Philips DVDR985 Progressive-Scan DVD Recorder and Player
scared off by bad reviews
I bought this unit as an open-box special for what seemed like a steal at $250. Got it all hooked up with minimum effort and it worked just fine as advertised. Picture quality was great, could not tell a recording from the original Digital cable input. DVD playback was outstanding, probably due to the DCDi chip. <BR> Then I started reading all the horrible reviews here on Amazon about the product failing after a few months. Couple that with poor customer service and expensive repairs, and it didn't take me long to realize I needed to take advantage of the 30 day  return policy and get rid of this unit. So I did.<BR> I surfed over to the reviews for the Panasonic DMR-E80, and they were like night and day difference from the dvdr985. Most owners of that unit love it's built in 80Gig hard drive and intuative user interface. Luckily I was able to get one on sale and using a friend's employee discount, brought it home for $450. After one month I can say I too love this piece of equipment.