Philips DVDR520H DVD Recorder with 80 GB Hard Drive

by Philips

Product Details

Data Sheet [1.69mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 9 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00062VYQ6
• Item model number: DVDR520H
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,813 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Philips DVDR520H combines all the benefits of DVD recording with the digital convenience of a hard-disk digital video recorder. Archive your priceless camcorder footage to long-lasting, high-quality DVD+RW and DVD+R (4.7GB per disc), or time-shift your viewing by recording TV programs by recording shows directly to the 80 GB hard disk, which gives you up to 100 hours of storage using Philips' ShowView programming system.

Whether recording to DVD or hard disk, programming the DVDR520H is simple using the GUIDE Plus+ electronic program guide (EPG). The EPG is a point-and-click system that lets you specify which programs to record, up to 7 days ahead. Using the model's extensive inputs--including an i.Link digital video jack--you can transfer and assemble your most treasured camcorder footage, archive all your old video tapes, or burn video from your PC straight to high-capacity DVD--up to an amazing 8 hours per disc side using either DVD+R or rewritable DVD+RW.

The DVDR520H also gives you the ability to pause live TV and instantly replay scenes just missed. If the phone rings or someone comes to the front door, simply pause the show you're watching and resume viewing from that point when you're ready.

The hard disk time shift buffer stores up to 6 hours of programs, giving you the freedom to decide after the fact whether you want to keep something for future viewing. When the buffer is full, the oldest programs are automatically deleted, unless you've marked them for saving. The DVDR520H also features a simple solution for transferring recordings from the hard disk to DVD media: high-speed archiving. With a single command, the device will digitally transfer programs to DVD at up to 20 times the speed of the program duration.

Recording functions include favorite scene selection, automatic/manual chapter marker insertion, selectable index pictures, append, and divide. DVD+RW discs require no finalizing--you can record, eject, and play them with minimal fuss, thanks to "background formatting." This feature, which lowers total burning time, is an advantage over the "dash" formats. Other DVD+RW advantages include on-disc content editing and multisession writing. And, through DVD+RW and DVD+R's compatibility with most existing DVD players, they're a great way for you to share your special memories with family and friends.

The DVDR520H is also a first-rate DVD player, featuring progressive-scan video outputs, Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround sound passthrough, MP3 CD playback (CD-R/CD-RW), JPEG picture CD/DVD playback, and compatibility with most DVD media (including video-mode DVD-R and DVD-RW).

Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the DVDR520H stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.

Top-of-the-line interlaced component-video outputs help minimize digital and line-scan artifacts from component-video sources and on compatible advanced televisions, while composite- and S-video inputs and outputs bring compatibility with nearly any video component and television monitor. Audio inputs consist of 2-channel analog jacks with 24-bit/96 kHz analog-to-digital conversion and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio compression (compression is nondefeatable). Video conversion is performed by 9-bit, 27 MHz converters for recording and high-quality 10-bit, 54 MHz converters for playback.

Two sets of left/right analog-audio outputs channel audio to Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions. Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player's digital-audio outputs (1 each coaxial and optical) for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver.

What's in the Box
DVD recorder/hard disk combo, a remote control, remote batteries, a user's manual, a video cable, a stereo analog audio cable, and an RF coaxial/antenna cable.

Product Description

Philips DVD Recorder, w/80 gig HDD, DVD+RW, I-Link, up to 8 hours DVD+RW recording, up to 102 hour on HDD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Never Philips again, November 17, 2004

By 

Gary of Glendale (Glendale, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philips DVDR520H DVD Recorder with 80 GB Hard Drive (Electronics)

I bought this DVD Recorder after a long research. I was looking for a +R/RW with Hard Drive at a reasonable price. In spite of any customer review available, I gambled betting on the Philips name, well established for years. I made a big mistake. The unit was unreliable from the beginning. The set-up and the first play back worked satisfactorily the first day. But the next day when I tried again, it did not work properly, starting with the Stand By/On, load/unload disc, the "Guide" menu. I couldn't even play back a commercial DVD. The buttons on the unit as well as the remote were acting strangely, not responding to the simplest commands. I tried all the tricks, including unplugging (otherwise I could not turn off, it was frozen)and replugging after a while. After several attempts and a lot of aggravation, I packed it and returned it to Amazon.com. Thanks for their return policy. The instruction manual is poorly written. The on-line support does not offer much help. The FAQs are very few and irrelevant. I did not bother to call them realizing that even the most talented expert can not offer any support in this situation. The product was defective, period. No Quality Control!There is no excuse for Philips to put on the market a unit in this state. That reminded me about another experience I had with a Philips product (Norelco shaver)which died in a few months, a thing which never hapened with my electric shavers past and present of various makes. Stay away from this product. One star rating is too much.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Quality product? Not on your life!, April 14, 2005

By 

M. Lee "Keys" (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philips DVDR520H DVD Recorder with 80 GB Hard Drive (Electronics)

I thought, mistakenly as it turns out, that Philips were reknowned for reliable products. Well, that is not the case with this pile of junk. Timer recording frequently results in the unit freezing up with the only way of freeing it being to unplug it, losing that part of the program which may have already been recorded. Operation of the unit prevents use of a digital tv system when recording a terrestrial channel (if wired as shown in the manual)as the scart system is very bizzarrely configured with input only being available on 1 of the 2 scarts provided. HDD recordings at anything other than the 2 highest resolution settings produces a sound track that repeats in blocks and is therefore unusable. Even at it's second highest setting the sound playback is slightly out of sync. 5.1 theatre sound is only available in digital audio which is of no use to me as I use an anologue 4 channel surround sound system which works splendidly with my old dvd player. It also squeaks and whines in operation when it's been running a while. The on screen menus are only available in small typefaces which I find difficult to read. There are some features which are not explained in the manual. The remote control is poorly designed with the fast forward and next chapter buttons being too close together. Slow motion is a hassle to get, requiring a trip through menus!
I have to say that picture quality is superb if you can put up with the aggravation and background squeaking, which I am not prepared to do.
This is the second machine I have owned as the first was returned as faulty, although it's performance was identical in every way to this one. Many places are currently selling this model at seriously reduced prices but in my honest opinion, any price is too much for this poor quality product.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buyer beware!, August 16, 2005

By 

Donovan M. Edwards - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philips DVDR520H DVD Recorder with 80 GB Hard Drive (Electronics)

This product has a known defect for which Philips has limited support. The DVD drive would not recognize any disk. Their website ask you to download a software patch, for which you have to burn to a CDR+. I have two computers, one purchased in the past year, neither one will write to a CDR+ disk. I asked them to mail me the disk with the patch, they had no idea how they would go about doing that.

Hey Amazon, help out your customers by refusing to sell Philips products. This will definitely have a negative impact on your business. Customers with this experience will be less likely to use Amazon in the future and you will keep getting stuck with shipping expenses.