Anyone who owns a Pioneer 520H or Pioneer 720

[blinky88]

I am anxious to hear comments from members who own a 520H or a 720H, about ease of use, the upside and the downside.

Comments would be very much apprecited.

[steve2713]

Hi blinky, I've got a Pioneer 420, same as the 520 except no firewire port. I think it's been a great recorder so far, having a HD on your recorder is a necessity for me. Editing out commercials and trimming videos is very easily done on the recorder's HD. Recording quality is good and you have the flexibilty for up to 32 different recording quality settings. Good remote, good menu interface, has burned several brands of media without problems.

Only downsides to them that I'm aware of are that some people see the occasional 'black out' with VHS transfers if the tape hits a bad spot, but I've NEVER seen this on my VHS transfers that I've done, not a single black screen in any of my transfers yet. I think that issue is as much VCR driven as anything. The only other thing I've seen that is an annoyance is when trying to copy Macrovision protected VHS tapes, when using a macrovision bypass box I get a very slight 'vibration' of the overall image, maybe the equivalent of a couple of pixels variation in the image. This problem only exists with the 'de-macrovision box' or when the VCR's video stabilizer is left on. Without either of those it does great transfers of VHS.

[Frobozz]

Have you read the user reviews for these models here:
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdrecorders

Also read the DVR-510H-S reviews because it is very similar to the 520. I'm very impressed with my 510. As for ease of use, there is a lot to learn because of its great flexibility. Expect to refer back to the manual several times in the first few months. It is easy to use, it's just that there are many different uses.

[bingolong]

I too have the 420 and love it. I like the slim profile, the ease of use, the bit setting options, the video quality. I am becoming more expert at editing on the recorder. I do the editing in the play list just in case I make a mistake.

I would like to see single title menus added. Also, I wish it were easier to name titles and to see what the title will look like before copying. The Input Title Name page should be wysiwyg.

These are very very minor concerns. All in all, I could not be happier with this unit and would recommend it without reservation.

[markhamPete]

My only complaint about Pioneer is it doesn't produce a disk that automatically loads to the menu screen. You will need to push play/ok/enter to start the disk playing. Not a big deal, but some people think the disk doesn't work when it doesn't automatically show the menu.

[bankroot]

great recorder !

, but only 8 menus for recorded discs (no possibility to "upgrade" for more ones)

[DVWannaB]

I just got one about a week ago (520) and am very impressed by it. I also have a JVC MH30s. I have been putting it through a rigorous testing process and the Pioneer, so far is every bit the recorder the JVC is at $100 less the cost. The only edge I can give the JVC so far is that I like the overall record quality a wee-bit more. Seems the Pioneer records a sharper overall picture, while the JVC is more smooth and thus a tad easier on these old eyes. seems the input filtering by the JVC is a bit better.

The set-up process after you take it out of the box is smooth. The manual gives exact directiions that match the screen. What a novel idea!!! Maybe JVC should think about doing the same. So far, so good. Also, encountered some other probs with JVC not going to re-hash those now.

[blinky88]

I would have most likely bought the 420, however they are no longer available which is the reason for question.

Thank you to all who responded, appreciated.

[spiderman2k1]

YOu will only see the black screen with VHS tapes that are not that good. They might look fine, but the tape has some degrade on it. THis is where Panasonic is very good with there TBC.

You may want to wait for Dual layer recorders that are coming out very soon.