i was looking at the dr550 with built in tuner. i have a d-r400 and love it, was wondering if the 550 is as good of a product. any issues with them? thanks

Depends. If you plan on using the QAM tuner, you might be let down. Anything else is probably OK.

I've had my Toshiba DR550 for two months and have had no major issues aside from the remote control. The remote works fine but the text under each button is faint and impossible to read without some effort. I purchased this unit for the digital tuner so my wife can record her daily soap opera OTA in 19:9 using the timer. She has used the same DVD+RW Ridata disc and it hasn't failed yet. She uses the LP mode and formats the disc when full. I'm pleasantly surprised by the PQ which to my untrained eye it's significantly better than the old analog Panny VCR.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the PQ which to my untrained eye it's significantly better than the old analog Panny VCR.Jeez, I sure as heck hope so.