Electronics : Philips Hard Disk/DVD Recorder 160 GB (DVDR3576H/37) |
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Rating:  - * An excellent machine ... I happened across this Philips DVDR3576H at the local Sam's club where it is selling for $299. I didn't see it when checking online. I purchased it primarily to record tv programs for later viewing and it has been a great replacement for our old VCR. The only problem was the fan and/or HDD coming on when am changed to pm or vice versa (noon and midnight) - and staying on. This occurred even when no programs were scheduled. I exchanged the unit and the replacement will come on briefly at those times - about a minute - but then cuts off. The only other anomaly (in both machines) is that it take 3 presses of the "pause live tv" rather than 2 to initiate the process. I'm thinking seriously of getting another for backup since there seem to be few or no similar products. Rating: - * Avoid monthly TIVO charges! A versatile machine ... This excellent unit is truly powerful and capable. It's a real bargain. It combines 3 different functions in one slim package, any one of which alone would have cost more than its sub-$300 price not so long ago: a 160 GB hard disk recorder, an ATSC digital tuner (and an analog NTSC tuner too), and a DVD recorder. Additionally, it breaks the DVD + / - format war by its ability to record on both. This unit is one of the surprisingly few hard disk-plus-DVD recorder devices available today that has a digital tuner. It eliminates the high cost of monthly charges for a TIVO. No monthly charges at all! It can do two things at once, allowing playback from either DVD or HDD programs while recording to HDD. It has a fan but it's quiet, and turns off about a minute after turning the unit off. Recording TV programs I use a roof antenna, and receive both analog and digital TV signals. Programming to record TV shows is very similar to programming a VCR manually. There is no automatic programming system, but it's really not that hard to do manually. It records HD signals as SD (standard definition). Of course, to record in HD will require much bigger hard drives. The listing of programs ("Titles") that you have recorded are clearly shown and easy to navigate to. But it is best to put a rudimentary title on the TV programs right after you record them. Otherwise all you have is the date, time, and channel of the recording. You have to add titles by a clunky texting method, requiring multiple presses of numbers 1-9. Playback I use an HDMI cable between this unit and my TV. Playback from the hard disk is a joy. Access is immediate. The unit remembers where you left off watching last time on each program individually. You can manoever around the recordings with an (adjustable) 30-second skip forward/backward button, or with an adjustable-speed fast forward/rewind, or with a chapter-jump ("next") which uses the (optional) 10-minute auto-chapters that are inserted. Playback from DVD is fine, but loading a DVD is slow (perhaps because it can handle so many different DVD formats). Aspect Ratio Fiddling with aspect ratio (4:3 vs. 16:9) is a hassle that we will be dealing with for years. This unit, unfortunately, records digital programs as 4:3, even when they are transmitted as 16:9. Translation: when displayed on a 16:9 widescreen TV, you get black borders at top and bottom AND at the sides. This is satisfactorily fixed by zooming the picture on playback. I found it best to zoom from my Sony TV, as the zoom on this Philips is limited and clunky. You have to cancel the zoom the next time you watch a 4:3 program, however, and you can't see the Philips' "information" display when in zoom mode. User-friendliness Most functions are well thought out and the software is good. But you will have to read the manual. The remote control has the buttons needed, but several important ones are badly laid out. The STOP button is tiny. Since it's a multifunctional device, you have to tell it what component you want to use. If you have been watching a TV show recorded on HDD, then insert a DVD, if you just press "play", it will resume playback of the HDD unless you press "DVD" first. It's not smart enough to realize you want the DVD now. The 122-page instruction book is detailed. It is fairly well written. Mine is very well-thumbed and dogeared. To get the most out of this complex unit, you will need to read it carefully. Editing For copying from old VHS tapes or home DVD's, I find it best to record first onto the HDD. Then use "deleting a scene" to remove unwanted sections. The software for this is pretty user-friendly. Then transfer the cleaned-up version to DVD. You can in theory record directly to DVD from VHS, and delete unwanted sections on the DVD directly, using "Hiding Chapters" but this is clunky (first you have to define the section as a chapter), and these deletions, and added chapter headings, were ignored when played back on another unit. Downsides It can't record HD programs. It's slow to load a DVD. The remote buttons are poorly laid out. Widescreen format shows must be zoomed on playback to fill a 16:9 TV screen. Titling tracks is tedious. DVD edits may be ignored in other DVD players. Summary This is a really fine and extremely versatile unit, at a bargain price. It is a leapfrog into the digital age. Finally here is a device with the versatility to fully supplant S-VHS VCR's. The next step will be when this kind of device is upgraded to record HDTV on its hard disk AND to record Blu-Ray DVD's. Don't hold your breath. (This review is based on the predecessor model, DVDR3575H, similar except for the tuner). Rating: - * Awesome upgrade ... I upgraded from a DVD/VCR combo, because I wanted to get off VHS, and this was the perfect upgrade. I've been using it just like a VCR, recording shows and sports games. On Standard Play (SP), which is one step below HD quality, I get about 66 hours of recording (the same as about 8 SP VHS tapes), which is just fantastic. The SDTV tuner built-in picks up HD TV signals off my cable, just like the HD tuners found in TiVo's and digital cable boxes. It was very easy to set up channels, set recording times, and DVD playback. I bought a separate HDMI cable (not included with this box) and my DVD movies never looked better on my LCD TV. Even at 720p, it's no Blu-Ray, but it's certainly good enough for me. I've not tried recording anything to DVD yet, as everything I've recorded is cable-signal quality, and the content was not worth committing to disk. VERY happy with this product! Rating: - * The unit makes sense ... The Philips DVDR 3576h/37 may not be incredible but it works fine if you look on the net or in the newspapers for your programs. Recording is aided by the ability to set the unit to lower definitions which does not hurt normal tv viewing. This enables you to record more programs than you can possibly want. The down side is that you cannot name the programs without a lot of commotion so you have to know what day you recorded the program. And it can be a little hairy finding the program if you have a lot of recordings. Other than that it has a steep learning curve depending on your experience with these devices-understanding how it works is needed and the manual does not help that way. Once again it is trial and error like so many things today. Rating:  - * can't get rid of empty track listing ... We have 2 of these units (this one and the 3575H) and we like them. The only problem we have w/ them is the inability to get rid of an empty track that is listed below any tracks you record onto a disc. For example, you record two programs onto the disc. When you finish and finalize, you have a third track listed that is empty and when clicked, nothing happens. This doesn't prevent you from doing anything or watching your other tracks but it looks unprofessional. I called Philips about it and they said they had heard of this but there wasn't any way of getting around it. Ironically, on our 3575H deck (before finalizing), we can record something on the empty track for the duration of time left on the disc and then delete that track and it gets rid of it but that requires a lot of wasted time recording (in real time) for the duration left on the disc. Our newer unit (this one) won't let us do this. ?? Otherwise, the deck has all the features one could want in a DVD recorder. |
