I am looking to purchase a dvd recorder from Philips. I compared the specs on the 985 and the 75 or 80. I do not see any significant improvement according to the info on the web pages from Philips. I will not be recording in the longer time periods of 8 hours. I understand that the Philips 985 had a bad history of problems but it sounds like those have been resolved. Also isn't likely that a new Philips would have problems until the bugs are worked out. For the price difference, it seems like the older 985 is the better buy. I have seen the 985 available on the web for $495, so it is cheaper.I also want to copy from my digital camcorder and the 985 seems to have the better input. Any thoughts from you more experienced people would be appreciated. Thanks
Philips 985 vs. new 75 and 80 models
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All the Panasonic ones that are similarly priced still have the black-level bug, don't they? That's one reason I wouldn't recommend them. The other reason is that DVD-RAM is incompatible with just about every available DVD player. At least w/DVD+RW you can play it in many of the players. To be fair, the downside of the Philips is that it doesn't burn DVD-Rs, which seem to be more compatible and accepted as a standard than DVD+Rs.
The Philips 985 is a steal right now ... I just saw that Amazon has a great deal on it:
In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. $494.94
I'm a little peeved since I bought mine a couple of weeks ago at Circuit City for $599 ... which seemed like a good deal at the time... LOL
The Philips 985 is a steal right now ... I just saw that Amazon has a great deal on it:
In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. $494.94
I'm a little peeved since I bought mine a couple of weeks ago at Circuit City for $599 ... which seemed like a good deal at the time... LOL
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@fiatflux:
The DMR-E50 (E30's replacement) does not suffer from the black-level bug.
@ miamilaw:
The DVDR75/985 do not have a free electronic program guide and satellite control, but the DVDR80 will.
The DMR-E50 (E30's replacement) does not suffer from the black-level bug.
@ miamilaw:
The DVDR75/985 do not have a free electronic program guide and satellite control, but the DVDR80 will.
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I think it's an IR blaster, but it could also be a serial control.
the pdf says it has an electronic program guide which is Guide Plus. It then refers to "set top box control" sat mouse (infra red blaster) This seems to me to be for people with cable. It does not sound like it would work with a direct tivo. Any one else have any information.
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No. TimeSlip can only be achieved with DVD-RAM and/or DVD recorder with built-in HDD.
On a side note, the upcoming RCA DVD+RW recorder has a "Fit to Disc" Timer feature. Not sure if this is like that of the Panasonic E20's Flexible Recording mode (accessed thru Timer).
On a side note, the upcoming RCA DVD+RW recorder has a "Fit to Disc" Timer feature. Not sure if this is like that of the Panasonic E20's Flexible Recording mode (accessed thru Timer).
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Oh .. duh - yes, that makes sense. So really, the only reason Panasonics use the DVD RAM is to achieve time slip without having to integrate a HD? It seems to me that HD is the way to go in the long run--DVD-RAM is too impractical since it is hardly read by any drives or players. Why is Philips *still* not coming out with a HD model?
What you describe on the RCA sounds just like the FR option on the Panasonic, as you say. I tend not to want to buy RCA, though --- their reliability record is horrible for TVs --- not sure if that is also true for their other products.
| Originally posted by Gil T. Pleasure No. TimeSlip can only be achieved with DVD-RAM and/or DVD recorder with built-in HDD. On a side note, the upcoming RCA DVD+RW recorder has a "Fit to Disc" Timer feature. Not sure if this is like that of the Panasonic E20's Flexible Recording mode (accessed thru Timer). |
What you describe on the RCA sounds just like the FR option on the Panasonic, as you say. I tend not to want to buy RCA, though --- their reliability record is horrible for TVs --- not sure if that is also true for their other products.
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Is this only valid for camcorders? I plan on getting Dish Network's 921 when it releases and I'd like to back up my SD programming using the firewire port. Can this be accomplished with the current DVD recorders?
Thanks.
| Originally posted by vferrari ...The Panasonics are especially popular now and some have firewire inputs for direct digital recording from digital camcorders. |
Thanks.
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Miamilaw,
What makes you say that? I bought a brand new April 2003 built 985 & it has major problems, at least to me. Quite a few Disc Errors and a terrible timer recorder that fails approximately 25% of the time - doesn't go off, stops early, etc. Check out the DVDPlusRW.org forum for more horror stories.
Yes, when it works I like it. Can you live with it? Your call. I got it for $499, & I'm dissapointed. I use timer recording all the time & I can't depend on it. I can only imagine how others who paid more for it must feel.
| I understand that the Philips 985 had a bad history of problems but it sounds like those have been resolved. Also isn't likely that a new Philips would have problems until the bugs are |
What makes you say that? I bought a brand new April 2003 built 985 & it has major problems, at least to me. Quite a few Disc Errors and a terrible timer recorder that fails approximately 25% of the time - doesn't go off, stops early, etc. Check out the DVDPlusRW.org forum for more horror stories.
Yes, when it works I like it. Can you live with it? Your call. I got it for $499, & I'm dissapointed. I use timer recording all the time & I can't depend on it. I can only imagine how others who paid more for it must feel.
I bought my Philips DVDr985 one year ago within the first week it came out.
Lucky for me,Good Guys talked me into the extended warranty, so now i am on my 5th replacement.
Typically a brand new machine would work beautifully for one or two months, then more and more error would happen, until no commercial video dvd is playable.Meanwhile all the taped dvdrw+ will not be playable, until the new replacement machine is in hand.Mine has gone back to Philips for repair , and
Good Guys gave me a loaner, and that is now dead too.So i plan to get my money back as credit and move on.You can check my previous posting in here and dvdplusrw.org and you see the history .
Lucky for me,Good Guys talked me into the extended warranty, so now i am on my 5th replacement.
Typically a brand new machine would work beautifully for one or two months, then more and more error would happen, until no commercial video dvd is playable.Meanwhile all the taped dvdrw+ will not be playable, until the new replacement machine is in hand.Mine has gone back to Philips for repair , and
Good Guys gave me a loaner, and that is now dead too.So i plan to get my money back as credit and move on.You can check my previous posting in here and dvdplusrw.org and you see the history .
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fiatflux,
There is a sticker on the back that has the manufactured date. I think it's on the right hand side as you look at the back.
To find the firmware version bring up the system menu, select remote control settings, press down once more when bottom option is selected and an info screen pops up. The firmware version is on the bottom line preceded by an ff. Something like ff11h. Mine ,built in April 2003, has firmware version ff12g, which seems to be recent since I can get the sp+ and ep+ speeds, which weren't available earlier. The site listed below has firmware releases, but I question doing this since they list the most recent version as 12n, but when I tried it in my unit, it said that it was an older version than what I had. I would think that 12n is a more recent version than 12g, but doesn't appear to be so. I guess I don't trust anything unless it comes from Philips. They have other good info there though. Check it out:
DVD+RW
| Where do I check when mine was built? I just bought it a few weeks ago, and I have had no problems |
There is a sticker on the back that has the manufactured date. I think it's on the right hand side as you look at the back.
To find the firmware version bring up the system menu, select remote control settings, press down once more when bottom option is selected and an info screen pops up. The firmware version is on the bottom line preceded by an ff. Something like ff11h. Mine ,built in April 2003, has firmware version ff12g, which seems to be recent since I can get the sp+ and ep+ speeds, which weren't available earlier. The site listed below has firmware releases, but I question doing this since they list the most recent version as 12n, but when I tried it in my unit, it said that it was an older version than what I had. I would think that 12n is a more recent version than 12g, but doesn't appear to be so. I guess I don't trust anything unless it comes from Philips. They have other good info there though. Check it out:
DVD+RW
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I've had my 985 for about a month and until now had no problems. Now, I have recorded four 30 minute programs (just as on past DVD+R discs) and have gone back in with FSS active to place Chapter Markers at the commercial breaks and marked those Chapters as Hidden.
All of a sudden, when I go back to review before finalizing the disc, all the titles are showing only one chapter and consequently, none of the commercials are hidden. (A lot of time down the drain!)
The only thing different from previous recordings is that I turned off Auto Chapters in the System Tools because I was tired of having to go back in to delete those auto-created markers. I thought maybe that was the cause of no chapter markers (including my manual entries) from showing up so I turned them back on with no luck. Didn't seem to make a difference.
Has anyone had a similar problem and know of a solution?
All of a sudden, when I go back to review before finalizing the disc, all the titles are showing only one chapter and consequently, none of the commercials are hidden. (A lot of time down the drain!)
The only thing different from previous recordings is that I turned off Auto Chapters in the System Tools because I was tired of having to go back in to delete those auto-created markers. I thought maybe that was the cause of no chapter markers (including my manual entries) from showing up so I turned them back on with no luck. Didn't seem to make a difference.
Has anyone had a similar problem and know of a solution?
If anyone is interested in the Philips 985, I was in Circuit City today and they had them for $384. I don't know if this is nationwide or local or what. According to one of the managers, they had just received the DVDR75 and were trying to get rid of the 985s.
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