Philips DVDR75 Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder
Everything dies, I guess...
As of the last month or so, my Philips DVDR75/17, purchased in early April of 2004, is clearly giving up the ghost and approaching the \\"white light\\", so to speak. We had a very happy relationship up until then, created hundreds of DVDs both for personal use and family/loved ones from various media sources (VCR, DVD movies, camcorder/digital camera) and I loved it very much. After coming to enjoy and even rely on it as much as I have over time, it is rather heartbreaking (and extremely frustrating) to watch it slip into a sort of state of senility, as it has recently. <br /> <br />I remember, I bought it on the same day that the only DVD player I owned at the time officially kicked the bucket, after about two years of happiness and then a few weeks of symptoms {I sense a pattern here...hence the title of this review}. I went out looking for a new player and came home with my first - and so far, only - recorder. Go figure. Initially, this silver, bulky, boxy, sterile-looking thing was a very intimidating beast and I was very tempted to take it back to the store the next day, but once I got used to all of the features and editing capabilities (e.g., the System Menu, removing commercials and creating screens for individual titles via 'FSS', etc.) I found it to be quite user-friendly. Once I realized that I could record onto DVD+RWs, edit the recording to my exact tastes in FSS and then select the 'Make Edits Compatible' option and pop the finalized DVD+RW into the DVD R/RW drive my laptop and generate a duplicate copy on a standard DVD+R with edits intact, that sweetened the deal for me [it should be noted here that although edits/chapter insertions can be made on a DVD+R recorded directly from the DVDR75, those edits will ONLY SHOW UP WHEN PLAYED ON THE PHILIPS DVDR75 ITSELF, NOT ON ANY OTHER STANDARD DVD PLAYER]. <br /> <br />Anyway, I see that many other owners (prior, current & otherwise) have testified to the same problems I'm having now - disc freezing, the dreaded 'Disc Error', and so forth - so I won't be too redundant. I understand now that this is a common problem, that the laser on these things pretty much start to go after about 600 burns or so, according to one person. <br /> <br />There's one thing I could never understand regarding this recorder. Or rather, the ridiculous directive given in the ludricrous manual (I swear this is one of the most absurd Owner's Manuals you'll probably ever read in a lifetime of owning stuff; if you don't believe me go to Philips' webiste and download a copy for yourself) which states that you should NEVER, EVER use a DVD drive cleaning disc on this unit. How can you NOT use a cleaner on a DVD player (even if it IS also a recorder) after months and/or years of usage? Maybe this was Philip's intention - if you ever had to call customer service when and if the thing broke down on you, they could blame YOU when they asked you if you've used a disc cleaner on it and you said 'yes'. This is pure speculation though. I have not called customer service, and from what I've read from other owner accounts they're absolutely useless anyway. <br /> <br />So, why am I giving this product three stars? Well, I guess I paid somewhere in the area of $300 for my unit, and for what it's worth I'd have to say that it more than made up for the price I paid, in terms of all of the DVDs I was able to create/recreate. I'd have to say that the picture quality is excellent up to about the 3rd or 4th record speed setting (it has 6 in total), editing is easy, and you can create a really nice picture in the Title Menu screen for each chapter. If you're feeling really creative, you can use your PC to create special intros and pictures for your recordings, but that's a whole 'nother story. It's a good unit - WHILE IT WORKS. I know this product is no longer manufactured by Philips; I think it had been discontinued right around the time I bought it. I chose not to purchase an extended warranty after the 90(?)-day warranty expired, but I have no regrets. But I think I'll try to buy another one. The price has gone down significantly since I bought mine, and there are a few floating around out there if you look hard enough. <br /> <br />To anyone who might feel compelled to seek one out based on this review, I would suggest that you try to find one which is new, or rather, UNUSED - not 'like new', not 'only used a few times' (\\"everybody lies\\" - House, M.D.), not 'refurbished to manufacturer's specifications (unless there's a really good return policy), but UNUSED. I think you'll enjoy it once you get used to it. But don't expect it to last forever. Remember - everything dies...