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Number of Reviews: 7

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Plummeting prices have meant DVD recorders are now starting to become a practical replacement for the humble VCR. Philips' DVDR70 is a perfect example, giving amazing picture quality, up to six hours of recording on one disc and the ability to re-record as often as you like, using reusable DVD+RW media as well as slightly cheaper, single-use, DVD+R discs.

Installation is quick and easy, with a single-sheet Quick Install Guide provided in the box so you don't even have to open the manual. The DVDR70 auto-installs any available channels and, if your TV features "Easy Link" technology, will even store them automatically in the same order as on your telly. Dual SCARTs make connecting the machine to satellite or cable similarly simple.

Once the DVDR70 is up and running, you use it much like a VCR. A one-touch recording system makes recording manually simplicity itself, with timed recordings using a friendly step-by-step process much like any standard VCR. VideoPlus is also included to make things even easier. The only stumbling block is the DVR70's unusual menu system, which may be a little confusing at first but should be second nature after a few minutes.

Depending on how much you want to fit on to a disc there are six available recording settings. The default setting gives two hours recording at the same quality as on a pre-recorded DVD but up to six hours are possible, with picture quality decreasing as recording-time increases. The Super Long Play option (providing picture quality approximating VHS) is acceptable for relatively static scenes but flounders slightly with fast-moving sequences. The default settings, however, provide fantastic images, virtually undistinguishable from the digital TV channels they were recorded from, especially when connected using RGB via SCART.

The DVDR70 also works as a fully-fledged DVD player and will happily play a number of additional formats including VCD, MP3 and standard audio CDs. DVD playback is impressive with good colour handling even on tricky scenes containing a wide range of blacks and greys.

All in all this is a fantastic machine and once you've had your hands on it you'll never want to look a VHS cassette in the face again. The DVD recording revolution, it would seem, is here at last. --Adi Himpson

Customer Reviews
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dvdr70, 10 October, 2003

excellent product, works a dream with a choice of recording quality, and it is compatible with other dvd players.
the only draw back is with putting vhs on to dvd,
one of the sound channels keeps recording a tv station in the back ground, philips help line could not correct the problem.

What a great machine-which looks good., 6 October, 2003

Purchaced Phillips dvdr70 6 weeks ago, and think it is a brilliant machine. The recording quality is as good as prerecorded, and you can use the discs on your computer or 2nd DVD in the bedroom. I think DVD+r or rw is the future format. Seeing other machine and lack of compatability I would recommend you buy this Kit if you want to share the future of DVD. It looks great in modern silver, with a sleak design. Go on buy it.

Philips DVDR70, 4 October, 2003

This is a replacement for a Philips DVD 880 which crashed and had to be replaced twice.

So far so good only had it for 2 weeks though.

It seems reasonably reliable but so were the other 2 initially. I hope Philips have sorted out the glitches

As it stands it's a great machine and records programmes with excellent picture quality at M2 resolution which is equivalent to 2hrs. It can record up to 6hrs a disc but the quality isn't great (Similar to VHS) so it kind of defeats the purpose. Great to be able to scene select and edit. So far it plays discs in all my machines even my XBox.

The interface is reasonably straightforward for a tech savvy person but I'm still to persuade the missus to ditch video completely. (Too many programmes which didn't record on previous recorder !!)

If it remains reliable I will most likely be able to persuade her to give up VHS and free up one more space under the TV.

Watch this space !!

Excellent recorder only let down by minor ergonomics issues, 4 October, 2003

Don't doubt it - with products of this quality the VCR is dead. The DVDR70 and its stablemates have finally brought high-quality DVD recording from TV or VCR to a consumer level price with acceptable ease of use. DVDs can be created to last from anything between 1 and 6 hours in total. Individual recordings can be manipulated in similar manner, so a DVD may contain mixed levels of quality recording.

In truth, at anything more than 2.5 hours per DVD, quality starts to suffer perceptibly. Simple recordings from the TV are OK at 4 hours per DVD if a recording is planned to be junked immediately after veiwing. The 6 hour mode is like LP (long play) on a VCR - use only if you really must.

Copying from other DVDs or VCRs is straightforward once the on-screen menus have been mastered and provided that recordings are kept to 2 or 2.5 hours per DVD. The downside is that you rapidly realise how poor VCR quality is by comparison to DVDs!

The recorder is reasonably slim, though significantly larger than most VCRs or DVD players. The same doesn't go for the instruction manual which is a monster and not really thought through from a consumer's viewpoint. All the commands are there, but not in a particularly easily-followed manner. The writers really should have included a basic "how DVD recordings compare to VCR ones" to clarify the way tracks and chapters are used and how to perform simple tasks such as recording over unused parts of a recording. The latter is much too complex to work out either intuitively or from the manual. Once figured out, it's easy, but the omission of a 'how to' section, written from a naive user's viewpoint is symptomatic of the manual.

Similarly, the recorder has no fast forward or rewind buttons, instead relying on fixed 4x/8x and 32x speeds accessed by keeping the forward/back chapter buttons pressed. This is a real pain when trying to reach a particular point in a recording.

However, despite these few negatives, this remains a superb machine and the price is an absolute steal. Give yourself some time to cope with the manual and ergonomics and you'll never, ever want to use a VCR again.

Strongly recommended.