Entered CNET Catalog: 04/14/2005
SKU: 0022265411674
Manufacturer: Toshiba
Manufacturer description
Toshiba's Multi Drive D-R4 DVD Recorder offers recording and playback of DVD-RAM, DVD-RW or DVD-R media. The unit features the EASY NAVI portal, ColorStream Pro Component Video outputs and five different recording modes. Multi Drive D-R4 DVD recorder features Digital Cinema Progressive Scan output, Multimedia playback for JPEGs and MP3 titles, and a Zoom mode.User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 2 user reviews
A GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT AND WASTE OF MONEY
Pros: I can think of none.
Cons: Only works with one brand of DVD; often destroys disks in processing; technical "support" the most unhelpful I've encountered. Very user unfriendly.
Review: Have had problems since the very beginning. Will not purchase another Toshiba product of any kind.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 2 user reviews
Excellent Unit
Pros: Features, Lack of Problems, Fast support access
Cons: Only available in silver, a bit slow to load/unload discs
Review: Excellent Unit! It does most everything I wanted, and a few things I had not even thought of.
If you use DVD-RAM discs, you can do great stuff on this unit, like marking the commercials as chapters and them removing them after recording the show, and playing the currently recording program from the beginning even though it is recording farther along. (You can also watch a different program on the disc instead.)
Of course, these discs don't play on most other DVD players, so you need to use DVD-Rs instead and give up these features if you want a disc that can play anywhere, but it is great to have these features for discs which will only be played on this and compatible units, and for everyday recording.
I had purchased a Panasonic DMR-ES10K originally, and had problems with it playing the second half of my DVDs and with bad support. (See the Panasonic DMR-ES10K for more details.) I exchanged it for this, and am very happy with the Toshiba unit. In comparison to the Panasonic, it is the same price (slightly less in fact), and has almost exactly the same features as the Panasonic. As a double-check before buying it, I called Toshiba support to ask them about disk editing, and a technical support agent answered within about 30 seconds and answered my question. So the support is there too.
Most importantly, it plays all my DVDs fine. But also, after trying it, I found several features in the Toshiba that had not been on the Panasonic, to my pleasant surprise. They include:
- A "zoom" feature, which lets you magnify part of the screen to see something you are interested in
- A "replay" button, which backs up an amount you can set to hear again what someone on the show said, see something cool again, etc. This is a feature I had missed in my previous DVD player from my TiVo. Replay is much more useful than rewind, wait, play, try to get the timing right.
- Shows how long a program is, and what % you are through it. The Panasonic showed how far you are into the program, but not how much time is remaining or what % you are through it. In deciding whether to finish a movie now or hold the rest for later, this is pretty helpful information.
- Will record timer programs even if you forget and leave the DVD recorder turned on, so long as there is a disc loaded with space on it.
- It even has free shipping at Amazon, which the Panasonic does not.
In the end, I was quite glad the Panasonic had problems, so I would find the Toshiba D-R4 instead and get these additional features for free. The only issues I found on the Toshiba are that it is only available in silver (which doesn't match all my black Audio Video components well) and that it loads and unloads discs a little slowly (wait before it will start playing or ejects the disc), but both are pretty small issues.
If you use DVD-RAM discs, you can do great stuff on this unit, like marking the commercials as chapters and them removing them after recording the show, and playing the currently recording program from the beginning even though it is recording farther along. (You can also watch a different program on the disc instead.)
Of course, these discs don't play on most other DVD players, so you need to use DVD-Rs instead and give up these features if you want a disc that can play anywhere, but it is great to have these features for discs which will only be played on this and compatible units, and for everyday recording.
I had purchased a Panasonic DMR-ES10K originally, and had problems with it playing the second half of my DVDs and with bad support. (See the Panasonic DMR-ES10K for more details.) I exchanged it for this, and am very happy with the Toshiba unit. In comparison to the Panasonic, it is the same price (slightly less in fact), and has almost exactly the same features as the Panasonic. As a double-check before buying it, I called Toshiba support to ask them about disk editing, and a technical support agent answered within about 30 seconds and answered my question. So the support is there too.
Most importantly, it plays all my DVDs fine. But also, after trying it, I found several features in the Toshiba that had not been on the Panasonic, to my pleasant surprise. They include:
- A "zoom" feature, which lets you magnify part of the screen to see something you are interested in
- A "replay" button, which backs up an amount you can set to hear again what someone on the show said, see something cool again, etc. This is a feature I had missed in my previous DVD player from my TiVo. Replay is much more useful than rewind, wait, play, try to get the timing right.
- Shows how long a program is, and what % you are through it. The Panasonic showed how far you are into the program, but not how much time is remaining or what % you are through it. In deciding whether to finish a movie now or hold the rest for later, this is pretty helpful information.
- Will record timer programs even if you forget and leave the DVD recorder turned on, so long as there is a disc loaded with space on it.
- It even has free shipping at Amazon, which the Panasonic does not.
In the end, I was quite glad the Panasonic had problems, so I would find the Toshiba D-R4 instead and get these additional features for free. The only issues I found on the Toshiba are that it is only available in silver (which doesn't match all my black Audio Video components well) and that it loads and unloads discs a little slowly (wait before it will start playing or ejects the disc), but both are pretty small issues.
