I recently purchased a new Magnavox MRV640 DVD+R/RW recorder from Circuit City. Pretty decent price, just $270 after a $30 mail-in rebate. I did some research before my purchase and discovered that it is a stripped-down version of the Philips DVDR75. Since Philips owns Magnavox, I guess this only makes sense. The Magnavox doesn't have the i.LINK port the Philips DVDR75 has, and the third set of inputs on the front of the unit does not include the S-Video port that the Philips has. In addition, the Magnavox does not include the VCR+ system. One thing the Magnavox DOES have over the Philips is the ability to record up to 8 hours, not just 6. There may be other differences I'm not aware of but these are the only ones I've found so far. Apart form all this, the two units seem to work very much the same. The Magnavox uses the same strange "hieroglyphic symbol-based" menuing system, and the manual is almost a carbon-copy of the Philips' manual (right down to that silly "Phil" character!). This is my first DVD recorder and so far I really like it. It seems to work very well and the picture quality looks great, even up to the 3-hour setting. And YES, it works GREAT with Facet Video's "Clarifier". If anybody else has any experience with this unit, I'd be interested in hearing about it! Thanks!
I bought one from the same place, 269, no rebate. I really like it too. One major problem, 2 of the characters on the unit's display have disappeared. when you turn the unit on, you only see MAGNA X. The "VO" position is gone. Any display that appears on the unit looses those 2 positions. I will have to return it. I have it 2 weeks. Copied some very old family tapes. Came out great even AT 4 HOUR recording. Thought I'd finally found the right unit for the right price.
