Review of the Magnavox MDR515H/F7 500GB HDD & DVD Player Recorder with Digital Tuner

In the rapidly emerging world of HDTV and the associated high tech components it is refreshing to find an economical product that can address a wide range of audio-visual setups. While certain cable and satellite TV subscriptions come with a DVR (digital video recorder) in many cases the user pays what in effect is a monthly charge. In subscription TV situations where the DVR recorder is an option or where there is an over the air antenna situation there is now an economical means ro record and play the video and audio from a variety of sources.

The option is the Magnavox MDR515H/F7 500GB HDD and DVD Player Recorder with Digital Tuner and is found at both retail outlets as well as a number of online sellers with a price in the range of $250.

The Magnavox Magnavox MDR515H/F7 has a 500GB hard drive for recording a wide variety of inputs. Much like a VCR it will record TV programs either with real time recording or using an easy to program timer based scheduler. Besides setting the MDR515H/F7 for a finite predetermined time you can also press an instant record button to record in 30-minute increments. In addition the unit will record programs or movies from a DVD playing in the built in DVD player recorder burner. It will not allow recording of copy protected material such as is found on some commercial DVD discs.

The DVD player recorder also offers 4-way dubbing (HDD to DVD, DVD to HDD, DV to HDD, DV to DVD) giving it a wide range of flexibility. It provides with a digital Dolby stream out as well as virtual surround sound. In addition it can play/record content from a number of DV sources such as VCR players, DVD players, AV, and PC's.

Several useful features of the Magnavox MDR515H/F7 Player Recorder is the ability to watch, freeze, forward, rewind live TV while recording. You can also watch a previously recorded movie or content while the unit if recording another program real time. The remote allows you to press a button to have the HDD jump ahead in user selected intervals making skipping commercials a breeze. Adjacent to that button is another that allows you to jump back in short segments of time if you forward it too far.

There have been several earlier versions of this Magnavox Player Recorder with smaller hard drives and fewer features. A great convenience has been included in this latest model which is the ability to edit the title of recorded content so you can tell at a glance what it is. The date of the recording and the source are also retained in the title content.

The Magnavox MDR515H/F7 has six recording speeds that allow you to select the visual clarity and the total potential recording time of the 500GB disc. Much like a VCR these speeds are designated XP, SP, LP, EP, HQ, and SLP. The HDD can record over 600 hours on the lowest resolution SLP setting and 100 hours on the XP setting. The DVR supports the following media types: CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R, Kodak Picture CD, DVD, and CD. It has a parental lock and retains its programming settings for 1 hour in the event of a power outage which is a welcome feature especially if you program it to record the same TV show every week.

The Magnavox MDR515H/F7 allows a great array of connection possibilities for most every anticipated set up. The connection panel includes: 1 x S-Video input (4 pin mini-DIN) - front ¦ 1 x composite video/audio input (RCA phono x 3) - front ¦ 1 x composite video/audio output (RCA phono x 3) - rear ¦ 1 x component video output (RCA phono x 3) - rear ¦ 1 x S-Video output (4 pin mini-DIN) - rear ¦ 1 x composite video/audio input (RCA phono x 3) - rear ¦ 1 x S-Video input (4 pin mini-DIN) - rear ¦ 1 x SPDIF output (RCA phono) - rear ¦ 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire/i.LINK) (4 pin FireWire) - front ¦ 1 x HDMI output ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - rear ¦ 1 x RF input - rear ¦ 1 x RF output '" rear. It also comes with a video/audio and a RF cable but the addition of a HDMI cable is also recommended if you are going to connect to a newer LCD, LED or Plasma TV.

The MDR515H/F7 is a standard definition recorder but does allow up conversion to 1080p and it also offers coax passthru of SDTV and HDTV signals. For antenna based analog TV users it has a built in digital tuner. A large base of information and FAQ's can be found online using the appropriate searches.

The Magnavox MDR515H/F7 HDD and DVD Player Recorder with Digital Tuner is an economical way to enjoy your video content without monthly rental charges. It offers a multiplicity of connection/configuration options for most typical setups and is much more flexible then a VCR.