Philips DVDR615 Progressive Scan DVD Player / Recorder

Rating:
Summary: Recording Quality Great BUT Reliability Poor
Review: Pro:
- Recording quality on the DVDR-15/17 was much better than expected (using DirecTV) on settings up to 6 hrs (8 hrs was worse than VHS).
- Multiple input/output formats.
- Slim silver case
Con:
- Reliability poor. After 40 days (right after they began replaying ALL the Farscape episodes), the system refused to recognize ANY disc - blank or commercial in any format (prerecorded DVD/DVD+R/CD). Technical support was prompt & immediately gave me an RMA so I could send it away for service (shipping on my dime).
- Menu is not intuitive.
We'll see how the turnaround is & whether the problem returns.

Rating:
Summary: I tried top and bottom Philips DVD Recorders
Review: The DVDR615 was better left in the store I also tried the DVDR80/17, top dog of the Philips line. As stated by other reviewers "when" it would write a disk "maybe and just maybe" it could read it. This goes for both of the machines. I upgraded the firmware three times all together and still no good they offer this online service. If they got it right before the sale maybe they would not have to upgrade so often. I gave up after 5 bad recordings and one good one on the 615. On the 80 I only lost 7 out of 15 DVD recorded. At about $2 per item or more DVDs don't come cheap but the troubles do. I will give Philips an A+ on their customer service, they are really helpful and do a great job they get a lot of practice. I just wish I had not gotten to know them almost by voice. I go to order a different brand because the DVD recorder is in my house to stay just not a Philips.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent picture, behaves like a PC
Review: This DVD recorder is fairly easy to use, operating very similarly to a VCR, but with far better picture quality.

Pros:
Excellent picture quality, even at 6-hour mode (can go all the way to 8 hours)
Wide selection of recording speeds (time per disc)
Easy to use, if you have patience

Cons:
It behaves like a PC, with a slow "boot" time at power-on
It sometimes "crashes," which hozes the disc that was being recorded. Must be unplugged to reset.

Rating:
Summary: Worth The Money
Review: This recorder is the best for the price. The ability to set your own chapters or let the recorder do it for you is nice. It also allows you to use composite inputs to delivery excellent picture & sound quality to the recorder so your discs come out looking great. I have recorded over 15 DVD+R w/o problem. I bought this recorder due to my S-VCR broke & I needed a way to transfer my programs off of my cable company's DVR. I have been able to play the finalized discs on every DVD player in my house w/o problem. The only thing I would change would be the layout of the remote & that you can only record to DVD+R & DVD+R/W discs, not -R discs.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't work...
Review: Well I bought it for my dad as a Christmas present and all that it does is make coasters with DVD+RW discs. It froze when pressing the eject button. Just permanently said "Opening." So I tried a DVD-R disc and it says that their is no disc in the drive. So it's not compatible with Memorex DVD-R discs. No choice but to take it back. Never worked one time.