Samsung DVD-SH853M 160GB Hard Drive Multi Format DVD Recorder With Freeview And HDMI

Truly the worst purchase i have ever made, please don't waste your money on this unit. I have had three units as they were all faulty, the issues are with the software. recording from TV is restricted to the channel you are watching and i have not yet managed to record first time to DVD, have to re-do three/four times to get discs to finalise
awful awful awful.

terrible design, you have to refer to the manual for the most basic functions, nothing is intuitive and the gui is ugly. I only have this because I swapped it for a PVR to burn some discs, I'm glad I didn't pay cash, I wouldn't pay more than £40 for a new one. 2 stars because at least it works once you get your head round it!

The main problem people have been having with this product is faulty recording,I had two that had the TV off or timer record problems.The solution if you have recording issues is to use any connection method other than HDMI. ie component or scart.

I've also read bad reviews of this recorder, but have no problems myself. It needs a bit of tweeking with the settings to get the best out of the image quality, as does all hdtv's and gadgets plugged into them. Maybe it's because i have a samsung LCD that i can get the best out of it. Definately a good buy for the money, makes good copies onto DVD too.

I have had a few Hard drive recorders but this one is good very quiet and maybe some times a little slow refreshing the electronic program guide but that is common to most samsung digital devices. Once the controls are mastered quick and easy recording can take place. As it is a single freeview tunner it is best suited to complement a existing digital TV set !!!

This is a feature packed product at a great price. I'm not really sure what other reviewers are complaining about. Ok there maybe some minor things that could be improved but that would mean spending £450 on the equivalent Sony product. Samsung do allow you to easily update the firmware with the use of a PC, this allows for improvements to be made.

henridecat says it all! What a waste of money for something that sounds so promising. Oh, to add to his list of faults:

9) Clock does not do UK daylight saving correctly on EPG.
10) Video+ requires channel setting manually

I made a mistake buying this machine.
1) Only starts record in standby.
2) Freeview guide loses info when you change channel. It is very slow.
3) Can't pause playback for longer than 5 mins, then you lose your place.
4)Information panels poorly designed, waste space available.
5) Doesn't save progam title for recording.
6) Recorded picture quality poor, has many freezes.
7) Delay between pressing button and action.
8) Copy HDD to DVD very slow, takes 25 mins plus for 2 hr program.
To summarise, just awful, there are many more problems, my advice is just avoid it.

Third item from playcom in last 15months superspeed delivery(3days). The unit for the likes of an "oldy" was easy to set up and operate. big improvement on the old tape system. After three days of playing about with it fully at ease and set for a winter or really easy recordings of good quality. Manual and quick use instructions logical and easy to follow. With HDD no more looking round for lost programmes and easy to transpose to disc. Very neat and tidy unit.