I ordered this DVD recorder after reading the reviews. The unit I received had the wrong remote included. It didn't work with the unit at all. The manual showed a completely different remote. And the manual was one that was copied off the internet, not an original one. I am sending this one back and I will never order a refurbished unit again

I enjoy this recorder very much. It is easy to use.If the recorder does clears out the channel memory constantly, you can correct this by turning off the auto DST (daylight savings time adj) and auto clock. Just set everything up manually.The recorder will leave some space more than the time set. For example, if you set the recorder to record 2 hours using the 2 hours setting, it will leave a few minutes left on the disc. This is useful when using the timer since I usually set the timer to record one minute before the program's schedule and to end one minute after since getting the clock set perfectly with the TV show is very difficult.The sound level is a little quieter than I expected so I have to raise the volume when playing the recordings and also the picture is a little darker.The DVI input did not work with my camcorder because it would not recognize my Samsung camcorder. The recorder wouldn't let me just direct feed (as opposed to using the built in extras that recognize the camcorder). I have to use my Panasonic recorder to transfer my camcorder tapes. My Panasonic also won't recognize the camcorder but lets me feed the video and sound through the DVI input .If I had extra money to spend, I'd buy another one because this recorder is so inexpensive now.

Even though the refurbished price was a bargain, I would not buy this product if I had it to do over. Look at other units and manufacturers. Compared to my previous 2002-vintage Philips DVDR75, it is confusing and far too quirky. E.g., it forgets all of the channels -- both analog and digital -- and other settings after it is programmed. Turn it off and BLAM total memory loss. Has to be set up again every time you turn it back on. It seems to record OK, but the quirkiness is not worth the bother.

Can record on DVD-RW and DVD+RW. The TV tunner is great, can switch from analog to digital with a push of a button. Great for older tv sets. Using the digital I found cable chanels I never knew I had.My last recorder was a Pioneer. Philps has a quicker start and finalizing is much faster. This is a great recorder for the money.

Great unit!! We were very happy with the product & speed of delivery. Excellent price for dvd recorder.

I bought this unit to replace my broken Panasonic dvd recorder. Tuner does not pick up HD over the air channels, just analog. Unit does not keep time info once turned off. I hooked up another dvd player to it to duplicate a dvd. It was unable to duplicate previously recorded dvd unless tv is turned on to what you are recording. In other words, you cannot watch another channel while duplicating dvd. I am glad the price & shipping was resonable. Takes a long time to load & read dvd. Bottom line, would not recommend. I gave it 2 stars only because of the price.

This unit works great. Have also a 3506 and another 3505. Tried 5 (five) magnavox ZV457MG9 and trutech zv450tt8 all made and serviced by Funai, the Philips all work fantastac, all of the magnavox and the trutech had the SAME ERROR, a defective DIGITAL tune which works for about 24 hours and then is gone no access to digital channels at all and no locating them on a rescan of dtv. Recommend the philips 3506 and 3505. Stay away from the mentioned magnavox and trutech.

All of our expectations were met through the purchase of this product. This is our second Philips DVDR3505. We enjoyed the features of our first one so much that we wanted another one. No worries about this one being a refurb, since it's for using and not for "show". It's a little work horse. We especially like being able to schedule certain programs to record and we don't have to be present to ensure they are captured. Satisified with the price for the product. We consider this a good value.

This item works exactly as advertised. It was easy to hook up to my entertainment system and performs well. Very easy to program.

YES, IT HAS A TUNER! You can record one channel while watching another. Easy to set up and use, good picture and sound. I bought the extended warranty, because my first dvd recorder (light on) didn't even last a year, and it was only another $10.00 So for this one has been glitch free. Buy it, you'll like it.

It does what it claims to do. The built-in tuner is a plus - you can watch one show on your tv while recording another on the dvd. I thought the picture quality on recordings would have been better, but the picture is still pretty darn good.

I bought this unit for the digital tuner so it can be used on an analog tv to view high definition from my cable input. That works great. The only problem that I'm having is recording from my cable box. I get an error stating this program can't be recorded in the ( )VR mode on some of the stations. I have another unit (Phillips 3506) that I never had a problem recording any channel. The remote control was damaged when received but Customer Service did a great job by sending me a replacement.

I purchased this for my wife to use as a replacement for a VCR in the kitchen. The dvd recorder arrived looking like new and works excellent. Although the operation is somewhat more complicated than the old VCR, my wife is getting the hang of it and loves the better video quality over the old VCR. She also likes the fact that the dvds take up less room to store that the old VHS tapes. I just have to convert all her old tapes to dvd now. Excellent refurbished product.

I have satelite on 2 tv sets, this was purchased for my 3rd set.The built in tuner makes the dtv converter box obsolete.I set this up with an antena for recording network shows, it works great very clear picture.I have read other reviews that channel changing is slow but I do not watch I only record so this does not apply to me, although I understand this could be annoying. For what I use it for it works perfectly.I set this up with an older tv so I had trouble until I bought a rf modulator this helps marry older tvs to newer technology dvd video games ect. bottom line I love it.dont let the refurb scare you away it is a great value.

Versatile, easy to use and flexible as a recorder and a tuner for less limited tv reception. When used with an hdmi plug the reception is remarkable. It is a good bargain and useful.

The built in digital TV tuner works better than the one in the TV ,an the price was well worth it . I will be checkin out refurbished items in the future.

The Philips DVD-R does EXACTLY what it says it does.The quality of recording is Excellent. Read the manual and practice recording a few times.

We ordered this unit when the digital switch made it impossible for us to record our favorite shows on VHS using our existing player. I had never used DVD-RW before but had heard good things. First of all let me say that we really like the unit: it has a built in digital tuner; the recording quality is great, even on low settings; and it is attractively designed. In essence, it does what we want it to do and it does it well, especially for the price.A few quirks that we don't love: 1) If you are setting a timer to record, you have to turn the unit off/standby or else it won't record and you'll get an error described as "failed to record due to conflict" or something like that. So if you've already set the timer but happen to still be around and want to watch the show you'll soon be recording, you have to turn the unit off, wait for it to turn itself back on to begin recording, and then you can watch. Moderately annoying. (It does bring up a little warning window that tells you a timer is set and you need to turn off the unit, but this is still just inconvenient and poorly designed, unlike our previous VHS recorder that would just switch channels at the appointed time and start recording.) 2) The unit is rather loud when on with a disc in the player. My wife has ears like a wolf and it drives her nuts. Mildly annoying. 3) The digital tuner takes a long time to surf the channels - painfully long. Moderately to seriously annoying. 4) When you turn the unit on with a disc in the drive, it takes forever (20-50 seconds) to load the disc to where you can play, set timers, review contents, etc. Moderately annoying. Then, it also takes the same forever after you finish recording a show to "finalize" the recording (this does not finalize the disc, rendering it unrecordable in the future, it just makes the newly recorded contents watchable - I guess). Mildly annoying.Again, the plus sides are: 1) price - this is a great deal compared to other units if you just want something that will do the job, 2) you can record over and over on the same DVD forever, just like VHS tapes but better quality, 3) digital tuner allows you to record digital channels (which all of them are now) even in HD quality, 4) HDMI inputs allow you to watch/record in hi-def from the unit, 5) relatively straight-forward controls and commands.

This is my second Philips 3505 Recorder. I like my other one so much I purchased another one for another location in the house. In my opinion they simply can't be beat for the price. Have been using these machines for about 5 months and have never failed to record a program I set it for and for refurbished you can not tell either one from brand new in operation or appearance. Great machines!

This looks like a great value. However, the first unit had a loud mechanical noise which rendered it useless, that was returned. The eternal optimist I replaced it with another DVR3505, this one was perfect for about a month at which time I kept getting an E45 error message when trying to timer record. Something relating to "one time record only". I tried everything to unprogram the error. Unplugging the unit for 48hrs. then reinitializing everything, "must be an error on my part". No, it would record manually, but no like the timer record? It was useless. My biggest mistake was attempting to get the set-up correct, wasting valuable return time.This looks like a great deal, I wasted $15.00 shipping to return this unit plus lost two complete weekends of information I had hoped to record. Buy this if you dare, I would steer clear.