Philips DVDR3576H/37
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Depending on who you talk to, the 3576 is much improved over the 3575 in terms of its ATSC tuner. A great many 3575s were returned due to tuner problems, many obsessive
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members here returning three or four units until they got one from a better production run. The 3576 is not being returned nearly as much, so there is a smaller pool of refurbs to draw from. Also, the Phillips 3575 was a "panic buy" many people ran for because there was no other good DVD/HDD recorder in stores at the time. That initial rush provided a lot of returns that we're not seeing with the 3576, which is not selling as well since that artificial initial demand was satisfied by the 3575. Current demand is so low Phillips has announced they're getting out of the DVD/HDD recorder business at the end of this year. We're lucky the 3576 is pretty good, because its the last such unit we will ever see sold in the USA: the cable/satellite integrated PVR has just totally killed mass-market interest in DVD recorders, even more the expensive models with HDD. This is not to say the 3576 is perfect, a number of people here still complain about ATSC tuner issues, but mostly with "clear" QAM cable channels.
On this topic I have to differ with the majority forum attitude: living in New York City (near Kennedy Airport), I've had to deal with venal, regulation-defiant cable systems that block subscribers who refuse to rent the decoder box at every turn. Anyone within 20 miles of New York City is considered delusional if they actually think they will get anything but the five broadcast networks and the weather channel thru cable without a decoder box. Not going to happen, FCC and local regulations be damned. For many, MANY communities in the USA, "ClearQAM" is a pipe dream: expecting an ATSC DVD recorder to magically free you from the decoder box is almost certain to disappoint. I certainly understand frugality or budget restraints or moral resistance to the cable companies, but this is not a realistic attitude. The cable conglomerates could give a rats ass whether you or the government think you have a right to clear digital cable without a box: they disagree and want to rent you the box. So they give lip service to QAM but mess with it to make it as dysfunctional as possible. This *may* change after the February 2009 switchover, but I wouldn't hold my breath assuming they'll act in good faith: usually they don't.
The Phillips 3576 is about as good a USA-specific DVD/HDD recorder we will ever see, and it will be gone soon. Periodically they go on sale for $249 at CostCo or other big-box stores: look for a sale and grab one while you still can. Don't get bent out of shape worrying about its ATSC performance: right now, nearly EVERY device with an ATSC tuner has issues. The 3576 is in the top half of the pack in terms of reception stability.
On this topic I have to differ with the majority forum attitude: living in New York City (near Kennedy Airport), I've had to deal with venal, regulation-defiant cable systems that block subscribers who refuse to rent the decoder box at every turn. Anyone within 20 miles of New York City is considered delusional if they actually think they will get anything but the five broadcast networks and the weather channel thru cable without a decoder box. Not going to happen, FCC and local regulations be damned. For many, MANY communities in the USA, "ClearQAM" is a pipe dream: expecting an ATSC DVD recorder to magically free you from the decoder box is almost certain to disappoint. I certainly understand frugality or budget restraints or moral resistance to the cable companies, but this is not a realistic attitude. The cable conglomerates could give a rats ass whether you or the government think you have a right to clear digital cable without a box: they disagree and want to rent you the box. So they give lip service to QAM but mess with it to make it as dysfunctional as possible. This *may* change after the February 2009 switchover, but I wouldn't hold my breath assuming they'll act in good faith: usually they don't.
The Phillips 3576 is about as good a USA-specific DVD/HDD recorder we will ever see, and it will be gone soon. Periodically they go on sale for $249 at CostCo or other big-box stores: look for a sale and grab one while you still can. Don't get bent out of shape worrying about its ATSC performance: right now, nearly EVERY device with an ATSC tuner has issues. The 3576 is in the top half of the pack in terms of reception stability.
Really? What about the new $235 Magnavox that was just released and made available on walmart in the past couple days -- 160GB HDD and similar functionality to the Philips. Where there is a void, the chinese will fill it. I don't think these will disappear completely, they will just continue down the slope of price/functionality/performance that VCR's did until they hit the $100 price point of cheap throw-away electronics.
Really? What about the new $235 Magnavox that was just released and made available on walmart in the past couple days -- 160GB HDD and similar functionality to the Philips. Where there is a void, the chinese will fill it. I don't think these will disappear completely, they will just continue down the slope of price/functionality/performance that VCR's did until they hit the $100 price point of cheap throw-away electronics.
The Magnavox is indirectly connected to Phillips and will likely disappear when the 3576 does. At the current price of $235 the Maggie is not much cheaper than the 3576, anyone with serious interest in one of these should opt for the 3576 if they can catch it on sale. Reports of prior Magnavox versions claim they aren't quite as "solid" as their Phillips brothers, with more annoying remote controls. If you can manage the extra $40-60, get the Phillips.
There are "voids", and then there are "voids". This product category is so friggin unsellable and unprofitable in the USA that even with ZERO competition, Philips has not been able to make a worthwhile business from being the sole supplier of new DVD/HDD recorders. When Phillips drops these products next year, and sells off the "phillips" consumer electronics brand name to the highest bidder, Magnavox will be sold right along with it. Maybe the present "real" Chinese factory, Funai, will continue to build these and someone will market them in the USA. I would be very surprised, though: they'd have to be complete idiots or looking for a strategic business loss. Even in a nation of 300 million, the actual market for these here is something like a dozen a week nationwide. Hard to believe, hard to accept, but unfortunately true. You need look no further than Panasonics recent bail from Canada to see the handwriting on the wall: consumers are downright HOSTILE to DVD/HDD machines, throughout North America.
The truly fascinating thing about this is that it's apparently not strictly price related: there are Panasonic ATSC DVD/VHS combo decks with no hard drive that sell for as much or more than the Phillips 3576, and Panasonic just keeps rolling out new versions of these. A good number of people must be buying them up, so maybe there is some fundamental misunderstanding of HDD-equipped recorders in the mass market. That, or its ye olde "the wife wants a single uncluttered unit for VHS and DVD under the TV, and she's the boss, so that's what sells" angle. Who knows.
The Magnavox is indirectly connected to Phillips and will likely disappear when the 3576 does. At the current price of $235 the Maggie is not much cheaper than the 3576, anyone with serious interest in one of these should opt for the 3576 if they can catch it on sale. Reports of prior Magnavox versions claim they aren't quite as "solid" as their Phillips brothers, with more annoying remote controls. If you can manage the extra $40-60, get the Phillips.
There are "voids", and then there are "voids". This product category is so friggin unsellable and unprofitable in the USA that even with ZERO competition, Philips has not been able to make a worthwhile business from being the sole supplier of new DVD/HDD recorders. When Phillips drops these products next year, and sells off the "phillips" consumer electronics brand name to the highest bidder, Magnavox will be sold right along with it. Maybe the present "real" Chinese factory, Funai, will continue to build these and someone will market them in the USA. I would be very surprised, though: they'd have to be complete idiots or looking for a strategic business loss. Even in a nation of 300 million, the actual market for these here is something like a dozen a week nationwide. Hard to believe, hard to accept, but unfortunately true. You need look no further than Panasonics recent bail from Canada to see the handwriting on the wall: consumers are downright HOSTILE to DVD/HDD machines, throughout North America.
The truly fascinating thing about this is that it's apparently not strictly price related: there are Panasonic ATSC DVD/VHS combo decks with no hard drive that sell for as much or more than the Phillips 3576, and Panasonic just keeps rolling out new versions of these. A good number of people must be buying them up, so maybe there is some fundamental misunderstanding of HDD-equipped recorders in the mass market. That, or its ye olde "the wife wants a single uncluttered unit for VHS and DVD under the TV, and she's the boss, so that's what sells" angle. Who knows.
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Maybe if they'd put something like digital TVGOS (back) into them they'd sell better - with at least the compatability of the the 9th version analog guide in the Panasonics - which worked with analog and digital cable, DirecTV and Dish.
I don't know how much better, but better.
Even if they just nixed the DVD drive. Be less complicated and easier to operate that way for some.
I keep hearing about the worries of lawsuits with these types of things all the time. I don't think it's only that they don't figure they'll sell. I still think there's more to it all than just the market forces. If someone came out with the right thing, and priced and marketed it right, I think it would sell well enough to make it worthwhile for someone. That's if they weren't being "pressured" by the likes of TiVo, or whatever.
That's just my opinion, anyway.
I don't know how much better, but better.
Even if they just nixed the DVD drive. Be less complicated and easier to operate that way for some.
I keep hearing about the worries of lawsuits with these types of things all the time. I don't think it's only that they don't figure they'll sell. I still think there's more to it all than just the market forces. If someone came out with the right thing, and priced and marketed it right, I think it would sell well enough to make it worthwhile for someone. That's if they weren't being "pressured" by the likes of TiVo, or whatever.
That's just my opinion, anyway.
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1 Posts
Can someone educate me if this equipment is Region-free? Would it record PAL signals (into HDD and DVD)? Considering its recording to hard disk, I assume it would work, but want to confirm.
Thanks.
Thanks.
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