Review 1 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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FEATURED REVIEW
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Top 500 Contributor
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Great for VHS to DVD transfers
07/23/2008
By techpal
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"I have only scratched the surface of what it can do, but the manual is rather extensive and perhaps intimidating. But setting up to burn a DVD from a VHS tape was intuitive, and about the only thing I had to reference was the chart in the manual for recording time. So far, I have only used it to transfer VHS tapes to DVD.
The main glitches I have found is a loss of signal in some of my tapes. No idea why, but that makes the DVD into a coaster. It is a real time transfer, so a 1 hour VHS tape will take 1 hour to burn the DVD.
The small LCD screen shows exactly what is being burned into the DVD, so it is easy to pause and edit out something. And when recording, the record button is outlined in a red light, so if the signal is lost, it is easy to see at a distance. The LCD screen also contains a complete menu, and it is intuitive.
I normally burn the DVD, then put the DVD on my computer to check if it is a good copy, by fast forwarding portions. So far, I have not found any faults in the transfer process other than signal loss. And normally, when the signal is lost, it is lost for good, not just an intermittent loss. And that loss usually occurs within the first 10 minutes of recording or so. When the signal is lost, the recording stops, so it is not as if you record 58 minutes of blank screen.
There is no connection between the device and a computer."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 2 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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great until DVD got stuck inside machine!
08/02/2009
By jcrp
from NJ
Ease of Installation
4.0
5
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What's great about it: Very easy to figure out and use
What's not so great: After working wonderfully several times, the machine "ate" a DVD and now it won't work!
"We bought the machine mainly to transfer home videos of our children onto DVD's from a Sony Handycam. That worked great, after figuring out which cable actually was needed. After all of those movies were transferred, we hooked the machine up to a VCR to switch older home movies onto DVDs. Again, the directions were very easy to follow, and it was working wonderfully. This morning, after burning 1 DVD, I put in another DVD...as a previous customer had stated, I kept seeing the message, "insert disc" when, in reality, there was already a DVD in there. I tried several different DVDs...and kept getting the same message. (They were Sony DVDs, too!). Eventually, it took one, and made an awful crunching noise, and now that DVD is stuck in the machine and we cannot get it out...thus leaving us with a machine that does not work. Will try to contact Sony repair, or try to exchange at Best Buy, if possible. If this hadn't happened, I would have given it all 5 stars..."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 3 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Good equipment
07/20/2009
By Luis872
from Fort Worth, TX
Ease of Installation
3.0
5
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What's great about it: It takes inputs from all sorts of equipment and you can use it in many different ways
What's not so great: It was a bit hard to reformatt the video type
"It really helped me convert some tapes to dvd and saved some memories."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 4 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Not what I expected
07/18/2009
By reb11
from Texas
Ease of Installation
2.0
5
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What's great about it: VHS to DVD pretty good
What's not so great: Compatability with other electronics
"VHS to DVD ok. Manual interpretation is difficult. Card slots are for photos only. The card slots are for burning slideshow images on a DVD. You can't burn videos that are on a card. Only the card that's in a Handycam camcorder. The manual isn't very informing about this."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
No
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Review 5 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Compatibility Issue
06/23/2009
By john01
from troy, IL
Ease of Installation
3.0
5
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What's great about it: View Screen
What's not so great: Compatibility with other Camcorders
"I found this portable burner on sale at Best Buy while shopping for a camcorder. I knew I wanted to purchased a JVC camcorder. The sales associate at Best Buy stated this burner has a usb port that will allow various camcorders to connect to it. So I purchased the burner based on 1. the assumed capatibility with JVC 2. sale price.
A week later, I purchased the JVC G630 camcorder. Upon reading the burner instruction manual I discovered the usb port was only for the Sony Handy Cam. I still attempted to connect the JVC usb to it to see if it might work but I received a message stating usb device not recognized.
I contacted the Sony help desk and explained which camcorder I have and that I am trying to burn a dvd but received the usb device not recoginized message. I was told to use the audio visual (A/V) cables provided with my camcorder.I attached the cables and I was still unable to burn a dvd.
I then contacted JVC and was told the camera is not compatible with this Sony burner. So I returned this burner and purchased the JVC burner,
If you do not have a Sony Handy Cam and are considering purchasing this to be used with a different camcorder, I recommend doing your homework by contacting the camcorders manufacture to see if it is compatible with this burner.
There are alot of different camcorders on the market, so I feel Sony plays it safe by providing a generic answer of try the A/V cables.
Sony has designed this burner around the Sony Handy Cam but they also state it's compatible with other camcorders. I'm sure it is compatible with some of the other camcorders, but it is not with JVC.
Buyer beware and do your homework."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 6 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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completely frustrating
06/12/2009
By BusyDad
from New Castle, PA
Ease of Installation
5.0
5
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What's great about it: Very easy to set up
What's not so great: completely incompatible with my camcorder
"Just bought this burner along with the Flip HD camcorder. Filmed a short stretch just to test the set up. Plugged in the camcorder and the burner refused to recognize an "unsupported USB" device. Would have been really nice to know before driving the 45 minutes home from the store. Now I get to drive back and return the thing."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
No
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Review 7 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Great for transferring camcorder tapes to DVD's
06/04/2009
By mll101665
from Claremont, NH
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What's great about it: Easy to use and easy to set up
What's not so great: Connections are a little confusing
"We use this for recording tapes from camcorder to DVD's. The only thing we have used it for is helmet camera transfers. My husband adn son ride dirtbikes and film their rides and I convert tapes to DVD's."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 8 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Love this for its easy use
04/11/2009
By cjam1947
from Orlando, FL
Ease of Installation
5.0
5
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What's great about it: Easy set up with good clear directions
"This DVD recorder is great for transferring pictures and movies. I am 61 and if I can use this anyone can. Lovely, all of a sudden you have a DVD of the grands for your TV. And it adds music. No computer required."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 9 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Very useful machine
02/02/2009
By RichS25644
from Granby, CT
Ease of Installation
5.0
5
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What's great about it: Reproduced my home movie tapes to DVD
What's not so great: No fault of the machine - takes a lot of time to copy all those tapes
"Bought this machine to copy 8mm camcorder tapes from my daughter's wedding to DVD. Then transferred 20 years worth of VHS and 8mm home movie tapes to DVD. It worked great and was easy to use, once I got the hang of it. Expect to waste a few DVDs at first. Now I have a great collection of home video on DVDs."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 10 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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A waste of time & money!
12/07/2008
By TechSavyInMI
from Grand Rapids, MI
Ease of Installation
4.0
5
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What's great about it: The idea of this product is good
What's not so great: Everything else
"It worked once. Then it never accepted another DVD again. It only tells me to "Insert a DVD" which is already in the drive. Sony's Technical "support" has been of no use. All they tell me is to use different DVD's, which I have. And to use different cables, which I did as well. And nothing worked. There does not seem to be a Factory reset button either, and Sony will not tell me if there is one. The concept is great. The fact that you do not have to be connected to your PC was great. All I had to do was insert a blank DVD and conncet my VCR or insert my memory card. And presto, a new DVD of your memories. Maybe it was too good to be true. This is too expensive to experiment with. So back to Best Buy it goes. Sad that Sony, as big as it is, seems more interested in selling you stuff and less interested in making sure that items work. One unhappy customer can become 100, which can become 10,000 in a very short time. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY! Get a new laptop instead."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
No
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 11 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Product overwiew wrong
11/11/2008
By JI30
from Phila, PA
Ease of Installation
1.0
5
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"The product description the Bestbuy provides is wrong. In the manual it clearly stated that DVD-R DL, CD-R, CD-RW & 8-cm DVD cannnot be used."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
No
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 12 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Great little machine
06/27/2008
By Sunshine2008
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What's great about it: This is a great little machine, for those who have just a little experience with computers
"This is a great little machine, for those who have just a little computer experience... Awesome"
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 13 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Sony DVDirect
06/08/2008
By Anonymous
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What's great about it: Burns dual layer disks
What's not so great: none yet
"I found this product to work exactly a stated. Also, I had no problem burning 4+ hours of sp video to a Sony DVD+R DL (dual layer) disk directly from portable DVD player (input source) to the Sony DVDirect. The resultant DVD plays fine in all of my DVD players."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 14 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Ok for Standard Def/Hi Def issues
06/02/2008
By Lubby
from CA
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What's great about it: good for SD Recording
What's not so great: Will not Record HD from Sony's own HD DV Cameras
"Works Ok for Standard Definition. BEWARE will not record High DEf from a Dv Camera, even their own!"
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 15 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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best purchase
04/30/2008
By SMOKEY1
from PERDIDO, AL
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"I GOT THIS FOR MY BIRTHDAY ALONG WITH THE HANDY CAM AND I LOVE IT. VERY QUICK AND EASY TO USE."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 16 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Great Product
04/21/2008
By Rosey
from Iowa
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What's great about it: portability, ease of use, easy to understand instructions
What's not so great: None yet
"This is a great little machine. I have only used it to transfer my old Hi-8 Camcorder tapes to DVD, but it worked great. My next project is VHS to DVD. Easy to understand instructions and nice portable size. Does everything I need it to do. Does not record from TV but I didn't need it for that. I purchased it with a new digital Sony Handycam with hard drive memory to transfer with ease to DVD. Would have given it a 5 star but have not yet used all of its features."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 17 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Not for photos at all!!!
02/18/2008
By UnhappyInIndiana
from Bloomington Indiana
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What's great about it: Couldn't or wouldn't hold 4 gig off a SD flash
What's not so great: Doesn't work for photos off your SD flash cards,
"They can talk this machine up all they want, but it doesn't work as they say. Can't copy 4 gb Flash card to a 4.7 gb dvd+r disk.. I would not purchase.. I am taking this item back for refund!!!!!"
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
No
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Review 18 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Easy to Use, but..
02/12/2008
By Tguy
from Ohio
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What's great about it: Ease of Use and Intuitive, Well Built
What's not so great: Can be Slow Depending on Video Source, Can't use DL DVDs
"This unit is rather easy to use but is slow using older Hi8 sources. Also does not work for Double Layer DVDs. The unit is well built and the video screen is a nice feature."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 19 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Would recommend
02/11/2008
By tmom
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What's great about it: Ease of use
What's not so great: Haven't found any yet
"This is great if you want ease of use for transferring to a DVD. It does not require a computer, which is one of the reasons I purchased it. I also use my computer to record and edit from my cameras, but this is not what this unit was designed for. It fills a niche when you don't want to have to use your computer, or you are not knowledgable about doing it through a computer. It's great if you just want or need to get your tapes recorded to a DVD. Very easy to use and understand. Great product."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 20 for Sony DVDirect 16x External USB 2.0 Double-Layer DVD±RW Drive
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Very good product
02/10/2008
By Group521
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What's great about it: Easy to understand, easy to use
What's not so great: None
"I have used this product for a little while now, and I think it delivers well on what it can do. I do wish I could edit the title after I burn a DVD with it, but that's not really a big deal since I just transfer it to the HD on my computer and rename it that way. If you use a DVD RW, then you save on DVDs that you would like to edit or rename. Burning onto dual layer DVDs hasn't been a problem."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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