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This DVD recorder is a very nice one. I would give it 4.5 stars overall. It is in the top two one can purchase!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This DVD recorder is easy to install and the user interface is identical to that of any Samsung TV(easy to navigate for a first timer). You could do both without really looking at the instructions; and if you need the instructions for some of its more advanced features it is easy to follow. You may however, want to pay attention to the correct DVDs (blank recordables) that will work with it. It has a lot of cool features that appeals to almost anyone. Only criticism is that the unit's fan stays on when powered down. When I contacted Samsung they said it was because the unit was designed to also work as a programmable DVR (using DVD as the storage media in DiVX format) it needed to be "quick on the fly" and the fan only drawing minor voltage kept the unit running cool. Worth the buy.
I bought this for the over-the-air Electronic Program Guide feature (OTA EPG), but I have been disappointed that the EPG info is not available until you have actually changed to the channel. And the info does not seem to persist if you turn it off. So it is not as useful as I hoped. Also, the remote is poorly designed - too small buttons laid out too close - difficult for people with poor coordination, poor eyesight. I had problems with a -RW disk in VR mode, where it would lose shows after the one I deleted. Using the V mode seems to avoid this problem - unfortunately the manual does not tell you this kind of thing.
The one thing that this machine should have but does not have is a 15 minute quick record.. other than that this machine has all of the bells and whistles that the others have
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Excellent recording quality on XP and SP modes; ATSC tuner for receiving over-the-air digital TV broadcasts; EPG for digital over-the-air channels; IR blaster can control cable or satellite box for timer recordings; HDMI output upscales up to 1080i; commercial skip button; solid DVD playback performance; flexible recording speed for timer recordings; DVD-RAM compatibility. The bottom line: The Samsung DVD-AR650 is a solid DVD recorder with a nice collection of features for digital video archivists. Read the manual people, it helps.