So Nice, I Bought It Twice!
Written: Feb 21 '02
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Pros: A very good DVD player and VCR all in one space-saving package!
Cons: Ejecting a DVD while watching TV sends the unit to DVD mode (blue screen).
The Bottom Line: Bottom line: well worth the $350 I paid for my first one. I liked it so much, I purchased a second one for $300!
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| astronerdboy's Full Review: Rio DVR5000 DVD Player |
When I was first looking for DVD players, I'd planned to go for JVC. But I didn't have room for both a VCR and a DVD unit. I searched the web and came across the only company doing a combo unit -- GoVideo. It took a couple of months before I broke down and bought one and boy am I glad I did!
First, the unit is a little larger than the large VCRs on sale today Since it combines both the VCR and DVD player into a single unit, you don't need an A/B switch, extra cables, or an extra shelf on the entertainment center. Switching between DVD, VCR, and TV viewing is done at the press of a key on the remote. Additionally, the unit can handle two additional auxiliary lines in. There are plenty of input/output ports in the back. And behind a hidden panel on the front of the machine, there are stereo audio/video ports and a headphones jack.
Play on both the DVD and VCR players are surprisingly good. I won't say they compare with high-end units you can buy, but I would consider them to had the quality of upper mid-end units. The recording quality isn't as good as I would have liked but since I only record to catch stuff I can't watch live, it doesn't bother me. And speaking of recording, don't bother trying to copy your DVDs to VHS. The only way GoVideo could get this sold in the US (over the objections of the movie industry) was to make it so that it won't copy protected DVDs. I do have a couple of DVDs that had no copy protection on them and those copied fine.
There are a couple of things that I considered problems but not to serious. If you turn the unit off and leave the DVD in the player, when you next turn the unit on, it assumes you want to play the DVD, even if you've attempted to switch it to TV or VCR. It will return back the the DVD blue screen as it is trying to load the DVD. Another minor problem comes when you've stopped the DVD and gone to TV mode. If you get up and manually eject the DVD some time later (not immediately), the unit returns to DVD blue screen. But these happen rarely and usually because I've left the DVD in over night.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300/350
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Epinions.com ID:
astronerdboy
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Location: Denver, CO
Reviews written: 1
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