Philips DVDR520H DVD Recorder with 80 GB Hard Drive
Quality product? Not on your life!
I thought, mistakenly as it turns out, that Philips were reknowned for reliable products. Well, that is not the case with this pile of junk. Timer recording frequently results in the unit freezing up with the only way of freeing it being to unplug it, losing that part of the program which may have already been recorded. Operation of the unit prevents use of a digital tv system when recording a terrestrial channel (if wired as shown in the manual)as the scart system is very bizzarrely configured with input only being available on 1 of the 2 scarts provided. HDD recordings at anything other than the 2 highest resolution settings produces a sound track that repeats in blocks and is therefore unusable. Even at it's second highest setting the sound playback is slightly out of sync. 5.1 theatre sound is only available in digital audio which is of no use to me as I use an anologue 4 channel surround sound system which works splendidly with my old dvd player. It also squeaks and whines in operation when it's been running a while. The on screen menus are only available in small typefaces which I find difficult to read. There are some features which are not explained in the manual. The remote control is poorly designed with the fast forward and next chapter buttons being too close together. Slow motion is a hassle to get, requiring a trip through menus!  <br />I have to say that picture quality is superb if you can put up with the aggravation and background squeaking, which I am not prepared to do. <br />This is the second machine I have owned as the first was returned as faulty, although it's performance was identical in every way to this one. Many places are currently selling this model at seriously reduced prices but in my honest opinion, any price is too much for this poor quality product.