hey close up..ive got a sony gxr-7 recorder that i bought open box from best buy..great machine!..records in all formats and i havent had a bit of trouble with it..dont know what machine took its place though..i had that phillips piece of crap..and a phillips plasma..took both back after 2 weeks..most of the open box dvd recorders are returned because the morons that buy them think they can transfer all their prerecorded tapes..or transfer their home movies and take back the recorder after they are finished..i got a great price..and havent regreted it!..i would buy a sony..