Great value DivX Player and DVD Recorder

I just don't understand some of the negative reviews here. I've used it for a few months, and have found it to be stable and reliable (no matter how cheap the discs I've used are). The picture quality is great and I haven't had a problem with it yet. The remote control is average, not great but not bad either for a modern unit with all the functions it needs to make usable. Its as responsive as any remote control I've used. I haven't tried to extensively edit discs, I've merely added programmes onto discs and accepted the default menu structures. But anyone serious about editing DVDs would edit discs created with this unit on a PC. I can only think some reviewers have received faulty units or set it up wrong. Compared to other DVD recorders in this price bracket, its great, but then perhaps thats because my previous one was an awful Bush DVR3003.

Not what it promises to be...

Wanted a DVD recorder with built-in Freeview, saw this and thought,"Wow! Has upscaling, USB port for flash drive reading, looks stylish, and cheap too!". This all may be true, but what I didn't know until I got it home and set it up was how irritating it is to use!

The menu system is very unresponsive, taking literally several seconds to respond to a simple 'down' on the remote. As a result, it can take minutes to scroll down a few pages of the Program Guide. The firmware needs some serious de-bugging. I had this unit no more than 2 days, and it 'froze' on me more than six times. Each time I was doing nothing more complicated than accessing a DVD, viewing pitcures from my USB pen, or simply browsing the Program Guide for something to watch! The only solution when it hangs is to pull the plug (even says so in the manual) as there's no power switch.

But the worst thing for me was the image aspect ratio distortion. Digital broadcasts displayed beautifully when watched live, but if recorded to DVD then played back they would be stretched vertically, making them totally unwatchable. Oddly, setting the TV Shape option to Widescreen (I have an older PAL 4:3 screen), would correct the playback distortion problem, but render live broadcasts as vertically stretched instead.

On the plus side, the interface looks very swish, the DVD recording quality is excellent, and upscaling to 1080 is well performed. The facia is very stylish, and the front USB and DV ports are neatly hidden behing a flip-down panel.

You can't pause live TV with this unit though, which I presumed you could - my fault for not reading the specifications! I performed a firmware upgrade, downloaded from Philips web-site, which was very easy to do. Although I only had the unit setup for another hour or so, I didn't experience any more 'freezing' of the interface. Customer service, if you need it, is rubbish - I posted a query regarding the aspect ratio distortion, and am yet to get a response, over two weeks later.

I've also heard that these machines keep the drive spinning, even in standby mode, if you leave a disc in. Philips customer service have themselves admitted you ought to remove any discs from the machine when not in use, otherwise it burns out the motor in about 6 months. Seems so ridiculous I can believe it!

Summary: I returned mine. This machine looks great, promises the world, but leaves you pulling your hair out. Philips DVD recorders have been dogged with problems for quite a number of years, and this one is no better. Pay a little more and buy a Panasonic or Sony.

Wot no Freeview?

Have just bought and sadly returned this item today. The built in tuner is analogue only, meaning that it's not really suitable for me - it needs a separate Freeview box to be able to record channels others than BBC1 - Five. No Electronic Programme Guide means that if you're after something that can be used like Sky+ with the added benefit of a DVD recorder, you've bought the wrong thing!

Philips DVDR3570H/05

I purchased the Philips DVD HDD recorder to perform the following functions:

1. Archive my VHS tapes to DVD
2. Make it easier to get footage from my mini DV camcorder to DVD
3. Record programmes to HDD to watch later
4. Use my USB key to watch divx movies
5. Use the EPG to record programmes that I would otherwise miss - enabling me to watch TV when I want to!

It is point number 5 that was the most crucial for me. A device similar to SKYplus but with the added benefit of DVD recording and DIVX support seemed too good to be true.

Sad to say then that their is no mention of the EPG function in the user manual or indeed the cover of the box. Every retailer including Currys and Amazon have listed the EPG function as one of the key features of this recorder. Having upgraded the firmware and tried all the buttons with no success I have now sent an email to Philips asking them to clarify the matter.

The other functions perform as they should although I've not tried all of them yet - The interface is friendly albeit a little slow. The device looks stunning. It's remarkable being able to pause and rewind Live TV. Their is no fan noise (or none that I can hear) and the unit hasn't yet crashed!.

Unfortunately though I think I will be returning this because it is lacking the EPG (something which was a major consideration for me when I made the purchase).

I will provide details of the answer from Philips when I receive their email!

Dont buy it - Period!

I bought the Belgian version of this device as it was on special offer, and 100 Euro cheaper than the Samsung one with the same spec. When I got it home i found out why. It crashes at the drop of a hat and having spent half a day trying to upgrade the firmware (I'm an electronics engineer so its not me!) I gave up. The hardware is fine and the build quality is good but without decent firmware its no better than an expensive paperweight. Ironically I bought it to replace a PC system as my wife was complaining that it was too unreliable. You dont need the hassle - honestly!

If you think you are safe buying Philips - don't, they are no better than any taiwanese no-name brand these days I'm sorry to say. No less sorry for them being the first company I worked for.

Philips comes good

I received this DVDR as a replacement for a previous Philips model DVDR which had crashed after a couple of years with a known software glitch. I was somewhat hesitant to deal with Philips after this bad experience, especially as I had to pay approx £80 for the privilege, but I have no regrets. A new DVDR of this quality would have cost much more and the old one was not repairable. This uprated DVD is a faultless performer, is more user-friendly than its predecessor and can be changed to being region-free in a few easy moves (at no cost and without CDs or software downloads). Soooooooooo simple, I'd need to have been a moron not to be able to do it. Now I can watch films I'd waited half a lifetime to view because they're only available for Region 1. I have it linked to a freeview box also with its own recordable hard drive and think I have the best combo without selling my soul to Sky+.

Very poor product from Philips

The main reason I chose this model was that it was built by Philips and I assumed that it would be good. Quality is fine, after that, it refuses to recognise discs it has already burned programmes onto, it often fails to record for no obvious reason, it is incredibly slow to power on or load or unload discs. At least one minute will pass while it flickers and whirrs. It often fails to recognise replicated DVDs (ie retail discs). It's cumbersome and complicated to programme and the remote os fiddly and small. don't buy one!
Why can't I give it zero stars?

No fast forward when viewing AVI/DivX movies

One killer feature this recorder has is DivX playback, which in my mind makes it different from the usual supermarket combos. But unfortunatly you cannot fast forward when you are viewing an AVI/DivX movie!!!

You would be better off with one from Asda!

Does a good job .....sometimes..

On the whole I've been pleased with my machine, it does however have a few very fustrating problems.

If you try to record a programme without using the timer (just pressing record on the machine) you more often than not get a message when you want to stop and save the recording that the recorded program contains 'protected' transmissons and it won't let you save it !!! Very very fustrating....but if you record the same program/channel using the timer it records no problem.... if you suddenly remember that there is something you wanted to record and its already started you have to program it in to make sure that it'll save it !!.

The timer function only allows you to enter a maximum of 8 programs (although you can set up weekly, daily, weekend, mon-fri options on each) but when you go away on holiday you very soon find out that you need more than 8 slots ! considering that you can record almost 400hrs on the disk it seems a bit strange that you are limited to 8 timer slots

The other problem I've had is that the remote control packed up after 5 months and when I contacted Philips for replacement under warranty they said I had to deal with the retailer of the unit, and that if the retailer couldn't/wouldn't help that they would SELL me a replacement for £30........ so much for a 1 year warranty.

I won't be buying another Philips product based on my experiences with this machine.

PREVIOUS RATING AMENDMENT

This is my second attempt with the DVDR610 model. In the past, I have had good Philips products - but that was many years ago. Perhaps these latest purchases were manufactured late on Friday afternoon! In short, this machine is worse than useless and support from Philips is non-existent. I am still waiting to hear from them after writing more than three months ago. Don't buy it.

Typically Philips...

A typical Philips product - generally technically superb, but with an abysmal user interface and in this case with a remote control unit the designer of which should be shot.
Quality of recording is superb, and produces excellent DVDs. In particular, the disk menu is very professional compared to any of the alternative recorders I have seen.
However, it is let down by the combination of cumbersome user interface and very poor remote control design (in so many respects). In particular, the fact that the remote control is very sensitive to position - ours won't work if you point it directly at the DVDR80 (it only works effectively if we point it at the white ceiling and let the recorder pick up the reflection!) - coupled with many operations taking several seconds before anything visually changes (so you don't know whether the recorder actually received the command or not) is amazingly frustrating. There is a"command received" indicator on the unit, which is effectively invisible with the unit more than a couple of feet away and so no help.
Probably the single worst feature, however, is">>"/"<<" and chapter forward/backwards being combined into two buttons (you hold chapter forwards for several seconds and it switches to">>") - we have wasted literally hours scanning forwards or backwards after the unit did a chapter skip when we wanted">>" or"<<". Other problems include the lack of lettering on the number buttons (these are the fastest way to enter titles, but this is apparently undocumented and the remote control buttons don't therefore have the letters printed). Etc.
Of the remaining irritations with the unit, probably the next worst is the inaccuracy in frame positioning, particularly when setting chapter marks or dividing titles. For general home use, it doesn't matter that the chapter mark (or title division) can be several seconds away from where you wanted it; if you're actually trying to produce professional looking recordings, it is frustratingly, and even sometimes unusably, inaccurate.

So, if you're looking for a replacement for a VCR, you'd have to look hard to find a better unit (particularly if you're looking for a replacement for a Philips VCR). If frustrating user interfaces bother you, or you're looking to have precise control over the recordings, look elsewhere. Particularly if you're used to the ease of use of systems such as"Sky+", try the unit before you buy, as otherwise you may be badly disappointed. We're still giving the unit 4 stars though (the overall quality of the disks produced is superb).

Really Good Buy!

Touch Wood but I've had this for a few months now with no problems, dead easy to set up and really high standard of recording. In Amazon description it says this is not a Multi Region player but I have managed to play both Region 1 and Region 3 DVD's no problem at all. Very pleased with it at the moment!

Absolute rubbish

This is by far the worst piece of consumer electronics I've ever bought. Firstly it's failed three times already and I'm just about to take it back again because I've just discovered it won't record anything to DVD. Even when working, it's the most painful, slow and badly designed product I've had the misfortune to buy. Just switching it on is agony while you wait about 2 minutes for it to warm up. It goes downhill from there. Don't buy it!

Awesome

This is a really beautiful little player and the hack is really easy to use and effective. Playback is good quality with great sound and picture. Its small but very easy to travel with for this reason. Perfect if you are looking for a multi-region travel player.