the dual-decks from Go-Video will cost you $300 and up. Check out cameraworld.com for their latest price on this model.
Marvin
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
maverick0516
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Location: Northern California
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 12 members
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