Philips HDRW720 DVD Recorder with 120 GB Hard Drive
Difficult to master, but pretty good
The manual sucks, not enough pictures for multiple component hookups. The downloadable pdf files are up to date but you need to go to this website [...] to select the latest files.  <br /> <br />Forget using DVD +RW's if you want to look at your shows on other DVD players. I have a Norcent, Samsung, Pioneer, Apex and a second DVD +R, +RW Liteon recorder. <br /> <br />I can get Philips DVD+R's (when finalized properly) to work on everything, except the Samsung, which only works marginally. The DVD+R's from the Liteon recorder do not work well either, so it is the Samsung's problem. <br /> <br />Also, for some reason, DVD+R's that are recorded and finalized from the Liteon recorder, will not fast forward on the Philips (the chapters work). Yet the finalized DVD+R's from the Philips will fast forward on the Liteon and the finalized Philips DVD+R's will fast forward on the other plain DVD players.  <br /> <br />Curious? I cannot tell if the problem is with the Liteon or the Philips. <br /> <br />There is a \\"Flush Buffer\\" in the setup mode that will cause all your settings to return to factory BE CAREFUL!! <br /> <br />The TV Guide listings are pretty good, but sometimes you need to manually teach the unit the listings and channels for your zip code. I had to do this at the first setup and it took me about an hour to get everything right. Then a week later I hit the \\"Flush Buffer\\" described above and reset the recorder. Even though I was PO'd at myself, I knew it was my fault. But curiously, when I started the process of setting up the TV Guide again, one of the options did show the correct channel names and numbers for my area. It wasn't there the first time when I got the unit, which is why I needed to set the channels manually. <br /> <br />The second time around was a breeze. <br /> <br />Now why I like it. <br /> <br />I like the ultra easy setup for manual or TV Guide programming for shows. I like the DVD+R's that work on my other players. Since I found Memorex DVD+R's for 34 cents each (for 100) it is great. I can record the shows and then burn a DVD for the future (they call it Archive, whatever!). <br /> <br />I am still trying to master the \\"edit mode\\", it seems very difficult. I think you need to keep a log of the timeline on paper, then go back in the edit mode and hide / unhide, according to your master timeline. Seems like a lot of work. Funny thing is, I have a 5-year-old SVHS recorder from Panasonic that marks the commercials and is correct about 90% of the time. When playing back a tape, it fast-forwards to the next scene. Then you can watch the show and skip the commercials with little effort. This technology should be incorporated in this DVD recorder.  <br /> <br />I can already see that I need to buy another remote as a spare, because everything is controlled from the remote and when it dies, and the all do eventually, the recorder will be almost useless. <br /> <br />Now for the great part, the shows recorded off my digital cable box in the 2-hour mode look like perfect DVD's. My TV is a 10-year-old 35\\" Proscan and the best video input on the unit is S Video. Yet the picture is still great, it may even be better than when I had other DVD players hooked up.  <br /> <br />The downside is on the first 99 channels from my cable company, the signals are blah! Analog, and part of the problem is probably the coax in this 16-year-old townhouse. I cannot change the cables in the walls because of the construction and I am not sure that it would help anyway, it could be the signal coming into the development and that are spilt off from the fiber optic box. We have fiber to the entrance of the development and 20-year-old cable underground to the distribution boxes behind the units. <br /> <br />So I have to live with a medium VHS quality from 1 - 99. Yes, I have put on a 25db signal booster that brought the signal quality up from \\"annoying\\" to \\"watchable\\". <br /> <br />I will be moving this year so I don't care, at leastI know that my recorder can give me great pictures when the signals are clear.  <br /> <br />It will be interesting to see what it looks like when I finally upgrade to HDTV. Yes I already know that this recorder is not a HD Recorder. <br /> <br />Hope this helped. <br />