Well for a bit of a giggle, I phoned Phillips direct on their 0906 15p/min number. To say I wasn't expecting the news from the tellytubby when asked for an expected release date into the UK of SEVERAL MONTHS, would be an understatement to end all understatments!

Suffice to say I'm going to ring Empire Direct now, see what the hell they think they are playing at, taking orders, taking MONEY, for something not destined for the UK until Spring at the earliest!

Thats not helpful as Philips told me a different story. When I emailed them they replied:



Thank you for your recent e-mail.

With regards to your query we can advise that DVDR7300H/05 is not

available at the moment unit should be released towards the end of

this month, and will be available at most good electronics retailers

So, basically, they don't know their arse from their elbows!

I rang around a couple of online electrical retailers and was told pretty much the end of this month by them too!

I'm going to give it til then, otherwise I'm cancelling my ED order and I'm going to go and cry in the corner! Nowt else on the market that spec for that cash going....

What about the JVC DR-MH300.



Its only got a 160gb HD but has most of the other elements of the Philips. Or is there something in particular you like about the 7300H??

The anticipation, maybe?

Otherwise, the JVC doesn't support double layer recording.

Everything else considered, it is indeed a realistic and tempting alternative. Plus, it exists.

The Sharp is also an option - 250gb recorder for £300 at EmpireDirect. I had problems with mine fairly early in though, and can't recommend it... of course, that could have been caused by the courier's rough handling (dropped it at the door, from a height of nearly a foot).

Which model is the Sharp? Does it have guideplus?

Have a look at Sharp's website (but ignore the price). Yes, it does have guideplus, not sure about HDMI, definitely not dual layer. It's not on Empire Direct's website anymore, but there are other places selling it for around the same price which you can find on google.

Just got an email from www.petertyson.co.uk.

They said "For your information we should be receiving the DVR7300 by the end of Jan"

Sure, but I'd gotten similar emails from Peter Tyson saying early November, mid-December, etc.

Video upscaling, guideplus, the IR thingy that controls a sky box are some of the features I'm keen to retain.

That said, not content with the info the tellytubby at Philips gave me over the phone, I decided to mail them again. Their response is below:


So, that sounds a bit more credible, what with other sources saying similar timescales. Still, wheel c !

I have been advised by Peter Tyson that they have a delivery date from Philips of 25th January (2006)

Whoa!!! That is good news.. a real, physical date that exists on a calendar - as opposed "mid january" or "two weeks" or "a couple of months"!!!

Perhaps a similar call to Empire Direct might glean the same info...

ED simply say "end of the month"... which is only a week or so away, so...

According to the Amazon site they can despatch the 7300H in 1 to 2 days so hopefully Philips are stocking distributors now! The Amazon price is expensive though at around £468

Well, as if by magic, both Empire Direct and Cheapelectricals.co.uk are now both quoting "February" as an approximate date, no early mid or late, just February.

Certainly someone at Phillips is taking the piss a bit methinks!

http://www.cheapelectricals.co.uk/ac.../info_840.html

Well, I've been in touch with Popcorn direct too, they also say Phillips have pushed the deliveries to Feb, although they claim Phillips have had problems with the units...

How did you find out about the ED delay - their website still says "due soon"...........

To be perfectly fair, ED's website has been saying "due soon" since the 4th November 2005, when I placed my order. I've been phoning them on a semi-weekly basis since...

I've also mailed Phillips again (yesterday) in a vain attempt to see if they have any plans on releasing this model anywhere on the planet, this year! Of course, I'll post the reply here when it arrives...

http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/d...19_fur_eng.pdf

One a german site I found a link to the first firware patch for the unit. They are still not available here but we are being promised delivery "in about a week".

LOL... nice to know there's an update for it before it hits the UK, which I've just downloaded in anticipation of 1. the unit actually arriving anytime in 2006, and 2. the unit needing an update anyways

I wouldn't go holding your breath though on the "in about a week" claim. Had I done that the first time Empire Direct gave me that news, I'd be very very blue by now :|

Having visited a site in Holland there are more people there testing the unit

http://www.kieskeurig.nl/review/11BC...8A0038A46B.htm

In the list of entries the scart pin 10 probelm was report earlier in Jan. The last comment is from somebody who have spoken to philips who did say a firmware update was coming. As far as I can tell he doesn't beleive the week bit either. The update has also now being posted on the philips German site so they must be preparing for somthing.

I hope the thing hurries up I have a new TV,new Amp, new speaker the only thing I'm waiting for is the DVD. My old one stops and freezes all the time.

Wow, that thread, while I cannot understand a single word of it, certainly seems very active, some very long replies in there... At least the unit isn't vapourware!

Couple more days and I'll have been waiting three months for ED to ship :|

I speak German and can make out some of it the rest I put into www.freetranslation.com and alot of it is disussions over problems discovered when trying the unit some have had it over two month some only a few days (een paar dagen in bezit) means a few days in my possession, (een maand in bezit) a month .... On my German sites one person has (in the last 2 days) taken delivery of one. This one has the same firware version as the one in Holland.

I spoke with Peter Tyson today who are withdrawing it from sale as Philips will not give a delivery date. I spoke to Philips who could not advise a shipping date. Peter Tyson thought that it was likely never to ship now and that philips would skip this model and move onto the next

I think I may cancel my order and look at the JVC MH300 unless anyone can advise an alternative