Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42434 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Samsung
• Model: DVD-VR330/XEU
• Released on: 2006-07-12

Manufacturer's Description
Samsungs DVD-VR330 will record and play in 2 DVD formats, that's -R and -RW, so you don't need to worry about complicated recording procedures or compatability anymore, PLUS also play and record in VHS which covers both recording types for anyone with an extensive backlist of titles in VHS including your kids. With stylish design, this DVD/VCR combination player and recorder will complement any TV package or entertainment setup (given compatable connections).

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Impressive Piece of Kit
Since reading a magazine review on this machine, I'd been itching to get my hands on one. I have quite a large VHS collection, of both pre-recorded and home movie material, and transferring everything from tape to DVD presented itself as an ideal way to free up some storage space. Be aware though that you won't be able to transfer any copy-protected films, as the machine flatly refuses to allow it. So totally eliminating your VHS library is not likely to be an option

The machine itself comes with easy to digest instructions, so I was up and running with it in no time. The DVD drawer did take a while to open at the very first time of asking, but has been fine ever since. Copying from VHS to DVD, and vice versa, can be done simply at the press of a button. Editing certain portions of video footage requires a little more effort, but is still not too complicated.

Generally, I'm impressed overall by the quality of this machine. Picture quality after VHS->DVD transfer is very good. No chewing of tapes, no system lockups. I've knocked off a star as it does sometimes have an annoying habit, and it's this: If you transfer a certain portion of VHS to DVD, and press stop to end recording, the machine stops the tape. But it can then start recording to the DVD again - all by itself. So be prepared for random snippets of things between your edits.

A Good Buying Experience
The recorder worked well straight out of the box, it was simple to use, even the timer recording, which after my last two VCRs was a very pleasant surprise.

Copying my video cassettes to make backup copies was painless.

After a week or so of use, it started getting intermittent horizontal banding interference on the image from all sources, I got that sinking feeling in my gut knowing I would have to do battle to get a good fix, not a bit of it! I sent Amazon an email telling them of the problem, within 15 minutes I got a reply asking if I wanted a replacement or a refund, I asked for a replacement and I got a reply within the hour to tell me a new machine had been ordered, which turned up the following morning, I was able to print off a reply paid label to put on the box to send the defective machine back and called DHL to collect it.

The replacement has worked faultlessly since.

I judge people and companies by how they treat you when things go wrong, it's easy for them to give good customer service when all is going well but the best time to judge them is when things are not well, I can't praise Amazon enough, my experience with them has always been good in the past and I had no qualms about buying anything from them, but now I am eminently satisfied.

Simplicity itself after some teething problems
First of all- to my absolute horror when I received this machine and began setting it up, I quickly discovered that it isn't actually a `multi-region' DVD Player, at least it isn't right out of the box. After numerous failed attempts at playing region 1 DVD's and consulting the manual only to discover that it's implied the machine will only play discs that are described as either region `2' or `All', I contacted Amazon to inform them of this error in the description of the item. After some confusion and miss-communication I was eventually provided with the directions necessary to configure the machine to play all region DVD's, including `All' (I know, I was confused too). To ease your set-up of the machine should you chose to purchase it I'd advise contacing Amazon and they'll be able to provide you with the same directions, which are simplicity itself to implement.

Ok, panic over, now onto the review...

After trawling thought what seemed like hundreds of DVD players not just on Amazon but on many other electronic stores as well- searching in vain for a machine that had just a handful of concurring positive reviews to its credit, I finally came across this attractive (if a little larger than most) player. I wasn't even in the market for a combined video player, but what a useful feature it's turned out to be! All that I was really looking for in a DVD player was one that could play multi-region DVD's and also possessed a recordable feature. Trading up from a player that cost just £35 three years ago, I decided to spend a little more the second time around and hopefully avoid up-grading after only a year or so. The recordable feature in particular was new to me, but very easy to get to grips with, as was the video recorder, which utilises the exact same facility to record from the television (simply switching on the remote between `video' and `DVD' is all it takes), so all in all I have to say I'm very satisfied with the quality and most importantly the ease of recording, just as I am with the video tape -to- blank DVD transference (blank DVD discs are not included however).

The few minor negative points I have to make about this machine are really only concerned with the DVD Player and the functions it provides. The facilities that aren't available, which I got used to with my previous player are- a resume button to allow rapid pick-up and continuation of a disc, a display button that gives you access to total disc and chapter times (an info. facility is available here, but is much more limited) and lastly, an A-B looping facility, which if you're a fan of any particularly moment in a film or TV programme allows you to replay that scene over and over to your hearts content. Despite these omissions, the facilities that are available are top-notch and easy to locate on the sleek remote control. One other point with the video part of the machine though is that it can be quite noisy, particularly when rewinding/fast-forwarding video tapes.

It's still early days for me and my machine, and there's always the possibility with any piece of electronic kit that faults will start to appear down the line, but at the moment (despite some teething problems in the beginning) my machine works perfectly and on the evidence so far I can highly recommend it as exceeding the positive reviews it's accumulated so far on this page. If the number of players with bad reviews I discovered in my search are anything to go by (at best- mixed reviews that leave you in no better a position to make a decision about purchasing) then machine's like this one are as close to gold dust as you're likely to find and in my view should be snapped up sharpish before they disappear into Amazon-no-longer-available-oblivion forever.