Philips DVDR5500 - DVD Recorder With Freeview
Philips DVDR5500 - DVD Recorder With Freeview
in Black
Customer Review: 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.
Customer Review: Good picture quality and easy to use but has recording problems
I was pleased with everything about this DVD until I discovered that mine had a couple of faults (not sure if these are common faults). When recording, it often doesnt switch off after the selected program has finished recording and so it records the next program until it uses up all the disk space, then the disk keeps spinning and gets hot, and you can only stop it by switching it off at the mains. Also there is no way of knowing how much room you have available on the disk and it will accept a recording request when there is not enough room on the disk. I’m afraid to say I will be taking it back.
-
LD RC299H - Multi Format DVD Recorder 
The RC-299H DVD/VHS player/recorder is a complete system that combines a DVD player/recorder and a HiFi Stereo VHS player/recorder. The RC-299H is compatible with several formats, so you can build up a true home TV programme and film collection. In DVD record mode, the RC-299H works with DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW and DVD-RAM formats. Its 5 compression modes give you up to 11 hours of digital video. The VHS player has 2 recording speeds and includes the andldquo;Jet Driveandrdquo; fast-forward and rewind functions. The RC-299H DVD/VHS player/recorder also allows you to copy from DVD and VHS cassette and vice-versa, as well as simultaneous DVD play and VHS record. The RC-299H is especially remarkable connectivity-wise, with its High-Definition HDMi out, USB port, and DV IEEE 1394 frontal input, letting you connect any portable USB device or DVD camcorder, perfect for video archiving for your films on DVD. The RC-299H DVD/VHS player/recorder is a stellar home audio/video system that gives you numerous recording possibilities for your entertainment.
Amazon Price: ?170.33
Sony RDR-GX120 Dual Format / Dual Layer DVD Recorder
DVD+R/+RW, +R double layer disc recording.
Customer Review: You get what you pay for…
I was looking for a decent quality DVD recorder to back up my sky + box. This is it. It was with fear and trepidation I went to the back of the TV, but set up was a breeze. It does exactly what I want. I don’t need a freeview tuner I don’t need multi format recording I don’t need instant start up I don’t mind it taking time to turn on I don’t want all the bells and whistles So, I have not paid for them. What I have got is an easy to use system to back up my Sky +. Result.
Customer Review: Cheap but flawed product
Similar story here as others who have been disappointed by this unit. Bought a Sony Bravia (from John Lewis) and it came bundled with this DVD recorder. The lack of in-built digital tuner is infuriating as, even when you do figure out how to record digital signals from the TV, you can’t record a digital channel and watch another. The only time you can record one channel and watch another is when recording using the in-built analogue tuner (so just the old 5 analogue channels) and watch another channel on the TV’s digital tuner. For those confused about recording digital shows from the Sony Bravia TV to the RDR-GX120, you connect from AV2 on the Bravia to AV1 (I think it’s that one) on the RDR-GX120. Then when recording, tell the RDR-GX120 to use L1 as the source. To select the digital channel simply use the normal TV guide via the Bravia remote (can initiate timer recordings this way) or the prog up/down buttons on the DVDR remote and select the show to tape. It squirts the signal out via AV2 to the RDR-GX120. It’s not intuitive but once you’ve done it a few times you’ll remember. It’s potentially a great system but falls down flat by preventing you from changing channel. You have to record what you watch, when usually you’ll want to record a show and watch something else. Oh, and when timer recording a digital channel the TV must be switched ON. That means either leaving the TV on all night when recording things late night / when you’re away from home or else delving into the manual to suss out the TV’s on/off timer options. Unless you have an additional Freeview box you can hook up somehow, you’ll soon be pretty fed up with the limitations and flaws of this DVD recorder. As others have mentioned, it can be infuriatingly slow to access discs. Browsing and renaming recorded titles on a DVDRW disc is woefully slow. I fail to understand why it takes so long to translate my button presses to action on-screen. The Bravia’s on-screen menus are really nippy and responsive, the juxtaposition damning the RDR-GX120 all the more. In its favour, I was able to make the unit multi-region with a remote hack. This didn’t go particularly smoothly but was eventually successful and I can now throw in any Region disc without thought and it’ll play fine. It’s not enough to justify purchasing this product though. ?150 or so can get you a DVD recorder from another manufacturer that features a Freeview tuner, DVD-RAM support, plus DVD upscaling to 1080p and HDMI output for those wanting to benefit from their HDTVs. Don’t even consider this product.
Samsung DVD-SH855M - DVD Recorder 250Gb Hard Drive - With Freeview & HDMI 
Full multi format recording and playback. 250GB Hard Disc Drive capacity.
Amazon Price: ?207.60
Used Price: ?178.99
Customer Review: Looks arn’t everything…..
Hi, I have or rather, had this machine. I did manage to set it up, eventually, but it’s not very intuitive, I suspect that it’s a 3rd party that has written the software for Samsung, that can be the only explanation as to the way that it works (or doesn’t really). I bought this machine really as it was one of those that I found that had an HDMI output. I have sent the machine back to Amazon for refund as it refused to release one of a set of DVD’s from it’s DVD drive. It just sat there with “LOADING” on its front display. I found no way of convincing it to release my DVD. I did get it to change from “LOADING” to “EJECT”, but that had the same result, no DVD released. I am not very happy at all as you may well understand, I may well be very unlucky. But now I will have to get a replacement Set of DVD’s to replace one.
Customer Review: roger
hi, i started by buying a thomson pvr.it was rubbish so it went back.next came the samsung twice the price.but the epg took forever too load & then half the programes were missing. & on replay the picture sometimes froze.i sent it back it was useless.next came the 250 gb sony.the epg is great.everything loads straight away.& the dvd plays divx so i can download films from my computer & play them on the sony dvd.at last i have what i want.
Sharp DV-RW260H DVD Recorder / VCR Combination 
Used Price: ?89.99
Customer Review: Quality - Sharp DVRW260H
Ive had my Sharp DVRW260H for a few months now. Im very impressed with the picture performance. The Progressive scan output puts many DVD recorders of a higher value to shame. And the normal picture output featurs 500 lines of res, which is an improvement on what I have used in the past The best bit (And most usefull in my line of work) is the ability to copy from VCR to DVD or DVD to VCR at the touch of a button. Making a DVD of all your home movies is a doddle. The only thing I can fault this on is that the Free Scart Lead in the box. It should be discarded striaght away. Its cheap and horrid and in my case caused picture problems. Ive popped into currys and got a Monster (thats the make) Scart lead and this really shows what the Sharp is capable of. This is a Recomended Product as far as Im concerned
Customer Review: Sharp DV-RW260H
Potential buyers should be aware that this is region 2 player only and no hack is available.Therefore DVD playback is restricted and in particular excludes any disc from the USA and many from the Far East. Also the requirements for DVD recording is very presciptive which means that one has to be extremely careful when purchasing blanks. The performance of the VCR is good but the DVD playback is no better than that of many players which can be purchased at only a fraction of the cost
