I can't believe the number of bad reviews I have read that contains one of two things:

1) It doesn't work with Sat. TV Duh!!! Read the product information before you buy. Anybody that has DirectTV or Dish needs to buy their PVR receiver to get PVR functionality that is convenient and has high quality. This unit will allow you to archive your Sat. PVR recordings to DVD but is way over kill for this simple task.
2) Then reading about all the moron using the RF output on channel 3 or 4 to watch this DVD recorder on there TV. Or using RF input to record from VCR or cable box output. WHAT ARE YOU IDIOTS THINKING? Anybody spending this much money on a AV device better at least use SVIDEO in/out. The quality of any RF output is terrible and these same people are probably still listening to the mono output of the channel 3 modulator on their TVs.

Legitimate gripes:
- Poorly written manual.
- TV Guide not available on all digital cable systems.
- Non-TV Guide operation is minimal (Try using TIVO with no service).
- Early firmware had lots of shortcomings (New version CF3.1 is pretty good)
- Feature rich product that most over 50 are going to have a hard time mastering. I wouldn't purchase this unit for my parents.
- Editing video is not as easy or flexible as it could be.
- Doesn't allow on the fly quality setting per timer recording. Have to set the mode the recorder uses until you change it later.
- Doesn't control digital camcorder through he DV input like some other DVD recorders. Other recorders allow you to FF/RR/pause/stop/play from the recorder's remote control. This helps a lot for non-HD DVD recorders that you have one attempt to get everything just right. With this unit you can just start the whole tape recording to HD and edit the video on the HD before make a DVD.
- Philips warranty requires you to send your unit in for repair. They will not exchange. There is not a large number of repair centers in the US so shipping time can cause a few weeks of down time plus the repair time.

Great features:
- Best fee free PVR excluding homemade Media PC's.
- Decent size HD 120 gigs
- DCDi by Faroudja. (This is a great de-interlacing technology for the Progressive scan output.)
- Fast HD to DVD recording 2hr show takes about 15min in 3hr quality mode (that is 8x real-time).
- Multitasks well. Can archive show to DVD while scheduled program is recording to HD. Can watch DVD while scheduled program is recording to HD. Can watch HD show while new scheduled show is recording to HD.
- Time/Date auto-set with TVGUIDE info continuously.
- Allows virtually unlimited number of shows to be scheduled to record via TV Guide screen. No preset limits of 10 or 15 like other DVD recorders. TV Guide web sites says the number of show timers is unlimited. If the on screen guide doesn't work for you, the number of presets is limited.
- Has a time shift buffer that is always running recording when the unit is on.

I was looking for a PVR and not a DVD recorder. I already have a DVD recorder with timer recording that I don't use any more after getting this machine. I found that 95% of what I watch on TV is not recorded to the HD and watched later and never archived to DVD. I archive DVDs for the kids or movie transfers to the PC.

I would only recommend this product to people that have analog cable for most of there channels they watch or have a compatible digital cable technology and don't mind slow channel changes.

If you are not using SVIDEO to connect your digital cable to your TV don't purchase this product. Keep using your crappy VCR and enjoy it (Picture will look the pretty much the same between DVD and VCR with RF connection any ways).

I have owned a Philips DVDR75 for about a year. It is terribly user-unfriendly, but, after an extended learning period you get used to its quirks. Then I bought the HDRW720. Philips has not learned from past mistakes. If you have a satellite receiver, forget this thing. The TV Guide monster dominates the machine. It is impossible to obtain a timer recording with inputs on the S-Video or Component Video inputs from a satellite receiver. The techs first told me to go to the website for TV Guide and they provide software to remove this stuff from your machine. Their website provides a number to call for Philips machine support. Call it and you get a recording that says, "You have reached a non-working number at Liberty." On my next call to Philips the tech told me to disable TV Guide and set the timer manually. That did not work either. He told me to make my timer-test recordings at least 30 minutes long and start least 30 minutes after entering the information. I have, at last, made a 30 minute timed recording from the EXT 1 (component video) inputs by connecting the satellite receiver to the RF connector and component video inputs, then setting up TV Guide for channel 3. Now I can't start a live recording from anything but the RF input.

This thing is manure.

Fortunately, Amazon has a great return program.

I had high moderate to high expectations when this device was purchased. It performs well with the record functions to a degree. The dvr functionality was good. It however does not allow you to records at different speeds for different programs. I would not be able to record some things at the better quality [an SP like setting] speed for programs that would later be saved to disc while using the speed that gives you more hours [an EP like setting] for programs that would not need to be kept. The record quality is only established in the default settings. It also would not allow me to make DVD's of home video from VHS (isn't that a major selling point of DVD recorder??). An error kept coming up indicating a problem with media. Tech support confirmed that happened when making a DVD from a possible copyright source. This was family home video shot on out camcorder. Also the manual states you must record to the hard drive first than do a high-speed copy to DVD; no problem with that if it worked. Tech support advised there is direct copy process from camcorder and possibly vhs to make a dvd copy without using the hard drive first. It can be found through a lot of digging on the web site. To top all that this device would not playback a CD with jpeg picture files. I found this highly disappointing. The bad heavily outweighed the good for me and this was returned. I would advise anyone who wants a full function DVD recorder to seriously consider these things first.

It took a week and a half for me to get up the nerve to try it-I shouldn't have waited so long. I think it's a great machine for what I want to do-archive movies. It's smart-it knows which cable company I subscribe to-I have 2 in front of the house and the TV guides are different for each. I like the feature that I can select the quality, recording to DVD's on a 1 to 6 hour format-normally I use the 2.5X which gives me 2-1/2 hours. It really is a cinch to use once you get the hang of it. I can't answer for other uses, but for what I want-it is dandy!

This unit has some serious firmware bugs. It can/must be upgraded, but I suggest you obtain the CD from Philips as you may be making multiple CD's and still not have success (they offer the upgrade software on their website but you must burn your own CD).

My unit had serious "freeze-up" issues. While archiving (the process of writing a DVD from the recorded video on the Hard Drive) it often locked up. Finally it locked up so tightly that the disk would not eject and even the hard reset would not free it. Needless to say the unit was shipped back to Philips for repair. They had the machine for longer than I had and returned it today.

It looks as if a child had worked on it. There is something loose inside, probably a screw. The metal case at the top is bent as if someone either pried it open or bent it while re-assembling it. They returned it in a single box with minimal padding whereas I had sent it back double-boxed and at a cost of $35 - not to be refunded.

The customer service line is poorly run and most people at their call center cannot effectively help you. For instance they have no way of telling you where your unit is nor can they give you a tracking number when it is shipped.

I am asking them to replace my machine with a new one, but I can tell that initially they are not going to agree to this. They may need to be convinced it is a lemon - which it is in my eyes as they have ruined the looks and have left things loose inside. I certainly don't want to pay to ship it back again.

By the way, if you are even remotely thinking of buying a Philips product, read the reviews here at Amazon on the DVDR80. They speak volumes.