Go Video made its name by introducing the very first double-deck VCR. Despite Jack Valentis wrath, the company survived and prospered, and continues to provide an alternative to watching shows only when and where theyre broadcast. In the case of the sleek, slender R6740, the company comes as close as it can to providing the disc-based equivalent of an early-generation VCRs.

But for the RGB component video and digital audio outputs, the back panel looks much like the one youll find on a VCR, and that makes for very simple installation. Thanks to an excellent manual and Easy Guide on-screen displays accessible through a dedicated button on the remote, that simplicity continues when it comes time to use the machine.

Go Video provides a toll-free number, which it invites the user to call for a clear, step-by-step walk-through of his or her first recording. We had the R6740 up and running in less than 10 minutes, and that included some heavy lifting of other components. The onboard tuner grabbed all of our cables non-scrambled analog stations, and our DVD library now includes an excellent copy of Alfred Hitchcocks The Trouble With Harry as delivered by TCM. We recorded it in SP (2-hour) mode, which yields full resolution and whose lower bit rate didnt result in any noticeable image degradation.

Despite its low price, the R6740 is loaded with user-friendly features. Two worth noting are YourDVD, which overrides disc defaults and personalizes your DVD audio and video playback settings, and AutoPlay, which skips ads and menus when you start the movie. Home videos transfer easily from both analog and digital inputs, although a two-way FireWire port would make editing simpler. In all, Go Video delivers quite a bit of value with the R6740.