Editorial Review:

Item Description:
The DVDR75 allows consumers to quickly and easily transfer their favorite videotapes and broadcast programming to DVD. The DVDR75 features i.LINK for digital copying from camcorders, allowing consumers to digitally preserve their favorite past and future family moments. In addition, the DVDR75 features progressive scan for razor sharp pictures and top quality sound. Including VCRPlus for easy timer programming and up to six hours of video recording per side, the DVDR75 provides consumers a more affordable DVD Recording option.

Amazon.com Item Description:
Capture, edit, and preserve precious memories with the Philips DVDR75 DVD player/recorder. Using the model's extensive inputs--including an i.Link digital video jack--you can transfer and assemble your most treasured camcorder footage, archive old video tapes, or burn video from a PC straight to high-capacity DVD (up to 6 hours per disc side using either DVD+R or DVD+RW). The unit's onboard Virtual Time Base Corrector ensures better-than-original copies from old video tapes.

You can also use the DVDR75 like a VCR, burning televised programs directly to disc using helpful VCR Plus+ programming data. Recording functions include safe record, one-touch record (OTR), track append, track divide, track erase, automatic/manual chapter marker insertion, disc write protection, favorite scene selection, index picture screen for instant content overview, and Selectable Index Pictures.

The DVDR75 is also a first-rate DVD player, featuring progressive-scan video outputs, Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround sound passthrough, MP3 CD playback (CD-R/CD-RW), and compatibility with most DVD media (including video-mode DVD-R and DVD-RW).

Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of 'someday,' the DVDR75 stands ready to deliver the full potential of DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.

Top-of-the-line component-video inputs and outputs help minimize digital and line-scan artifacts on compatible advanced televisions, while composite- and S-video inputs and outputs bring compatibility with nearly any video component and television monitor. Audio inputs consist of two-channel analog jacks with 16-bit analog-to-digital conversion and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio compression (compression is non-defeatable).

Two sets of left/right analog-audio outputs channel audio to Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions. Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player's digital-audio outputs (one each of RCA coaxial and Toslink optical) for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver. If you don't have a surround receiver or six-channel speaker setup, you can still make every movie night the ultimate experience: 3D Surround simulates surround sound through two speakers (even the stereo speakers on a TV).

What's in the Box
DVD recorder, remote control, batteries, user's manual (in English only), one blank DVD+RW disc, an AC power cord, a stereo audio interconnect, a composite-video cable, an S-video cable, and a coaxial RF antenna cable.



Accessories:
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Accessories:

• Memorex 4.7GB DVD+RW Media (5-Pack)
• Basic DVD Hook-up Kit for Dummies (DUMBDVD1)
• Basic DVD Hook-up Kit for Dummies (DUMBDVD2)
• Memorex 4.7GB 4x DVD+R Media (25-Pack Spindle)
• Memorex 4.7GB 4x DVD+R 4.7GB (100-Pack Spindle)

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Rating: - * DVD Workhorse ... I've been using this DVD-R75 recorder for 2.5 years with only the occasional coaster while recording to various brands of DVD+Rs. This machine seems to like the Fujufilm DVD+Rs best. I especially like that I'm able to select a screen shot for the thumbnail in the menu and also write whatever title I want for the program. In the title I called it a workhorse for a reason. It's been faithfully serving the role once held by a VCR in time-shifting. I work straight night-shift so without a faithful recorder I would miss anything I wanted to watch in prime-time. I simply set it and forget it and it records over and over on DVD+RWs which I can then erase and use over again the next day (either individual titles or the entire disc - at my option). The only minor thing I've run into is that sometimes it will overwrite titles on DVD+RW discs if I'm not careful to position the disc where a 'FREE TITLE' exists. I don't think this is a problem with the machine but is inherent in the DVD+RW format since files can't be marked as protected on them. I purchased this machine on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving 2004) and have never regretted it. Even without using the component outputs the picture still looks better than from a top-of-the-line VCR and with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound. I've also used the firewire port (iLink) to download video files from my digital camcorder with great success and no degradation in quality. Rating: - * DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT ... We purchased this product new for $500.00. It never worked correctly. The video to DVD transfer was never true from the originals. It would make it too bright. It's also extremely sensitive, so if your video is snowy, it may not record it or skip parts. It crashed while watching DVDs. Every time I tried to contact them, they would have me speak to someone in India and I would only get software upgrades. This product has also been discontinued. Philips products are terrible and their customer service is even worse. I also had color issues with one of their TVs. I wasted much of my money and time. I hope you won't do the same. Rating: - * BEWARE: DVDs are non-standard & incompatible ... BEWARE: DVDs are non-standard & incompatible I am bitterly disappointed with the Philips DVDR-3400 recorder, and suppose that all of its line has the same problems. I did not find out until I had burned 300+ DVDs that the disk directory structure created by these Phillips machines is defective. The main title on the disk you make will appear to "play" on your home DVD player... but ALL of the post-recording edits made (cutting out parts you didn't want etc.) are LOST. AND most PC-based DVD players and other software won't handle the disk, so if you wrote your home movies to disk for long-term archiving, you're out of luck. I don't know how a company the size of Phillips can release such a piece of crap. They HAD to know of these problems. I am sick to think of the time I have lost. All I have is junk to show for it. And yes, I did everything right (finalizing the disks etc). Add to this the terrible remote control with rubbery, no-feedback keys that often don't work; little provision for using the deck for playback, etc. etc. (read other's complaints) and you have a real loser here. I bought my first Phillips tape recorder in 1968. I will never buy another Phillips product. Rating: - * Save your money - DO NOT BUY! ... I have owned this recorder since October 2003 and it worked wonderful for about 12 months or so. Right after the one-year warranty mark was over...it started to shut itself off. Sometimes it would go as much as 50 minutes before shutting off and other times, it shuts off the first couple of minutes. Either way, I have tried calling customer support prior to the warranty period being offer, and they insisted that I have received a replacement unit. Not true. To be honest, I cannot tell you how many times or hours I have wasted with these people and got nothing. I am going to sale the lame thing in my garage sale for probably $25.00....that is $325.00 less than what I bought it for. It's worthless....but another brand. I will never ever in this lifetime own any other product by Philips again. Very bad customer service. Rating: - * Just like everyone else. ... Well from reading the other reviews I can only add the same ole same ole. Purchased in Nov 2003 worked pretty well until 2 months ago.Seems like we are reaching the max use range on this product. Disk errors started cropping up, would not read the disk it just wrote too etc. etc. I just got word from the repair store today and the laser lens is shot and $350 to repair, needless to say what my decision was. Less than 3 years of use and now I have a VERY expensive DVD player. (while that lasts but who knows for how long). Customer "no service" at Philips could seem to care less. They spend 10 minutes getting your personal information and 3 minutes on diagnosis. All in all I can't recommend the machine or the company. I may make the same mistake on a different manufacturer or model but I won't make it again on a Philips product.