All-in-1 Digital Video Recorder with Video Editor Software

In the beginning I was having 2 problems with this unit. First, it would occasionally stop recording before the end of the show. No reason because there was still plenty of space left on the flash drive. The second problem was with the video itself. It would break up for a second or two. This would occur only one time on most of my recordings but was very annoying. I suspected that perhaps the flash drive that I was using was at fault. So I switched from my PNY 128 gb flash drive to a Kingston HyperX Savage 128 gb flash drive. Lo and behold, no more problems. Wow! I later decided to use a solid state hard drive instead of the flash drive and I recommend that you do, too. Why? Because in the past, I've had 3 flash drives go bad on me. Check that whatever hard drive or flash drive you use is formatted as either FAT32 (not exFAT) or NTFS. This unit gives you a choice of 3 ways to record. First, you can use the single composite video connector (yellow color) plus the 2 audio connectors. Second, you can use the 3 YPbPr video connectors (green, blue & red colored) plus the 2 audio connectors. This is a better choice because the video is much better. Third, you can use the single HDMI connector. In terms of video quality, this is the best choice and you don't need to connect audio cables. However, if you want to use the HDMI connector to record shows from cable or satellite TV to watch later, you will also need to add an HDMI splitter (not switcher). Why? Because the shows are copy protected with was known as HDCP. From what I've read, not all video splitters work, though. I recommend the video splitter made by The Cimple Co. You plug the HDMI cable from the satellite or cable receiver into the splitter's input port. The video recorder is plugged into the splitter's output port. You MUST also plug a valid HDCP approved device (your TV) into the splitter's 2nd output port. I recommend that you always leave the splitter powered on, even when you are not recording. I didn't do that and after a couple of months, my splitter died. I replaced it with an identical unit and so far so good (I always leave it plugged in now). If you decide to use HDMI, make sure that on the video recorder you set the input to HDMI and the resolution to 1080P (both blue LEDs should be lit). If not, press the Input and/or Res button to correct it. This will give you the best possible video. As for video editing, I highly recommend VideoReDo instead of the one that comes with the unit. It is super fast and, more importantly, does not re-encode the video as other video editors do.

Need to upgrade DTV DVR before it completely died, and had some precious programs with my children in them recorded on it. DTV was of course no help. So I searched for weeks, and came across this. Now yes, I could record them on VHS and call it a day, but have not had a VHS for many years, plus I haven't seen tapes anywhere recently. Buying them is outrageous, as they are way more than $100, and DVD recorders are $200.This little box did the job nicely and only needed a thumb drive with 16gb available, formatted in FAT32. You will NOT get HD quality, but I wasn't interested in anything more than saving the memories that I couldn't locate elsewhere. It splits the longer recordings (over 2gb into multiple files), which you then use the software to merge/edit, if necessary. The software that comes with this recorder is simple and straightforward. Drag your video file in, and click "produce" tab. It will then export edited video files to your chosen location. If your video was split into multiple files, drag the first file into the software, then the second, then click produce and export. It can take some time for the file to complete export, but once done, you can remove it from the thumb drive and reformat in FAT32 and go back at recording. Reformatting the thumb drive isn't really necessary, neither is removing it from the recorder every time you record (as long as there is enough space), and you can record multiple videos in one session, but it's in real time, meaning the program has to play out completely after you hit record. You'll just hit record one more time to pause the recording during commercials, and then tap again to restart same file. Hold rec down until the light stops flashing and immediately let go, in order to stop recording. Don't continue to hold it, or it will stop, then start recording all over to a new file.I'm quite happy with this purchase! I'm not sure what else I would use it for though, after getting my children's performances off with it, but it was worth every penny, even if that's the only thing I ever use it for!

Was able to copy some old sports events from a satellite DVR to USB. But it's not as seamless and easy as they make it sound. For a 3 hour sports event, it records ~20 minute segments to the USB and then you have to manually use the software to stitch those into a 1 3-hour movie file. Filesizes are big and if you burn to DVD, you may not get the resolution/quality that you had on the original DVR recording. Also, the USB stick must use FAT32, which means you can't use big 128GB sticks. BUT, now I can return this satellite DVR and quit paying the monthly fee for it even though I haven't used it for years.By the way, it's really true that you can't record HDMI from the satellite DVR. I thought I could get around it with A/V components in between, but to no avail. Had to use the composite video and L/R audio.

OK not what I expected.

I ordered this to copy my mom's home movies. She passed away suddenly in August, so those memories are priceless. When it came in I decided to test it on my own MiniDV cassettes. It was like magic! Each video copied perfectly to the 128GB flash drive I purchased. If the file size exceeds 2GB, it automatically creates a new file in file-number sequence and continues recording. I was delighted!When I hooked it up to the VCR, imagine my disappointment when it only records a short segment of the tape before stopping. The file size wasn't exceeded, so I can't understand why it didn't finish recording. This happened multiple times. The first time, it recorded 12 minutes of a 90 minute video. The second time it recorded 7 minutes. This is extremely frustrating since I was hoping to hit record and go do something else while it played out. Instead, it looks like I'll have to babysit the device in case the "recording" light goes off? Who has time for that??I'm hopeful the seller will see this and reach out with suggestions to solve this problem. I'll HAPPILY revise this review if I hear from them.