Are Philips DVD Recorders really all that bad?

Hello there

As you can probably tell by my post count, I am very new to these boards.

I must say, it makes a refreshing change to read about other DVD recorders and their various issues/problems other than Philips. I say this because other forums I have visited about DVD Recorders (and +R/RW in particular) do nothing but critise and complain about Philips entire range of DVD recorders.

I have one myself - the DVDR70, which, I have to say, I am quite happy with. I've experienced a couple of minor "niggles" with it : Ie very occasionally the remote control functions will not work whilst playing a disc for example) but on the whole (touch wood!) it seems a fairly good machine.

It is true to say that I personally know people who have experienced problems with Philips DVD recorders (the 880 series and indeed a DVDR70) and reading other forums, as I say, it would seem that Philips are the most evil and unreliable manufacturer of these machines in the world!!)

I know alot of people will visit forums especially when they have problems to seek advice. Therefore, it has to be remembered that there are many many thousands of owners out there that are, I guess, perfectly happy with their Philips machines.

So, my question to you all is:

In general, what do visitors to this forum(s) think about Philips DVD recorders? Do alot of you have one? Are you happy with your recorder?

Or: Are they really as bad as their reputation on alot of websites/forums suggest?

Thanks

 

Poor functionality, low quality (compared to other main brands) and suspect reliability are three excellent reasons not to buy Philips DVD recorders.

 

And even their latest HDD recorder lacks basic features found on all other HDD models.
Philips dvd recorders are poor mainly due to unreliability,although this problem is not as bad as it was,its stll showing up far more frequently than any other brand.Even those el cheapo supermarket DVD+ jobbies from Ping Pong Taiwan or wherever don't usually show up as unreliable.

 

I bought an 880 from Richer Sounds - it failed after 13 months. Luckily I had taken out one of their fabulous warranties and they exchanged it with no quibbles for a DVDR 75. Now, after 8 months, this machine is starting to exhibit probelms with playback of certain discs (which play fine in other players) and I fear will have to be returned to poor Mr. Richer again.

 

Due to the fact that every 880 was destined to go wrong due to faulty manufacturing,Philips extended their warranty to 2 years.
Maybe as its such an old machine now,Philips may replace it with a more recent model.But although its probably not possible now,ask RS if they will change it for a different make.Perhaps if you upgrade to a more expensive machine or a HDD model?

 

I purchased my Philips DVDR75 a little over a year ago. Within a month after purchasing it i had to take it in for repair and it was replaced. Since that time it has performed ok (but does not get heavy use, about 2-3 times a week). I recently decided to get a recorder with a HD so i purchased the Philips DVDR720 with the 120g hd. The first machine i brought home was a nightmare. it would turn off immediately after starting a timed recording. It sometimes would not even start up so i returned it for another one. The second one worked 95% of the time correctly. Being curious about the Toshiba i decided to pick one up and compare it to the Philips. Within 2 days the Philips was returned to the store. Although i have a large supply of +r/rw discs i was so impressed by the picture quality and loads of features on the Toshiba i figured it was worth the switch to -R. The editing features of the Toshiba are unbeatable. The Philips doesn't even come close to being a full featured machine compare to it. The only drawback is the availability and cost of -RWs. I find it's hard to find them and the are twice the price of +rw's that are on sale. however, with the editing features done on the hard drive i now put everything on -R. Since you can get these disk for about .40 each price isn't a factor. If your looking for a recorder with a hard drive with lots of features, excellent picture quality i would recommed the Toshiba. I purchased mine online (US) for $366.00. Can't beat that.

 

I have had my philips dvdr880 for nearly 2 years with no problems. Use it to record off sky(just set auto view on sky thats it)every day .I only use philips dvd+rw discs.To me its been great discs recorded on it play on mates and family dvd players np.and on xbox and car dvd player.What i call a true replacment of the vcr.It seems certain people on this forum have a real chip on there shoulders about philips.Its nearly as bad as game consoles!!

Gametag virus uk

 

Are Philips machines really that bad??

Some would argue they are and others would say otherwise, depending on your experience with them.
My 880 is almost 2 years old and yes, it has just started going wrong!
Up until then, I have been mega happy with it, as it has recorded very good quality pcitures and I am able to send +RW's to family overseas, who watch the programmes and then return then to me for new stuff to be recorded over.
I have recorded almost 200 DVD's, all of which have stood the test of time.
It is a little bit too obvious that the Philips machines had a fault from birth but I cannot complain, as I wrote a letter to Philips on Monday and it is being collected tomorrow (4 days!) They say it will be 7 working days in repair and then I have it back to continue to provide me with good quality recordings and easy operation. Now I can't really complain about that??!!

 

Not really - but as most of us who criticise it have used and owned Philips machines we have little interest in protecting the reputation of poor quality machines with limited features. The original poster's comments amused me: he has been to numerous forums and found Philips getting a bashing. The same happens here. Surely the alarm bells should start ringing?

Why not consult this thread on the subject of Philips DVD recorders?

 

I had an 880 for 8 months, had very little use and used only +RW on it and all seemed fine until I read on another forum that people only experience difficulties when they try to write to +R disks. Being curious I bought a box of +R disks, tried it out and the machine never worked after that. I have the unit exchanged by Argos (god bless their exchange rather than repair policy) and got an R70, this unit had even less use (recorded no more than 5 disks in 5 months and never used as a dvd player) and on saturday night it just died. I'm not one for jumping all over Philips back but there really does seem to be a quality issue with these products and it is carrying through to the next generation of machines. I brought the R70 back to Argos and despite having about 50 +RW and 10+R disks went for the -R format simply because the manufacturers of this format are what we would consider to be reliable. I am currently testing the Hitachi DV-RX7000 and if I'm not happy with that then I will bring it back to Argos and get the Panasonic E55 instead (when argos eventually get the irish version in stock that is).

 

How quickly that lesson came! Whether there will need to be any further such lessons depends upon how much was learnt.

FYI, my E20 is almost 3 years old and it's never skipped a beat.

 

I have owned a hdrw720 for a month and so far i have not had any problems with it.It does everything i need from recordings and playback to the excellent Guide Plus.Previously i owned the 890 which had to be returned for repair but still works well as a replacement vcr.The what video report on the picture quality could not be further from the truth.

 

I think you missed my point OARDVD.

I never once said that the Philips machines were flawless or that I was against people commenting on their reliability, just that certain individuals make comments that are unjustified and unfair.
I never had a loyalty (as I have said many times before on this and other forums) and only bought the Philips because it was a good price at the time and did what I wanted.
Did you read the rest of my post, or did you get all excited when you read my 880 had failed and skip that bit???? I suggest you read the rest of my post, which clearly states that Philips will repair it and return it to me free of charge.
Apart from this recent problem, I have no quarms with my 880 and given that Philips have been more than helpful in rectifiying the unit failure, I see no reason to turn against them.

BTW - What lesson am I supposed to have learned here?? Oh yes, that Philips are responsible enough to admit a manufacture error and then take the financial consequences.

 

No,the lesson you should have learned is that Philips problems are being reported all the time-not just on this forum,but others too.
When you went to look for sympathy on the +RW forum by opening a thread purely to slag me off behind my back you cannot have failed to notice that most of that forum consists of threads looking for Philips firmware upgrades,cd updates,and how to sort all sorts of problems out.If you took advice and went for a quality manufacturer you would get a machine that is reliable from when it leaves the shops,not one reliant on upgrades ,updates and good repair schemes.
Philips are to be applauded for repairing machines long out of warranty,but had they been made properly in the first place they would not have had this problem.
Apart from the reliability issue,the machines are poorly specified.
Rasczak,I urge you to peek at the +RW forum where a comedian called JSR is defending his stance that HDD is too expensive over a dvd only machine,by coming up with all sorts of crap excuses,although he has never used any HDD device ever-not even Sky+

 

what is a poor specification machine? If a person buys a machine knowing the spec and is willing to pay the price then it is not a poor spec for his needs is it?

 

Quite true.
The Reliant Robin (3 wheeler) will take you from point A to point B and so does the BMW (with 4 wheels !)
Anyone willing to pay the price of the BMW for a Robin ?

 

Actually it is spot on - it concurred entirely with my own tests - perhaps you need to upgrade your screen? Ironically there is a current post by a Philips DVDR70 user (identical MPEG2 encoder) who has just done this! Anything looks good on a crap TV!

A machine that has significant less features/functions than a machine at the same price. I agree that you should never pay for functions you don't use - but when you can get a machine that can record better picture quality onto more compatible disks you have to ask why accept second best?

As always it is the newbies defending Philips - they'll learn!

 

Hi - it's Paul - the original poster here..

Well, well, well.. interesting to note the opinions here. I must admit that I missed some of the postings made about Philips on here, so I apologise for not reading them all - it does seem that an awful lot of you have had problems etc...

It appears you either love them or loathe them. I fully understand the experiences and opinions expressed in this thread, especially from people that have had problems. Yes, alarm bells do ring - to answer an earlier point - hence the very reason I started this thread.

As I say, I personally have had hardly any problems with my DVDR70. Perhaps I am just lucky.

I am certainly not defending Philips at all by the way - I am rather concerned by the comments made about them on here and other forums.

I also feel for people though, like me, that have one, and are happy with their machines - sorry - just really trying to sit on the fence here and get an unbiased opinion.

Thanks for all your comments so far.

 

If you are happy with the functionality of your machine (ie. it does everything you want it to), then as long as it keeps working it's not a problem is it? I would only worry about it if or when it plays up. Not all Philips machines go wrong, so if you've got a 'good' one then let's hope it stays that way.

 

Does a newbie not have any previous experience that counts, only people who fill this forum with a lot of irrelevant and misleading information.For your information this newbie has worked in electronics all my working life(50 years) including 30 years television manufacturing so i think my comments on my hdrw720 are relevant and correct concerning picture quality.The magazines like What Video make mistakes sometimes because according to you the 880 was a poor machine and yet WV made the 880 dvdr of the year for 2003,dvd buyer made it a 5 star award.Dont believe everything thats written by so called experts.For your information my television is only 6 months old with a excellent picture and i owned Panasonic, Mitsubushi,Sony,and Philips equipment with mostly good results.

 

Mate, if you had actually read a few more posts of mine on this forum you would realise how silly you look making a statement like that...

Posts from newbies like you are very common lefty2. Several long term members of these forums started by saying exactly the same sort of thing (lifelong experience in consumer electrics) and that Philips are the best thing since slice bread. All of them now have a DVD 'minus' machine of some description. Even I started with a Philips. In short there is alot of experience on this board of Philips machines - and virtually all of us agree they are c***. Sorry but 50 years in "electronics" doesn't alter the fact that the Philips DVD recorders have serious, fundamental shortcomings.

 

I'm absolutely convinced that Philips products are fitted with a timer so that they go wrong 2 days after the warranty expires. The last Philips product I bought (a CD recorder for the PC) was so bad that a class-action was filed in the US, and Philips had to recompense the buyers ! Sadly, UK buyers had no such protection.

Nothing badged Philips ever crosses my doorstep these days.

 

You are right.But why would someone buy a machine with less features,poorer reliability and still pay the same price as other quality makes.Philips are not really any cheaper than Panasonic or Pioneer or Toshiba.If someone is happy with the Philips machines,ultimately its up to them,but its not wrong to point out the reasons why most on here put Philips quite low on the "must buy" list.The reasons we give are valid and true,and may point out something to an unsuspecting buyer expecting a Philips machine to be as clever as one from another make.

 

Phelings?
Who slagged you off behind your back?
I only stated what you and a few others had been saying on this forum and it was nothing that I had not already said to you in previous posts away. A little touchy me thinks.
I have been reading this forum, DVD+.org and Digital Spy and have noticed something. In every one of them, you pop up and start an argument with someone, usually if they challenge your agressive and biased views on some product or other. The only reason I ever found these forums, was because my Philips needed a firmware upgrade. 1 firmware upgrade, thats all (before you start on the endless argument about machines requiring constant upgrades) After that, I didn't post again until fairly recently when there was a really quiet period at work.
You seem to have shed loads of time, not to mention an unhealthy obsession with DVD recorders that leads you to become defensive and territorial when challenged. I personally don't give a monkeys bottom about different formats and machine types and the general population don't either.
Take some time and wonder why you create all these arguments. Opinions are good. A self belief that you are always correct is sad.

 

Where did i say Philips were the best thing since sliced bread?.I was replying to the original subscriber concerning Philips dvdrs and gave my experince of the two i have bought, if they had been a lot of trouble i would have said so. Because i have an open mind, unlike you mate!You display a condescending and arrogant attitude towards anybody who might offer a different point of view.

 

Probably not a bad analogy when you consider the inherent instability of the Robin.

 

Niburu,it was you who popped over to the +RW forum to post specifically about me and my opinions about Philips.Until that was pointed out to me I was not even registered with that forum.
If you read the threads on most forums you will find that virtually all responses in defence of Philips are from those who have gone out and bought them,and simply don't like being told that they have spent hundreds of pounds on a duff machine.
As I have used Philips,Pioneer and Panasonic recorders,I feel qualified enough to give an opinion about them.Its not as if I was the only one dissing Philips.All the forums,even the +RW one,are full of reports of Philips problems.

 

You bet I do when they are talking c***. You statement:

...is both untrue and inaccurate - it must be corrected for the sake of anyone who is even thinking of getting a DVD recorder. Now I don't why you posted that: perhaps it's because you have never seen the competition? perhaps it's because (by your first post above) you imply your upto 70 years old your eyesight isn't that good? or perhaps you like most other newbie +RW users these forums see - a person who buys the machine without doing research and then goes all out to defend it however bad it is.

I challenge you to watch a Philips recording via a Digital Video connection (DVI/HDMI) and see how bad the artifacts are when compared to an equivalent machine of almost any other make.

 

Agreed - there are somepeople who just can't accept that they haven't got the best machine. It's almost laughable to see them defend what has essentially become undefendable: Philips machines right across the internet are riddiculed. Not just in home cinema forums such as this, but also on the official DVD plus forum and throughout hundreds of other forums. The most ammusing place has to the Doctor Who Restoration Team.

Condemnation of Philips DVD recorders is worldwide and extensive. Even the +RW lobby now largely agrees that Philips are rubbish and have accordingly put their hopes in Thompson (a decent company IMHO). The only people who don't accept it are those who have just purchased a Philips. As I have stated before - they'll learn!

 

Duff machines?
Surely you can only describe something as `duff` when it is broken and that it is unable to be repaired. A duff car is a non starter, one that can't go a quarter of a mile without catching fire?
My 880 is hardly duff when after 2 years of excellent performance it gives up and will be repaired. If it fails after this, then yep, it is `duff` and deserves to be put on wheels and rolled down a very large hill.
You are correct in that case with assuming that nobody likes to be hounded and ridiculed after making a purchase, no matter how bad YOU may think it is.
I don't take this seriously, as I have no reason to be hounded because I bought a DVD recorder that has made over 200 fully compatible discs and does it with good quality. As for the maths behind the DVD recording, I don't care if it uses the latest MPEG technology or if it utilises hamster power, the results are pleasing.
Philips have produced unacceptable machines reliability wise and very few can argue with cause, so I am in middle ground. Then again, I have said this countless times and am bored with trying to get certain people to realise that I am not pro-Philips.