DVD Recorder Help

[Electrodude]

I am new to the site and looking for some advice. I am looking to buy a used Liteon DD-A100GX from a local. However, I am not familiar with the unit and was wondering if anyone knew anything about them. I am not looking for the top of the line recorder, but rather would like to purchase it to burn/record our mini dv tapes onto dvd from our camcorders. Does anyone know if the dvd can be finalized and played on pc's and other dvd players? Thank you.

[orsetto]

That is an "old" recorder: very old in terms of DVD recorders, esp budget models. It is a model with a 50/50 reputation: half the people who bought it loved it, the other half had no end of grief with it. If you could get it for a giveaway price ($30 or less) its worth a try, but don't pay more than that. It is one thing to take chances on old models that were junky to begin with if all you want is a cheap recorder for TV, but quite another if you want to make DVDs of your camcorder tapes. If the thing craps out for TV recording, its no big deal, but if you can't get reliable dubs of your MiniDV tapes, the thing is a total waste.

I strongly suggest you opt for a brand new budget recorder like the Toshiba DR430 at WalMart. For $98 you get a new unit that is much more compatible with the different type of blank DVDs sold in stores today (the LiteOn was known to be picky about blanks). You also get a great return/refund policy. When it comes to copying your camcorder tapes, better safe than sorry.

[jman98]

The old LiteOn models had what in my opinion was the best menu interface for non-technical people to use to make recordings with. This was its greatest strength. The unit is NOT repairable by consumers if you have any problems. They use the guts of burners with proprietary connectors, so once yours has problems, there's nothing you can do about it to fix it yourself. I'm not a big fan of the idea of buying old DVD recorders as used items. Caveat emptor.