I bought mine in October after downloading the instruction manual. I was looking for something for time shift recording that was as easy to use as a VCR, had a tuner so that I could record something while watching something else, and would record on RAM discs. This met all my requirements and I have been really pleased with it. I have read that a lot of people have had problems with theirs, but so far I have had none. Recordings made in the proper format and finalized have played on 4 other DVD players with no problems. I liked it so much I just bought another one to replace the VCR in my home office.