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Toshiba DR560 1080p Upconverting DVD Recorder with Built In Tuner | 
 enlarge | Brand: Toshiba
Category: CE
List Price: $229.99
Buy New: $163.78
You Save: $66.21 (29%)
New (10)
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 9
Dimensions (in): 9.7 x 16.5 x 2.3
Warranty: 1 year limited warranty
MPN: D-R560
Model: D-R560
UPC: 022265001363
EAN: 0022265001363
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
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| Features:
| • | DVD Recorder | | • | Progressive Scan | | • | 1080p Upconversion | | • | With Built-in Digital Tuner | | • | JPEG Photo Viewer |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Record your favorite home movies directly to DVD with the D-R560. 1080p upconversion via HDMI will get the most out of your DVD collection, and the built-in tuner completes this convenient home theater addition. The built-in ATSC/NTSC/QAM digital/analog tuner allows you to tune analog or digital channels from over the air, or cable, including "cable-in-the-clear" digital channels. It can also be used to dub recordings from other components onto various DVD recordable disc formats. An HDMI output enables the D-R560 to play DVDs to your widescreen HDTV delivering sharp imagery on screens optimized for 1080 resolutions, in an upconversion mode. Video Upconversion to 720p/1080i/1080p DivX Home Theater Certified Digital Photo Viewer (JPEG) One Touch Recording makes recording your favorite show simple. Just connect your DVD recorder to your cable or satellite box and you are set to record with the push of one button Auto Finalize with Undo simplifies the recording process by automatically finalizing your recording for playback on standard DVD players 24bit Audio DAC with 192kHz Processing Plays MP3 and WMA formats (2-Ch) Dolby Digital Recording L-PCM Recording (XP mode only) 3D (Virtual Surround Sound) Features - Instant Skip, Zoom, Editing (Playlist/Rename Title/Chapter Creation), Commercial Skip Connections - Component Out, HDMI Out with REGZA LINK, Front S-Video Input, Rear S-Video Input/Output, Rear RCA-Video Input/Output, Front Audio Input, Rear Analog Audio Input/Output, Coax Output, Front DV Input Approximate Unit Dimensions - 16.54 (W) x 2.32 (H) x 9.72 (D)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
A versatile piece of hardware! May 23, 2008
27 out of 27 found this review helpful
This is a review of the Toshiba DR560 Upconverting DVD Recorder with built in high def tuner.
BACKGROUND:
I bought this unit to handle a few needs with one piece of hardware:
1. I wanted a high def tuner for my tuner-less Sharp Aquos 26" LCD TV (purchased in 2007 before the new rule requiring tuners in TVs!)
2. I wanted to be able to take old analog home movie footage and transfer it directly to DVD with no editing. My old VHS tapes were approaching their shelf life limit.
3. I wanted to upconvert standard 480 resolution DVDs to make them look better on the Sharp TV.
SETUP:
The setup of the device was simple. I hate the fact that manufacturers still don't include HDMI cables with hardware that costs this much. So I grumbled for a minute and then purchased an HDMI cable for it (don't get me started on how most electronics stores charge an obscene price for digital cables! I bought one at a large discount retailer). All I had to do was connect the HDMI-out from the Toshiba to the HDMI-in on my high def Sharp. That's it. No audio plugs needed. I like having just a one wire connection.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:
For the remote control I don't have many complaints. It does not appear to be capable of controlling my TV - I didn't see anything in the guide about programming other devices. Someone please comment and correct me if I'm wrong on that. The keys are not lighted.
When I first started the player I went through the simple setup prompts. The instructions said I might need to hit the HDMI button on the remote to match up to the display of my TV, but it automatically selected 1080 for me. (there are lighted 480, 720, and 1080 indicators on the player itself, so you can tell what mode it is in) If you are not connected via HDMI then these lights don't function. I initially tried a component video connection and noticed that the resolution selection was not available.
When I first opened the DVD tray I thought I had activated a paper shredder! It is the loudest, oldest sounding motor noise I have ever heard from a DVD player. To me it sounds like it is straining just to open the tray. I hope that holds up long term.
I found the disk read and startup time to be a little long.
SPECIFIC IMPRESSIONS:
UPCONVERTING DVD PLAYER:
I put in a DVD - "Star Wars Attack of the Clones" - to test the upconverting video quality. I was immediately concerned with how loud the motor was in spinning up the DVD. But my worry went away once I hit "play". Once you start playing the movie the motor noise goes away and is very quiet.
To test the upconverting quality I played a scene from the movie on the DVD player, and then switched over and played the same scene on an Xbox 360 connected to the same TV via a component video connection. To my untrained eye the upconverted picture was brighter and had a slightly higher level of detail. So I was satisfied with it.
DVD RECORDER:
I have only used DVD-R recording media. Once I try a DVD+-RW disk I will update this review. But using the DVD-R was very user friendly. You pop in a blank DVD-R disk and the machine has it ready to go in a few seconds. No interaction needed.
I then hooked up a VCR using the RCA video and audio ports (the recorder included RCA and S video cables). There's one set of inputs on the back and one on the front. I used the back ones because it was just as convenient for me.
Before recording I went into the DVD recording options menu and selected it to do automatic 5 minute chapter breaks.
All I had to do what hit play on my VCR and hit record on the DVD recorder. A little red disk of light displays on the panel so that you know it's recording. Going from memory I believe the recording quality options were 1 hour, 2, 4, 6, and 8.
I was able to record successfully from both VHS and a HI-8 Camcorder feeds (both using the RCA jacks).
Once the tape finished I hit stop on the recorder, and it finished writing the recording very quickly (less than one minute for 2 hours of recording). I then had the option to edit the title that appears on the menu, which is not the most intuitive process using the remote control. I had also expected it to create a DVD menu with chapters for every 5 minute break, but it only had one menu selection. When playing back the disk it did skip 5 minutes every time I hit the Chapter+ button.
As a final step I "finalized" the DVD to make it able to play on other DVD players. I tested the disks on a circa 1997 Sony DVD player, and also a 2005 Toshiba. DVDs that I created from VHS played fine on both players, but the DVD I recorded from the Hi-8 tape source would not play correctly on the 1996 DVD player. It played fine on the 2005 player. I still need to test more Hi-8 recordings to see it that was an isolated problem or not.
UPDATE 05/30/08: I think it's just my 1997 Sony DVD player that just can't handle DVD-R media very well. After replaying VHS source and HI-8 source videos, they are both hit or miss as to whether they play correctly. I don't think this will be an issue for most people with newer DVD players.
I still need to test recording from a mini-DV digital source.
HIGH DEF TV TUNER:
I have a large UHF antenna mounted in my attic receiving local HD quality broadcasts (see my other reviews for that). I ran a coaxial cable from that antenna down to the DVD recorder and connected it to the antenna-in port. Then using the same HDMI-out feed to the TV I was able to tune in and watch local digital broadcast stations. I watched the season finale of American Idol on it (David vs David), and the picture quality was excellent. Changing channels does take about 2 seconds, as another reviewer said. That is a little slow, but I am willing to put up with slow channel changing for free high def!
Overall I would rate this DVD Recorder 4 of 5 stars. It certainly does serve the three needs I outlined at the start of this review.
 Great DVD Recorder April 11, 2008
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
I waited for the release of this new model (end of March) and it was WELL WORTH IT! Setup was easy and the ATSC/NTSC/QAM digital/analog tuner produces a clean, crisp, 3D-like picture on my analog TV from over-the-air broadcasts. We were blown away by the HD-like quality! I use an outdoor antenna and bought this mainly for the digital conversion and recording of TV shows. Recording quality is awesome, even recording in LP (4hr) mode produces DVD quality video with perhaps a hint of fuzziness on the edges of numbers/letters. I will use this mode most of the time because of the quality and 4hr record time. SP (2hr) gives superb quality all around. It's hooked up to my 36" Toshiba TV with a component video cable for best pic quality and I am using optical cable for audio to my home theater amp. It does have HDMI for those with HD TVs. Power up takes a few seconds if there is a disc in the tray as it scans/loads it. Formatting is very quick. I use DVD -RW's but it can do DVD +RW as well. When changing digital channels there is a 1-2 second delay but I can live with that. Only con is with the remote. The lettering should be done in bright-white to make it easier to read in low to moderate lighting conditions. Because of this I would give the whole package a 4.5. Highly recommended this product and think it's one of the best on the market to date.
Good machine April 16, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
I just got my Toshiba DR560 and as far as DVRs are concerned it's OK. Watching TV with it, the picture doesn't seem to be as good as my analog Panasonic 80H DVR. However, that might not be a fair comment because I don't have the Toshiba hooked directly into my TV which doesn't support HDMI. And since my TV's inputs are already taken up by my satellite receiver and my Panasonic DVR, I had to hook up my Toshiba's outputs into the Panasonic.
One disappointment, however, is that my Toshiba won't pick up digital channels from my Comcast Basic Cable Service. So if you're buying this DVR in hopes of getting free HD channels from cable, it probably won't work. But I'm sure it can pick up Over-the-Air HD signals using an external antenna. I will try that next, however, I live pretty far from the stations so I don't expect to pick up more than a few channels.
By the way, the comment in the review by "S. Naglic" that he is using "optical cable for audio to my home theater amp" really puzzles me. There is no optical output on the Toshiba DVR. There is a coaxial digital audio output jack to connect to amps with Dolby DTS, however. I think this is what he might mean, but it is not an "optical" connection.
Anyway, this is a good DVR for the money.
Perfect!!! May 19, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought this DVD recorder/player to upgrade my Panasonic model. Since this recorder comes with a built in digital tuner I can now record off the air HD channels. The result is fantastic...I get to watch "LOST" in hi-def.
As for viewing dvds, the upconversion through my $3 HDMI cable makes regular dvds look amazing.
I'd recommend this player/recorder to: 1) those of you looking to upgrade their current units that don't come w/a digital tuner & 2) those of you looking to hold-off buying a Blu-Ray player for now.
 Good value - It works, needs some refinement.. June 2, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Got my Toshiba DR560 on Amazon, shipping was quick as usual, been using it for 2 weeks and is hooked up to my Samsung LN37A450 37-inch 720p LCD HDTV via HDMI cable. I'll focus on my user experience:
Pros:
- IT WORKS. Easy push-button to setup one-time recordings
- GOOD WITH COMCAST CABLE. Picks up my Comcast channels both the regular Analog *and* the Digital TV (DTV) cable broadcast channels. I'm not sure why the other reviewer said it did not work with Comcast digital?? It works just fine and tunes to both the analog and digital signals from Comcast cable, DO NOTE that there is an "EXTENDED SCAN" mode to learn the digital cable channels maybe the reviewer missed that option and just did the regular analog cable Scan.. I have not tried tuning into the FREE OTA (Over the air) HDTV programming since I get weak air TV signals in my area.
- DECENT UP-CONVERSION. I did find a better picture quality in the upconversion of regular DVDs compared to my regular DVD player, however my old DVD player was connected via cheap RC/A AV cables not composite not S-video so just by nature of HDMI there would be a difference already!! In any case I now get deeper blacks, less noise, and sharper details. Can't complain.
- HDMI CONTROL. here's a pleasant surprise.. the Samsung "AnyNet" HDMI control actually recognizes the player and now I can use buttons on Samsung remote like the Play/ Pause / Stop/ FFW / REV to control basic functions on the DR560 which is great since the Toshiba remote totally SUCKS as mentioned earlier! Tip: you do have to activate the HDMI Control on the DR560 in one of the setup menu settings.
Cons:
- POOR MENU. the system setup menu navigation is very poor and reminds me of the old DOS programs before there was a Windows operating system! You can't see the live TV picture when you enter system setup menu to program recordings, set the date/time, etc... However there is another shorter settings menu called "Display" which brings up a semi-transparent menu-bar on top of live picture and you can tweak most things like audio, black level, etc.. so it's OK for most things during playback you don't have to enter an archaic menu system.
- TIME SLIP RECORDING. The "Time Slip" Tivo-like recording mode only works on DVR-RW (the minus "-" RW) media, so i'll need to buy new disks to try that feature. I addition the manual says you can't tune to other channels while recording.. bummer. However the regular recording mode (without time slip feature) works on both DVR-RW and DVR+RW so no big deal if you already had DVR-RW media in your home or if you don't miss the Time Slip functionality.
- BOOT TIME. The thing takes forever to boot! Longer time if it has a disk inside the tray. Afterwards there is no noticeable lag it's response time is decent.
- NO EPG. No EPG (Electronic Progamming Guide).. but you should already now that most manufacturers of DVD recorders after 2005 dropped this functionality since the whole thing was a fiasco.. the greedy Cable companies were blocking the free programming guides or charging subscription fees, and the existing EPGs feeds were coming from public stations like PBS that sometimes shut the feeds off by accident. For those of you that must have an EPG note there's only like one brand/model out there a Samsung DVR model with built-in Tuner that still includes EPG but apparently was discontinued this year and it's very hard to find one also reveiws are mixed saying EPG sometimes not work at all.. the model is Samsung DVD-AR650. Oh well.. it's time for Sunday paper TV GUIDE for everybody i guess.
- POOR DTV TUNER PICTURE. Ok.. here is the final catch: The DR560 digital tuner works fine, BUT the picture quality is noticeably inferior compared to the native Samsung HDTV built-in digital tuner. I tuned to PBS 11-1 digital 1080i broadcast on both the DR560 tuner and the Samsung HDTV built-in tuner, switched back-forth, and no matter what the DR560 HDMI output set to 480p/ 720p / 1080i/ 1080p the native Samsung's HDTV digital tuner is waaaay superior in sharpness, detail, and color rendition. It almost felt like DR560 was downscaling the image to SD 480p and then trying to up-convert to 720p or similar.. there's quite a visual difference from both tuners. The DR560 lost many fine details and colors were not as punchy as in the native Samsung HDTV digital tuner no matter what the color tweaking I did on the TV.
------- Bottom line: i'll keep it until something better comes along at this price point that improves the menu system at the minimum (I would have chosen the Panasonic-? brands but users complained of very sluggish controls..). For now, it will happily replace my archaic VHS tape recorder (VHS.. tape.. what's that?? LOL !!) which was second reason I bought it for. And the main reason the playback video i get from both DVDs and TV recordings is still decent quality so i'm happy with it. I really don't mind the digital tuner output since I use the TV one instead. BUY IT - I Recommended it for the price of about $178.
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