Any reason(s) NOT to buy the Philips 3595?

[Trollheart]

Just in the final phase, waiting for the money to hit the account, then I'm off out the door on Saturday to purchase one of these fine machines.
Before I do, does ANYONE thee have ANY valid reason I shouldn't? Everything I've heard about this recorder so far has been generally positive, often glowing, which leads me to wonder am I ignoring some basic flaw?
My wishlist:
Record from external (hooked via SCART) SKY box
Play/record DVD-RAM (I know it doesn't do this, and am slowly coming to terms with it...)
Edit out commercial breaks, bits before and after prog so can be dumped onto DVD
Divide progs
Combine(?) progs
Play MP3s and DVDs with MP3s on them
Play "mixed" MP3 tracks, ie very long files made up of many tracks mixed together
Pause and resume these mixes at the proper point
Chase play
Play CDR/CDRW
Timer functions
Automatic shutoff of recording prog after set time
High-speed dubbing with no/little loss of quality
Hook up to home stereo amp/speakers
USB port
Play DIVX files
Make playlists on HDD/DVD
Shuffle play for music files/discs

A lot, I know, and I also know through research that the player does a lot of this anyway. I just want to see if anyone knows if it does ALL of these, or if indeed there is something it doesn't do.
Any reasons at all why I shouldn't hand over my cash?
Obviously, replies from people with this recorder most welcome. Please note also I live in Ireland, and am a pain in the *** as I have asked about this machine in various other threads, but I just want to be sure that the recorder which will hopefully be serving my needs for the next few years is the right one!

Thx all!
TH

[samijubal]

Philips itself would be the reason not to but. I don't know about European equipment, but everything they sell in the U.S. ends up refurb at Philips outlet shortly after it's release. I just saw the 3575 refurb on Ben's Bargains a couple of days ago. Philips is one of the most unreliable companies out there.

[wabjxo]

Philips itself would be the reason not to but. I don't know about European equipment, but everything they sell in the U.S. ends up refurb at Philips outlet shortly after it's release. I just saw the 3575 refurb on Ben's Bargains a couple of days ago. Philips is one of the most unreliable companies out there.

ROFL... now THAT's funny!

[dun4cheap]

I see refurbs from just about all brands. You can go to the Sony factory and get refurbs all the time. I guess if your selling a million units you would expect some failure rates. It would be pretty unrealistic if you didn't. I guess on the other hand for $40 or $60 you don't really expect it to last 10 years, not to mention the fact that the technology will be completely outdated. I am not familiar with the 3595 unit, but my dp642 is now over two years old and has taken a beating and is still going.

So if it does what you want, then kudos. From what I have seen with the newer models is they play more stuff than the 642, a lot of them now offer usb2 support, so they are even better than my 642.

[samijubal]

We're talking recorders here, not players. They aren't $40 or $60. All companies have some refurbs, they don't have everything they sell refurb shortly after being released. Philips is terrible for reliability.

[wabjxo]

We're talking recorders here, not players. They aren't $40 or $60. All companies have some refurbs, they don't have everything they sell refurb shortly after being released. Philips is terrible for reliability.

ROFLagain... Stop! My sides are splitting!

[LCSHG]

Refurbished

A lot of these units have been returned because the operator didn’t understand the good or bad points, or operation of a unit, and rather than do so, just returned it
I refer to much of this as Operator Error and a failure to understand..

As an example liton tossed in the towel in the US market and I’m sure their experience with the ilo brand and Wal-Mart with its liberal return policy, had a hand

Refurbished can be a good bargan if through the factory with warranty


PS
I have a Sanyo 27” CRT flat screen TV that was some 1/3 the cost of a Sony and I feel as good or better than the Sony
Its now some 6 years old, still works grreat – And the 27” flat screen CRT is a Philips.

I picked up a Philips 3960 upconvert unit and it works fine with any DVD disk.

[dun4cheap]

We're talking recorders here, not players. They aren't $40 or $60. All companies have some refurbs, they don't have everything they sell refurb shortly after being released. Philips is terrible for reliability.

ROFLagain... Stop! My sides are splitting!

Once again this is not true, they all have defects, some companies choose not refurb them, or they go to auction houses. I have see recorders down to $40-$60 ass well.

I have also seen them re-badged.

[samijubal]

What other company has an outlet store that sells nothing but their refurb junk? I've been in electronics repair for many years. Philips is cheap crap.

[jman98]

Philips has its share of haters. Some of it is deserved. Some of it is not. The only advice I have for the original poster is that he should realize that today's DVD players are built thin because that's what the marketplace wants. This means that they have no cooling fans (no room for one), so they have to air cool. You need a lot of open space around any DVD player you use to make sure it air cools properly. This can prevent your player from dieing an early death from heat problems. Some people don't properly air cool their players and then blame the player manufacturer. Sometimes people just get junk.

Philips is cheap for sure and you do get what you pay for, but they make players that are sometimes better than others in their same class. Philips players can usually be changed to region free mode without too much hassle. Philips players support such "exotic" (ha ha) formats as VCD and SVCD, which some of the big boys won't touch.

samijubal - Want to help? Then why don't you suggest a non-Philips player that you think will meet his needs instead of your constant "Philips sux" type comments. We get that you don't like Philips. Fine. But unless you are willing to tell him something you think is better, you're just making noise and being part of the problem.

[Trollheart]

Thanx guys for your help, and I tend to agree about Samijubal's comments. I got in the first reply that he/she hated Philips. I too disliked them, mainly though over their oppostion (as I remember it) to DVD-RAM and trying ot make their VR discs the norm, but I'm now prepared, having read the reviews and spoken to people on this forum, to give them another go.
For the record, the unit sells in one outlet for EUR 299 (about USD 550?) but in another for EUR 450! That's not cheap, at least, not to me. When I originally bought my Panasonic HS2 it was over 700 Sterling, although that was about 5 years ago. What I like about the 3595 is the big hard disc (ooer!) --- 250 gig --- the hi-speed dubbing (which mollifies me to the fact that it doesn't support DVD-RAM) and its apparent ability to play MP3 files, discs and playlists.
Now, if someone else has something negative to say (in a constructive way) about this recorder, I'm happy to listen. The last thing I want to do is buy one and then find out that there was something bad about it that, had I known at the time, I would not have purchased it. I really haven't seen any evidence of that so far though.
If anyone has alternatives for around the same money (EUR 300) that has basically the same specs, please do let me know. I can see nothing but praise for this machine, so so far so good.
TH

[jjeff]

I agree that the current state of DVD recorders is rather pathetic. I also agree that Philips has made some products of questionable build quality, and maybe still does, but IMO the 3575 is not one of the questionable ones.
Having owned a 3575 I say this from first hand experience, can Samijubal say the same, have you personally used a 3575?
From what I've seen the 3595 is similar to the 3575, if not I can't say for sure. Just as Sony or Panasonic has made some "clunkers" I believe Philips has got it right with the 3575.

[dun4cheap]

I have actually,

Sears
Sony
Epson

Also, if you live near a Fry's, they are a great source for refurb. stuff, from just about every brand I can think of.

Another place is geeks.com

[wabjxo]

Trollheart, are my eyes deceiving me... did you post a reply agreeing that Philips is no good, then delete it? If so, how were you able to delete, I've not been able to?

[wabjxo]

Deleted.

[Trollheart]

No, your eyes are deceiving you.
I asked for opinions on a machine I've 99% made up my mind to buy: why then would I agree they were no good?
What you may have seen was a quote where I said I originally didn't like Philips, but am now prepared to give them a second chance.
If someone else posted somehow under my name, they're an imposter.
Look for the Bender avatar -- accept no substitutes!

[samijubal]

Philips being poor quality products isn't exactly classified information. Call a local repair shop and ask them what they think of Philips. The factory authorized repair center near me for pretty much all brands dropped Philips and RCA about a year ago. Their reason, they breakdown too often and neither company stands by their warranty when they do.

[Shopcat]

I have been using two Philips 3575's for over 8 months.

They are used daily, one for security cam and one for TV.

Both are working Great.

I highly recommend the Philips 3575H/37

Mike

[Billf2099]

I've owned a bunch of different dvd players. Toshiba, Sony, but the one's I've LOVED have been the philips. I never saw such a bunch of haters in my life. I owned a 642 from the time it came out until it died last week. Probably from overwork, but I suspect its that capacitor problem I see discussed in this forum. I also have a 5982 that in heavy service and a Philips recorder. Please. I bought them for $50 and they did a great service, probably paid 1 cent per movie to use them, I paid more for the electricity. No one I know has ever had a problem with their philips.

My recorder is a 3355, it has its 'moments' its a slow booter, a common theme in all of my philips machines. But it does a decent job of recording.

Good luck with your recorder, I'm thinking of going that way myself, with a philips HD recorder with a digital tuner. While they still are available.

No one is making a MKV playing machine yet. Hey maybe those sold out Oppo's will play MKV's? Why do I doubt that?

[Trollheart]

I think there's just one "hater" here, that's Samijubal. To him/her: as I already said, I GET IT! You HATE Philips! I DONT CARE!!! I did NOT ask for people to tell me why they hate Philips, or to offer a totally biased argument. I wanted balanced, considered, proper advice whether good or bad. All you do is bleat on about how Philips are the Devil. Fine. If you want to do that, go right ahead, but your anti-Philips agenda is clear, and has been from your first post. Please stop posting essentially the same opinion half a dozen times, it is NOT HELPING!!! You won't sway me that way, and so far, other than your opinion, I've seen nothing from anyone here to dissuade me from buying this machine.
On a less enraged note, thanks to all who've offered their opinions. You've helped to convince me that this is in fact the right move, and I do believe I'm going to go with it. I'll let you all know how I get on.

Shopcat, that is one cool cat! Is he/she yours, and what's his/her name?

Thanx again!

[Seeker47]

I agree that the current state of DVD recorders is rather pathetic.

Which -- as time goes on -- leads one to appreciate more and more what Pioneer was able to do for awhile.

[oldandinthe way]

The limited choices of DVD recorders exist because those of us who want one are a miniscule market.

Over a year ago the Wall Street Journal reported on the fact that most manufacturers were ceasing to make DVD recorders.

The masses are using their cable provider or satelite provider's DVRs or using TIVO. The latest TIVOs with the cable card are close to ideal in operation.

Since the OP is in Ireland he may be faced with different limitations from those of the American consumer.

As an aside, I too, do not associate Phillips with quality. To me they'll always be crappy Magnavox equipment. I've owned several of their products over the years.

The existance of their factory outlet furthers my skepticism. Most makers do not refurb their equipment. Failure levels are low enough that they have the retailers scrap most returns. It may not be true, but I assume that they refurb because they have too many failures to scrap.

As for their LCD screens, they come from a joint venture with LG - in Korea. LG makes equipment which is reliable. These LG-Phillips screens are LG Quality.

For the record - SONY is another manufacturer who refurbs. SONY LCD panels come from a joint venture with Samsung. They too are of high quality.

[Trollheart]

Hi Old. Thanks for that.
If you were me then, what would you go for? I'm likely still going for the Philips, but do you know of another recorder that has most/all of the features I listed above, and is reliable (and in the same rough price bracket!)?
As an aside too, the idea of PVRs/TIVO doesn't appeal to me, as I believe it's dificult/impossible to move recordings from their hdd to a permanent location, ie DVD, or am I wrong here?
I have to say, before I bought my HS2 a lot of people were talking about how bad Panasonic were, but I had very little trouble with mine over 5 years of its life. It's only now it's beginnng to get senile -- it forgets to record programs, sputters and refuses to open its tray, deletes progs without warning or reason...

[oldandinthe way]

I don't have a recommendation for you.

I just replaced my Lite-On 5005 which was showing its age. I bought a SONY RDR-VX525 DVR/VCR without a tuner which I am feeding from my cable companies set-top box. It has an IR blaster as well.

I don't normally buy SONY, but I paid $91 for a Costco return from a liquidator. There have been heavy returns of this model because it lacks a tuner. There are now big signs at Costco and Walmart advising buyers of this to help stem the return flow. So far it seems to be an excellent unit for my use. It is made in Korea so I can guess who really makes it. It is not a piece of equipment for the user who has to read a manual to use it - the manual is awful.

[CrazyCanuck]

I have both a HDD recorder and a cable PVR. Not difficult to record content from my PVR, I just send the S-Video and audio feeds, in your case SCART, to the recorder and record real time.

It ties up the playback of the PVR so I usually set up a timer recording on the HDD recorder before going to bed and babysit the start of the timer and start the PVR playback. The picture quality of the transfer is way better than the recorder's built-in analog tuner.

Later I edit the recording and burn my disc.

[LCSHG]

oldandinthe way

Quote
I just replaced my Lite-On 5005


Do you still have it and want tosell it

[oldandinthe way]

I'm strongly considering testing the Costco satisfaction guarantee and getting a refund of what I paid for it. If I don't I'll PM you.

[Trollheart]

Here's the problem I see with PVRs (the PC kind):- if you're timer-recording something while you're away, say at work, you need to ensure the machine is left on. With a DVD recorder the unit can be in standby mode. if you recording on the PVR I'm assuming that it takes resources, so you probably can't do much else on the Pc? Plus PCs (mine anyway) have a tendency to hang for no reason, so you run the risk of losing your all-important once-in-a-lifetime they'll-never-show-that-again recording.
Also, I wonder how easy/difficult it is to then burn the programmes to a disc that can be read by a normal DVD player?
Advantages are of course that it's a lot cheaper, you don't need a lot of space and if it breaks down it's just a case of foxing or replacing it, with no large cartage fee for sending it back.
I just think the disadvantages, as I see them, outweigh the good points.
Am I wrong here? Anyone swear by a PC PVR as opposed to a standalone DVD recorder?

[SmokieStover]

Don't know about Ireland, but in the U.S. every major retailer has a consumer friendly return policy....buy with credit card...if it you are not happy pretty quick, return it for full refund credited directly to the card.

IMHO opinion, dvd recorders (non HDD) have not been popular in the U.S. because in many ways they are inferior to a VCR:

1) The unattended recording time is far, far, to short. Anything over 3 hours on a DVD recorder is worse quality than VHS EP, which is 6 hours on a T-120, 8 Hrs on a T-160.

2) Using a DVD recorder is a bit too complicated for the average user and they can be prone to far, far more problems than the VCR: Timers that lose time, disk that will not finalize, recorded disk that just don't play, lock-ups that require an unplug/replug, and unbelievable and unexpected "copy protected" messages.

3) And they have pretty short life spans, which is made worse by the constant change in DVD media.

If you are sitting there recording while you watch, either live (with commercial breaks which allow for changing Disk) or from a DVR, a DVD recorder can be a great tool. Same is true if you want to record and keep short programs that do not fall between a long recording.

Up till now, HDD DVD recorders have been too darn expensive for most folks. Looks like Phillips may have lowered that bar. For me, a cable TV DVR would cost $28/month.....the cost of "Digital TV" plus the cost of an "HD DVR". Wouldn't take long to pay for the Philips at that rate, but as long as analog cable stays around, I will continue to time and place shift TV with the trusty old VCR, and record the stuff I know I want to watch more than once on the PC....and none of that is current TV programming, except an ocassional documentary, news event, or Masterpiece Classic.

You know what you want, so give it a go.

[lordsmurf]

What other company has an outlet store that sells nothing but their refurb junk? I've been in electronics repair for many years. Philips is cheap crap.

Sony tops the list, if you have to ask. They're the most common electronics outlet to find. I've never seen an outlet mall that lacks one -- and it's always full of used, refurbs, and discontinued displays.

Refurb does not mean broken. It means "now fixed".

I bet you're too good for used cars, too?