Toshiba DVD DR150 Review

Overall Rating

DVD RAM recorder
Price
Once set, will record regardless of what else you want to do

Slow start-up
Handset response

First impression is that the Toshiba DVD DR150 DVD recorder is a good looking machine; being slim and relatively unobtrusive.

After unpacking, connecting and switching on, the auto install would only set up 2 ITV channels, my strongest channels by far are BBC1 & BBC2, yet the machine just wouldn't or couldn't auto set them, neither did it read/synchronise with my Philips TV channels.

In comparison, I also have an older but similar priced Panasonic DVDR55E RAM machine, which on switch on, auto set perfectly synchronises with the Philips, and was ready to go in a very short time.
After manually setting the other channels and naming them through the setup menu (Oh and by the way this is the first machine I have bought where I have had to read the manual to work the machine, as a development engineer I expect logic, and there are a few things with this machine that just aren't user friendly, but more of that later). The only inputs on this machine are front panel, scart or coax, which means if you have 2 machines or more for editing, you probably will not be able to leave them setup to edit and to record off a digital set top box without a switching unit.

The machine clunks and thumps quite alarmingly compared to a Philips or Panasonic recorder, and has a very, very slow start-up, though Toshiba's latest marketing claims that the new top of the range machines have a 1 second start up, but the DR150 seems to have to read the whole disc and watch all the adverts before being ready, and this can take nearly 40 seconds, which is about twice the time it takes the Panasonic to start up.
The easy-Nav. Menu has the usual timer, play and erase sections, but only one thumbnail picture is displayed at a time, so you have to scroll sideways to check what has been recorded on the disc; also, the setup menu is there, which is the wrong place to put a setup menu; Easy-Nav is the menu you will be using to record and play every time you use the machine, the setup menu is a once used then forgotten menu that should be elsewhere! The other menu you will use is the "quick" menu to check time left etc., but it isn't quick to use, as you have to scroll down to operate the readout, and then do the same again to switch it off unless you want to have it on all the time and run the risk of screen burn.

The other irritation is the handset response. When setting the channels manually it will only go one channel at a time - you cannot hold the button to quick scroll through 99 channels, which is fine, but when you come to use the handset for every day use you find it overshoots the menu you require, and most times it doesn't only move one place for one push of the button. The logic is just back to front and not user friendly.

On record and play back quality my older Panasonic is the better machine, which was a surprise because usually the newer machines perform better. The Philips is still the king as far as quality of recording, I just won't buy another because of the reliability which is probably irrational now that they have sorted out the many problems that the early machine had, it's just that they took my money and sold me a machine that they hadn't finished developing.

Enough of the moaning. What do I like about the Toshiba DR150? I like it's ability to programme record without having to go to standby, and as a RAM machine it is far more convenient than + or - RW type machines with it's ability to time shift and edit like a computer hard disk drive.
If I was buying again I would go for another Panasonic. The reason I bought Toshiba instead was because of handset confusion, and I didn't want the two machines to get handset confusion, as both my older Panasonic and the newer machines still use the same handset. I didn't know when I placed the order that I could alter the Panasonic's handset to not conflict (this is why reading the manual right though is not such a bad idea after all).

So my verdict - The Toshiba is a fair recording machine, but the Panasonic is better and much more user friendly.