Philips DVDR520H DVD Recorder with 80 GB Hard Drive
Problems??  Just upgrade the firmware!
I purchased this unit a couple of months ago and experienced the same problems many of the others here are reporting-- freeze-ups, timer issues, having to pull the plug to reset it, etc.  But I checked Philips' website and found that there was a substantial firmware update available (firmware is the internal software that runs the unit.)  You do have to download it and burn it to a CD (link is below.)  There are some special settings required when you burn it so that the unit will recognize it, so if you're not technically inclined, get your geek friend to do it for you.  Anyway, after I installed the upgrade, all the problems went away and the unit has performed flawlessly since!!  I found the update on my own, so I can't comment on their tech support.  I thought their instruction book was adequate, but I'm a geek.  ;-) <br /> <br />Firmware update: <br />[...]