Home > Consumer Reviews > Pioneer DVR-433H-S Ultra slim DVD-R / DVD-RW Recorder, 80 Gb HDD - Silver

I bought this DVD recorder based on the reviews on Amazon and have not been disappointed with it at all. Really easy to setup and use and the quality of the recordings are nigh on perfect, even on Long Play.

Have also been able to transfer my old movies from VHS to the hard drive simply by connecting the two machines up by a SCART lead.

OK, after happily owning a Pioneer DVD-R for a couple of years I settled on this model when my father wanted to replace his VCR.

Anyhow, the item I received was black (as apparently black is the new silver these days) and the DVD-R was a European model which meant that the version of Videoplus would not work in the UK. If you are buying this hard to get hold of recorder, make sure you are getting a full UK version if you want Videoplus! I returned the item for a refund, the whole process of which took around 4 weeks.

So, after the refund I finally bought a UK model. As I hoped, both my father and myself are very impressed. Although it's early days, I would say that the quality of picture and ease of use are top notch. It retains many of the features I have and like on my older Pioneer model and the 80 gig hard drive is a true bonus. Navigation of controls is good and keeping track of and finding/deleting of recordings is intuitive, and one of the strengths of the Pioneer models in my opinion. I have yet to burn any disks though and it may be some time until I need to do that with 40 hours of HDD to fill. My father, who is not technically minded, is finding it easy to use - and he uses it regularly - which says it all really.

If you can get a hold of one of these models, it should be worth considering if you are looking for a simple to use and well built DVD-R with moderate HDD. The only disappointment I have is with the cheap and plasticky remote. Not as good as the remote they included with my older model and a bit of a let down when you consider the high build quality of the unit itself. Not a deal breaker though and still warrants the full 5 stars in my book......

this dvd recorder has all you need, silver version has been discontinued now so you'll only get it in black. it's so easy to set up just follow on screen instructions, if i can do it anyone can.

I looked at a lot of reviews of DVD Recorders with Hard Discs and found much of the information from the manufacturers confusing and unclear as to the functions. I wanted a hard drive recorder, with the I-Link for transfering my camcorder tapes onto DVD, I also wanted to ensure that I could get not only chasing playback (to watch a programme from the begininng whilst it was still recodring), but to also be able to watch from a DVD whilst the recorder was recording a programme to the hard drive.

I was concerned that many players do not have all of these functions, I saw some poor reviews of some of the Lite-On products and others that had been purchased and then the owner had realised that it did not do the above and also found it odd that even visiting the manufacturers website's did not make the availability of the various fuctions and facilities clear.

I finally selected the Pioneer DVR 433h and it is great. It has simple on screen menus for all functions, the manual is well laid out and explains all the facilities very well. I have had no trouble recording to the hard drive or a DVD disc, or copying between the two. It is great to come in and start watching something from the begining that is still recording (golf and football and of course films are prime fot this), I have transferred all my Camcorder tapes and old VHS tapes to DVD's with no trouble, (but did need to purchase the I-Link cable), plus we have been able to watch and record with no problems and play our JPeg and music discs.

The 80 Gb Hdd gives over 30 hours storage at standard play, which seems more that enough as the stuff we want to keep goes quickly onto DVD's.

I paid around £340 but have just seen it advertised for under £300 so its a great investment.....anyone want to buy a DVD and VHS recorder going cheap!!!!

Had this a few weeks now and I am very pleased with this DVD-433H-S recorder/player. I have not experienced any problems or lock ups and the basic options are very user friendly. Also there are many advanced menus and this should provide the techies with many hours of enjoyment. One thing to bear in mind when considering this machine is that Pioneer favour DVD-R/RW rather than DVD+R/RW.
The 80GB HD is more than large enough for most people, whereas the DVD-RW/RWx2 option (not the DVD-Rx2) is perhaps over the top especially as the dual layer discs are difficult to obtain and very expensive. The quality obtained using a 4.7GB disc for burning a 1 hr program is excellent. No extras are included, but it's good value for money from Amazon UK, especially as they upgraded my delivery to a next day Saturday morning at no extra charge.