Philips DVDR520H DVD Recorder with 80 GB Hard Drive
Never  Philips again
I bought this DVD Recorder after a long research. I was looking for a +R/RW with Hard Drive at a reasonable price. In spite of any customer review available, I gambled betting on the Philips name, well established for years. I made a big mistake. The unit was unreliable from the beginning. The set-up and the first play back worked satisfactorily the first day. But the next day when I tried again, it did not work properly, starting with the Stand By/On, load/unload disc, the \\"Guide\\" menu. I couldn't even  play back a commercial DVD. The buttons on the unit as well as the remote were acting strangely, not responding to the simplest commands. I tried all the tricks, including unplugging (otherwise I could not turn off, it was frozen)and replugging after a while. After several attempts and a lot of aggravation, I packed it and returned it to Amazon.com. Thanks for their return policy. The instruction manual is poorly written. The on-line support does not offer much help. The FAQs are very few and irrelevant. I did not bother to call them realizing that even the most talented expert can not offer any support in this situation. The product was defective, period. No Quality Control!There is no excuse for Philips to put on the market a unit in this state. That reminded me about another experience I had with a Philips product (Norelco shaver)which died in a few months, a thing which never hapened with my electric shavers past and present of various makes. Stay away from this product. One star rating is too much.