Philips DVDR75 Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder

Ok, you probably read lots of other reviews by now, but here is a summary, of what you will get for your money. But first, keep two things in mind, when you read other 'low rating' reviews :1. This DVD Recorder is by far one of the less expensive ones - but what you get for your money is truly amazing.2. In electronics, there are always 'lemons', but with Amazon's great customer service, it is very easy to exchange a unit, that does not work properly.Ok, so here is what you get when you purchase this DVD recorder.- A DVD recorder that records on DVD+R and DVD+RW in amazing picture and sound quality. Depending on what quality level you choose, the picture is clearer than on a pre-recorded DVD or (on the lowest quality selection) as good as a VHS tape. The sound is truly amazing.- When you copy from DVC to your DVD recorder using the Firewire link, you might get some distortion when playing the recorded DVD on another player. But if you use S-Video and the highest quality setting (M1), then there is absolutely no difference between the original and the copy.- The reaction time of the DVD player is a bit slow, when you press a button. But once you get used to this, it really isn't a problem.- The DVD+RW discs do not need to be finalized in order to play them on another DVD player - this is a huge advantage over the DVD-RW format. In general, DVD+R and DVD+RW is much more likely to be compatible to other DVD players than DVD-R and DVD-RW. DVD-ROM is really not a DVD format and is hardly ever compatible to another DVD player.- Even this DVD recorder does not have a hard disk, it is still cheaper, to buy this unit together with Tivo (the total will be about $ 600.--) than another DVD recorder with a hard drive. This way, you will get all the Tivo benefits and copying from Tivo to this unit is a breeze !- Operating this unit is extremely simple and it is very easy to organize your DVDs (titles, index pictures, chapters etc.).- The DVD player is excellent and supports the most recent sound systems. The picture quality is truly outstanding.My verdict - buy this unit ! It's a fact, that in 2 years from now, it will be as 'outdated' as the more expensive recorders that are out now - but for the price, you really get your moneys worth ! And the DVD+R and DVD+RW discs that you record on this machine will still be 'top of the line', when it comes to picture and sound quality, in many years from now.

I have owned this unit for only 6 days. I burned 10 discs and there are a few problems so far. When recording all the way to the end of the DVD+r disc an error occurred. Also, if you take the DVD+r disc out before finalizing, it will not be recognized on the recorder that it was made on.I called Philips and they are aware of the problem. They are sending out a software update via US mail.The menu is a little confusing but you get used to it.The recorder gets a little warm after a few hours of operation.The remote is not universal.Picture quality on playback is excellent. Low profile a plus.Will see if the updated software corrects the above problems before I give my thumbs up on this DVD recorder.UPDATE: I just received the firmware update from Philips (ver,ff12r). It took a good 20 min. to update the recorder. I tried to open an unfinalized +r disc that was made before the firmware update. The dvdr 75 let me burn another chapter, but would not let me see previously recorded chapters. It did let me finalize the chapters that I burned after the firmware update.I noticed that, when you burn all the way to the end of the +r disc, it displays "disc is full" and stops recording automatically. It didn't do this before the firmware update. Now, after copying about 35 VHS tapes and 10 DV camcorder tapes, I am very satisfied with this unit. I also recorded a 2 hour movie off of DISH Network, using the timer. It worked flawlessly. I am upgrading my recommendation to 4 stars.

Before I purchased this unit, I read all of the reviews and almost bought the Gateway instead. What convinced me to go with the Philips unit was the ability to edit titles and chapter markers. I have used it quite a bit since I received it one week ago and am very pleased with the purchase. Before I made any recordings on +R media (I used Memorex 4x), I followed the instructions to update the firmware. This went smoothly but the process is not for the technically meek! I have subsequently transfered all of my Hi8 analog family videos to DVDs. As a previous reviewer indicated, you have to be patient with the system. It does take TIME to process each command, a lot more than one might think. Watch the screen or the LED display on the front panel to see if the command has been processed. If you don't wait, you can crash the system. I have crashed it 3 times in one week. The manual is relatively clear and I recommend reading the manual before buying and before using (see Philips website for the manual). Overall, I am happy with the purchase. It is a great deal at a great price. Since I have only had the unit one week, I can't comment on long term reliability yet, an issue that came up in some online reviews.

It seems that Philips is having significant quality problems with its DVD products (see Amazon customer reviews of the DVD727 for more details), and the DVDR75 is no exception.While it certainly does what it claims, the unit suffers from some irritating flaws. First, every once in a while, the unit will record everything in black and white. Second, when playing a DVD, the unit will occasionally freeze-up, leaving the DVD running, but the unit will not respond to any commands other than the power-off button.Given my past experiences with Philips customer service (i.e., bad customer service), I didn't even bother calling to ask about getting the problems fixed.The user manual is very thick, but that's only because Philips uses big margins and lots of pictures. The manual is not very detailed and often leaves more questions than answers. The user interface is very cryptic, using lots of unintuitive symbols and little text.While the unit is certainly good looking and can record DVDs as advertised, given the other low-cost choices, I would pass on the Philips unit. Consider the Gateway DVD Recorder, which is cheaper and has a much, much better user interface.

Nice.

not easy to operate.

I like everything except haha just everything