Sony RDR-VX555 DVD Recorder / VCR Combo

i purchased one on ebay knowing it came without the remote - what i didnt know until i got it,was that without the remote, most functions that I wanted were useless-although the system worked great, i couldn t change anything without that REMOTE ! so i got back on ebay and searched and searched for the correct remote {after trying EIGHT universal remotes,including a very EXPENSIVE sony universal-none would program to all functions !} I ended up bidding on another unit JUST to get the remote !even buying the correct NEW remote seperate was 50.00 plus shipping! my second auction won was the exact model WITH the remote ! so i now have two of these and ONE remote ,which amazingly, the second unit was bought AS_IS for the remote- and i was able to repair it in about twenty minutes - - all in all a very time consuming project that looking back, had i known, i would have passed on the one MINUS the remote !so if you are bidding on one without a remote ! - be prepared to use play,record, stop, pause and just about NOTHING else it was designed for ! you can buy the genuine remote from SONY for less than other on-line suppliers {RMT-D240A }at about 50.00 plus shipping- so bid accordingly,plan on buying the remote !! or dont waste your money on something you cant enjoy ! ALSO !!!!!--- if you are planning on picking up a signal from your cable or satellite receiver- DONT BUY ONE THAT DOES NOT HAVE THE TRANSMITTER !!! there is NO internal tv tuner and without the transmitter you can not record from TV !
as an owner of TWENTY_FIVE plus dvd players and recorders of various designs and capabilities - I NOW - have the complete package , but as you can see, it took a lot of research and determination, to not give up and throw it back on ebay and let someone else deal with the LEARNING i had to go through !
i am very satisfied with the END result - after two months of research and various auction watching and bidding, but are you ready for all of that ?
SO !!! - get the unit, get the remote, get the transmitter together , or know where you can - and you will have an awesome unit - BUT do NOT buy one without these and think you have a great DEAL - just be prepared to add the price of these into your bidding - or dont waste your money
IF- you are looking at a NEW unit- youre ready to go ! and you will LOVE it !
ANOTHER item for those of you that have DVI-D monitors-that you want to connect this, or any other DVI-D system to - be prepared to buy an adapter cable to connect to the monitor- most monitors are DVI-D,DVI-I,and this SONY like most other brand of DVDs, TVs,STEREOS,lately are NOW using - HDMI !!!!
WOW ! I learned a lot with this experience - even that when i purchased the cable to connect this unit , i never realized how many DIFFERENT types of cables there are ! I actually ended up with FOUR different cable adapters- before i got the CORRECT one to match both ends !
i hope this helps anyone looking at these units,i have had fun , and been frustrated, and learned a lot - so GOOD LUCK !!!!!!!!!!!!