Product ReviewsSony DVD /VCR Combo Player/Recorder Model RDR-VX535

Supposed To Be One Touch Dubbing But Not Quite!

I bought this Sony DVD/VHS recorder to transfer a bunch of VHS tapes (personal and family recordings) to DVDs and thought the "one touch" dubbing button would make quick work of the job.....But, it looks like I can do the dubbing the old fashion way just as easy and as quickly. Oh well, live and learn! The unit works okay but without the remote, a lot of things cannot be done, so I had to shell out another 20 bucks! All in all, I am pleased to have a working VCR that does record VHS to DVD and vice-versa.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: nguty11

OK, but nothing remarkable.

So far it works as advertised, but it took a long while to get a clear picture as the product was very very dirty. I had to clean the heads to get a decent picture from the VCR. I haven't tried the dubbing feature yet.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: vintage_toys_n_...

Works good for the price

Does the job. Tough to use as there are different sequences to set before , during and after each use. Keep the manual handy as you'll need it for a while. All the different settings are a little confusing but once set right for the particular application it does a good job. There are 6 or 7 quality settings to burn a dvd and you need to match the quality settings to the length of time/space on disc for that project. Don't forget to leave enough space to finalize the disc (very important or disc won't play). Nice to be able to save old VHS home type movies to a disc that will play in just about any DVD player, mine actually play in my Blu ray player. Not that great for recording off a cable TV box/converter but it will do it, maybe I just haven't figured out the right settings to do that particular job. If your not very electronic gizmo inclined this may not be the item for you. Overall I am satisfied with it for the amount of money I paid for it.Read full review...

Good but drawbacks

It seems to record well. The problem is I tried to record something from HBO and it says write protected will not record. So I had to miss that show & I guess I'll have to miss more. It does allow a good picture to come through. It doesn't give you enough disc info, ie how much time is left to record on each disc. also my last recorder would automatically put the title in with the option for you to change if you wanted to. This one you have to type in each title. But I guess because of picture quality it makes it a good deck. Otherwise I don't like that it blocks you from recording TV shows not all just specific ones. Probable premium and pay per view.Read full review...

SONY DVD / VCR Recorder

This is my 3rd DVD Recorder, second combo unit. My other units 1- Phillips and one Sanyo both were much more dificult to operate than this one. Maybe I just understand the DVD Recorder language better or perhaps it's more user friendly documentation that seems to make this unit feel a lot simpler. The Upscaling feature is also a plus, enhacing the image to what they refer to as almost HD quality. (I wouldn't go that far, but it is somewhat enhanced)
I would highly recommend this product although it is no longer available. But you can get refurb and used units on Ebay (which is where I bought mine)Read full review...

Product Review of Sony DVD Recorder with VHS

My first impression was the brand name Sony. The unit looks so good
and the price was great!

Here are the technical features:

FLIP DOWN PANEL
There is a flip down panel with more buttons underneath it on the front.
I'm just mentioning this because some things you do on the remote can be
done on the actual unit.

AUTO TRACKING
When you're watching a VHS tape, it will automatically adjust the
tracking. You can also still use the tracking on the remote as well.

GREAT VHS TIMER
The unit has a great and robust timer for remembering where you're at
on a VHS tape. The timer begins when you put in a new tape and it's
stunningly accurate. You can expect this, but I'm just mentioning the
precision.

GREAT BOOK
Some people like me follow the instructions rather than read them
but I like the book that it came with. It was big enough and technical
enough to answer all of my questions. I learned that DVDs need to be
finalized or that the unit can automate this feature which I chose to
leave set on manual. I also learned about the built-in copyright
protection of the unit which prevents it from copying protected media.
The book also taught me how to use the one touch recording mode.
Someone could guess this, but I learned it from the book. You press
the - To DVD button and then you press the stop button on the remote
to stop it. Instantly a chapter is created which you can later name
with the remote.

EASE OF CHAPTERS AND NAMING YOUR TRACKS
When you create a DVD it also sorts your recordings into chapters
per recording session. You can name these using the remote on the TV
screen before finalizing the DVD.

MULTIPLE MODES FOR RECORDING TIMES
You can also set the recording speed or quality for the DVD on the
remote and make a DVD hold about 8 hours of footage if it were
recorded in SLP mode. You could also do a super high quality one
hour 4.7GB DVD, but since my home movies were about 3 to 4 hours
total, I set the quality (based on the chart in the book) at 4
hours for the 4.7 gigabyte DVD. The quality came out great and
it held all my movies.Read full review...

Great way to transfer VHS tapes

If you have some VHS concert tapes, etc. like Pink Floyd Delicate Sound of Thunder that you cannot find on DVD, this is the answer. This will allow you to preserve that great concert footage for years to come. I make two of each and I store one set unplayed as "master copies" to copy if I damage the "active" copy I play. Copy quality if acceptable, but doesn't rival newer DVD technology. Scale of 10 - 7.5 to 8.0Read full review...

Easy to use

I purchased this unit mainly because it was a Sony, I've always had good luck with Sony. It's doing what I need it to do, simply dub old VHS-C / VHS tapes to DVD. I'm having a problem dubbing my Digital 8 tapes to DVD via my camcorder but that's because of this unit, I just need to look deeper into the instructions I was able to find online. Great product.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: grandpastoys

Best combo player out there

This combo player is so easy to use, don't let the manual overwhelm you, as it is a lot of detailed info. I just taught myself and with common sense, it is really that easy to use. Just don't forget to finalize your disk after you record on it or you won't be able to play it on any other machine. I made that mistake and had to go back and finalize about 50 disks. But with all things considered,that this machine does, you have it all here, look no further. And who doesn't love Sony ! Honestly all I buy is Sony, best company in electronics out there, in my opinion.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: ningus

I Love It!

It's very easy to set up and use. The quality is very good and the price is unbeatable. The VCR and DVD went out on my home theater unit and this was an easy and inexpensive fix for that. Besides, it's hard to find a home theater system with both DVD and VCR. As an added bonus, I can now copy all my old VCR tapes to DVD at the touch of a button. I am very happy with the purchase.Read full review...