Samsung DVD-R135 DVD Recorder

Pros: recording quality, design, outputs, stereo tuner, size, quiet.
Cons: very dark picture with DVDs, hum from digital out, low audio level.

*UPDATE* It's been very cold the last week so I didn't feel like going back to the store to return it yet. So in the last couple of days I've had the chance to encounter several more problems. I discovered that the buzzing I heard from the tuner is ...

Pros: handle most formats including DVD-RAM, DivX, HDMI, convenient one-touch recording, automatic chapter
Cons: high price, no S-video input in front

There are so many DVD recorders on the market but they can be divided into 2 broad categories: ones with hard disks and ones without. The ones with hard disks are expensive(cost $250 and up), so I prefer the later ones. After comparing the features and ...

Pros: Good menus, works fine, great resolution, easy to set up
Cons: Probably not substantially superior to similar-priced units

Yes, it's slightly more expensive than some other units, and the DVD-R130 probably does just as good a job. I wanted a unit that would basically replace my VCR. After reading reviews and comments, I chose this unit when it was on sale locally. I ...

Pros: Sleek style. Quality picture. Good price.
Cons: Poorly designed, terribly frustrating, audio options. Impossible to get the total benefit of HDMI.

The HDMI capabilities have been misrepresented. Here's the problem: If you DON'T use HDMI, you don't get the "upconverting" you need for High Def TVs (the upconvert lets you watch standard DVDs in near high-def). But if you DO use HDMI, you must set up ...

Pros: Good price /value
Cons: Poor Samsung repairs and customer support credibility.

If you buy one of these units and it gives you any problems get it back to the store while you can still return it or you will have to deal with the Samsung Repair Group. I have had very poor experiences with Samsung Repair. I bought a Samsung DV-135 ...

Pros: UMMM...well...
Cons: Time loss, customer support, EVERYTHING!

We purchased this product to replace a similar one of another brand. This was a poor purchase. This product has been nothing but problems. First I purchsed it for the HDMI up convert however when I hooked it to my HDTV the video quality was inferior ...

Pros: None that I can think of.
Cons: Ports don't work, doesn't record all DVDs.

It didn't take long for this to stop recording certain types of DVDs. Unfortunately, it no longer records anything, just 10 months after purchasing it. When I try to record onto a DVD, it gives me a very strange message with three sentence fragments. ...

Pros: It looks nice........
Cons: Dont have the space to list the problems of the worst electronic component ever made!!

Bought one for my wife last christmas to record daytime shows, started having problems within first 3 weeks of recording,(unit would not sucsessfully initialize top quality disks without numerous tries) took it back to Best Buy for exchange after a couple months, same thing started happening, plus after filling a disk on lp or sp mode, display read " disk not initialized" errors started getting more frequent over time & now cant even get it to record & playback- disks do not initialize, picture freezes ,after recording ,programs will not playback. You name the problem this piece of crap has had it. Anybody have any suggestions, comments for me. PLEASE HELP!!!!

Pros: no pros
Cons: no reliability

i bought this dvd recorder only 6 months ago.... already its acting up. wont play most prerecorded dvd's. its a load of rubbish

Pros: Relatively low cost
Cons: Doesn't work. No firmware update on website. Incompetent, or misinformed, tech support.

This unit does not support DVD+R media. (In spite of assurances to the contrary at both Best Buy and Circuit City.) After I made the mistake of purchasing this unit, forget the HD functions; the standard video (NTSC) wouldn't work, either.

Best Buy said since I had thrown out the box and it was over 30 days since purchase that I would have to deal with Samsung. (Last time I purchase a gift at Best Buy!) Samsung support first told me that there was a firmware update to correct all of my problems easily accessible on the website. After an hour of searching I called back and another technician told me that while they have updated the firmware for many DVD recorders the R135 wasn't one of them and that there are NO plans for DVD+R support.

Although Samsung support was pleasant, they told me that all that they could do was give me a "Service Request" number and that I would have to ship the unit (at my expense) to New Jersey where they would determine if the unit's deficiencies were covered by the warranty.

Pros: usually recorded well and played back recordings very well
Cons: overheated, required frequent reboots prior to death. error messages on a monthly basis

It worked for 12 months and 2 weeks then died suddenly. Samsung won't help; of course not, it has a 1 year warranty.

Pros: It looks good on the outside, when sitting next to a garbage can.
Cons: Garbage on the inside. Bad, bad, bad Korean designed electronics.

I have this dvd recorder for almost a year now. And it's a piece of crap. I don't understand why but after burning a few DVDs, it will not load even its own DVD that it just burned. I have had to disconnect the power from it, waited a while, then plug the power back to get it to load. But now, it won't even load anything, not blank DVDs, not store-bought DVDs, not even its own burned DVDs. I'm looking for a new one and I'm warning the general public to stay away from this sucker. As a matter of fact, I'm swearing off the Korean-made junk.
I had a Mitsubishi(t) VCR a long time ago that stopped working, and a Huyndai that thought it was a Hoover because it sucked.

Pros: Picture, Sound, Looks
Cons: Didn't last long, recording could've been better

I bought this recorder 1 year ago, 3 moths ago it started acting funny, taking ages to load discs, then last week, its loader finally crashed.

But when it was working well, its picture was good, sound from the optical output was OK. Its also relatively cheaper than other leading brands. But I wasn't really convinced with its LP recording

Pros: Good price
Cons: No support. No firmware upgrade. Bad quality

All around bad quality! I am tired of purchasing products hat don't meet the minimum specification. To this date, I purchased 3 DVD player and they all seem to have the same problem - poor product quality. The Samsung DVD-R135 is no exception. When I first got it, it was acting ok, but a few weeks later, I noticed that many of my DIVX and XVID movies were producing VERY bad quality picture. I've been trying to find a firmware upgrade but they don't have any on their web site (or anywhere else on the web for that matter). Having it repair is definitely not an option unless you want to loose it for 3-4 months (been there, done that!). And when you do get it back, it’s not better!

Manufacturers should take better care of quality control. It's in their best interest to do so!

I would strongly suggest that you stay away from Samsung products until they get their act together and stop "stiffing" the buyers.

Pros: Price; nice recording quality at standard speed
Cons: Onscreen display; meaningless onscreen error messages; system crash

I had to return this after a week of use. Strike one was the annoying "HDMI AUDIO NOT SUPPORTED" error message that appeared every time the player went to a different part of the disk. Strike two was the onscreen display (such as an "angle" message when alternate angles were available) with no apparent way to turn the display off. Strike three was its system crashing multiple times on the same day, with a "SYSTEM ERROR NOTED" error message followed by a file name. Those are way too many problems in the first week of ownership. I took it back.