Philips DV900VHS 4 Head Hi Fi VCR DVD Combination DVD Players
Philips DV900VHS 4 Head Hi Fi VCR DVD Combination DVD Players
USER REVIEWS
[Jun 28, 2002]
miloluvr
Casual Listener
Strength:
Audio and sound quality are GREAT (especially if your TV has an S-VIDEO input, and you buy an S-VIDEO cable for this unit) if the unit would work.
Weakness:
This unit, as well as the new one (DV910VHS), is totally unreliable. Do not buy!!! Weaknesses: EVERYTHING!!! Even if the unit worked right, think about the fact that the DVD/CD technology on the unit is VERY limited. It will not play CDR or CDRW, MP3's, DVD-R's, and certainly not VCD's. Why buy this in the first place, if it's so limited, anyway? The only difference between my story and the 3 previous ones described in the "reviews" section for this product is that I never noticed any "burning" or "heated up" DVD's. However, I will add that the DVD's sometimes took FOREVER to load in this unit, more than a minute, sometimes, and they often misfeed. I had the EXACT same problem as the other reviewers, though, as the unit, just a few short months after it had been gifted to me, started eating tapes. Eventually, a tape got lodged in there and never came back out. I actually took the unit to a local electrician who got the tape back out, but soon again, the unit retained another tape. When this unit retains tapes, or starts eating them, the "cst" light (meaning that a videotape is in the system) will start blinking, blinking rapidly, will stay on, or stay off. This often causes the DVD sub-component to stop working altogether, hence the unit is totally unusable. Also, like another reviewer or two, we paid $129.99 and got a new unit which, a few months later, did the EXACT SAME THING and eventually became totally unusable like the previous unit. In all, we wasted at least $500 on this experience. This time, we sent the product back to Philips and they sent us the new, updated model the DV910VHS, which, as I have read on another site, has the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. Philips has NOT worked out the glitch!!!!! Go to http://www.televisiondepot.com/wwwboard/messages/292.shtml and read all of the posts on that thread (I have written one there, as well). I did not touch the DV910VHS and I decided to try to sell it (am still trying) to offset the cost of what I now have (a Daewoo DVD/DVD-RW, CD/CDR/CDR-W, MP3, VCD player, which is also reportedly region-free, which I have not been able to verify as I only have region 1 discs, so far). Also, customer service is bizarre. Once, I couldn't address anyone who could tell me anything about my case as when you call their toll-free customer service number, you are randomly queued to a service center - it could be in the U.S.A. or in Jamaica, and apparently, they don't communicate with each other AT ALL!!! Advice: AVOID Philips DVD/VHS components, esp. the DV900VHS & DV910VHS. They have another totally different model which should also be suspect. Samsung has one which might be ok. BEST BET: get separate DVD and VHS components Similar Products Used: Philips DV910VHS |
[Nov 25, 2001]
Kelly R
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
One Componenet and has the features I want
Weakness:
Cd's were too hot to touch after viewing, burning smell came from the unit, and it ate two vcr tapes! I thought it was a great deal. Compact to fit in the cabinet and all in one. The features were superior, clarity and simplicity. Well, I lived and learned. |
[Jan 16, 2002]
Don Dorrough
Casual Listener
Strength:
Nice compact system, easy to use
Weakness:
Eats tapes, poor quality sound on DVDs, poor tracking on VHS Purchased in Dec '01 as gift - BAD CHOICE! Worked well the first 3 or 4 times, though DVDs did get warm to touch. First time with DVD player so we didn't recognize this symptom at first. Home VHS tapes showed lousy tracking, not correctable - again we made the mistake of assuming this was the fault of our old VCR (16 years old, so...) DVDs started producing erratic sound quality and skipping scenes or flat out locking up at points, DVDs were too hot to hold after play. Turns out that sound quality and scene problems are likely all symptoms of overheating problem. VHS side started eating tapes and, at present, we have a (fortunately) blank tape that has become one with the machine and cannot be removed. Kind of leary of playing rented DVDs as I'm not interested in explaining to the store how it came to be melted. Similar Products Used: First time for this type combo |
[Jan 14, 2002]
Mister Twix
Audiophile
Strength:
One Unit for both DVD and VHS. Allows less cable hookup than having two separate units..
Weakness:
PHILIPS!!! This is a product I will NEVER purchase again from PHILIPS! In fact, I will NEVER purchase another PHILIPS product EVER again! I purchased my first DV900VHS in February 2001. It worked well until August 2001 when the VHS component would "tilt" or shut-off when a tape was placed in the machine and the "CST IN" light would blink... Other times, the tape would play fine. It finally started "eating" VHS tapes all together. Similar Products Used: None |