Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61050 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Toshiba
• Model: RD97DTKTB
• Released on: 2007-09-17
• Dimensions: 2.32" h x 12.40" w x 16.54" l, 8.60 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
The RD97DT HDD DVD Recorder/Player allows you to enjoy digital television and archive hours of TV programmes on your hard drive.

The RD97DT comes with both a digital Freeview TV tuner and a standard analogue tuner. Its Massive 250 GB hard drive allows you to enjoy advanced recording functions such as TimeSlip, and record up to 424 Hours of TV, that's enough for 280 football matches.

The RD97DT is also equipped with a 8 day TV electronic programme guide, EPG, and also a 36 event/1 month timer. In addition, this recorder is capable of recording and playing DVD+R/+RW and DVD-R/RW formats, making it possible to record content and play back on other players. Add to all this, a HDMI connection which upscales the picture, to 1080p on a compatible HD Ready TV, and you have Recorder which is huge on features and offers superb picture quality.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Crude design and build quality - a disappointing product
I bought this to upgrade from a smaller, analogue Daewoo DVD recorder (I wanted more memory and a DVB tuner), so this is the comparison which informs this review. It seemed a bargain (I was offered it at a reduced price not from amazon). With the exception of the two features mentioned above, together with HDMI connection, a much quieter fan, and the shiny black fascia, this machine is simply inferior in almost every way.

The first disappointment is the look of it in operation. On-screen menus look and are crude. The machine is slow and unwieldy in operation throughout. The Electronic Programme Guide is clunky and equally crude looking, and the timer function is counter-intuitive in operation and unreliable (I've gone back to more regular use of my elderly Sharp VHS as a backup). Editing facilities are crude and unresponsive. With this, the remote control is particularly unhelpful - both poorly organised and poorly labelled (I can barely read it in artificial light - this could be a personal vision issue, but I've no such problems with any other remote I have - even the tiny remote for my clock radio!).

I have some problem with the ability to tune in to DVB stations, but this lack of sensitivity may be partly due to the poor reception in my building/area - although other tuners I have seem to cope well enough. This is always difficult to assess, but if you live in a simlarly reception challenged area, it might be worth knowing.

The infamous "timeslip" function is also pretty useless - a poor alternative to any well constructed PVR - but many other amazon reviews of similar products have addressed this one.

Particularly irritating - and avoidable - are the multiple aerial sockets (you have to use a SEPARATE EXTERNAL coaxial cable to use both the analogue and digital tuner, yet the onscreen setup menus assume both as a default).

I've posted this because I looked very carefully for reviews of this object before I bought, it but found nothing much, so I resorted to some residual faith in Toshiba as a brand. In spite of my past experiences with Toshiba being as positive as they were (or was I just lucky?) I don't have that kind of faith any more, I'm afraid. As ever, best to try before you buy, if you can. One look at the menus would have been enough!

Toshiba RD970 250 HDD & DVD recorder
I have to admitt I didn't buy this piece of equipment through Amazon as it was a last minute purchase on Xmas Eve but felt I had to write this review as I have used them in the past. Got it home tried to set it up nothing just the Toshiba welcome screen end of story till after Xmas. Exchanged it for another on the 27/12 plugged it in and away we went and in a couple of minutes it was up and running. Tested all the facilities in the next three days, EPG was missing half the info on the channels, changing channels was slow and the handset was not precise some times you had to press the buttom twice especially the TOP MENU button which seemed to have a mind of it's own, the handset was also difficult to read 'off white on black'. The channel reception was not great at times but the HDD worked fine and also the record option onto DVD. There is no volume control on the handset and you can only watch the channel you are currently recording, very fustrating. So after three days I decided enough was enough and back it went in exchange for a Humax 9200T our second and a fine piece of equipment it is too but no DVD!

So until Toshiba get their act together I would give the RD970 a miss.

poor product from a good brand
I bought this as I have a Toshiba HD TV. Very happy with the TV, this product is poor, poor menus, poor setup, poor HDMI connectivity. It actually worked better through SCART than HDMI. Even simply playing a DVD caused flickering on the top and pottom 4 to 5 pixels when using HDMI.