Goodmans GDVD301R

Open the box of the Goodmans GDVD301R and you think "this is nice.". Pretty stylish, inputs on front for camcorders, etc., 5.1 and DTS outputs. Digest the instructions and it's "what have I let myself in for". It's not all bad news as once you've done a few simple recordings you realise you don't need all the features available to you. Don't bother with the video plus - it's quicker to programe manually, don't record anything over 2 hours as quality disappears exponentially, and cross your fingers it is still working the next time you turn it on.

My third (yes I've had 3) machine has just given up. The first started to lose time about a month after purchase, which I could cope with, but when it stopped reading discs it went back for an exchange. No.2 machine seemed quicker and felt like a version 2 in comparision and all was well until month 11 and a half, just within the guarentee. The clock lost time by an hour every day, with the final straw being it stopped formatting & writing discs completely. The third machine has just given up. It only lost 5 minutes avery 2-3 months so I considered that a result, but the dvd tray will not open on it's own. Now a few years out of guarentee I felt the need to open the case. Nothing obvious stopping the tray from openning. I did notice that the small fan at the rear was disconnected. I say "disconnected", I really mean "the wires were cut near the fan and at the plug on the main PCB". Clealy this had been done when built OR was this a refurbished machine sold to me as new? Either way NOT an indication of a quality machine and to be honest, it didn't surprise me. Put the case back on, powered it up and the tray came out. In goes the disc, plays, records, perfect. Eject the disc.........No. Eject.......No. Eject + screwdriver.......yes. Remove disc, close tray, relagate to recylce bin.

If you get offered one of these machines, they aren't bad when they work, but don't expect to own it for long. Save your money and put it towards a better make - the chioce is alot better than when I first bought this back in 2004. It gets 4/10 as it is worth the money when it worked, but shoddy quality lets it down.

So complicated to do just simple things. First one went wrong within 2 weeks. Got it exchanged then the new one didn't have videoplus! (Boxes exactly the same!) Looks like this one is jammed now!

What a nighmare, the Goodmans GDVD is something Del boy would sell. Stay away from this model. Needs a lot of refining. I cant believe the trouble I have had.

The Goodmans GDVD301R is my second DVD recorder, bought on the strength of the DV input. It is, on the whole, easy to use, but can be a shock if you have used a DVD recorder previously. The noise level is quite high compared to the Philips 8080, and it takes some time to get used to the VideoPlus action, which will always record at the correct time but from the wrong channel unless you set the channel number (called, confusingly, the programme number). Sometimes you get an option to set channel number after settig the VideoPlus code, sometimes not, but you can enter it later. Another thing that can cause confusion is that switching on from standby does not operate the TV/AV switch in the TV, so you have to use the TV remote for this. The unit also runs hot, and I would want to disconnect it when I go on holiday, perhaps even at night.

Given the price, though, this is a compact and efficient unit, and good value.

Only had my Goodmans GDVD301R a couple of days and was impressed with the ease of use and features for something that only cost £115 from Index (closing down sale). It records fine in all modes, although the 6 hour record is a bit grainy. You can name the items you have recorded for future reference and can be played on othere DVD players.

The biggest problem is the playback of recorded DVDs. They keep stuttering, sometimes for a split second, other times for 2 seconds at a time. This includes DVDs recorded on other DVD recorders. The DVDs are OK because if you "rewind" and watch the same part again, it's fine and a different part stutters. Playback of ordinary DVDs is fine. I couldn't get a replacement from Index because they were out of stock, (and closing down soon). Goodmans (Bush / Alba) Customer support only suggested I get a refund. They weren't interested in providing a replacement or repairing the faulty item, and seemed unconcerned that I had no incentive to buy another Goodmans product.

If the DVD playback had been OK, this would have been an excellent recorder - especially for the price. - Sorry Goodmans, you've shot yourself in the foot. Maybe I'll get a Lite-On?