I bought the Emerson EWR20V5 DVD Recorder/ VCR Combo as a gift for my husband. He is technically savvy but this device had him calling customer service. Apparently burning to DVD's is not that simple. You must have the right type of blank DVD to write to and you must know how to format the DVD as well. We also did not have the right remote controller to do certain features. I would have given up long ago but my husband was a real trooper and now I can burn my favorite movies. The playback has been great as well. The DVD/VCR combo is definitely a plus.

I purchased this product so that I could transfer some old VHS tapes to DVD-R's. This product is successful in fulfilling that project with relative ease. Read the directions and prepare to mess up once or twice if you've never used a product like this before. Then before you know it, you'll be editing and transfering like a pro. Also take note, read the description listed for this product and understand what you can and can't do with it before you ever purchase it. I did, but a consumer could be in for a disapointment if they don't research this products limitations before agreeing to purchase.

didn't relize this was a refurbished unit untill i ordered, cant get to play any dvd's, that i have, have burned many dvd's and none will play on this unit, cant get it to copy from any tv show, or record from any vcr movie. i build computers and am some what keen on electronics, but i cant get this unit to do anything that is stated in the add. sorry but i cant refer this to anyone.

1-When the unit is turned on all audio is lost. 2-Cannot set timer to anytime not in the same day. Once the time changes at midnight, any preset programs are erased.

nice machine. certainly worth the cost. it seems to do everything we would expect very well.

IT WORKS FOR MY INTENDED PURPOSE. THAT IS BOTH RECORDING & COPYING VHS & DVD.

I bought this combo unit for the price. I have kids ages 7 and 5 and can't really see spending big money on electronics that they touch. We are on our 3rd vhs/dvd combo since they started touching things. Ok, as far as the unit goes, I think that it should be known that this is an "older" model that is no longer made. I have no problem with it being factory reconditioned. The thing to remeber before buying this unit is that since it is an older unit, the recorderable dvd -r must be 4x or lower. Most DVD-r or -rw's are 16x. So beware, the lower the x the harder it is to find the recordable DVD-r or rw, they just do not make them anymore. So if you buy this unit and can find the 4x or lower -buy them!

When trying this product out the first day of receiving it, the DVD recorder on this VCR-DVD recorder unit did not work, and it still does not work with the recommended DVD types that are stated to work in it. I did not see the return date right away and am past the 10 days to return it, so I guess I am unhappily stuck with a malfunctional unit.

I tried two versions of this product the V4 and V5. Had to return both of them due to two different mechanical problems with the DVD player/recorder. I will not buy or recommmend Emerson/Funai products. If you want an inexpensive player, buy a Daiwoo - at least mine waited 2+ years to break down, not two days...

DVD's don't work in it so its basically just a VHS player to me. Its worthless.

The item smelled like burning plastic at first but that went away after a couple of days. The documentation is copied so it is difficult to read at times. My only real complaint about the unit is that it takes a long time to initialize when you first power it on. Once you get used to that, the unit works as described.

A bit bulky but overall for the price it works good...

In all fairness, I am electronically challenged! But I did read everything I could find on the site about this item and many others as I knew my limitations. All of the things you had to do to dubb I thought I did. I sat there for two hours the first time watching what I thought was dubbing and....I only ended up with about 15 minutes of dubb and the rest was fuzz. I thought I may have not finalized properly....I tried again this time only with the machine, and I watched the tv as I waited...Nope! Dubbed less...and when I tried to play on another unit..it was what appeared to be fragmented. ( don't know for sure what that means but I got squares of pieces of the picture. So fo me...This was not a good item.

Great product, can do many things and still be able to watch my old vhs tapes. Dubbing quality is great!

I am extrememly pleased with this product. I love the simple programming, and will not hesitate to recommend it to my friends and family.

If all you need is a vcr and commercial dvd player this may be ok. It wont play any I recorded from my computer and I haven't found any blanks (dvd) that will record.--Yes I read the manual,which is also a nightmare.

good quality at a great price - just what i needed for those outdated VCR tapes - can't wait to use all the features available

First unit arrived quickly. It would be nice if it had worked when I pushed in the power button. DOA Second Unit arrived quickly. Dubbing was quick and straightforward but the VCR recording was a little bit jerky on playback. The rest of the functions were remote controlled and that function didn¿t work. Is the third time the charm? Tune in.....

Little hard to hook up,but that is with any DVD recorder. Haven't used the VCR or recorded. Otherwise it is great.

This product not only arrived in a re-used product box, but it was scratched, and full of dust. The DVD drawer did not open with the remote or manually. I would not trust this to be a new product