Philips DV910VHS :Miserable Tape-Eating Piece Of Junk
Written: Jul 05 '02 (Updated Jul 05 '02)
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Pros: Standard features for this type of combo unit. DVD works great
Cons: VCR player poorly designed. Horrible customer service
The Bottom Line: Avoid this unit - has poor quality problems with the VCR.
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| jcare's Full Review: Philips DV910VHS DVD Player / VCR Combo |
I knew it would have to take a stunningly good or awfully bad product to drag me out of Epinions retirement. Unfortunately I had the misfortune to become the owner of a Philips DV910VHS Combo DVD/VCR. The only combo here is a sub-standard product and atrocious customer service. If you, gentle reader, remember nothing else – read this: Do not buy this piece of junk. So first some history, and then onto the technical specifications and personal comments.
My History with the DV910VHS
Our family is now on its third individual unit. Number one lasted just over four months before it started chewing up our tapes at random. The DVD part of the combo functioned perfectly but the VCR developed a voracious appetizer for Blockbuster’s movies. Finally the mechanism jammed with a tape stuck deep inside it. Many minutes and several screwdrivers later we prized the dead tape from its lifeless jaws. Philips customer service offered me a brand new unit for a hefty fee as my warranty (90 days) had expired. Despite lengthy and loud discussions with many members of Philips Corporation about their products not being of merchandisable quality they declined to offer me any other deal for a replacement.
Proving that there is a still a sucker born any minute we coughed up the cash and received a new unit. It was only a few weeks before it developed a similar disorder to its older brother. Plus this unit couldn’t even record a TV show without the picture leaping all over the screen. More calls to Philips ensued, and after repeated promises they would send me a form for a free replacement it finally – many weeks later – arrived. I am now hooking up our third unit, I can hardly wait.
Technical Specs etc.
Size : 17.1” W x 4.1” H x 12.7”D
Weight : 11 pounds
Power 120V A/C using 37W
General 4 Head HiFi, 75ohm external antenna, NTSC Color
Output Channel 3 or 4
Tuner VHF 2-13 , UHF 14-69
Cable 125 Channels
Frequency 20Hz – 22 kHz @ 48kHz sample
20Hz – 44 kHz @ 96kHz sample
20Hz – 20kHz Audio
Signal/Noise 110dB
DVD Linear 95dB range (audio 94dB)
Features
There is really nothing special or unique about any of the features offered. They are standard fare for a DVD or VCR at this price range. Rather than list them all here go check out the website.
The Remote
Confusing, obtuse and poorly designed. My theory of remote usage is that you should be able to intuitively use at least 75% of the functions without referring to the manual. Thinking it was just me, I gave the control to one of my teenage kids – the ultimate test of anything electronic. Failure. I tried another teenage kid – still no luck ; this remote may as well have labeled in ancient greek.
Bottom Line
Philips obviously has a quality problem with this model, just like they did with its predecessor the DV900VHS. Considering how many other models there are in this price range and the fierce competition I don’t understand how they even stay in business. Look elsewhere for a combo DVD/VCR unit. In fact, why are you looking at a combo unit unless you have a space problem ?
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 219
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Epinions.com ID:
jcare
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Location: Southeast Pennsylvania
Reviews written: 270
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About Me:
Bullets can hurt people. Both in guns and PowerPoint.
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