RCA DRC8000N DVD Recorder

Pros: Good quality recording even at slower speed, plays several formats.
Cons: Manual

I bought my RCA DCR8000N DVD Recorder about 5 months ago and I love it. The unit records on DVD+R and DVD+RW. It plays DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, VCD, S-VCD, Audio CD containing MP3 and JPEG. There are few DVD recorders that can ...

Pros: Won’t accidentally erase a previous show if you hit the record button the wrong way.
Cons: Weak manual, no auto set clock, prone to random lock ups, noisy fan

I’m 0 for 2 with this machine, but I like it anyway. First the good points. The machine works very nice when all is well. The menus are easy to follow and the picture is all you could hope for. The remote is easier to understand than most DVD ...

Pros: Sleek design. Great recording and playback. Plays several formats. USB port for card readers.
Cons: Manual lacks detail and warnings that you should be aware of if considering this unit.

After buying the RCA DVD Recorder I discovered some major problems with the manual. Manual lacks detail and warnings that you should be aware of if considering this unit. The manual says you can only erase a title (program) on RW. WRONG, you can also ...

Pros: clear picture when recording from VHS; pretty simple ONCE YOU TRY A FEW
Cons: WORST service possible; no one should buy RCA anymore; not like the 1960's anymore

I mainly bought the RCA DRC8000N DVD Recorder to be able to convert my VHS video tapes to DVD (mostly baseball and hockey games). Since I wanted to hook up a VCR with DirecTV AND hook it up to a stereo/surround sound, I can say the diagrams and ...

Pros: The price, the simplicity of use,
Cons: takes a long time between functions (push button then wait & wait)

I've always wanted a DVD recorder to convert my family VHS videos. But the lowest price we've seen (in Canada) was close to $800. When I saw this recorder going for under $150US on ebay, I did alot of research & decided this recorder was good enough for ...

Pros: Nice menu screen, fancy colors, nice recording options, features would be awesome if they worked
Cons: Incompatible with lots of things, guide system didn't work, manual is garbage,

Although this was a Christmas gift, I've seen enough to know I will never buy an RCA product in my life. Even if someone gives me another one, I'll accept it and give it to charity. The manual is terrible. The troubleshooting guide is useless. ...

Pros: Guide Plus, USB slot for viewing photos, nice menus. SmartRecord feature is super.
Cons: Crappy manual, no coax out.

I read quite a bit of material on this unit before deciding to purchase one. I have a 27" RCA TV that I have been using for about 6 years, and have become accustomed to the "Guide Plus" that was an included feature. I was happy to see that RCA is ...

Pros: Have a great TV picture with it.
Cons: Works poorly with my Sony satellite dish.

I have a Sony satellite dish hooked to the 8000 and have had problems with lock up even when not recording anything. Since I can't use the Guide Plus system with a dish, I use the normal satellite guide. That's when the 8000 freaks out. I have reset it ...

Pros: Great quality DVDs converted from tape. Intuitive design; good remote; smart record feature
Cons: Poorly written manual.

This is the second DVD recorder I have purchased. The first was a Cyberhome CH-DVR 1500 I purchased from Walmart. It was defective, so I returned it to Walmart hassle free as usual. I bought this RCA DRC 8000N from an online retailer, and I love the ...

Pros: Records and plays with very good resolution.
Cons: Occasional lockups, dreadful manual and technical support.

I've had my DRC8000N for about a year now. I do video shooting and editing for other people and the recorder has done a good job when recording a single video from beginning to end. When I try to put multiple titles onto a disc, however, is where I ...

Pros: Relatively Inexpensive
Cons: VERY unreliable - You can do much better going with a name brand

Well, I posted a review earlier discussing the NUMEROUS problems I have had with this product, saying that a local repair shop had it for two weeks and fixed it. Oh well...still doesn't finalize disks. It locks up in the middle of the finalization and ...

Pros: IR blaster, Guide+ menus, up to 8 hours on one DVD
Cons: Guide + is only 3 days, Guide + required to schedule channels 200+.

One nice feature this recorder has is the IR Blaster. It allows the DVD recorder to change the channel on Digital Cable box. This is good for premium channels that require a cable box to unscramble the signal. Another nice feature is the Guide+ menu ...

Pros: Inexpensive and easy to use. Superb quality copies.
Cons: Poorly laid out remote. Manual could use an overhaul.

I purchased this unit as a "factory refurb" and it has performed flawlessly since day one. I've burned approx 20 movies from the TV without trouble. The copies equal the original and playback without any problems.

Despite a clumsy remote, and a manual that could use some work...once you get the hang of it you'll find it addicting.

I've found that the unit does not like "bargain" DVD blanks, but rather any of the "name brands" listed in the manual work without any "error" message.

It is a simple, one button to record DVD burner. Read the manual. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be burning copies of everything on TV.

Playback of "store bought" DVD's is perfect. Once you figure out the remote you'll enjoy this unit...

Don't be a afraid of "FACTORY REFURBS" bought mine with warantee for 129.00 ...

Pros: Great picture, lots of interfaces and overall features
Cons: Poor documentation, bugs in operating software cause lock ups

Bought this unit at Sam's and was impressed by all it can do. However, have had problems with it locking up now and then randomly, and the Guide Plus part sometimes cannot be accessed. I agree the documentation is very poor, and you just have to experiment to really figure out how to use all it's features and stay away from its quirks and faults. I also use it to record programs for later viewing, and as long as the programs are not back to back it works pretty well. It's a pain to change the recording speed, and some way to toggle that from the remote would have been very handy, like most VCR's allow.

Often the unit will show a timer error on the menu when there is nothing set to be recorded. And some of the times the disks it produces cannot be properly read by a PC. Because of the problems I've had with it I now use only +RW disks even though they're more expensive; but they give far fewer problems, and if it does lock up on you the disk can be erased and reused in most cases.

Pros: Nothing
Cons: Everything

I will never give the RCA people another dime for their DVD recorders. I have made about 1 in 4 DVD recordings that are junk. The lastest thing it does is stop the session on its own, lock up and then not have any viewable recording. The number of times I have tried to contact RCA and failed are too many to count. I only ever spoke with an actual person 1 time out of at least 20 phone calls. If you have the money for this, go and buy almost any other DVD recorder on the market. Not only does it lock up, but lately it actually crashes into the disc and I've taken out scratched discs from the darn thing. I wish I had a couple hundred more to shell out for a new DVD recorder NON RCA, but I am stuck with this POS and the best I can hope for is recording at #5, which is crappy for movies, but okay for TV shows. Or, I can record on #2 level which makes one 2hrs or less movie. I am super mad right now because I just lost 7 episodes of Southpark.