Philips DVDR615 DVD Recorder

by Philips

Product Details

Data Sheet [434kb PDF]

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Product Manual [2.22mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 13.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 13 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000204SVU
• Item model number: DVDR615
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,115 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 30, 2004

Product Description

Amazon Product Description

Amazon Product Description High on convenience, low on hassles, Philips' DVDR615 progressive-scan DVD player/recordergives you a simple way to share your home videos with others, relieve your VCR of its regular TV taping duties, and enjoy quality home cinema presentations on standard or high-definition televisions. 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 DVDR615 features progressive-scan technology, which enables compatible TVs to display images at double the frequency of standard TVs, minimizing flicker and making the picture easier on your eyes.

The DVDR615 also features a disc manager that allows instant viewing of all recorded discs, storing contents details for up to 9,000 titles across up to 999 discs. You can also use the DVDR615 like a VCR, burning televised programs directly to disc using VCR Plus+ simplified programming. Recording functions include favorite scene selection, automatic/manual chapter marker insertion, selectable index pictures, selectable background picture, append, divide, and "fit to space." 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.

But the DVDR615 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), 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 DVDR615 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 inputs and outputs (the output is switchable with the progressive-scan output) 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 non-defeatable). Video conversion, to and from digital, is performed by high-quality 10-bit, 54 MHz converters.

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 coaxial digital-audio output for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver.

What's in the Box
DVD recorder, remote control, remote batteries, a user's manual (English/Spanish), a quick-install guide, an AC power cord, a stereo analog audio interconnect, a composite-video cable, and an RF coaxial/antenna cable.

Product Description

Philips DVD Recorder, DCVD+RW, I-Link, up to 8 hours recording, 4 record speeds, DVD+R/DVD+RW, CD, CD-RW

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I took it back to the store for a refund, May 23, 2004

By 

L Crawford (IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philips DVDR615 DVD Recorder (Electronics)

I bought (and returned) a Philips DVDR615/17. (...)

It was a beautiful machine and it has a lot of nice features. It made beautiful disks...when it made disks.

I usually record on DVD+RW and I should have had a clue that things weren't going to go well when there was a preprinted form in the box telling me how to wipe a +RW disk, if the machine suddenly decided it couldn't read it.

Well, it decides that A LOT! You might go back to add an hour at the end of 4 other hours that this same machine already recorded...and suddenly it can't read it.

But, more disgusting, on just about every disk (and I tried several brands), it went "disk error" after a couple of minutes of recording and ruined the disk. If you erased it (using the secret disk wiping procedure) and started over, it usually recorded. But, that's not too practical if you want to timer record. In fact, I NEVER made a successful timer recording. (And, even if you got a non-timer recording, the machine might just forget how to read that same disk a few minutes later.)

I tried contacting Philips support to see if there was a firmware flash or something to correct this, but the only response I got referred me to an 800 number that turned out to be "Out of Warrantee Support", who wanted to charge me (...) just to talk to me, even though I had only had the goofy thing a few days. I think not.

So, back to the store it went.

If that one problem didn't exist, this would've been a great machine, so if they ever fix it, somebody let me know.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Philips Recorder- Good or Bad, September 12, 2005

By 

Charles Sun - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philips DVDR615 DVD Recorder (Electronics)

I have purchased Philips DVD recorders before and I really like the Philips however the problem is that you either receive a good one or a bad one. There seem to be nothing in between. I like the Philips because the DVD+RW gives you more flexibility if you want to use it like a VCR. The -RW format makes you delete the entire disc where as the +RW allows you to delete one program or the entire disc depends on what you want to do. Another thing I really like about Philips is their thumbnail format which will display a small picture of the program that you have recorded. This will allow you to see at a glance what is on the disc. You can also edit the thumbnail to display any picture from the program. This thumbnail will also display when you play the disc from any DVD player unlike the Sony which will not allow the edit of the thumbnail in +RW and will display a blank picture when played on other DVD players. Another great thing about the Philips is that you can record two programs together like Simpsons and Friends in a one hour continues recording and then instead of one thumbnail of Simpsons, you can divide the 1 hour program into 2 30 minute programs with 2 different thumbnails.

I have read that a lot of people do not like the remote control and the Philips manual however for me after getting used to the remote control and understand the manual, the recorder is very easy to use.

I have tried a lot of other DVD recorders like Sony however I still come back to Philips DVD Recorder. The only problem with Philips is their quality control. You either get a good machine or a bad. If you can stand the problem of buying a Philips recorder, set it up, find out that is has problems, return it back to the store, get another replacement, and see if you have a good one this time.

I went through a few before finding a good one. The first one did not work right out the box, returned for an exchange. The exchange unit worked for about a week then the tuner started to flash bright and dark every second which really bothered me. Returned for another exchange. This new exchange worked for 10 days and then started to lock up. It would not record anything but just freeze. This happens every other recording which is a real pain because you thought you had recorded something and then find out that it frooze. Returned this unit also. Waited for a few weeks while trying to find other brands like Sony but still came back to Philips. Purchase another Philips and found it again did not work right out the box. Returned back and got a replacement. This time, everything is fine. I have had the Recorder for over 30 days and everything is fine so far. So if you really want a good, flexable +RW DVD recorder, I would recommend Philips if you are willing to keep returning the recorder until you find one that works.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pulled, Despite Horrific Exp w/the 985, July 10, 2004

By 

R. Williams "code slubber" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philips DVDR615 DVD Recorder (Electronics)

For some inexplicable reason, I just decided that I would buy this after multiple rounds of suffering with the 985. So I ordered this and then packed up my 985 and sent it back to the factory for a second time.

Meanwhile, when this was delivered, I had a bit of a hassle with it because I plugged it into my digital receiver and got 'no signal' when trying to monitor the recording. Also, I wanted to have an S connection. Well, finally got it working by moving to EXT2.

Anyway, to my amazement, I have not had a single recording fail, and I've done a ton of them since purchasing a couple months ago. Never once have I seen DISC ERROR or have I had to wipe the disc. So I was surprised to read the other accounts which sound like 985-like behavior. Lots of the online disc ordering places will send you sample packs now so you can try different brands. I got mine from rima.com. One last note: I make all my recordings to RW and then take them to my G5 and make copies onto -Rs, so I can't really speak to the long-standing problems with +Rs.