First thing I had to do was download an add on module to allow USB data playing. Once set up, it only plays .avi! No .wmv, .wav etc As I am deaf I regularly use subtitles and it will only play ,srt, not .sub & .idx (these are usually on DVD files) BUT my biggest bugbear is that it won't play 720p or 1080p files, even though it's an HD box!! It's as slow as a wet week moving the selector to pick a file to play, if you plug in a 500Gb or above sized external HDD. I got rid of an LG HDD that was forever locking and had to be rebooted constantly, BUT it did a lot of things that this SVR-HDT1000 will not, for half of the price. You really need to providee some better firmware to sort these easy fix problems out SONY

I love the amount of HDD space the device provides and it has an easy to use EPG system and easy to navigate hard drive system that you can back up on other USB devices. The only problem that I have on this device is it does not have a series record option on it's EPG menu unlike my older Sony RDRHDC100 DVD/HDD Recorder 160GB.

Very easy to setup and use, and the fact that it can record 2 programs from different channels at the same time is terrific! On the plus: 1. Sony has improved the EPG interface (electronic program guide) - it is more user friendly than the current Sony DVD recorder. 2. Both front and rear USB port for external hard drive - rear port is aesthetically more appealing for a permanently attached drive. On the down side: 1. When running the audio from the digital port, clicking sound as the audio stream is stopped when changing channels (doesn't occur on other Sony products or if running audio via the 2 RCA sockets). 2. Can't change the order of the tv stations (as you can with Sony TVs and DVD Recorders). I like to group all the 7, 9 , 10 , and ABC stations together, but you cannot do this - channels are in the order that they are picked up when you do a channel scan - which is confusing when you are channel surfing. Hopefully the above 2 points they can fix when they do the next software update. Very happy with the purchase - you won't be disappointed!