If you're looking to buy the Magnavox ZC320MW8 DVD recorder you are probably looking for a no-frills machine that does the job for a reasonable price; you wouldn't expect a top of the line model with all of the whistles and bells for this price. However, if you are looking for a DVD recorder that will make perfectly good copies from VHS, TV, your home cable box with a hard drive DVD recorder, or from other DVDs, then this machine will not disappoint.

Having read the other reviews for this product, I would make the following observations:

1. The pause function works perfectly well; the BIG red pause sign that is displayed on your TV (but not on the DVD being recorded) for a few seconds is a good enough indicator of the machine's current recording status. If you forget whether or not you pressed the pause button because it is not continually displayed throughout the pause process, I would attribute any confusion more to user error than to a design flaw. In essence,... Read more

Like everyone else, I also wanted to copy my old VHS in DVDs. It's easy to setup, does the job, no problems.
The price was fair and I have had it for more than a year without problems, but no heavy usage either.
Remote is kinda oversimplified. Labeling the titles is like using your cellphone to type text... clumsy.
Pause key is used a lot, so it should be bigger. In a nutshell, the design of the remote is horrible.

You want to make a second copy to send to mommy ? Too bad: the device doesn't make copies by itself, so you have to have your player hooked to it.

No display of any kind, so you have no idea how much time you have recorded.
No pause indicator.. this is worse as it only flashes on the screen for a couple of seconds, so while you mess with the source of program you find yourself unsure if pause is engaged or not.

So, here the pros:
- price/value
- easy to hook up
- does the job
- slim
- your grandma... Read more

I have 2 of these,,,one with the vhs combo and they all 3 do the job. Nothing fancy as far as trying to operate it. (That's what I like about it.) Records nice with a good playback picture. I think Walmart mightta originally sold these. I've had several dvd recorders and these do what you want for a fraction of the Panasonic and Sony's cost.