Price Paid:  $161.00 from uecweb.com

Summary:
****the best dvd/cd recorder ever****

Strengths:
veeeery good pic & sound veeeery good quality cd recording on screen displays are awesome,good value for your money. hitachi quality product *****made in japan*****

Weaknesses:
reads the dvd/cd a bit slow

Similar Products Used:
none & i dont think there are many out there i.e dvd/cd recorder in one slim beautiful unit.

Price Paid:  $28999.00 from brandsmart u.s.a.

Summary:
this thing has the best picture of all dvd players i play it for hours the sound (dts,digital)is unimaginable the dvd heads clean the cd when you put it in and is easy to use I even make mix cd''s with easeget ready for the best dvd player made yet and I got it still boxed for half the price these other fools got it for.its value is a good $500.00 bucks i paid 288.00 go figure

Strengths:
every output you can think of.quality of picture, 2xCDR,full function remote

Weaknesses:
long time before it begins to play

Similar Products Used:
sony 550,panasonic progressive scan

Price Paid:  $750.00

Summary:
I have had this unit now for about 3 months and I'm very impressed with it,It's done EVERYTHING I've asked of it and flawlessly. I have watched a few dozen movies through it and the picture quality is among the best as far as I'm concerned. The colors are crisp and bright and dont have the washed out look I've seen on other players. This I discovered while shopping for a DVD player.
The remote I have found to be very well laid out and the jog wheel works well, It has 2 functions,The lower ring of the wheel serves as a fast forward (1/8,1/2,2x,10x,30x,120x speed) while the top of the wheel works the one frame at a time movement while your in pause mode. It also has a nice ergonomic feel in your hand.
The cd music player/recording side I have also found to work well.I has a very well laid out onscreen menus to burn cds with.It will dub all or part of a CD as well as allow you to make your own compilation of music with little or no fuss. However...and you knew this was coming,I have one minor complaint. It seems to take a long time for the player to recognize what you have put in the trays, Hitachi calls this the "learning mode". Well it just seems like its a slow learner and by slow I mean 30-40 seconds.
I also used a mini disc recorder to burn what I recorded FROM the mini disc to the CD burner and it came out flawless and sounded great.
The unit also has ALL the input/outputs you'll need and probably some you dont need however if you have to have the latest and greatest out there the one thing this unit does not have is progressive scan technology built in. Oh well.
While I'm going to rate the value fairly low here (mainly because the price dropped after just three months) you can currently find the DV-W1U for under $600. I paid $750 for it but the space savings and the cost of two separate units swayed me to buy it.

Strengths:
Excellent DVD picture Quality
Nicely Laid out Remote

Weaknesses:
No Progressive Scan capability

Similar Products Used:
None

Summary:
The all singing DVW1E from Hitachi, is a DVD player/CD player and also CD-RW deck. This certainly appeals to me, especially after reading some of the more favourable reviews.
For the record, Hi-Fi Choice (July/August 2000) gave it a five-star review with one drawback - the CD-RW deck is frustratingly laboured & sluggish even when reacting to simple request as search and skip.

Two of the many DVD mags on the market gave the DVW1E the star treatment with only minor criticism.

What has got me thinking is the latest review in What Hi-Fi, which basically panned the box! Claiming that although the DVW1E manages to thrill on purchase - this is only short-lived before the CD playback quality of Loudness fails to deliver. I think the gist of the review was too many tricks in one box!

Having recently demo-ed the box, I have to say that I was impressed with the given features and how the player performed overall. However before I commit to buy, I would like to hear other comments and whether there are any similar products on the market that may be better?