Remanufactured Philips HTS3400/37B DVD Home Theater System
Constant noise
July 31st 2005: I was looking for a DVD player for my bedroom at Costco and couldn't resist the $179 price for this brand new Philips HTS3400 (HTS3410 is the same except that it comes all in silver rather than silver/black). I played some DVDs and CDs and after 2 days i decided to return it for 2 reasons: 1. It makes a hissing sound when it's turned off. Now, it wouldn't bother me too much in a basement (although it would still be annoying), but it's a definite NO NO in the bedroom. 2. Rear speakers are almost silent no matter how much you increase the volume to them.  If you don't mind these 2 things, then by all means go for it.  Aug 2005 UPDATE: Having nothing better to do, I went and purchased another unit from Costco to see if indeed I have a bad unit or it's a design/manufacturing issue. Surprise surprise...second unit makes the same exact noise only a bit louder! Curious enough (i'm a mechanical engineer with some knowledge of electronics) i open the unit to see where is this noise coming from. It is the AC/DC transformer, more specific two 330uF capacitors making this noise. That is really poor design and/or low quality components!!! I did not expect this from a brand name like Philips. This is no different than any no name units out there at half price.  As a result I am changing my initial review and recommend that you look for a different product, this one is definitely not worth the money. I cannot update the stars but this time I would rate it with 0 stars.  Oct 2006 Update: It stopped reading CDs but it reads DVDs no problem. Returned to Costco!  Please use the buttons below to let me know if my review helped you make a decision.