Sony RDR-VX525 DVD Recorder / VCR Combo

This recorder allows me to record my VHS taoes to DVD. It does a beautiful job
without being very complicated

I researched several recorder-players on the market. I had actually purchased the same type of unit in a house brand from a “big box store” locally. I returned the other unit after about 48 hours in total frustration. It was just a piece of junk with limited capabilities. I found the Sony VX525 new on E-Bay by several sellers significantly less than priced at the big box store. I absolutely could not be happier with the unit. It performs exactly as advertised. You do need to be sure to read some of the fine print in the instruction manual to maximize the capabilities of the unit just as with any electronic device. This unit has tremendous flexibilities in capabilities of recording and play back. I am somewhat of a college sports fan and it is easy (read the manual) to get an entire football game on one DVD using a high quality speed and even higher quality for a shorter basketball game. It blows away the old tapes for a home pre game background party (too bad nothing can improve on the previously recorded tapes). Personally I like to record to the hard drive of the TIVO unit and then at my leisure record to the DVD using the pause of the recorder and fast forward the DVR (you can also use the edit function). If done correctly it is almost impossible to tell the break in the action. You do get a great non professional DVD to replay for friends over the holidays or pre game party. It is also a Sony and that alone speaks volumes based on my positive experience with Sony products. I would without reservation recommend highly. The only thing better would be to spend the significantly higher price of a HD unit.

We purchased this device for my husband's folks for a Christmas gift. Consumer reports/on line reviews ranked this VCR-to-DVD converter device as one of the few reliable dependable machines. The great price and fast delivery offered by the seller was the icing on the cake. The parents love it and are having a blast converting all their old family tapes to new-age DVDs!

I purchased the Sony RDR-VX525 Recorder mainly to copy my aging collection of VHS media memories to DVD. In doing so I found that my old VHS tapes held their information quite well even though some are as old as 15+ years. For this the recorder worked superbly. I have also used the AV firewire to connect my digital camcorder for copying. That feature works superbly as well. The HDMI hook-up is as simple as can be and the picture being upconverted makes for a wonderful movie watching experience. Ok enough for the plusses now there are a couple of things that need mentioned. First this unit does not have a built in tuner of any kind so a digital tuner to record broadcasts is a must if that is your motive for buying this unit. Second, the instruction manual tends to jump around a lot referring to previous pages and forward to do this or that. It could be made a lot simpler. a Final complaint for this unit is the lack of a screen saver feature that some models have. When this model finishes copying a tape or what ever the source may be it displays a blank all bright white screen. This can be damaging to your TV's screen if left unattended. But that's all the negatives I have at this time. Sony has always pleased me with good quality products and has not disappointed me with this one.

I bought it to record treasured family tapes from yrs gone by and current events.

I like the DVD recorder overall, I don't like the fact that will not replace my VCR, as I had planned, to tape favorite network shows. I'll learn to work with it.

It is a great product and works beautifully if you can figure out the extremely large and confusing owners manual. Sony could be more clear on how to get the remote and machine on the same command window. One call to Sony tech support and we were up and running. Do not bother with the Sony FAQ page, go to phone number and save MUCH time

I had not done a great deal of research on this product before buying. I needed a vcr/dvd recorder in a hurry. this was fairly priced. I was impressed by the speed in which it was shipped, and as always, the quality of the sony product

Let me start out by saying this is my first experience with a dvd copier and I have to say it is a really slick piece of equipment. It's very easy to use, has alot of options and very flexable, copies vhs to dvd and dvd to vhs, can make dvd's or vhs tapes from your camcorder and other direct line inputs(really cool). If your looking for a dvd recorder and you don't have alot of experience with one, this would be the write choice!

I have a little video camera I bought in 2005. It requires video tapes and I have probably 40 of them. The videos are of my 3 sons, grand-daughter and daughter in law; Christmas, birthdays, ballgames, swim parties, etc. I certainly don't want to use them. I've bought two other recorders at Walmart and neither of them would record. The good thing about Walmart is returns are easy. I saw this one on Ebay, brand-new and just what I needed. Decided to take a chance and we've been simply delighted. It's easy to operate( but my grand-daughter and 4 yr. old are not allowed to touch it), and that's saying something because I'm no electronic genius. It came only a week after I ordered it and I has a warranty. I can't think of anything bad to say about it- it's great and a great name brand to boot!!! thanks, glo&ben

Bought 3 weeks ago. Does lots of things and instruction book could have more details for first time users. This unit is same as Sony RDR-VX555 DVD Recorder / VCR Combo except this unit comes with HDMI cable. I also have the Sony RDR-VX555 DVD Recorder / VCR Combo and the instruction books are almost exactly the same . . the remotes are. I think I am going to like when I learn how to use all the timing features. How to use the Lists and titles are just not clear to me in the instruction book. I did call Sony help line and they helped me . . little hard to understand the tech but we got through it.

I've had my recorder for a couple of days now and it is outstanding. The one touch Dub works great, without any problems. The reordered discs picture and sound quality are excellent. I use the Maxell DVD+RW 4.7 GB 4x Discs which automatically formatted in this recorder.
Sony did a great job with this recorder.

It's a good DVD Recorder/VCR for the money. The only problem I have so far is that when trying to convert my old VCR tapes to DVDs, I get a pause every five minutes or so during the operation. I thought it was the way it converts during the recording. Unfortunately, these pauses are also present on the DVD now. I have tried playing with the settings to no avail.

I have had a couple of similar products but this has the best quality picture of anything I've found for under $200. I wish it had a tuner, but otherwise, it's ideal for everyday use. The hookup was easy and after I figured out how to switch the language to English, I was ready to go. This really has some nice features like the one button dubbing and easy recording setup.

like - does what I was wanting to do, record old tapes
dislike - hard learning formatting, titleing, instructions do not say:
a. this step first
b. this step second, etc.
buy - seemed best deal, my projects not major, WHY, major bucks ?

Haven't even tried the VHS to DVD recording but love the ease of use, features and able to control the Sony trinitron TV with remote!

I have TWO. Got these on eBay including S&H with insurance for a fraction of the prices I see (June 2008) for the same product at online and brick-and-mortar retailers. It was an open-box return, nothing missing, not a mark on anything, and the excellent and easy-to-understand owners' manual appeared to have been read because there were certain pages with small folds in the corners. My assumption is that the original purchaser (or member of a so-called consumer club) realized this model could not dub DVD movies they rent or get in the mail - there are copyright protections on commercially produced discs - or they may not have understood what it means when the packaging clearly is marked that there is no tuner built-in this model. It was delivered in eight days from my winning bid in the ebay auction. If you are comfortable with open-box deals, and will take the slight risk inherent in buying from a re-seller of refurbished home electronics, I'd recommend this product to you.

<p>I think many people who jump to buy this do not understand the strangle-hold that copy-protection, etc., puts on the average consumer of entertainment.

<p>This Sony VX525 is the best (in my opinion) for recording and re-playing your home-made movies using reliable blank media (I use GENUINE Taio-Yuden DVD minus R's, but have success with a variety of DVD+/-R or RW +/-). Potential buyers of these products must take the initiative to research, and the time to comprehend the necessary finalization process, as well.

As I compose this review, the Sony RDR-VX525 Combination DVD & VHS recorder-players are still at "wholesale" retailers (you know the kind, the ones that shake you down annually for full retail prices under the pretense of a "membership" wholesale outlet) for twice the price.

I had it hooked up and tested all functions with various media it accepts. Everything is as advertised. Quiet, fast, logical ... actually simple when it comes to dubbing VHS to DVD and vice-versa. Good picture with its system ... I am quite satisfied since I needed a replacement for an ever-increasingly picky DVD burner over two years old. This does the all the tricks, and then some, and replaces the VHS player and burner with the same footprint. HDMI cable included. Good remote. The ONLY minor criticisms I have is you are unable to see a display of time remaining ON SCREEN as a recording is being made. And it does not have a feature I am used to ... that's inserting chapters AS the recording is being made (all this with a screen display which does not show up on the finalized copy). But so may other features are better than the struggling little Lite-On 1107 which was hooked up to a noisy, now-squeaking and slower-rewinding Sony 4-head VCR box it replaces. The "system" it is used for is a secondary viewing system: Sony Bravia KDL-46WL140 LCD HDTV with a Sony STR DE-945 receiver for the audio through a Bose Acoustimass (10 years old) speaker system. This Sony RDR-VX525 DVD Recorder/VCR is great. My primary home theater system is a Sony Bravia KDL-46 XBR LCD and a Sony A/V STR-DG950 and a Sony Blu-Ray player as well. I have another VX-525!

I give this product an excellent rating because it's an excellent value for my purposes for this secondary home system. OK, not the latest, but who likes paying introductory market retail prices for products manufactured for Sony cheaply in China or thereabouts? It's still a SONY ... no baloney

I bought the DVD Recorder on line as a gift for my husband and because local stores couldn't keep it on the shelf. The models the stores did have were $300 or more and didn't have the features we were looking for. I received this item in just a few days and it was simple to hook up. The one button recording feature is what made this model our choice. We can now transfer our favorite VCR movies to DVD and record digital video to DVD instead of VCR. I'm not the electronic genius in our family and even I can operate it easily!!

I really like this product. I have a number of family VSH video's that with age and the heat of Florida I was afraid we may lose forever. Insert a video tape and a blank CD and with the touch of one button we have our family video's archived for life. I purchased this product because I needed it, but also you couldn't beat the price I was able to get on eBay as compared to a retail store and with eBays feedback function it's easy to determine whether your purchasing from an honest seller.

Great service, shipping, and pricing! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I usually keep a DVD/VCR combo connected to my 'second' TV--I don't have room for both. My old one quit and I decided to get a DVD recorder for the sake of quality (I do lots of time-shift recording). I've had good luck with Sony products in the past, so I viewed them favorably. I ordered an identical unit from this seller (LSI Distributors) a few weeks ago. The remote didn't work, and their customer service was excellent--I returned the unit and HAD MY MONEY BACK WITHIN A WEEK! The unit was in good condition and shipped promptly--I liked the idea of doing business with the same folks again. I am quite pleased with this combo. It records and plays well-was easy to set up and is easy to use.

This is a great product and is pretty easy to use after reading the manual. Very sharp looking and a great brand and product. I have been looking for this style and brand for awhile and is exactly what I wanted

I bought this Sony RDR-VX525 DVD/VCR Recorder to replace my broken Toshiba DVD recorder (2 years old) and Pioneer VCR (2.5 years old). The HDMI connector makes the picture crystal clear rom DVD. What a wonderful movie watching experience! One-Touch DVD to VCR copying is really a wonderful feature. So far the only complaint I have for this unit is the incompatibility of DVD format. I tried 4 different DVD-RW or DVD-R brands to find only one DVD-R works so far.

A great buy to convert my VHS tapes to DVD. Excellent condition and price. Thanks for passing this item along my way to save my memories from VHS tapes. Now I can save room on my shelves.
Best Regards