PIONEER ELITE DVR-57H DVD RECORDER W/LIFETIME TIVO - MINT CONDITION

PIONEER ELITE DVR-57H DVD RECORDER W/LIFETIME TIVO - MINT CONDITION - Serviced and Tested at NORTHWEST AUDIO ** CASH ONLY ** For this review, I got Pioneer's top-of-the-line DVR-57H ($1800), a member of the company's Elite line. The 57H has a 120GB hard disk and a double-layer reinforced chassis to reduce vibrations. The DVR-57H's gloss-black front panel is simplicity itself. The center is dominated by a good-sized display with a large, 10-character, dot-matrix alphanumeric status indicator that provides relevant information about whatever activity the DVR-57H is currently engaged in. Other fixed indicators reveal which recorder/player is operating (hard disk or DVD), record or play mode, quality settings, etc. Most of these are rather small, but not nearly as small as some I've seen. Immediately above the display is a thin translucent strip that indicates the current activity: the right end glows red when the hard disk is recording, the left end glows orange when the DVD is recording, and the center glows blue when anything (hard disk, DVD, or CD) is playing. Directly above this indicator strip is the disc tray, which slides out to accept an offering. Because the 57H is a DVR, it's designed to be on all the time—there's no front-panel power switch. On the left, where a power button would normally be, is the DVD button, which activates the unit's DVD mode. To the right of the display are buttons for Open/Close, Stop, Pause, Skip Forward and Back, and Play. The rear panel is similarly straightforward. A polarized two-conductor power receptacle accepts the included power cord, and a standard RJ11 phone jack connects to a phone line to allow the DVR-57H to update the EPG. Inputs include two composite-video, one with an S-video input as well, and both with analog stereo audio inputs. An RF input lets you connect an antenna or cable feed, and an RF bypass output sends the signal back out to another device. The primary outputs include component...