DVD recorder : PHILIPS or SONY ? Any recommendations ?

[billyz]

Hi all!!!
About a year ago I bought the 37'' Philips Lcd, basically because of the ambilight and the built-in DVB-t. Also I got the Sony home cinema surround kit and I'm very very pleased with their performance.
Now I'm looking to replace my old - very reliable - Philips dvd player, with a dvd recorder. Currently I'm looking at these two :
1) http://www.consumer.philips.com/cons...er+DVDR5500-05
and http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/d/d...05_pss_aen.pdf'

2)
http://www.sony.gr/pdf/GeneratePdf.a...site=odw_el_GR
which is in Greek (couldn't find it in English) Maybe you can sort it out...(ΟΧΙ means No and ΝΑΙ means Yes, the rest i think is international...)

I found them in reasonable prices Philips :220~240€ & Sony : 160~190€. I can't spend more than 250,00€ and definitely I don't need a HD...
Please , if anyone bothered to read all my post , make a suggestion which one - or some other brand maybe....

P.S. I need to have HDMI, DivX, Mpeg2 at least...

[Golgotha]

this is similar to wat im after, the philips has everything you need allothugh the latest model with freeview i cant find in the uk but it is elsewhere in europe.the philips can play divx from its internal drtive and from the usb socket but from what ive read of sonys it only allows from a dvd disc

[billyz]

Hi Golgotha,
just on Saturday I bought the last piece of Philips DVDr5500 from Media-Markt in my hometown in Greece...
The setup wasn't really something difficult, it just took a little time for the receiver to store the channels...
As for the rest... just as i expected. The band name says everything!
Nice on the recording, nicer on the playback...and it PLAYS EVERYTHING!!!!
Even DivX with *.srt subtitles!
I think I made the perfect choice...as for the SONY....reading the posts about the problems with the more expensive models(e.g. 870, with the HD) is enough for me...
Have a little patience, cause it takes sometime for Philips to bring out in the market her models, due to production delay...
I hope I've been some help for you...and wish you luck with your purchase...

[jerrytaff]

Hi Billyz and everyone else who might be look in

I was choosing between the same two machines when I found this thread. Now you've had the Philips for a while are you still happy with it?

Can anyone tell me if there is likely to be any difference in picture quality?

and finally, can anyone out there tell me if Philips have finally got their act together on the reliability side? they used to have an awful reputation.

[smithdown]

I've had the dvdr5500 about a month now, and I'm less than impressed. It freezes very easily, doing the simplest things such as turning the machine on or off or going to the Home menu, and the only way out is to cut the power at the plug, which means you lose all your settings (e.g. HDMI output level). That is the biggest problem.
The interface is also VERY slow to respond, taking seconds to respond to even one button push, which frustrates you in to pushing more buttons which - you guessed it - causes it to freeze up!
Apparently the machine keeps the disc spinning when left in the tray, even when turned off, which means the motor burns out quickly. This is just what I’ve heard, but the ‘Eco’ mode you can turn on presumably stops/reduces this, but means the machine takes a full minute to load up (its not exactly snappy when the Eco mode is off either though).
Recording is sporadic – not a single recording I have made using the TV guide has worked properly, always missing either the beginning or the end of the programme. The aspect ratio is always messed up as well.
A final thing is the standby light, which is so incredibly bright that I have to have it covered when watching TV in a darkened room or else it is very distracting!
In all, this is going back to Richer Sounds. It’s the only machine I have found which does everything I want, but unfortunately it is a typical Philips in that it is very poorly made. The remote is so cluttered and ill-though out that you are always pushing the wrong button or thinking you’ve pushed something when you haven’t.
DON’T BUY THIS!!!!

[ramjet]

I wouldnt buy anything made by ph*lips either !!

sony for me is the number one manufacturer , especially with pioneer in the frame too

I have 2 sony 970b and wouldnt part with them !!! says it all really

[marty2005]

The bug with the Sony has been fixed with new firmware.

The Philips 55xx doesn't sound very good with slow response times considering the high price they want for it, you'd think it was a prestige machine.

Sounds like the Toshiba which also has slow response times.

Looks like Toshiba, Philips and samsung are the worst 3 machines out there. 2008, it's hard to believe.

No wonder these machines don't appear much on avforums.