Very easy to use, similar to a VCR. Records on DVD+/-R and +/-RW discs. Plays CDs and DVDs encoded with mp3 and wma files, and also jpeg files. Starts recording pretty quickly. Great picture quality in SP and even in 4 hour mode in a pinch. The remote control buttons are laid out nicely. The clock seems stable. A previous different brand DVD recorder I had gained about 30 seconds each day which was a big pain you know where for scheduled recordings.

Well, having to upgrade the firmware on a brand new device is definitely a bummer. Lots of less computer and electronic savy folks probalby would have been stumped. No card slots for viewing pictures on typical camera flash media. No USB port for plugging in a thumbdrive for a slideshow either. And not particular to this unit, but to DVD recorders in general - why can't they record on CDs? You know the mechanism would have to be capable of doing so, so why not? Why shouldn't I be able to record say 74 to 80 minutes of Sirius music for later playback in my car? I presently record 4 hour DVDs of music and play them back in my PC at work, but of course my car CD player can't play those.

Back to this unit: The main weakness is just it's plain "clunkyness" of operation. You feel like you are operating a PC instead of a dedicated player with all the wait between operations. And if you are in a hurry, those few seconds feel like eternity, plus it causes you to have doubts the unit is working correctly. If they get that down faster, then it would be a big plus. Also a "skip ahead 30 seconds" button to skip commercials would be nice. I wish it could play .m4a (AAC) files, which are the same as .mp4 as far as audio goes. That would be a big plus for those of us with iPODs who have ripped our own CDs or re-riipped tunes bought from iTunes to get rid of the dreaded digital rights management. Finally, the instruction manual did NOT have any error codes listed or what they meant. It should have.

My review is for the RCA DRC8052NC. I've had this unit for about 30 days now. I like it just fine. Much better than a previous low end "no name" brand I previously had, especially on the video coding so the picture is much smoother and has more detail.

Some caveats, which may apply to all inexpensive DVD recorders perhaps, is their "clunkyness" in operation. When you load a CD or DVD it seems to take many seconds to figure out what kind of disc you've inserted. This should be quicker, but I guess it is trying to figure out what medium you have inserted in case you wish to record on it. I wish they had a mode or button you could push to tell it up front that you are trying to merely PLAY a disc for quicker access.

Mine started being slow to respond to the remote control, then it started displaying an error code of 101 on the unit's display after inserting a disc. I called tech support which informed me I need to go to their web site and download a file, burn it to a CD, making sure to finalize it, then to put it in the DVD recorder and let it update the firmware. So far this seems to have fixed the problem (knock on wood).

I would recommend this unit to anyone who plans on sticking with standard definition TV for the next 15 months, and wants an easy to use, VCR-like DVD recorder to archive TV shows or for time shifting them. The front panel A/V inputs should allow easy connection of a VCR in case you have old tapes that need to be preserved on DVD.

To novices out there, remember, you must finalize any DVD you record if you wish to play it in a different player. This is an easy process, but one that could cause some grief when you let your girlfriend borrow last night's LOST episode and it won't play in her player.

Customer Service

Not too bad. I could even fairly well understand the guy with a not too thick Indian accent. He never did say that the display error code 101 actually meant I needed the firmware upgrade, but recommended the update anyway in an attempt to fix the problem. Doing the update definitely didn't hurt anything, but I suspect that just unplugging the device for a minute actually fixed my problem, and since I didn't want to take a chance on it recurring, I went ahead and did the firmware update.

Similar Products Used:

Some cheapo Cyberhome DVD Recorder that died 3 months after I bought it. But then I guess you sometimes do get what you pay for after all.

Can play PAL region 0 dvd's
Has a great picture on upscaled DVD's (via HDMI output) for both 720p and 1080i.
Layer changes are not detected.
Records as soon as you press the record button.
No leading or trailing of video edge is shown. The Philips DVDR985 unit I had did show this.

Firmware Update for models...DRC8052NB & DRC8052NC. NOT for the model number DRC8052N

When setup for 16x9 display and you playback a 4x3 image it does not display it correctly. It stretches the 4x3 to 16x9. You must use your tv aspect feature to display the 4x3 image correctly (ie. normal, wide, stretch, so on).
RCA customer service.

Records from your TV, camcorder, or other video device, using DVD+R/+RW or DVD-R/-RW Discs.
HDMI™ w/HD Upconversion.
DV-Input w/Camcorder Control.
DivX® certified player will playback DivX® formatted discs with all the features intended by the author.
Front Audio/Video Input Jacks allows convenient hook-up of camcorders, mp3 players and other devices
Fast interactive user interface.

Similar Products Used:

Philips DVDR985 dvd recorder