Hi, just bought a Samsung DVD Recorder (DVD-R120), went to Best Buy and was going to buy a Panasonic originally but they were sold out.

I am really happy with it, it looks really good, has front DVD, supports RAM/-R/-RW and has something that automatically creates indexes of chapters for you - not bad I have to say, for $199 it was all mine.

If your satisfied that's all that matters. At $199.00 it's a good deal if the picture quality is as good or better then the source, accepts most name brand media which plays back on your or a friends' players.

I've had only one Samsung product. It was a computer CD Burner. When it failed Samsung replaced it without giving me a hard time.

does it have a hard drive, what's the picture quality, is it easy to use?

Not sure about this particular model, but past Samsung recorders have actually been Panasonic OEM.

Originally posted by JeffWld
Not sure about this particular model, but past Samsung recorders have actually been Panasonic OEM.

Are these available up North:)

Originally posted by JeffWld
Not sure about this particular model, but past Samsung recorders have actually been Panasonic OEM.
The Samaung DVD-R4000 was a clone of the Panasonic DMR-E50 with a different face plate. However Samsung has introduced a new product (DVD-R100) with its own design using the LSI Logic chipset since last year. The DVD-R120 is basically the same product with a new front face. You can download the manual right under "Product Information" from the following link:

http://www.onecall.com/PID_27460.htm

Compared to the Panasonic DMR-ES10, the DVD-R120 adds VR recording mode to DVD-RW media, but there is no time slip or simultaneous rec and play function on VR mode discs, and only two sets of input. Not sure which one has better PQ though.

Not sure about this particular model, but past Samsung recorders have actually been Panasonic OEM.


Not only Samsung, but in the firmware code, there is this OEM chart
0: Matsushita Electric
1: Hitachi
2: Samsung
3: DENON

I bought and hooked up a Samsung vr325 dvd recorder/vcr combo to my new Samsung HLR 6168w television and the audio "skips" about every 3 minutes or so. Just a brief moment of silence a milisecond or so long, but very annoying. I have it hooked directly to the TV with HDMI, and have tried several dvds, several different HDMI cables, and even tried hooking it up via component video cables through the av receiver. Tried different "upconversion" levels, 420p, 720i and p, and 1080i, All to no avail! Samsung customer service was pretty mucy useless, told me to reset it, other than that they had no ideas. Just wondering if anyone else had these problems on this or any other video component. Thanks for any info.

I bought and hooked up a Samsung vr325 dvd recorder/vcr combo to my new Samsung HLR 6168w television and the audio "skips" about every 3 minutes or so. Just a brief moment of silence a milisecond or so long, but very annoying. I have it hooked directly to the TV with HDMI, and have tried several dvds, several different HDMI cables, and even tried hooking it up via component video cables through the av receiver. Tried different "upconversion" levels, 420p, 720i and p, and 1080i, All to no avail! Samsung customer service was pretty mucy useless, told me to reset it, other than that they had no ideas. Just wondering if anyone else had these problems on this or any other video component. Thanks for any info.I received my VR325 about a week ago and just got around to hooking it up on Friday when my JVC 52G786 arrived. Played a few DVDs and I have THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM! Audio skips for about half a second every 1-1/2 minutes or so. It is very annoying as if there is dialog in the movie you will miss 1-2 words. Seems like this is a bug in this player. I'm sending mine back and going with a Toshiba, which has always served me well. I, too, phoned Samsung Customer Service and they never heard of this issue. I wonder how good of records they keep. :(

I received my VR325 about a week ago and just got around to hooking it up on Friday when my JVC 52G786 arrived. Played a few DVDs and I have THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM! Audio skips for about half a second every 1-1/2 minutes or so. It is very annoying as if there is dialog in the movie you will miss 1-2 words. Seems like this is a bug in this player. I'm sending mine back and going with a Toshiba, which has always served me well. I, too, phoned Samsung Customer Service and they never heard of this issue. I wonder how good of records they keep. :(


I ran into the same issue. Using either the coaxial or optical input, the Dolby Digital signal would “switch” every couple of minutes and a sound drop would occur.

Does anyone out there have a VR325 that doesn’t do this?

Does anyone out there have a VR325 that doesn’t do this?
Sounds like it is a feature and not a bug. :(

Seriously, I don't see how Samsung could release a product with such a major flaw in it.

Call Samsung's customer service and see what they say. They will probably say they "never heard of it."

I can't vouch for their DVDR service, but I've had outstanding warranty support from Samsung on LCD Monitors and PC-Based optical drives. Good luck and let us know how they respond to this problem...

i've had my vr-325 for a little over a week, and it's been great. just been trying to find detailed specs on it now. i have it hooked up to my sony 57ws520 w/ HDMI. running th audio (coaxial digital) to my sony receiver.

Has anyone tried the firmware update for the vr325 on the samsung website to see if it fixes the audio skip problem?

Has anyone gotten one that doesn't have the audio skip issue?

Does anyone know if the remote hack on the Samsung 841/941/850/950 to remove HDCP protection and enable upconverting over component (which is what I need) will work on the VR325?

I was about to pull the trigger on the 950 but my wife wants something that will also record. And please keep us up to date on whether the firmware release fixes the audio stutter/DD sync problems. That would definitely be a deal breaker. Thanks.
-Matt

I got the VR325 the other day and watched one dvd. I did not notice the audio skip problem. I have the audio connected through the optical cable to my stereo system. I don't know if it had anything to do with fixing the problem, but I changed the default audio settings from "pcm" to "bit stream" (to get dolby digitial) and turned off "dynamic compression". I did not apply the firmware update yet.

I still need to play with the vcr and dvd recording, but so far so good.

trouptra-
Do you have the VR325 hooked up through HDMI or component? If you are using HDMI, don't worry about it as you'll probably have no reason for the hack.

However, if you are using component, some of the other Samsung DVD players let you disable HDCP from the HDMI port and enable upconversion over component. Using 720p or 1080i should provide a noticable jump in picture quality... especially using 720p. If you are interested, search on "samsung hdcp remote hack" on AVS and you should find a bunch of threads with the button sequence.

If it works, please let us know! Again, if you have no need for disabling HDCP or upscaling over component, you should probably leave well enough alone. However, a firmware update should reverse the process.
-Matt

I just got the VR325 & have it connected to my Sony KDF-50WE655 via the HDMI & have played a couple DVD's with no problems with the audio. I haven't tried recording on it yet.

I now have my second Samsung VR325 with the audio skip problem, but only with the DVD when played via an optical cable through the receiver. When played directly through the HDMI cable onto the TV, it is fine. The VCR is fine no matter how it is played. I tried the firmware update and it did not help. I am really happy with the picture and sound, so would like to keep the unit. Has anyone found a solution (I tried messing with the audio settings to no avail)? I'm glad I found this forum - it confirmed the problem wasn't with me.

I just called Samsung about the VR325 audio skip problem and they were no help - offered to send the firmware upgrade (he didn't know it was on the web site). When I told him that did not work, told me to send it in for repair - I'll take it back and try again (third time may work).

A few years back I had a go video player that was dvd player and vcr combo. However the device had to be hooked to my tv twice. Once for vcr (composite or s-video) and component for the dvd. Can this samsung player with component or hdmi send the video signal from a video tape to the vcr?

I'm not sure if it will send both VCR and DVD through component but I've seen it advertised that it will do it through HDMI. I hope it works through component as well and am really hoping the upconversion hack works as well so component can put out a 720p or 1080i signal! Sill looking for confirmation if anyone has one...
-Matt

I just bought the VR325 last week and so far I have not had any problems with the audio (I have not applied the firmware update yet). I am extremely satisfied with this product by Samsung, although I wish it came in silver instead of black.

I just bought the Samsung VR325 and tried the remote hack several times (angle-4-3-2-7-angle). I didn't see the an "HDCP Free" message or any other signal that anything happened. Has anybody had any luck with this hack on the VR325? If not, maybe it's a different key sequence for this unit? For that matter, where do these hacks originate? Like Neo, I will go to the source if I must...

Olsonadr, both the vcr and dvd will play through the hdmi cable on the VR325.

mpjohnst, I am hooked up through hdmi and my tv is hdcp compliant, so I don't have any need for the hack. I would be willing to try it anyway just to let you know, but Roymus says it doesn't seem to work.

Has anyone had any problem playing a burned dvd on the VR325. I have a dvd burned on dvd-r that plays fine on my xbox but not the VR325. Do you think it is a problem with the media or some issue with copy protection?

One annoying thing with the VR325. It seems like you really have to press the buttons on the remote hard to get them to work. Not really a big deal for me though since I plan to use a uninversal remote as soon as I get a chance to program it.

I brought an 850 home to try the remote hack for upconverting over component video. It works on the 850, but apparently not on the VR325 (unless it's a different key combination). The upconverted picture looks pretty good on the 850, and it's cheaper so I'm keeping it and taking the VR325 back. If anybody knows if the hack on the VR325 will work, please let us know!

I also noticed that the remote buttons have to be pressed hard on the VR325. Also, there's no "instant replay" function on the VR325 like there is on the 850. I really like that (it's a lot like the 7-second instant replay on the ReplayTV, except it backs up 10 seconds with one button push). Nice.

I was able to get a Samsung DVD-R120 for $57 bucks during Black Friday at Frys. It's actually alot better than my old DVD player, maybe because I never had progressive scan on my old DVD player. Are there any hacks in which I can upgrade the firmware for it to play DVD+Rs?

Did anyone ever get the remote hack on the VR325 to work? I'm thinking about getting one but I really need to upconvert via component because my HDMI is tied up through my STB.

Also, doe ths VR325 have a hard drive on it?

Thanks

Kurt

Someone had gotten the AIWA hack using the Cinema 7 remote to get the Samsung 845 to upconvert over component.

Anyone tried the AIWA hack on the VR325?

where is vr325 firmware
is it the same firmware listed in vr320

The VR325 does not have a hard drive.

Has anyone been able to get HD upconversion thru the component video cables?

Thanks...

A few years back I had a go video player that was dvd player and vcr combo. However the device had to be hooked to my tv twice. Once for vcr (composite or s-video) and component for the dvd. Can this samsung player with component or hdmi send the video signal from a video tape to the vcr?
yes, you can hook up the 325 using the hdmi and both dvd and vcr will play through the connection.

i've had my vr-325 for a little over a week, and it's been great. just been trying to find detailed specs on it now. i have it hooked up to my sony 57ws520 w/ HDMI. running th audio (coaxial digital) to my sony receiver.
So you DON'T have the audio dropout problem when hooked up this way? Several people on this forum, and a reviewer at amazon, report audio dropouts when wired this way. I was about to buy this unit, but don't want it if all units have a bug...

Be careful with this unit....I took mine back to Circuit City....Had audio dropout problems when using JUST HDMI and when using HDMI and coax, HDMI and digital...Called Samsung tech support and the lady told me she had fielded numerous complaints about this same issue though she also said there was nothing "official" about this bug from Samsung....I was surprised when she admitted that Samsung had no real "fix" at present for this reported problem....So back to CC I went.....Very disappointing....Had real high hopes for this unit. Hope this helps!

Just got my Samsung DVD-VR325 from CC yesterday, hooked it up via HDMI to my Samsung 46" DLP tv, and experienced the same sound dropout problems that have been reported here. I've tried it in combination with both digital out and optical out to my receiver, and still have sound drops that last about a second every 3-5 minutes.

Has anyone come up with a solution to this, or am I just as sca-rewed as everyone else? I really like this recorder and would keep it if I could solve the sound problem, the upscaling picture on my 720p tv is great.

Just got my Samsung DVD-VR325 from CC yesterday, hooked it up via HDMI to my Samsung 46" DLP tv, and experienced the same sound dropout problems that have been reported here. I've tried it in combination with both digital out and optical out to my receiver, and still have sound drops that last about a second every 3-5 minutes.

Has anyone come up with a solution to this, or am I just as sca-rewed as everyone else? I really like this recorder and would keep it if I could solve the sound problem, the upscaling picture on my 720p tv is great.
I upgraded my monitor to a 42" 1080p Westinghouse, which has 2 DVI and 1 HDMI inputs. This allowed me to try the VR325's HDMI output. It's flakey. I have to power cycle the monitor, or better yet, turn off the VR325 and monitor, turn on the VR325 and then turn on the monitor. And, if I switch the monitor input away to another source, and then back, the VR325 reports an HDCP error and stops sending picture. I do not have similar problems with the HDMI output of my Comcast set-top-box, so I blame the VR325. I've reverted to component, which appears to only go up to 480p? Not good. This technology sucks.

I also have to power cycle the VR325 when I switch inputs on the TV from the STB (hdmi input 1) to the VR325 (hdmi input 2) since the video doesn't come through until I do so. I'm guessing that the HDMI handshaking only takes place when the VR325 is powering up.
I have a Sony SXRD tv.

I have audio going to the stereo (Yamaha RX-V992) through an optical connection and have no audio dropout issues. That means that either there are some VR325's that don't have the audio dropout issue or that the problem only shows up with certain receivers.

I am trying to set up my VR325 to work with the Samsung HD DirecTV Receiver (SIR TS160 and Samsung HD TV (HLM 617W).
I think I notice that one can only access 99 channels on the VR325 to record at a later date. Does that mean that any channel above 100 cannot be set? If so, am I out of luck for some of the higher numbered DirecTV channels?

Also, I am having trouble connecting sound to the recorder through my SONY receiver/amp and the TV. The TV only has DVI not HDMI so it is only necessary for the sound to go through the SONY component. Suggestions?

I think I mentioned above that I am a newbie, so please be patient with me.

Thanks!!

I upgraded my monitor to a 42" 1080p Westinghouse, which has 2 DVI and 1 HDMI inputs. This allowed me to try the VR325's HDMI output. It's flakey. I have to power cycle the monitor, or better yet, turn off the VR325 and monitor, turn on the VR325 and then turn on the monitor. And, if I switch the monitor input away to another source, and then back, the VR325 reports an HDCP error and stops sending picture. I do not have similar problems with the HDMI output of my Comcast set-top-box, so I blame the VR325. I've reverted to component, which appears to only go up to 480p? Not good. This technology sucks.
Someone was kind enough to point out a firmware update that's available on the Samsung web-site for this machine. After installing it, a quick test seems to show that the HDMI problem is fixed (though I haven't really played with it that much). Cool.

i recently bought the vr325. does anyone know how to set this unit up so that it can be selected from my tv's AV1 or AV2 input?

this seems simple enough to answer easily, but i can only get my vr325 to display on my tv if i set the tv channel to 3 (or 4). i replaced my vcr with the vr325. i used the same connection for the vr325 as i had with the vcr i.e., the output from the vr325 connected to my stereo receiver & then from my receiver to the tv's AV1 inputs.

i basically want to be able to play my vr325 by changing using the input selection on my tv (AV1 or AV2, etc.) & not having to change the tv channel. hope this makes sense.

ok folks,surely someone has something to say here?? :)

anyway it seems like the only connection my tv is recognizing was the RF signal from the samsung, although i had the other a/v cables connected. here's what i did tonight:

i tried various combinations of connections & 2 things i am certain of:

1) there is a problem going thru my receiver with the samsung output (regardless of the samsung signal being the tv tuner, vcr or dvd). i say this because i tried two output signal connection options from the samsung (S-video & composite) thru the receiver & neither worked. but when i tried those same connections directly to the tv, they did work. the odd thing to me is, i never had a problem going thru my receiver using the old vcr & i even tried the samsung signal thru 2 different inputs (AV1 & AV2) on the receiver.

2) it seems that my s-video cable is no longer working or maybe has a short in it? when i first did the direct connection from the samsung to my tv using this cable, i got a signal. that is, tv was set to AV1 & samsung was playing (tape or tv from its on-board tuner). the s-video (& audio) cables were connected to the tv's AV1 inputs.

all was fine, except one thing - everything was in black & white! no color- except i could see a small blue shaded area in the left corner of the tv. i switched tv channels on the samsung (it has on-board tv tuner) - same thing. no color. changed the source on the samsung from tv to a tape - same result, no color.

i thought my s-video cable was compromised somewhere. so i tried to ensure it was fairly straight going to the tv & not bent. i pulled it out, re-inserted & nothing. TV display went blank - no audio nor anything!

i switched back to composite cables & everything was fine: i had color; TV was set to AV1 & i could view the samsung's output (TV, tape or DVD).

so i went back to trying to pass signal thru receiver - nada! same result as before - no signal (audio nor video). i am still baffled why i am unable to pass a signal thru my receiver using either s-video or composite. i also realize that the samsung will work with my tv as i expected it to, but my receiver obviously is not cooperating.

any suggestions? anyone??

It does seem like your S-Video cable was on the way out, and your attempts to remedy it pushed it over the edge. Hopefully you have another one with which you can repeat the expermiment. Please tell us the brand of that S-Video cable so we may all avoid them in the future!

Regarding why your A/V Receiver can't see your DVD Recorder, that is sure mysterious. I would point to Progressive output if it were on Component Video, but with Composite Video or S-Video that shouldn't be present. You should make sure the A/V inputs of the A/V Receiver are actually working, by sending a known good signal to them, or equivalently, trying the DVD Recorder output on another input of the receiver that you are using and works.

Some possible suggestions on pg 1 Post #21, and this pg #38 and #39?

Also, could be a progressive-scan issue: old VCR was progressive but not Samsung, or vice versa? Some new DVD players/recorders have an "Initial Setting" or "Setup" option to select Progressive or Interlace TV, and selecting Progressive when TV is not will result in no picture.

It does seem like your S-Video cable was on the way out, and your attempts to remedy it pushed it over the edge. Hopefully you have another one with which you can repeat the expermiment. Please tell us the brand of that S-Video cable so we may all avoid them in the future!

Regarding why your A/V Receiver can't see your DVD Recorder, that is sure mysterious. I would point to Progressive output if it were on Component Video, but with Composite Video or S-Video that shouldn't be present. You should make sure the A/V inputs of the A/V Receiver are actually working, by sending a known good signal to them, or equivalently, trying the DVD Recorder output on another input of the receiver that you are using and works.

i wish i could recall the brand of the s-video cable but i honestly don't remember. it was either a cable supplied with some other audio equipment purchased a few years ago (or maybe something i got from radio shack?)

anyway, your suggestions are good bobkart. i will attempt those tomorrow or next week if we don't go on family vacation (it's spring break here). :)

Some possible suggestions on pg 1 Post #21, and this pg #38 and #39?

Also, could be a progressive-scan issue: old VCR was progressive but not Samsung, or vice versa? Some new DVD players/recorders have an "Initial Setting" or "Setup" option to select Progressive or Interlace TV, and selecting Progressive when TV is not will result in no picture.


thanks wabjxo. someone else suggested i "power-cycle" my equipment (#38 & 39) as well. as for #21, i'm fairly confident this is not the problem. i went thru various setups with both vcr play & dvd play & got the same result. i also checked the setup to ensure it was not in progressive scan mode when i was troubleshooting it the other nite.

but i will try the equipment "power-on" cycling trick to see if that changes anything.

thanks!

For the audio skipping problem most of the time it is a bit stream issue, this is not something that samsung customer level 1 reps can fix they transfered me up to something called tier 2 who was able to resolved the audio skipping issue within a few minutes.

I just bought a Samsung DVD-VR330 because it supports all DVD formats, it supports DVD-RAM, DVD +R, DVD +RW, DVD -R, DVD -RW, DVD -R DL and DVD +R DL. I have tried all DVD formats except DVD -R DL which I have not seen out yet, it does support all DVD formats as advertised, I am very hapy with this unit, I also have the Panasonic DMR-ES40V, which is also a comble VHS Recorder and DVD Recorder, however it supports DVD-RAM, DVD -R, DVD -RW and DVD +R, no DVD +RW (it does play this format, but no Record), also no DVD +R DL or DVD -R DL ether, so once I fill up the DVD's that I recorded with the Panasonic unit, I will which to the Samsung unit. Note: once you record with one unit on a DVD you must finish recording with that unit on that DVD as the Panasonic and the Samsung DVD Recorders are not Combatable with each other recording scemes, I tried DVD -R Recorded with the Panasonic but not finalized in the Sansung but the Samsung would not see it, all I got was an error, This is the same way this DVD -RW aslo, However I tried a DVD +R Recorded in the Panasonic but not finalized and the Samsung did see this DVD, which is wherd. I did try DVD's allready finalized on the Panasonic in the Samsung and they all worked in the Samsung, however DVD +R finalized with the Panasonic, I could not select any recorded program except the first one, I could not sellect any other program recorded on this type of DVD with the Samsung, which I found also wherd.

Andrew...

Congrats on your puchase... I have another post that I had some questions on the new DVD Recorders coming out from Samsung. Can you see if you know some of the answers? http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=655420

Also, does the 330 send the 480p signal through the component cables since there is no HDMI?

Thanks,

however DVD +R finalized with the Panasonic, I could not select any recorded program except the first one, I could not sellect any other program recorded on this type of DVD with the Samsung, which I found also wherd.

Oh wow so this maybe a Panasonic recorder problem then? I have a similar issue with DVD+R recorded with the ES20 and played back on the Panasonic S29 dvd player. From the thumbnail menu you can only select the first program. The arrows keep taking you back to the 1st one faster than you can press them. I assumed this was a dvd player issue, but perhaps it is the recorder? The DVD+R do play without the thumbnail problem in my ancient Apex player.

But there is an easy workaround for that problem: You can just start PLAY on the first one and then select the title of your choice using the playback features of the recorder/player. Another quasi-workaround is to finalize them with First Title playback, so you dont even have to see the dancing menus.

I may have asked this before, but do Samsung recorders give the option of recording to either -RW(Video) or -RW(VR)?

For the audio skipping problem most of the time it is a bit stream issue, this is not something that samsung customer level 1 reps can fix they transfered me up to something called tier 2 who was able to resolved the audio skipping issue within a few minutes.

What did they do to fix the problem?

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!

I am trying to decide between the VR-335 and VR-345. I just recently got into the market for a dvd recorder that also has a VCR. Immediately the VR-325 really jumped out at me and I almost bought it because it does everything that I want. I didn't buy it because of some of the negetive customer reviews on Circuit City's website and noticed that on Samsung's website they have two new models coming out anyways. I figured that the new models would be better and have less bugs than the older VR-325. I don't know which one to buy however, and I'm not worried about price differences so if the VR-345 is really that good I would pay for it. One thing I noticed however is that the VR-345 doesn't have a counter display on the unit like the VR-335 and VR-325 do. Why did they remove it for the VR-345? The counter display is something that I use when I watch and record VHS. So can anyone suggest to me which one I should get? Also, will the HD upconversion work through the component outputs as well?

Thanks

First Recording on Samsung DVD-VR330, No problems encontered, using EP 8 hour Mode, creates chaptures every 15 Minutes in EP Mode, I Really like this unit, have not tried to copy from VHS to DVD yet. Have not Finalized DVD yet, First DVD DVD -R. I like the fact that you can protect your recorded programs on DVD. Video Quality is Pretty Good on EP Recording Mode (It looks a little better than the Panasonic's EP Recording Mode). I use the EP Mode because I do not like to waste space on the DVD and I am use to the EP Recording Mode, I even used the EP Recording Mode for VHS Tapes when I recorded to them, I now use DVD's, I do not record on VHS Tapes any more.

Oops, spoke to soon Major Problem with Samsung DVD-VR330, I was recording a the fouth program on the DVD -R, the first three where no problems, however, I finished recording my fourth program and I paused at the end of the prgram and pressed stop but nothing happanned, unable to get DVD Recorder to stop, I tried every button and I was forced to unplug the DVD Recorder to get it to spot, however no fourth program is listed on the DVD, please help need way to recover fourth program on DVD, only first three are listed. PLease help me, I do not know how to recover the fourth program on this DVD, Need major help, thanks in advance.

:mad: Major problem encontered with Samsung DVD-VR330, I was recording a fourth program on the first DVD that I have tried in the Samsung DVD-VR330, and at the end of the recording I pasued the DVD Recorder like I did with the first three programs on this DVD, then I pressed stop and nothing happened, unable to get DVD to Stop Recording from pause, I had no problems doing this with the first three programs, but the fourth one no dice, nothing worked, I tried every button on the DVD Recorder, but unable to stop DVD Recording from pause, forced to pull the plug to kill the power to the DVD Recorder (Power Off did not work ether, nothing worked), Plugged Samsung DVD-VR330 back into the power supply and turned DVD Recorder back on, no forth program listed on DVD, is there any way to recover the fourth program on the DVD when it is not on the list, need way to recover fourth program from DVD, Please Help, any help Would be apreseated, otherwhise will take DVD Recorder Back because it does not work right, will not finilize DVD, want to recover fourth program on DVD badly. If no help with this problem then I will take this DVD Recorder back and get the Panasonic one. Major help needed. If unable to help then I cannot recommend any Samsung DVD Recorder for purchase by anybody, this is a major deal breaker, Again thanks in advance for any help offered.

I just wanted to add one more comment, I think I got a bad DVD Recorder, will take back and get another unit (I do not think the DVD is bad, but it could be, but why was I able to Record three programs on this DVD with no problems?).

I went through three Smasung DVD Recorders in a month (one DVD-R135 and two DVD-R120s). Based on my experiences and the negative comments on this board and others about the DVD-VR325, DVD-R120, and others by Samsung, I think your problems have more to do with the quality of Samsung DVD Recorders than anything else. I have a Panasonic DMR-ES30V that is a couple of years old and never exhibitied any of the oddities of the Samsung. I also recently bought an RCA DRC8052N that works flawlessly out of the box (more than I can say for any of the three Samsungs I tired). My advice to you is to not waste much more time trying to make the Samsung work.

I went through three Smasung DVD Recorders in a month (one DVD-R135 and two DVD-R120s).

What was your problem with the DVD-R135? I just got one this week.

Returned Samsung DVD-VR330 Recorder for Another Samsung DVD-VR330 Recorder, I figured I just got a Bad one, have not tried any DVD's yet. Still locking for help to recover fourth program on DVD that I recorded, again thanks for any help you can give.

What was your problem with the DVD-R135? I just got one this week.
DVD quality via HDMI was bad (worse than video out via compoennt from my 6 or 7 year old JVC DVD changer). I also ended up with several coasters out of DVDs that I tried to burn (it hung in the finalization process). I just discovered last week that one of the few DVDs that burned properly ran into the same chapter mark hangup that the DVD-R120s have (would play fine on different DVD players unitl it hit the chapter mark and then freeze).

After I returned it and was looking at different units at Best Buy, the salesman (who surprisingly was very knowledgeable - usually I don't have much luck with their salespeople) told me that he would recommend staying away from Samsung and Toshiba DVD recorders because of frequent returns. He mentioned that there were a few DVD-R135 returned for the same reasons that I told him I brought mine back (I bought mine from the first batch that Best Buy store had received, so maybe there had been an issue with that lot). Hopefully I just had a lemon and everything works out with yours.

:mad: Second Sumsung DVD-VR330 I got worce than the first one, unable to finalize DVD that I recorded with the first Sumsung DVD-VR330, also labeled 2 DVD's and ejected them and put them back in now DVD Recorder gives me an error, I never had so much problems with a DVD Recorder before, took Second Samsung DVD back and got a refund, please do not buy this unit, I have had nothing but problems with both units that I got, Samsung has made a terrable DVD Recorder, has anybody else had as much trouble with this unit, total waste of my time, total cost 3 bad DVD's now, one with 3 programs but not finalized, 2 DVD's completely runed. I would aprieate any help to at least save the DVD with 3 programs Listed, there is a fourth program Recorded but it is not listed and I do not know if there is anyway to recover it, since DVD not finilized there is proproly no way to get any of these programs on any other DVD Recorder to show up.

I'm hooking up the DVD-R135 to a Sony 60" SXRD via HDMI tomorrow for the first time and will give a comprehensive, non-techie review. Tell me what some of you guys want me to look out for.

:) Oops, my mistake the second Samsung DVD-VR-330 was not bad, but I allready took it back, all well will have to get a third one. Just to let you know I talked to a Samsung Rep and the problem was with the first one which had some sort of problem while recording, which is way I was not able to finalize it in the second unit, also found out that once you label a DVD you must Record on to it, if you eject the DVD with nothing Recorded but Labeled and put it back in the Samsung will think there is something on it and will give you an error back that it cannot play that DVD (it weld have been nice if I know about this beforehand), all well 2 DVD's now useless to me, Luckely I have a lot of DVD's, so I can afford to loose 2. So I will wait until my money is back in my account and pick up another unit. I am kicking myself in the butt so such an blatenent oversite on my part. So I am Getting another unit. Maybe the third one will let me finalize the first DVD, from the bad first unit, but I not hopefull this will work, all well at least I have the first three recorded programs on this DVD, No know way to recover fourth program recorded on this DVD as far as I known, since that is where I had my problem with the first Samsung DVD Recorder.

:) Went back to Circuit City and mananged to reserved 2nd Samsung DVD-VR330, since I know this is now a good unit, waiting for refund to return to my account then rebuy this unit, will record something after third program (fourth not listed and most likely no way to recover fourth program) once I record new fourth program will finalize DVD to see if there is any way to recover bad recorded fourth program, which there is most likely not, all well, will pick up unit ether on tuesday or wednesday on this week, wish me luck. Again thanks for any help you can provide. I now know the First Samsung DVD-VR330 that I got was bad, Secord one which I will reget is good.

I've connected the DVD-R135 to my Samsumng 42" Plasma via HDMI and I'm very pleased with the display. Only issues is that sometimes I don't get audio through the TV with a DVD, but I just have to change the audio output from bitstream to PCM. But if I use the surround sound I keep it at bitstream to get full DTS.

Even have burned 3 DVDs (2 from camcorder and I from Satellite DVR). Works great on all my Sony DVD players, but i got hung up on one when I played it on a friends Panasonic ES-15 recorder when I hit the chapter skip. Don't know why.

Regot Second Samsung DVD-VR330, so far no problems, still cannot finalize DVD that I recorded in the First Unit, that is the one I had the problem during the recording, but I was supspected that so everything is OK.

FOG (and JoeBlow, and for that matter, anyone else) - after you recorded some discs on the samsung, and played them back on your Sony DVD player, did the pause, stop (and then resume playing) fast forward, and other functions work properly? How about with DVDs recorded from the samsung tuner?

Hi all, I'm new to these boards. I have some questions for the owner(s) of the R135.

1. Have you tried to play any divx files on your recorder yet ? And if so, what were the results ?

2. I don't often record things (heck I don't own a vcr), but for someone who doesn't record things much would this be a good solution (in your own opinion). I could get a dvd player / vcr combo, but I think the dvd recorder is a much cooler solution.

Second Samsung DVD-VR330 was also bad, same problem I had with the First Samsung DVD-VR330, I returned it and got a third Samsung DVD-VR330, if I have the same problem with this unit as I have with the previous two units then I will get a Panasonic one, this is the last time I will try this unit, subspect that all Samsung DVD-VR330's may have this problem. The problem is the unit will not stop during a recording, recording speed selected is EP 8 Hours mode, I do not like to waste space on a DVD and I am use to this recording speed mode now, so wish me luck, I have my fingers crossed that I do not have the same problem with this unit as I have with the first two.

I've converted 8 home video's from the camcorder (DV) and VHS-C with my DVD-R135 with no problem... it's nice! wish it had a USB plug for a keyboard. I don't like using the remote around the keyboard to type up the titles and such.

Very pleased and the pictures look awesome! I've used XP down to EP. Pleased with all, of course XP is awesome through HDMI!

FOG -GATOR -

Have you verified those recorded discs will play properly on other DVD players?

How is the built in tv tuner ?

Is it fairly easy to program in say a baseball game and just let it record ? Quality ?


Thanks :)

Can someone that has the R135 help me out?

I am connecting it through HDMI-HDMI to my Westinghouse 32" LCD TV. I am experiencing two problems at the moment.

When playing a store-bought DVD, the picture looks great except it doesn't fill up the entire screen. I get a picture that stretches across the entire TV but still has the black bars on the top and bottom, which gives everything a slightly stretched look but isn't overly bothersome. Nevertheless I would like to be able to output so that it fills my entire screen.

The second issue is that I am also wanting to record cable, so I connect my Cable STB to the R135 with a standard coax cable and use the HDMI out to go to the TV. Again, the same issue occurs where the picture does not fill up the whole screen and it also looks pretty bad overall (which I know is probably just the degradation of the signal from being passed through another source).

Does anyone know what settings I can change in order to get the picture to fill up the entire screen? I have set the R135's output setting to 16:9, as well as my TV and the STB. Not sure what else to do at the point.

Thanks for any help that can be offered.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=687431

A lengthy discussion of the problems you and many others are having along those lines.

FOG -GATOR -

Have you verified those recorded discs will play properly on other DVD players?

Arf: yes I have verified on 4 different DVD players and 3 computers... plays on all. Although I did have a problem playing on a Panasonic ES15S DVD recorder. It played fine but when I tried to skip a chapter it froze... I need to run more tests.

FOG - on those other players that the recorded DVDs worked on, did you try the skip, Fast forward, and other functions? My recorded disks play on my Toshiba DVD player, but when I skip, stop, Fast forward, etc, the toshiba locks up and must be turned off to reset it

FOG - on those other players that the recorded DVDs worked on, did you try the skip, Fast forward, and other functions? My recorded disks play on my Toshiba DVD player, but when I skip, stop, Fast forward, etc, the toshiba locks up and must be turned off to reset it

Yes i did. I played it on an older Sony DVD player (1999 model), another Sony (2002-3 model), another DVDR-135 unit, and a Go-Video DVD recorder. All seemed to work fine with the FF, skip, etc except the Panny ES15.

I want to try some of the other DVDs I created on my friend's ES15, but just haven't been able to.

Hi,
I am new to forum. I just bought DVD recorder DVD-R135. I have connected recorder to panasonic 52" plasama tv & direct tv hd reciever. Connections are done as follows.

RYW Cable from AV output to DVD-Av1 input
DVD Output To TV Input.

But when I turn recorder on I can hear only sound and can not see picture. What am I doing wrong? I heard that if I use RGB cable I can get better picture quality. Dont know how to use it either.

Please help

When you say "DVD Output to TV Input", I think you need to spell it out a bit more. Clearly the audio is getting there but the video is not. Make sure the video input connection you use on the TV is the right one for the audio input on the TV that you can hear. Sometimes it's easy to get those wrong, they are all next to each other and you may use IN1 when the audio is on IN2. Changing the input selector on the TV to look at all the possible inputs will help sort that out too.

Well..I am confused now...Let me explain to you whats going on... :confused:

I bought panasonic 50" plasma TV (TH-50PX60U) & Samsung DVD Recorder R135. I have Direct tv HD DVR.

I was just trying to connect HD DVR==>DVD Recorder==>Plasama TV.

Connections Were like this using RYW cables. From DirectTV HD DVR Output to DVD Recorder AV input 1. DVD Recorder output to Plasama TV input- Input1. Now when I tune tv to Video 1 mode & DVD Recorder to Av1 mode I could hear sound but no picture.So I called Direct TV customer service.They couldnt figure it out. SO I called Samsung customer service they said DVD Recorderis a defective product. SO I returned Samsung DVD Recorder & bought new LG-Dvd Recorder (Model No.DR1F9H).

Now when I connected LG DVD Recorder same as above I still couldnt get any picture but I could hear sound. So I thought DirectTV HD DVR output is not working properly. To test it I connected Input1 from TV directly to DirectTV HD DVR output and tune TV to Video1 mode. Still no picture. SO I called Direct TV again and asked them to replace HD DVR. Meanwhile I thought I should try using DV mode(mode for recording from digital camcorders) with connecting totaly different way. Here it was how connections were made

DirectTV HD DVR connect to plasma TV through HDMI cable. TV Output connected to DvD Recorder Av Input. When I tried recording it..Its still same thing no picture but sound get recorded. SO I tried one more way

I tuned DVD Recorder to Dv Mode...Now when I check in DVD Manual it says DV mode can be used for VCR and camcorders. so my connections were like this..

DirectTV HD DVR connect to plasma TV through HDMI cable. TV Output connected to DvD Recorder Input for DV mode(Front panel). When I tried recording it..Its still same thing no picture but sound get recorded. I was getting more frustrated...so I thought instead of connecting TV output directly to DV input, route it through VCR ie TV output is connected to VCR input , VCR output connected to DV Input of DVD recorder. Still it wont wwork same thing no picture.

Can any one please tell me what I am doing wrong? I didnt thing its such a big deal to connect DVD recorder. Now I am thinking TV output is not working properly either?? What is going on? PLEASE HELP!!

Whenever there is a connection between a signal source and a signal destination (in your case the DVD Recorder would be the signal source, the TV would be the signal destination), there are three things that could go wrong to prevent that connection from happening. The source might not be outputting correctly. The destination might not be receiving correctly. Or the connection "media" itself (the RCA cable in this case) might be at fault. What needs to happen is ISOLATION of the problem to one (or possibly more) of those three areas. To do this you typically will need a "known good" signal source, signal destination, and cables. By connecting up the known good system and demonstrating that it works, you one piece at a time replace the somponents in that known good system with ones that are in question, and at some point it will fail, when it fails, the component you last replaced can then be identified ("isolated") as the (or at least one of the) bad component. Bad as in responsible for the connection not working, it doesn't mean necessarily that it is bad in the sense of needing to be sent back for repair, for example it may just not be setup appropriately for the connection you are trying to make.

"Known good" signal sources include things like DVD Players and video game consoles. "Known good" singal destinations include things like a spare TV and perhaps a VCR that you can connect to a display and know that connection is good. "Known good" cables can really only be verified by demonstrating that they work.

So for example, if you are not sure which of the three parts of the connection between the DVD Recorder and the TV is at fault, try feeding a known good signal source to the same TV input with known good cables. Or send the DVD Recorder output to a known good signal destination (spare TV?) again with known good cables. If using a known good source works but the questionable source does not, everything else the same, then you can deduce that the questionable source is at fault. Likewise, if using a known good destination works but using the questionable destination does not, again with all other things the same, you can deduce that the questionable destination is at fault.

Hopefully the above can help you determine an isolation procedure with which you can determine where the fault lies in your connection scheme.

Hi,

I think I might know what's wrong.

If your 135 is anything like my 120, progressive scan is not turned on out of the box. You have to turn it on. You may need to hook up via the regular yellow video jacks the first time to see what you're doing. Then when progressive is on, component cables should work.

This is a little annoying, but you should only have to do it once. Frankly, now that I know the button sequence, I don't even have to see it to do it now.

Good luck,
Mike

Does anyone have any experience with the DVD-R145? It looks very "feature-loaded" - able to use just about every media type, does double-layer media, has 1394 connection, HDMI, does upconversion, etc.
However, I'm a bit surprised by its weight: only 4.2lbs. That seems extremely light compared to competing models.

I'm surprised I have not seen anything posted here about this model.

Does anyone have any experience with the DVD-R145? It looks very "feature-loaded".....I'm surprised I have seen anything posted here about this model.

I did find this spec sheet (http://www.samsung.com/Products/DVDPlayer/Recordable/files/dvd-r145_final.pdf) and it look interesting. I think it's just recently become available so I'm also looking for reports from any users.

Hi Mike,
What you mean by turning on progressive scan? I am not using samsung R135 any more but I am using LG-Dvd Recorder (Model No.DR1F9H). Do you think I am connecting it wrong? Thank you for your time..I appriciate your help.

Hi Bob,
I will give try to it. What are chances to have more than one connectiions faulty? Do you think I am connecting it wrong? Thanks for ur response.

Certainly there is the possibility that more than one connection is faulty. So you need to isolate them one at a time. Make sure you can see what's coming out of the DVD Recorder on your display, then make sure the DVD Recorder can see what's coming from the STB (or whatever source you feed to it).

The Progressive Scan reference above may be causing the problem, make sure it is off, since any display should be able to display non-progressive signals. Fewer are capable of displaying progressive signals, so only turn that on once you can get a picture with it off.

cacompguy,

OK, I just re-read your post, and I think I understand now.
It sounds like your DVDR is not relevant. With both Samsung and LG you get no picture.

So, I only see a few options:
1. Your Direct isn't putting out a picture, either because defective or something is set wrong.

2. Your cable is bad or you're hooking something up wrong.

3. Your TV input is defective or set wrong.

Start eliminating, like bobkart said.

For instance, if you have a known good DVD and player. Hook them to TV Input 1. If that works, your TV and cable are fine.

I suspect after re-reading your post that some composite input or output is defective or set to off. The whole progressive thing may be a non-issue since I now see you mentioned hooking things up with "RYW". I assume you mean red yellow and white. Just make sure you're hooking yellow to "video" and not Pb Pr or Y.

Good luck, you'll get it.

Mike

I tried like what Bob said. I connect my camcorder to Input1 & Input2 of DVD recorder and Output of DVD Recorder To Input of Plasma TV. It works for both connections.

I also tried connecting output of plasma TV to Input of another regular TV. Here I cant see picture but I can hear sound. (plasma TV recieving input from Direct TV through HDMI input)

Is that Direct Output is copy protected? Is there anyone in this forum who could succefully connect DVD recorder and could record TV programs successfully? What can be possible solution?

So you're trying to record an HDMI input from a composite output.
This may be your problem.
It may be copy protection, or the TV may just not pass any HDMI to the composite out. HDMI is straight digital signal from source to screen. It may never go analog for the composite out. Check your TV manual on this one.
Have you tried to see if composite or progressive in reaches the composite out?
Bottom line: you may need a different or two redundant inputs.
Mike

Hi Guys,
I could make it work. Connections was not problem at all but I have to set Direct TV Reciever resolution to 480i and DVD recorder resolution to 480i, it works. I appriciate your help..your time..your suggestions..It was very frustating when I tried to do something and it wont work. Funny thing was I called LG support and ask them if it has to do with HDR & DVD recorder resolution and they said No. Thats why I didnt bother about resoltion. SO dont belive those guys..try for yourself!! During this I found few cool things..Here is cool link if any one is intersted.

http://www.xdimax.com/grex/grex.html

Again Mike,Bob thank you for your time. I Love technology..you might find me here again. :)

:mad: Please do not Buy the Samsumg DVD-VR330, it does not work with DVD +R's with the Extended Play Recording Speed, called Samsung and they confired that this unit will only support Sony DVD +R's, what a rip-off, please not not buy this unit, Returned Unit and got Panasonic DMR-ES35V, if you want a DVD Recorder that supports all DVD formats, Get the Panasonic, I have had no problems with the Panasonic at all, I had nothing but problems with the Samsung DVD-VR330, I will not buy any DVD Recorders from Samsung Again, just waisted my time with 3 units and ruined several DVD's, Luckily I have a lot of DVD's, I also managed to recover my Stuff I recorded from the ruined DVD's, again stay away from this Samsung DVD Recorder, talk about rip-off, I got this unit because it was suppose to work with all DVD formats, it does not, unit will not Record to DVD +R's after the first recording which I had no problems doing, but the second Recording would not stop Recording no matter what I tried, the only way to stop the unit from Recording was to unplug the unit, these ruining the DVD in the unit, it would create a bad spot on the DVD, making the DVD useless for ferther Recordings, I got lucky a found a software program on the internet and baught it, also baught video converter and dvd writer, and recovered the first Recording on the DVD, but this costed me money, so please do not buy this unit.

My god, Dude. You repeat yourself over and over...to the point that it makes me want to get the Samsung to prove you wrong. Good luck with your Panny.

:mad: Please do not Buy the Samsumg DVD-VR330, it does not work with DVD +R's with the Extended Play Recording Speed, called Samsung and they confired that this unit will only support Sony DVD +R's, what a rip-off, please not not buy this unit, Returned Unit and got Panasonic DMR-ES35V, if you want a DVD Recorder that supports all DVD formats, Get the Panasonic, I have had no problems with the Panasonic at all, I had nothing but problems with the Samsung DVD-VR330, I will not buy any DVD Recorders from Samsung Again, just waisted my time with 3 units and ruined several DVD's, Luckily I have a lot of DVD's, I also managed to recover my Stuff I recorded from the ruined DVD's, again stay away from this Samsung DVD Recorder, talk about rip-off, I got this unit because it was suppose to work with all DVD formats, it does not, unit will not Record to DVD +R's after the first recording which I had no problems doing, but the second Recording would not stop Recording no matter what I tried, the only way to stop the unit from Recording was to unplug the unit, these ruining the DVD in the unit, it would create a bad spot on the DVD, making the DVD useless for ferther Recordings, I got lucky a found a software program on the internet and baught it, also baught video converter and dvd writer, and recovered the first Recording on the DVD, but this costed me money, so please do not buy this unit.


:rolleyes: ............ Someone has to say it! You're either a Pollock or have the words "USER ERROR" etched 1/2 deep into your forehead.
I have this unit and have had zero problems with it. Did you ever consider after 2-3 units, it could be "YOU" not reading the manual thoroughly or not doing something correctly?

I bought the Samsung VR330 for the spare bedroom and my wife and I record on it all the time. We've transferred all the old VHS tapes, etc and record tv shows daily. There is fact to the EP recording on DVD+R but if you have eyes and can read, it's not that hard to figure Pilgrim ;)

I bought the Samsung VR330 for the spare bedroom and my wife and I record on it all the time.

Was I the only one that caught this one? LOL :)

I don't know if the 330 works or not? but Best Buy has it on sale this week for only $199.99 not a bad price if it works :D

Sorry but I still had to go with an older VCR/DVD Combo Panny ES30V that I just bought from another AVS member for my daughter. :)

Had the unit for 2 weeks and all is well except the VHS playback. I have the unit connect to my television (Analog set) through S Video and DVD playback is great, viewing the tuner through the VCR is great as well but, when I playback a tape I'm getting a rather unusual problem. I have noticed what appears to be some video noise that doesn't appear to be related to the tapes because besides my tapes (recorded or pre-recorded) are in perfect condition and I have tried them in another VCR and they look fine. I almost think its something in the actual signal because, eve in you pause the tape the noise continues across the screen at the same rate and you can also see it on DVD's I've burned from the VCR. I should also note that this is the second unit I've had and its done the same thing. The video noise that I'm seeing is like horizontal lines (like this ///////////////) that move back and forth at 3 to 4 different sections across the screen. I might add that it is more of a ghosting effect too. I don't know if I'm expecting too much from a VHS tape seeing that its been 3 to 4 years since I've watched one or if this is really a problem with :confused: :

http://www.xdimax.com/grex/grex.html

IMHO Before I spend a $100 I would try a different recorder.
I can tell you for a fact that the LG DR1F9H will not record off of channels like HBO.
From what I've read thats a common problem with LG. :eek:
So for me I will not waste my money on LG.
But getting back to the topic at hand.
I just bought DVD-R135 and it will record without a problem, :D
So far I'm happy. Lets hope cause I'm getting tired of buying and returning recorders!!!! :eek:

Had the unit for 2 weeks and all is well except the VHS playback. I have the unit connect to my television (Analog set) through S Video and DVD playback is great, viewing the tuner through the VCR is great as well but, when I playback a tape I'm getting a rather unusual problem. I have noticed what appears to be some video noise that doesn't appear to be related to the tapes because besides my tapes (recorded or pre-recorded) are in perfect condition and I have tried them in another VCR and they look fine. I almost think its something in the actual signal because, eve in you pause the tape the noise continues across the screen at the same rate and you can also see it on DVD's I've burned from the VCR. I should also note that this is the second unit I've had and its done the same thing. The video noise that I'm seeing is like horizontal lines (like this ///////////////) that move back and forth at 3 to 4 different sections across the screen. I might add that it is more of a ghosting effect too. I don't know if I'm expecting too much from a VHS tape seeing that its been 3 to 4 years since I've watched one or if this is really a problem with :confused: :

I had a similar problem with the VHS section of an older samsung combo. I returned it anf got a Panasonic instead. The Panasonic unit did not have the playback artifacts like the Samsung did. Maby Samys VCRs have tracking issues? The Pany only lasted about a year though.

I was able to get a Samsung DVD-R120 for $57 bucks during Black Friday at Frys. It's actually alot better than my old DVD player, maybe because I never had progressive scan on my old DVD player. Are there any hacks in which I can upgrade the firmware for it to play DVD+Rs?


Mine plays DVDR + media.

I may have asked this before, but do Samsung recorders give the option of recording to either -RW(Video) or -RW(VR)?


Yes, my 120 does.

I had a DVD-VR325 that would have audio skips/ hiccups about every 2/3 minutes when connected via HDMI to my TV and coaxial audio to my amplifier. This problem only occurs if the player's audio is set to bitstream and it is receiving a digital audio signal.

I returned the unit 3 times (got 1 repair and 2 different refurb replacements) with no resolution. Also downloaded the firmware upgraded from the website for this unit.

They finally sent me a brand new unit of the newer model (DVD-VR 335), and this unit has the exact same problem, but now it only happens every 7/8 minutes?

Is anyone else having this problem or are the common people not using these units to watch the "enhanced" video with digital sound?? (Samsung tells me this problem has never been reported).

Thanks!

I have the same problem with the 120.
Bitstream stutters; PCM does not.

I hadn't reported it yet as I didn't know if it was a problem with the 120 or with the tv's handling of the bitstream signal. Now I have to check - I think the sound stutters the same way if my Toshiba player is set to bitstream.

Mike

Interesting - I actually don't even use the audio on my TV, only through the amplifier. Very frustrating problem - don't most people have surround systems now days?

I have no idea if it's most people.
I have a great sound system, but I don't want to have to turn it on for twenty minutes of the morning news.

Incidentally, the DVD recorder and player (and VCR for that matter) all feed the TV; then the TV feeds the receiver. That way I can send whatever I'm watching (including shows OTA) to one receiver input.

Mike

Yes, my 120 does.

thanks! that's good to know and have as a feature at least for me since i am a fan of -RW(VR) :-)

Hi, just bought a Samsung DVD Recorder (DVD-R120), went to Best Buy and was going to buy a Panasonic originally but they were sold out.

I am really happy with it, it looks really good, has front DVD, supports RAM/-R/-RW and has something that automatically creates indexes of chapters for you - not bad I have to say, for $199 it was all mine.
I have the next one up, the R130, and after about five months, it works wonderfully for my purposes. I'm decidedly more low-tech than I suspect a lot of the people are who buy these things, and I did eventually find a cheap remote that works for it, even though I still can't open or close the drawer with it.

When I bypassed the TV's own sound and ran the audio cable from the DVD recorder to the TV's speakers, the sound was remarkably clearer. I use the DVD's tuner now unless I'm recording. I read the post about most people using a home theater system, but speaking only for me, my extended family, and our friends, none of us have such a setup. There's no reason we can't just watch TV and keep it basic, but that's my view. This unit, a TV, a VCR, and a package of 4x Taiyo-Yudens is all I need.

Now that I've had it a while, though, I am considering getting a Samsung combo unit because I noticed a quirk when I record my VHS tapes. If I start the recorder before I start the tape, for some reason it records the VCR putting the word PLAY on, and I wouldn't have thought that was part of the signal. I was worried it would record me turning up the volume, but it hasn't yet. At any rate, I'm wondering if the combo would eliminate that quirk, because since I do have to start the tape first, I do lose a few seconds of it on the DVD.

The second thing I've noticed is closed captioning. Some times it won't record CC at all, and I use a fairly fast speed, SP. I've experimented using XP, and sometimes I still get some garbling. It may have to do with how fast I recorded the original, I don't know. But with tapes, you know, I tried to get as much on one tape as I could, who knew this technology would come up! I watch so many foreign movies that closed captioning doesn't bother me at all, and in fact it comes in handy when I need to turn the sound off, say, to talk to someone while I watch TV! LOL!

Anyway I just wanted to respond because I suspect that mechanically R-120 and R-130 are very similar. Although they seriously need to redesign the remote, the color and the slimline sold me. Ultimately since Samsung has discovered how to put a tuner into a machine and not have it thick and bulky, I'm hoping they'll come up with a way to put a hard disk in it and keep its slim size. That way I could use it like a TiVo and use a lot less media. That's a goal for the future, I suppose.

Thanks for your time.

This DVD-R135 is a great recorder except for the purpose I got it for. I tried to play my .AVI files from my Canon digital camera by copying onto a cd/dvd and playing it on the R135. It does not work . After talking to Samsung tier2 support I found out that AVI files needs to be converted to DivX/AVI files. The main reason I got this player is to not mess with converting all those movies in my hard drive. Oh well everything else is great:
- recorder/player button response times are excellent (much faster than the Toshiba recorders)
- excellent picture quality with and w/o HDMI
- plays .jpg files, great for slide shows
- plays regular DVDs and DVD-R, DVD+R and DVD+RW without any problems
- NTSC tuner better than other recorders I've tried
- Updated info 1/09/07: In older brand DVD players the recorded DVD-R discs play, but does not FF or REW and chapters do not work, however, on a newer (2006 model) Phillips DVD player everything worked properly This would worry me if I was going to save and back up all my home movies, because if anything happened to this Samsung machine, the DVDs may be incompatible in other/future machines.

Overall I would give it a 8 out of 10 due to the fact it does not play straightforward AVI files and the recorded DVD-R are not fully compatible with all machines. I guess that is why most people are disappointed with this DVD recorder. Samung rep told me none of the current Samsung models can directly read avi files unless it is MPEG4 or DivX coded. Does anyone know of a DVD recorder with similar features to this DVD-R135 that can play .AVI without the extra step of converting the format and the recordings are fully compatible in other machines? I guess there isn't any??

People often make the assumption that an AVI file contains just a single type of video. In fact, the AVI file structure is just a format for containing many types of audio/video within it. Your camcorder probably generates DV format video within the AVI files it makes. But MPEG4 and DivX/XviD format video may also be contained in an AVI file. So without looking further into a file than its extension, knowing it is an AVI file doesn't narrow it down much.

People often make the assumption that an AVI file contains just a single type of video. In fact, the AVI file structure is just a format for containing many types of audio/video within it. Your camcorder probably generates DV format video within the AVI files it makes. But MPEG4 and DivX/XviD format video may also be contained in an AVI file. So without looking further into a file than its extension, knowing it is an AVI file doesn't narrow it down much.

Yes, that is what I learned today that it's not so simple.

But my point to the Samsung rep was that they advertise it as playing .AVI files at the store on the carton box and in the owner's manual. This is what misled me to buy the R135, hence I will be returning it. I'm probably not the only one who is returing this recorder for this reason. I'm pretty sure you'll see a lot of these machines as used/refurbished soon.
I don't believe a normal consumer has to have extensive knowledge of MPEG, DiVX coding and understan software programing just to buy a DVD player-recorder.

Agreed. Although it's not clear how to specify what videos will play on such a player/recorder without talking about the more technical details of those videos. Other than to just make "all" videos work!

I recently printed to miniDV tape a program edited on Final Cut Pro, and when trying to send it via Firewire from a Sony DV deck to the Samsung DVD-R120, it appears that the Samsung thinks it has copy protection and is not allowing it to record. Has anyone come across this prob? I certainly didn't add copy protection, so my colleague and I are baffled. We're able to transfer other footage from Adobe Premiere to the DVD-R120 this way, so we're stumped why this is affecting material printed to tape using Fiunal Cut Pro.

Does anyone know if you can use the firewire connection on the Samsung DLP's and the fire wire on the dvd recorder (135). I guess I am wondering whether you can send OTA HD from the tv to the samsung to record. This would be the main reason I would buy this.

Does anyone know if you can use the firewire connection on the Samsung DLP's and the fire wire on the dvd recorder (135). I guess I am wondering whether you can send OTA HD from the tv to the samsung to record. This would be the main reason I would buy this.


Sorry, I meant the D-net feature on the Samsung DLP sets. For some reason this feature is rarely talked about.

DVD Recorders only accept DV input on their FireWire ins. Your HDTV no doubt puts out MPEG2 Transport Stream. DV does not support HD, MPEG2 TS does. So the answer is no unless your HDTV can put out DV to the FireWire out, in which case you'd still be limited to Standard Definition (480x720).

might be buying a sony recorder soon...

Hey -

I have been having an ususual problem with the Samsung 330 combo recorder. I've recorded on both DVD-R and DVD+R. On playback in the Samsung, the lipsync is slightly off with the video being very slightly ahead ahead of the audio.

I have not had the opportunity to play one of my recorded discs in another machine because my other machines are too old to play back any of the "home" recorded formats.

Prerecorded discs do not have this problem when being played back in the machine.

PS: I just played back the recorded disc in a friend of mine's machine that will playback DVD-R and the lipsync is fine - no problem and I must say the video looks great also (much better than the video from the Samsung).

What the heck is going on with Samsung. It seems the recorder portion of their DVD recorder/combo works great, but the playback sucks. What's the deal?

Anyone else have this problem or know if there is a software fix?

I had a DVD-VR325 that would have audio skips/ hiccups about every 2/3 minutes when connected via HDMI to my TV and coaxial audio to my amplifier. This problem only occurs if the player's audio is set to bitstream and it is receiving a digital audio signal.

I returned the unit 3 times (got 1 repair and 2 different refurb replacements) with no resolution. Also downloaded the firmware upgraded from the website for this unit.

They finally sent me a brand new unit of the newer model (DVD-VR 335), and this unit has the exact same problem, but now it only happens every 7/8 minutes?

Is anyone else having this problem or are the common people not using these units to watch the "enhanced" video with digital sound?? (Samsung tells me this problem has never been reported).

Thanks!

I'm having this EXACT same problem with my 325. The weird thing is that I have been using this unit to watch movies via HDMI for the last few months, and I have not had this problem. I just got a new receiver, and now this problem has reared its ugly head. It happens in the same spots of movies when bitstream or PCM is used. Is it the receiver? Any fixes? Thanks :)

Got a DVD-R145 late last year (seemed like the only model that did everything I wanted, HD upconversion, burns every type of media, etc.), and it's been working great on the "playing" side of things, good picture, no lip synch trouble - all is well.

Only this week have I started trying to do any recording (transfers off the Dish DVR), and have run into some trouble. I still need to do more testing, and will try some of the "recommended" brand-name blanks from the FAQ (TDK/Sony/Maxell/etc.), but the long story short is that recording onto DVD+R DL is sketchy. I'll post a new thread about it so if you're interested keep an eye out.

Do any of you have any experience with the DVD-R129? I purchased it 4 days ago and was able to record one full DVD-RW. Then last night right in the middle of a recording the unit displayed "SAFE" on the front panel and would not respond to any commands from the remote or the panel. I tried to STOP the recording but the unit would not respond. The only button that did work was the power button and that yielded a "cannot power down while recording." So I unplugged the unit for 6 hours and immediately upon plugging it back in, even before the disc is checked, the unit displays "SAFE." I can power the unit on and off, but that's it - I can't do anything else, not even change inputs. This is even with all cables disconnected.

I have a feeling the unit is hosed but I would at least like to recover the disc before I return it. I have even tried ejecting the disc during power up, which results in a power down.

I even did some research on Samsung's site and found a reference to some kind of dealer lock on older units with methods to remove them - this also results in a power down. I don't see anything in the manual or online regarding this "SAFE" message either.

Any ideas are welcome.

Sounds like some kind a Lockout to me too (Dealer, Parental?). If know one here can tell you how to unlock it I would call Samsung I'm sure they can tell you how to do it.

Do any of you have any experience with the DVD-R129? I purchased it 4 days ago and was able to record one full DVD-RW. Then last night right in the middle of a recording the unit displayed "SAFE" on the front panel and would not respond to any commands from the remote or the panel. I tried to STOP the recording but the unit would not respond. The only button that did work was the power button and that yielded a "cannot power down while recording." So I unplugged the unit for 6 hours and immediately upon plugging it back in, even before the disc is checked, the unit displays "SAFE." I can power the unit on and off, but that's it - I can't do anything else, not even change inputs. This is even with all cables disconnected.

I have a feeling the unit is hosed but I would at least like to recover the disc before I return it. I have even tried ejecting the disc during power up, which results in a power down.

I even did some research on Samsung's site and found a reference to some kind of dealer lock on older units with methods to remove them - this also results in a power down. I don't see anything in the manual or online regarding this "SAFE" message either.

Any ideas are welcome.



I read somewhere else on this forum of another person with the same problem. He said that holding down the DISPLAY (or maybe it was INFO) button down for 5 seconds unlocked the safe mode designed for display units at stores so customers can't mess with them too much.

I read somewhere else on this forum of another person with the same problem. He said that holding down the DISPLAY (or maybe it was INFO) button down for 5 seconds unlocked the safe mode designed for display units at stores so customers can't mess with them too much.

Thanks for that!

It was the INFO button - and apparently that is how the unit was inadvertently put into SAFE mode as well. As I have a 6yr old nephew that may actually come in handy :)

I must add that this unit has worked quite well for what I am doing (recording shows from DCT6412 via A/V) so I'm glad I don't have to return it.

Thanks again :)

I am glad it worked. This looks very similar to the DVD-R130 which I saw last night refurbished for $50 and I am thinking about getting it.

Regarding the lip sync problem that many have reported...

I have a VR325 connected with hdmi for video and audio is through optical using bitstream mode. I do not have the skipping audio problem. From reading the posts, I'm guessing that some receivers combined with certain samsung dvd players/recorders have some compatibilty issue. Notice that the people that have the problem still have the problem after trying multiple units - maybe because they've always used the same receiver. I think one person said he tried a friend's receiver and it was fine. Probably more people that have the problem should try a different receiver at a friend's house and let us know what happens.

By the way my receiver is a pretty old Yamaha RX-V992.

I am looking at the Samsung R-135, and was wondering is it possible to connect HD DVD or blu-ray (or PS3) to a DVD-R via composite or S-Video for a 480i transfer?

no.

How does the Samsung LP mode compare? Specifically with Panasonic's LP mode since I am familiar with that one. I am tempted by a certain refurb Samsung :-)

i seem to have lost the entire on screen menu. It does not display. Any help out there for this?

Hey -

I have been having an ususual problem with the Samsung 330 combo recorder. I've recorded on both DVD-R and DVD+R. On playback in the Samsung, the lipsync is slightly off with the video being very slightly ahead ahead of the audio.

I have not had the opportunity to play one of my recorded discs in another machine because my other machines are too old to play back any of the "home" recorded formats.

Prerecorded discs do not have this problem when being played back in the machine.

PS: I just played back the recorded disc in a friend of mine's machine that will playback DVD-R and the lipsync is fine - no problem and I must say the video looks great also (much better than the video from the Samsung).

What the heck is going on with Samsung. It seems the recorder portion of their DVD recorder/combo works great, but the playback sucks. What's the deal?

Anyone else have this problem or know if there is a software fix?

I'm having the same issue, using Maxell DVD +RW

I Have bought a samsung Vr330 dvd player. I can play DVDs and vidos with no problem but am having difficulty recording on DVDS. Everytime I put a Blank Disc in (DVD-RW) it is coming up with a message- this disc cannot be played please check the disc- As far as I am aware the discs are fine, they were bought new from HMV.
The full menu for the dvd player is not coming up either. it just spits the disc out as soon as the above message is displayed.


I have checked through the thread and noone seems to have had this problem
I am not sure if I am really silly but both myself and my sister have spent hours trying to work out what is going on to no avail. Please can someone help me.

Thank you very much in advance.

No fixes I could find for mine - just learned to deal with it. In actuality (after a few months), mine skips about 4 times during a normal movie. Annoying to be sure. I am hoping someday they will post a fix for this on the product page:

http://www.samsung.com/support/productsupport/download/Model_Select.aspx?type=&typecode=200200&subtype=&subtypecode=200203&model=DVD%2DVR335&fileType=UM&language=

I have had a Samsung VR330 for about six months and for the most part works fine until now. It fails to finalize any -R or +R discs. The only discs that it will finalize are the +R DL discs. This was happening every so often a few weeks ago and I tried some different brands of both DVD -R and +R and it seemed to work ok. Now every disc fails to finalize. Are there only certain brand of discs that work with this recorder. Heard elsewhere that one of the DVD Recorder Manufacturers stated that it was a DISC problem and not a recorder problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have wasted so much time with this I just want to dump this recorder in the trash. Then I guess the problem would be what to replace it with.

J_1392,

I find it interesting that these DVD media issues like not finalizing is a issue with more than just your recorder. I had issues with my Coby DVD recorder and blamed it on its being a under $100.00 recorder.

The Coby was pretty reliable when I first got it and menu issues were the worst problem.

But the longer I used it the more I got: can't read disk, can't finalize , no disc in drive so could not do timed record even though I had a brand new disc in the drive became the norm.

It got so unreliable I quit using it. And now I see a lot of even more expensive name brand DVD recorders are having the same issues.

Is it the media? Or is it the record optics? Both?

-DonB2

I've gleaned a lot of good info from this site, asked some questions and got some answers and have yet to be flamed by anybody so I thought I'd post this to help anyone else who intends to implement a similar lash up.

I recently picked up a Samsung DVD-VR330. I got it so that I could transfer recordings from my Motorola DCT6412 III's DVR to DVD (i.e., declutter the DVR) and transfer old VHS tapes to DVD also.

I have a Sony HT-7000DH HTiB that consists of an AV Receiver, upconverting DVD player and the requisite speakers for a 5.1 system. The AVR (HDMI pass through) has 2 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output. My set-up up to now, which works just fine, has been as follows:

Motorola DCT6412 III >> HDMI >> AVR
Motorola DCT6412 III >> Digital Audio Optical >> AVR
DVD Player >> HDMI >> AVR
DVD Player >> Digital Audio Coax >> AVR
AVR (MONITOR OUT) >> HDMI >> Samsung HL-S5086W

Anyway, after reading the manual and checking WikiBooks and some AVS threads for info on the VR330 and Moto DCT6412, I figured the following set-up should work:

Motorola DCT6412 III >> S-Video >> VR330 (S-VIDEO IN)
Motorola DCT6412 III >> Red/White Audio >> VR330 (AV 1 IN)
VR330 (DIGITAL AUDIO OUT) >> Optical Cable >> AVR
VR330 (AV OUT) >> Red/White Audio >> AVR
VR330 (COMPONENT OUT) >> Component Cable >> Samsung HL-S5086W

With this set-up, I played back both VHS tapes and DVD videos so I knew that much was OK. I also recorded (on DVD-R) and replayed a few minutes of a non-HD program that is on the DVR so that worked too. I must admit it took a couple of tries. I succeeded only AFTER I realized that I had to choose "SUPER" with the INPUT SEL. button on the remote (is that what the S in S-video stands for?? DUH!). The next things will be to finalize a DVD and try to play it on the upconverting DVD player and my computers and transfer some VHS tapes to DVD.

I currently don't plan to record via the VR330's tuner so I don't have a coax hooked up to the ANT IN JACK. If I decide I want that capability later, I think I'll use a cable splitter where the RG6 comes out of the wall.

Here is a site that has ratings for different brands of recordable DVD media:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia

I will use this the next time I buy DVD's

DONB2