christmas04's Full Review: Philips DVDR3575H/37 (160 GB) DVD Recorder / HDD R...
Sept 12 2007. Philips seems to take 2 steps forward than 2 steps back.
I have previously owned a Philips HDRW 720/17 and a Philips DVDR3455H/37. Philips seems to advance in development of some features (HDMI and HD tuner) but goes backwards on others. The HDRW 720/17 had a build in TV guide and had title and summery info of all recordings (just like my Comcast and TIVO DVR). The DVDR3455H/37 took the TV guide feature away but allowed the user to input a short title for a recording while programming a timer event (Very helpful to find the right shows especially if you do 10 to 20 weekly recordings).
Yesterday I received my new DVDR3575H/37. You can't give any timer event a name until after it's done recording. I am wondering if the design engineers at Philips actually use their own products. Taking the ability to title shows away from the user is a huge step backwards in my eyes. Does Philips expect the user to sit down every day (or week), go thru the recorded shows and title them after the fact? What a waste of time. Why would any designer take such an important feature away? Also while the HD tuner is a nice feature (FCC making it mandatory that all manufacturers as of July 1, 2007 must have ATSC DTV tuner (VCR, DVD player/recorder, DVR)) one must wonder why we can not record in HD (my Comcast DVR records in HD).
This is my take on other DVR's out there:
3 stars total for TIVO; 5 stars for features on TIVO but deduct 2 stars for the fees (Big upfront cost for HD box, I will not get one again until they lower the monthly fees substantially)
4 stars total for Scientific Atlanta 8300HD (Comcast); 3 stars for the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR features, + 1 star for no upfront cost but a monthly fee, for the fee you get the name and summery of every show including a weeklong TV guide and HD recording.
3 stars total for the Philips DVDR3575H/37; 3 stars for the features on the DVDR3575H/37, +1 star for low upfront cost and no monthly fee, -1 star no titles and no TV guide, -1 star no HD recording, +1 star for DVD recorder).
The bottom line is that if you do not want to pay a monthly fee, do not want to record HD programming, do not record to many programs or do not mind spending the time to rename the title after recording and you do want the ability to move your shows to DVD, than this DVR is for you.
November 13 2007. Adding to my Sept 12 2007 review after using DVDR3575H/37 for 2 month. The unit locks up frequently. This happens more often when you watch a previously recorded show while another show is recording. At the end of the recording it tries to save the show to the hard drive and a System Error is displayed. You loose the recording. Also sometime the recorded show stops 1/2 way thru playback, while other recordings have no sound.
Dealing with Philips customer support is a nightmare. Instead of repairing the unit or solving the problem with a software update, Philips kept sending me defective new models.
Now Philips told me that I have only fee based options to get the 2 month old unit fixed since the original DVR was out of warranty.
After countless (over 20) calls and emails to Philips, one in-store exchange and two mail-in exchanges over the past 2 years, I still have a unit that does not work properly.
I am reducing my 3 stars to 1 star.
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