Philips DVDR3505/37 1080i Upscaling DVD Recorder with Built-In Tuner Review

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(More customer reviews)The Phillips DVDR3505/37 has the best "digital tuner" picture quality out of the two other DVD recorders that I have tested with "digital tuners" (Panasonic and Samsung). The Phillips DVDR3505 produces an amazingly clear OTA digital picture on my old 27 inch Sanyo analog "box" TV using an indoor antenna. The Phillips 3505 and the 27inch TV are connected with regular "composite cables". The resulting OTA digital picture is amazingly detailed and clear with little or no annoying "dot crawl". Another important feature for me in selecting the Phillips DVDR3505 is that it allows you to choose "4.3 pan & Scan" to view OTA digital programs in full screen on a "box" TV (no black bars caused by "HD" OTA programs). In the 4.3 pan & scan mode the OTA digital picture is shown in full screen but is not distorted looking (no long and stretched faces) and the picture framing matches the full screen picture seen on my analog OTA TV in a side by side comparison. In addition the picture clarity/sharpness in the "4.3 pan & scan" full screen mode is superb! The same effect should be achieved when watching a purchased or rented "widescreen" DVD movie on your "Box" TV in the 4.3 pan & scan mode. The cons for the Phillips DVDR3505 are its slow channel change and slow recording set up. One additional problem I have experienced is that the unit looses its channel set up under certian conditions. At this point in my life, the quality of the picture that you see from your cable, Sat, or OTA programs is what is most important to me and my family when watching TV. The truth is that I have put up with poor reception using analog TV with "rabbit ears" antennas long enough, so the amazing picture quality of the Phillips is what sold me. The Phillips DVDR3502 wins hand down in that category and is the main reason that I sent the other more expensive feature rich DVD recorders back to the store. My family and I have been able to work around or forgive all of the "cons" reported about for the Phillips DVDR3505 and because we are basic users the Phillips meets our needs for recording OTA TV programs while providing a "Wow factor" in picture clarity when watching "real time" OTA digital TV through our analog "box" TV. Also, a "Wow factor" is achieved even when watching OTA digital program recorded on DVD using the Phillips DVDR3505. Image reproduction is excellent in two highest image recording modes. Before buying see if the features on the Phillips DVDR3505/37 matches your basic needs. If viewing pleasure has been lacking for OTA broadcasts then get ready to receive the "Best Picture" award from friends and family when using the Phillips DVDR3505.

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Product Description:
DVD Recorder, Dual Media-records and plays in DVDR-R-RW and DVD+R+RW, Built ATSC digital SDTV tuner to receive digital HD TV broadcasts, HDMI 1080i upscaling to deliver true HD picture performance, DivX to play downloaded PC movies and video DVD's, Progressive Scan, i-Link for easy connection to play and record your camcorder recording,Plays MP3/WMA, CD's, CD-R-RW, Video CD's

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Philips DVDR3575H/37 1080p Upscaling DVDR with Built-In Tuner Review

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(More customer reviews)You know how you buy a product, and it doesn't have all the features you need?Well, this is another one of those.I've never understood why manufacturers sell products without all the features - I guess they need their customers to upgrade every now and then, huh?
I currently have a Panasonic DMR-E80H (80GB hard drive) that has worked flawlessly and is still kickin today.The time had come for me to buy another DVD Recorder.After TONS of research, I bought a RCA DRC8000N.This one was ok, good interface, cheap (200.00), but the tuner quality wasn't all that great - it had little wavy lines on my local channels (through analog cable signal straight from outside line).The remote control for the RCA wasn't responsive either - it took a second for each command to go through.So I exchanged it for the Polaroid DRA-01601A (260.00).This one had a little better picture quality (except through 1 of my channels which was extremely noisy), so I immediately returned it.Finally, my local Wally store had the Philips DVD3575H in stock and I picked one up for 300.00.

Pros:
The tuner quality is very good - I have analog cable, and my 65" tv shows little noise with it.The tuner is even better than my Panasonic one.
The remote is responsive and pretty well laid out - I don't like the black play/pause/rew/ff buttons though - I keep wanting to hit the button just above them so I still have to hunt.
You can play a recorded event while recording another one.You can play the one that you're currently recording too (ie: chase play).
It has SDTV tuner.
It's quiet when running - I honestly couldn't hear it from my couch.
It has a skip function that allows you to skip ahead 30 seconds when you're watching a recorded program.The 30 seconds is changeable to 60, 2 minutes, etc.
It has 3 fast forward and 3 reverse speed settings.
You can have up to 6 markers to mark a spot of a recorded program and you can jump to it (helpful if you have to stop watching a program and you lose the "resume" function of it by turning off the device).My Panasonic one will hold up to 99 and are used as chapters instead of "markers".I'll still call this a pro as many recorders don't even know what a marker is.
It will auto-chapter every 5 minutes (this is an option as well to change it to 10 minutes, etc.)
The Info bar (display bar at the top of the screen) is well thought out.It shows information as to what you are playing and where you are at in the program (ie: 27:35 of 1:03:00).From the Info bar, you can change closed captions, repeat options, fake surround sound settings, noise reduction settings, set markers, change to another chapter, change to another recorded program.This makes it simple for some tedious functions.

Cons:
Unfortunately, yes there are always cons.
1.You can't title a timer event until after it's done recording.Why? I have no clue.Basically, if you record 10 programs per week, it'll be difficult to remember what each of them are.They are labeled like this: Day, Time, Channel, Recording Quality.This is not helpful at all to me.
2.If you do actually want to go edit the name after it has recorded, you have to enter it like you're on a cell phone.You have to press the number 2 three times to get the letter C.Then you have to change it to lowercase letters, then repeat over and over.That's just stupid.
3.If you have a weekly timed event, you don't have the option to overwrite the previous week's program.My Panasonic gives this option, which is very helpful.With the Philips, I have to remember to delete the programs before the hard drive fills up.With my Panasonic, I just let it overwrite and no worries.
4.No TV Guide?I don't know if this is a real con because from reviews I've read on other DVRs that have it, it's a crap shoot whether it works or not.
5.There's an annoying bright blue light when this thing is recording.I'll just have to cover it up with some tape.

If you have the money to spend - go buy a Panasonic (at around 450.00).
If you don't, then this is an excellent alternative (at around 300.00).
I'd stay away from the cheap ones, because that's what they are.

I can't comment on the DVD playing/recording abilities of this thing as I'll still use my reliable Panasonic for those functions.

I'll probably keep this one unless something goes really wrong over the next few days.I am extremely tired of researching DVD Recorders.I almost went and bought an old TIVO with the Basic Service so I wouldn't have the monthly fees.But I hate buying used equipment - especially off of eBay.

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Product Description:
DVD Recorder, 160 GIG built-in Hard Disc Drive to recored and save you favorite programs, Pause live TV and instant replay, Dual Media-records and plays in DVDR-R-RW and DVD+R+RW, Built ATSC digital SDTV tuner to receive digital HD TV broadcasts, HDMI 1080p/720p upscaling to deliver true HD picture performance, DivX to play downloaded PC movies and video DVD's, Progressive Scan, i-Link for easy connection to play and record your camcorder recording,Plays MP3/WMA, CD's, CD-R-RW, Video CD's

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LG DR787T DVD±RW Recorder w/Built-in Digital TV (DTV) Tuner Review

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(More customer reviews)Purchased unit June 2007 from best buy.

Returned Unit May 2008 would not read disks or play movies
LG paid for shipping and parts I paid $69.00 for labor

Called again Nov 2008 (Unit now out of warranty)
Unit still does not play movies or recognize blank disks
LG will send label I will pay $69.00 again they will repair.

Called again Oct 2009 (Unit still out of warranty)
Unit will not play or recognize blank disks, will not format.
Called talked to tech. transferred me to a supervisor.
They are telling me that I have to fax him the original receipt fax
and they will pay the parts again and I will have to send them $69.00 again, for labor. I don't think so. I chould have got a new one buy this time. Do not buy lg recorders. they do not stand behind their products.

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Product Description:
Super! This LG DR787T Super Multi DVD Recorder is a digital tuner Super Multi DVD Recorder that can both record and play back a wide variety of entertainment formats. Key features include ATSC/NTSC/QAM Clear Tuner, Super Multi Format Recording, 1080i Upconversion via HDMI Output, and XP/SP/LP/EP/Auto digital recording modes. The LG DR787T features a USB Media Host so you can experience your digital music and photo library. There are plenty of connections for hooking up those essential entertainment devices!Retail-box

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Toshiba DR570 DVD Recorder with Built in Tuner, Black Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm writing this review after a month of use and the majority of the reviews are spot on.I evaluated recorders from several different manufacturers and decided to go with the Toshiba.I have a Toshiba VHS/DVD player combo as well as a no-frills Toshiba 14" CRT style TV which have been reliable for a few years now so I was confident this unit would at least meet those standards (I was not disappointed).The metal cabinet feels solid and the DVD tray isn't flimsy.A flip down door reveals the basic controls (play, stop , forward/reverse, record) as well as front inputs for S-Video, composite video/audio, and a 4-pin IEEE1394 Firewire DV port which you can connect a digital camcorder to.

I first did a test setup by connecting the CATV coax cable to the antenna in and then connecting the DR570 directly to a Sony Bravia LCD via HDMI.Initial setup was straightforward and I let the unit do an autoscan for channels.Scanning for "in the clear" digital channels took awhile (common issue with most QAM tuners) and unsurprisingly, it picked up some channels but not others (the Sony Bravia TV is no different in this regard).My actual setup just uses S-video and audio connectionsfrom my digital cable box (I don't use the built-in tuner).

I used a DVD+RW disc to try some test records with the different quality settings.These settings determine the bit rate (variable bit rate) of the MPEG-2 video stream and what I found is the LP mode (4 hours of recording) offering pretty good overall quality.The only exception is anything with fast action where you will notice a substantial degradation in the clarity during those particular recorded scenes.Both the XP (1 hour) and SP (2 hour) mode will take care of this issue at the expense of being able to record less content on a disc.Both EP (6 hour) and SLP (8 hour) mode offer pretty poor picture quality and are at least for me, unusable.

As others have mentioned, loading a disc can take around a half a minute when either inserting a new disc or powering on the recorder.Rewritable DVD discs need to be formatted first (takes less than half a minute).Recording is quite simple and no different than a VCR.One caveat with many of these DVD recorders is that when you stop recording, you may lose the last few seconds (so I usually just let the recording go for 2-3 extra seconds before pausing or hitting stop). Another note is that unlike video tape where when you hit stop, you can quickly record again, this DVD recorder writes to the disc for around half a minute before you can do any other action.Playback is like any standard VHS or DVD player.If you hit the TOP MENU button on the remote, this will show moving thumbnails of each recording (which Toshiba refers to as "titles").With rewritable media, there are some rudimentary editing tools which allows you to "remove" scenes (i.e. like say if you want to "delete" commercials).Note that you don't gain any extra recording time doing this (the only way to do that is deleting that entire title or completely reformatting the disc).The advanced portion of the manual covers this.

Like all DVD recorders, there is a finalization step which allows the DVD disc to be playable on most any other player (like if you are planning to share it with someone else).The DR570 provides an auto finalization setting so that you don't need to remember to do this once your disc is full.

Programmed recordings is also relatively straightforward and simple.Just like their VCR's, you need to power-off the unit to place it into standby/programmed recording mode.So far, I haven't encountered any missed recordings.

As for media, I've been using Verbatim DVD-R, DVD+R, and DVD+RW without any problems.I haven't yet come across any lockup issues with this recorder.

Like many others, the main complaint is the remote and its dark lettering.I've since memorized the location of the key buttons which I use but compared to the remotes for my Toshiba television (which has a simple but very nice glow in the dark buttons which are big) and VCR's, this thing is pretty bad from a usability perspective (this minus one star).

Overall, I've been very pleased with this recorder and most of Toshiba's recent consumer electronics devices.Whereas some other brands look and feel like disposable pieces of junk at this price range, the DR570 doesn't give that impression and I would definitely recommend this unit to others looking to make the jump from VHS to DVD.

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Product Description:
DVD Recorder with Built in Tuner

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