Philips 3575 + Restoration = fails tests

[lordsmurf]

I ran a series of tests with the Philips 3575 and some slightly degraded VHS tapes. The Philips is good at preserving the signal it is fed, but nothing more. It DOES NOT remove noise or restore anything.

Grain is maintained, not removed. Many machines would choke and make blocks, this Philips does not. So that's a good benefit, knowing it won't make the image worse. However, it faithfully encodes all chroma noise too, none of the red/blue mist is removed.

I therefore do not believe this is equipped with an LSI Logic chipset. There is a warranty seal on the unit, and I therefore cannot take it apart to inspect the insides. Given the HDD nature of the unit, combined with the features and cost ($300), I might want the warranty.

It makes for an excellent hard drive recorder off air or from DV, but it will NOT clean up VHS tapes.

I use mine to record TV and watch DVDs (upscaled) on my nice 55" Sony HDTV.

It appears to be pretty close to my RCA 8030 (Zoran chipset) HDD machine, in terms of quality.

Hope that helps.

[wabjxo]

WHich input did you use?

[lordsmurf]

The input does not matter.
But if you have to know, the front composites.

Everything goes through the LSI chipset (when one exists), regardless of the input.

[wabjxo]

Sorry for being impertinent, but I got excellent cleanup using the back composite input, E1.

[Seeker47]

There is a warranty seal on the unit, and I therefore cannot take it apart to inspect the insides. Given the HDD nature of the unit, combined with the features and cost ($300), I might want the warranty.

Aren't you the one who (previously) denigrated the value and importance of warranties, or our putting much stock in them ?

[lordsmurf]

Most warranties are entirely worthless, especially the ones purchased beyond what the manufacturer gives. One of the few times a warranty is helpful is when it's a DVD recorder with a hard drive. Buying an extra warranty would be stupid, but throwing away what the manufacturer gave me for free would be equally stupid.

Be it s-video or composite, front or back, primary or secondary, if there's an LSI chipset inside (or any filters for that matter), it's going to clean the video. LSI even cleans crappy coax signals.

This machine simply does not filter.

[Joakim_A]

One thing that confuses me though regarding thsi Philips is that teh same model the 2375 seems to be completely different models in different parts of the world. In the US its this one:

http://reviews.cnet.com/video-players-and-recorders/philips-dvdr3575h/4505-6463_7-32566451.html

And this one is the EU version:

http://pan.fotovista.com/dev/7/6/00041467/l_00041467.jpg

French test(translated using Google):

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.01net.com%2Ffiche-produit%2Fp...hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Its feauteres seems similar but the EU version seems to have an electronic program guide and also it is way better looking then the US version.

But one wonders if the EU version carries the LSI chip or not?

[trhouse]

LSI has sold off its consumer business units including its mpeg processors.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/06/28/LSI-sheds-900-jobs_1.html

[LCSHG]

The Phillips 3575 unit I used was not mine and I did not want to cause the owner any warranty problems. I would agree that a warranty beyond the mfg. warranty is most often a very expensive item and a waste of money
I found no difference in the use of rear or front Jacks on the 3575. In some of my units there is a slight hum using the front jacks because of the display interference.
I did not notice this on the Phillips
In a VHS dub [using a Good Tape] I did not see a big difference. With a [Bad Tape] the recording was not as good as my units that have an LSI chipset.
Does the 3575 have an LSI, if so its not being used correctly.
Many units provide progressive scan ONLY when using the component connections and I would use these, Only if I had to use progressive scan.
It has been written that an interlaced scan is better on a still picture but loses some 50% when the picture is in motion. I have not seen any real evidence or viewed any such claims.
A person wrote in on a forum claming the virtues of progressive scan and HD They sowed pictures of the same picture in HD and SD. The HD did have better detail and looked better. I thought at first, the SD picture might be a little out of focus. I thought wow that’s not what I had perceived.
Than got to the bottom of the post and the equipment list. Used was a projection unit on a 12 ft Screen
And I thought a 46” was big and a 60” huge.

Sometime back there was an article on DVD recorders ALL being Compliant. This was A SONY demand. It seemed that what they wanted was a one burn chip or on chip complience [not firmware] that would insure compliance with CP. It seemed that LSI and some manufactures felt that Sony should not dictate to them. That LSI and many manufactures have left the US market or thrown in the towel may be the result of Sony’s pressure.
Sony has bought up a very big portion of the Media in the US and these companies have announced that they will use blu-ray with HD.. Which is better, HD-DVD or blu-ray is an issue but the real issue is do we want to march to the Sony Drum Beat.

[DVWannaB]

do we want to march to the Sony Drum Beat.

We already are. There will be no repeat of the BetaMax fiasco. All battles will be won from this point on.

Someone to jump in to defend Sony in 3.....2.....1.....