Mico RJ311 DVD Recorder

Terrific value for money,easy to use and above all else it is just what we needed with upto 8 hours recording dual format and clear instructions it pushes much higher price models to the back of the queue.Have no regrets at purchase and recommend as for the money it is a bargain

Bought my first Mico RJ311 with the groceries in 2004 (not long after the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final) and used it daily for over three years. It finally died on me in January 2008 (after 4 years) and I checked many current offerings before deciding on a used model from EBay.

Strange decision you might think as I have a servicable Panasonic (Which? recommendation) DVD recorder which I also use daily.

The Mico has several advantages over the Pansonic, including:

* memory of recent DVDs read even after powerdown
* ease of use (clarity of instructions, menus and keys)
* playing of multi-region DVDs (once region-breaking code inserted via keypad (websearch needed)
* automatic recording from both PAL and NTSC sources
* ability to read DVDs the Pansonic might reject
* ability to insert and hide chapters during creation for later playback - great for hiding adverts at source rather than remastering on a PC.

It only takes +R/RW blanks but that is a minor point. Picture quality doesn't seem to suffer unduly in comparison with the Pansonic but naturally it doesn't have an HD upscaling capability.

For the money paid this is a great stalwart and backup and is surprisingly easy to setup and operate.

When will Mico products (a Chinese manufacurer) be readily available in the UK? A look at their website shows some outstanding new models that don't seem to be commercially available.

So, Buy as a cheap entry model or for secondary (backup) use.

Good Luck.

I bought this so that I could record certain programmes from the television.
Not used it yet as I haven't had time to wade through a very extensive manual. Plays everything I have put in it so far. The Yakura DVD player it replaced was more user friendly than the Mico player.
The remote control is of a decent quality, not the best as in functions.
All in all, considering I only paid £21.00 for this item (+p&p), I am quite pleased.
But I really must try and set asisde a morning and set it up properly, I am hoping that I might be able to copy a couple of old home movies that I have on video tape.
If I am successful, I'll let you know through this review.

Mico recorders are so easy to use and although more up todate recorders have come out since I bought my first one I hav'nt found one as simple to use as I am 86 years old, I have even bought a number for my friends who are old as well and I am sorry that they don't make them any more.
thanks Mico,
J S