Philips DVDR75 review and performance

Krinkov:
I have the same exact problem and got zero help from Philips tech support. My DVDR75 was working wonderfully until today. This morning we did have a power outage due to a storm---that's the only thing I can think of that would trigger this weird behavior.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to what is causing this???

 

Found an answer to the VCR picture issue. Once I ran the VCR through my DVR recorder and then into the Phillips, everything worked just fine. I don't pretend to understand this, but I can record from VHS to DVD just fine now.

 

Never figured out why the disc tray would open so the unit has been shipped to the warranty service station for repair.

 

I read on CNET review that you cannot change the channels via the DVD Recorder. Is this true?

I have a VCR that takes TV input and Satellite box input. By selecting the appropriate VCR channel I can watch TV, Satellite or VCR casette.

Can I replace such a VCR with DVDR75?

 

I am looking for a DVD recorder to mainly backup my home videos. I have been browsing internet for days. DVDR75 seems to be a good choice. However I found one site, http://www.pricegrabber.com/rating_getprodrev.php/masterid=832559/id_type=masterid
which has very bad reviews on it. Those reviews keep me from ordering one right now. Could anyone take a look at those reviews and tell if those are just user errors? Thanks.

 

Steph,

I read the bad feedback on the DVD75. Over the last two months I've dealt with 3 DVD75. The first was an open box from Best Buy that I got for about $250, but there was an audio problem. Then the model was discontinued so I brought a floor display model that didn't work with RW disks.

I took it back and bought another floor model and I haven't had problems.

I would say stick to Maxell disks. I believe it is a good unit, however I wuldn't opay $299 when you can get the DVDR615 for aboutr $350.

Goodluck
swynne (steph too)

 

i read those reviews, i dont know about them but i have had my DVDR75 for awhile now have done well over 150 novies and i love this thing, its the best money i have ever spent.

 

Generally, I'd say those reviews are unfair. Maybe they refer to early models.

The Philips is generally reliable, has good quality recordings and makes compatible recordings.

Many of the people on this thread owned Cyberhome before. The Philips is miles better than the Cyberhome in just about any respect.

That said, I have to qualify my praise some. The Philips does have several minor bugs and sometimes poor usability that can be annoying, but nothing dramatic.

Nonetheless, I returned my Philips and bought a Pioneer DVR-220 at Walmart for $297. It supports the DVD-VR format which is much easier to use as a VCR than the Philips because it support random access. All DVD+R/RW recorders write sequentially. If you delete something in the middle of the DVD, you have an open slot in the middle, if you record something there thats too long, it starts overwriting whatever comes next. The end result is a mess trying to repeatedly reuse a DVD+RW to record daily shows and watch them at night. With a DVD-RW, it writes like on a harddrive. Wherever it finds room it writes that piece of it, jumping around as needed, until the disk fills completely up. You can't accidentally overwrite another recording. Its really nice.

The Pioneer also supports chaseplay, where you can be recording a show while watching something else on the same DVD. Really cool.

And best of all, I haven't found ANY problems or bugs no matter how minor with the Pioneer.

If you're set on the Philips DVDR75, you should also check out the replacement model, Philips DVDR615. It adds an 8 hour mode, not sure what else.

 

Forgot to mention, if you are interested in the Pioneer, Bestbuy also sells it as the DVR-225. But I'd avoid Bestbuy. The DVR-225 is built in China vs. the DVR-220 is built in Japan. Bestbuy has a 30 day return policy vs. Walmart's 90 day. And I'm upset at Bestbuy's customer service for telling me that open box items have special warranty limitations that are not documented in the store. I'm out of luck with my defective open box item and not happy about it.

 

Thank you guys for the info. Since all I need is something to backup some tapes, I guess DVDR75 is all I need. I am ordering one from tweeter tonight for its free shipping and $50 rebate. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

 

Best Buy has one for $139. It was for display in the store. Does not have anything with it - no manual, remote, cables, not even a power cord. I have a power cord that will fit, extra cables so, all I'm missing is the remote and manual. The salesman said I could download the manual from the Phillips web site. So, do I need the remote for anything that it can only do?

 

You most definitely need the remote. There are very few functions available on the front panel.

An alternative is to get an upgradable remote. I bought a OneForAll URC8910 remote for $45 that can be upgraded via phone to have pretty decent support for the Philips. Still not everything, but pretty close. Philips charges a lot for a replacement remote, look back in the previous forum entries here, but I think it was $40-50.

I'd also beware of buying anything from Bestbuy, especially an open box item. I recently had a problem with the very remote I'm recommending. I had bought it open box. It failed just before its 90 day warranty was up. The manufacturer said to return it to the store for a replacement. Bestbuy wouldnt accept it. Bestbuy headquarters was very unresponsive, first saying they'd check with the manufacter and return my call, then saying they'd call me back, then denying any record of needed to do anything with the complaint. They stated that open box items purchased from the store are NOT covered by the manufacturer warranty. That Bestbuy warrants the item themselves, but its much reduced from the manufacterer. They said that this isnt posted anywhere in the store. I have this conversation recorded on tape because I didn't believe it and found it to be an amazing fabrication.

I have since had the remote replaced via the manufacturer (despite what Bestbuy said), but it cost be a bundle to send it back to get the replacement.

Walmart has a much better return policy and a good selection of DVD recorders.

 

Thanks for the info! I asked the salesman and he said the warranty is good for only 30 days.

I also went to Circuit City. Funny, they had the same unit out of the box with no cables, remote or manual and they wanted $217 for it!

 

My Philips DVDR72 has been in the repair shop for over a month (the platter tray would not stay closed with a blank disc). I would not touch any expensive piece of electronics that didn't have a one year parts and labor warrenty. While waiting for my Philips unit to be returned I purchased an AKAI DVD recorder from Amazon for $200 plus tax (I live in Washington) and no shipping. This one seems to be working ok.

 

I just bought the Philips DVDR75 from the Tweeter website for $199 - http://www.tweeter.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1429383&cp=.1181144. OK, now where is the best place to buy the recordable DVDs?

 

I am always on the lookout for recordable DVD+R media. If you live in or near a large city which has OfficeMax and OfficeDepot look in the Sunday paper for specials. For example, about three weeks ago OfficeMax was selling 10-disc packs complete with jewel case for about $5.00. You didn't even have to apply for a rebate: the normal $10 per pack price was instantly reduced to $5.00. There was no limit as to the number of packs you could buy. I think $0.50 per disc without a jewel case is a good purchase. Sometimes you see brand name 25 disc spindles being sold for about $20, or $0.80 apiece, which I do not consider to be a good buy.

If you live near a Fry's they often sell house brand DVD+R for about $0.50 per disc.

If you need a large quantity such as 100 and either don't live near OfficeMax, OfficeDepot or need them in a hurry go to meritline.com and buy a spindle from them for about $50. This typically includes the shipping cost so your price is $.50 per disc. Folks don't realize that this is cheaper than VHS tape media.

The brands that work with my Philips DVDR 72 (same thing as the 75 except that it has fewer recording times): Maxcell, Philips, Khypermedia, Imation, and Sonix (sold by meritline). I have not encountered any brand of DVD+R that does not work. I don't record using DVD+RW media so there are no recommendations or warnings here.

Have fun with your Philips. I love my machine except for the fact that it has been in the shop for nearly six weeks. With the Olympics coming up I bought a AKAI DVD recorder from Amazon for $217 (the $17 is for Washington State sales tax) and I will be getting a $50 gift certificate so the net price is $167.

 

I was wondering...

Does anyone know how to make the dvdr75 automatically switch off / go to standby after a while?

(I keep forgetting to standby it after programming it in order to record something)

 

I just bought a DVDR 75 open box from circuit city. I also have a Cyberhome DVDR 1500 which has problems. The reason I bought the phillips is so I can take my time to update the firmware in the Cyberhome. If is dies I still have the phillips to record stuff for my son overseas. My DVDR 75 was manufactured in May 2003. How do I determine it needs an update also and where do I get it. The two units are night and day as to operation. I have put a fan in my cyerhome and keep it off when not in use. I just have the same problems with the tuner, timer and the stupid 24 hour clock. Cyberhome claims the newest upgrade dated june 04 will fix them but I just need to be sure the Phillips works just in case. If I get the Cyberhome OK then I will concentrate on the phillips. I did notice that recording from video tapes with home movies is not as good on the phillips as the cyberhome. Not sure why. Compatiability among DVD players is long way off just as HDTV is. The supposedly good stuff is still too expensive and probably not much better. Appreciate any help.

 

ronnybuck--
I was curious how the recording on the other machine was clearer. Could you describe the difference?

I have noticed that my Phillips doesn't do a very good job of capturing the brights and colors when I record from some of my VHS tapes. I originally thought it was some copy protect, but discoverd it was not. I wondered if there are DVDRs out there that has better recording quality.

 

gijski:
I don't know of a way to get the Philips to go into standby automatically. You have to make sure to but it in standby. You also have to be exceedingly careful what you last played to make sure it doesnt get overwritten. You also have to be careful if you have a power outage before the next recording because it can affect where the recorder will decide to start recording. The auto resume setting affects this.

Bottom line, its hard to make sure you get the recording you want in the spot you want. That's the main reason that I went with the Pioneer DVD-VR recorder that doesnt have these issues. It just records whereever there's space and will record even if its turned on.