Don't ask me! When I bought mine back in April 2005 I went through a couple of returns before getting one that worked well for me. I even recall seeing so many different brands of recorders boxed up with obvious re-sealing tape, back on the shelves! My final machine is a Sony VHS/DVD burner (shrug).

It seems that this is finicky technology which still has a looooooong way to go.
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"It's MORE ... than a hobby!"