Rating: 
Summary: I own 3 - Here's the scoop
Review: Here's what you really need to know about this unit. The early production models have problems that result in "Disc Error" while recording. I have had two units go bad. One the store exchanged. The other, which was 7 months old, Philips cheerfully replaced with a brand new unit. All three of my units now turn out high volume reliably. As for quality, the firewire input results in digital noise in the black areas due to conversion to MPEG2. The S-Video input provides better (near perfect) results. If you are copying a DVD and use the Component inputs (to my surprise) the resulting copy is indistinguishable from the original. My third unit I bought as an open box special from Best Buy for $149. It also didn't record but Philips repaired it under warranty. I am extremely happy with the units and with Philips support of the product.
Rating: 
Summary: Phillips should be sued!
Review: I can not believe that Phillips had no idea what it was doing when it unleased this $1000 beast on an unsuspecting public.Do these errors sound familiar: ABF09B56 or DB****? Of course there's no documentation on them and customer service pretends it doesn't know what you're talking about. How do we get Phillips to recall this product and give us replacements of another model (or manufacturer) that works?
Rating:
Summary: Not dependable at all !!!!!!
Review: I purchased the unit May 3, 2003. Had to take it in for repairs August 9, 2003. Problems that kept occurring were problems during recording and/or erasing DVD's, error messages and lost the ability to finalize the recorded DVD's. When the unit was returned I was told that there was a defective electrical part, PC board was replaced and the firmware was corrupt which had to be installed and upgraded. I was also told that I should not use ANY Memorex and/or generic DVD's for recording (supposedly there are compatibility issues with Memorex media). So I have switched and began using TDK and FUJI blank DVD+R's and DVD+RW's. Second service attempt is October 11, 2003. Problems at this time is; feezeing when erasing, freezes when finalizing, does not recognize discs. Images become distorted and there is a loud vibration when using FFW and Rewind. Timer recording does not always function properly and pissed me off when it did not record the season finale of Paradise Hotel and the season premier of Mutant X. Waiting to see what happens this time. Thankfully I purchased my unit at Circuit City and added the City Advantage extended warranty which saves me unnecessary charges during repair also, I was told that if it needs to be repaired a third time, that it will be replaced with a new unit or one with similar features and functionality. Hopefully if anyone buys this or any other unit they will purchase from a place that will save them any headaches and protect their product investment!
Rating:
Summary: Defective Product Warning
Review: This DVD recorder is simply defective. I have contacted some fellow buyers, and reviewed dozens of web opinions. They all point to the same fatal defects in this product (disc errors, etc.) Shame on Phillips for marketing this junk, and further shame on this company for not stepping up and recalling all of them. CONTACT ME IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PROBLEMS WITH PHILIPS DVD RECORDERS Amazon should allow a "zero star" rating -- there is no positive news for Phillips customers.
Rating:
Summary: Unfortuately, my unit broke after three weeks
Review: I first got this unit 6 weeks ago. I must admit I was thrilled with it initially. I was able to burn the first 5 DVD's without problems. However, in the process of burning the next 10, I ruined 4 blank DVD's in the process. When it came time to finalize (and you MUST finalize in order to play it on other machines), the unit gave a "DISK ERROR" message. I called tech support had a nightmare exerience. I almost believed that they hired people with no knowledge of the product. They couldn't even understand my description of the problem and after a lot of transferring between different assistants the best they could tell me was to take it in for repairs. Now maybe, I may have just been unlucky to get a bad unit, but I would expect a smoother experience with the so called TECH SUPPORT people. Very disappointing. Since it was just around $400, I realized it's not worth taking time off from work to take it in. Well, I discovered that while it was completely nonfunctional in DVD +R mode, I could still burn in DVD +RW mode and had been doing so for the past few weeks with no problem. But now, it's starting to experience other problems which again I have had the worst time trying to get tech support to resolve. My conclusion is that when it was initially working, it was great! The disks that I initially burned while it was working are still functional on my other DVD players. I understand that with any product, sometimes, one has the bad fortune of getting a bad unit. The problem with this company is that it's such a headache getting repair resolution. I guess looking on the bright side, it's cheap enough that it's no big loss to just get another one. I've become so hooked on the concept of burning DVD's that I'm looking to buy another unit right away. However, I'm researching to see which brands might have better reliability.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT PRODUCT FOR 8 MONTHS-LOUSY CUSTOMER SERVICE
Review: I purchased my DVDR985 from Amazon in August 2002. I recorded about 250 DVDs during my first eight months of use. However, gradually the recorder got more and more errors until it stopped recording altogether to both DVD+R and DVD+RW. I turned the unit into the local drop-off center for shipping to the factory in Chattanooga. When I got it back three weeks later, it would crash after 20-30 minutes of recording and power down. I took it back and had it shipped back to the factory. I got it back the second time (they replaced the same part as the first time). When I tested it, it now crashed after 20-30 seconds and I had trouble powering it back on and after one such test, it simply wouldn't power back on. Also, when I got it back from the factory the second time, the firmware had been reloaded with the firmware for a DVD75 or DVD80 because now I had six recording speeds up to six hours at EP+. But that is little consolation if the device won't record. The unit is back at the factory as I write this. I have written a detailed letter to Philips and if they don't fix or replace the recorder this time around I will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I would strongly recommend to those of you who are dissatisfied with their unit or service (even if the warranty has expired): file a complaint with their local and the Georgia Better Business Bureaus. It only takes a few minutes and can be done online. I have filed complaints with companies in the past and I have always gotten results. Companies don't like to see their reputations sullied by bad BBB ratings and will take extra steps to settle with their disgruntled customers. But you must demonstrate that you made every effort possible to get restitution from the company on your own. That's where writing the company a letter comes in handy. Their North American Address is here in Atlanta, GA.
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Summary: Okay To Buy ..But Beware of the Laser Problems
Review: If you have one of these unit and it works okay then you're in luck. Although the DVD985's are technically sound.. all the units I had failed after a couple of months of use. and I paid $999. dollars for it at the time.. The problem occurs when the Laser goes bad and all your +R disk will become corrupted, ruined and then the +RW's will not read and then its .. off to the repair shop and that's what happen to me, 3 different times.. before I gave up. These units were put on the market before adequate Quality Assurance was done. You may be better off buying the DVDR75 as it's a later model and cheaper and may be improved over the Model 985. The main value of the Philips DVD Recorders are that have may be the best units using the + R and +RW Formats. This is all true and correct to my knowledge. Good Luck. By the way I did have a DVD75 and had to return it also because the quality of the HQ Rec/Playback circuits were bad.. having said that I still planed to buy a another because it has 1 distinct advantage over the others I have seen thus far and that is-- Philips has simpler unique editing functions for my type of situations . Good Luck if you buy a Philips DVD product.
Rating:
Summary: A lemon by all standards!
Review: At $963.83 on May 25, 2002 I bought this product, that now sells for less than half the price I paid. Since the very beginning, this diabolic machine gave us trouble with its tendency to perform in unusual ways (as compared with the similar DVD players we own). Now, it has ceased to function entirely due to (what the repair man confirms) is a set of instructions programmed by Philips to render the machine useless to its very owner... Great! Don't buy this trash, which I'm using as a test of amazon.com's reliability and good will to its naive customers.
Rating:
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!
Review: Only 6 months old and already problems.The machine worked great at first, but now????? It was a wonderful machine while it worked....
Rating:
Summary: defective out of the box...time-wasting customer service
Review: I was very disappointed with the dvdr985. Upon installation, the unit would NOT record a color signal from the s-video inputs. Color from the RF input was OK, just no s-video color. Everything from the s-vid input was recorded as black-and-white. After troubleshooting a bit, I verified that cabling and signal TO the unit was fine....the defect lies in what the unit does with the signal after it's delivered. After several lengthy phone calls and being on-hold for most of the time, having my call dropped and misrouted by Philips reps, and updating the firmware (to no avail) from the Philips website on my own in the meantime ( it turns out that I saved Philips the cost of sending me a firmware upgrade on CD that one rep suggested), the reps said I had no recourse but to send the unit in for warranty at my own expense...that means incurring costs for shipping, the long wait, etc. I will think about this a bit before i commit to sinking MORE money into a unit that was defective out of the box. My guess for the cause of the problem: a cold solder joint or a defective s-video input connector. Too bad that at Philips, product design quality and customer service appears to be nonexistent. My advice: install a TV/dvr card in a PC and record to hard disk, burning on DVD only those items you wish to keep. It will cost little, if any, more than the cost of a Philips DVD recorder and will be much more reliable and flexible.
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