[breath]

I've noticed that there's a few posters being tempted by Philips products recently. Well, before you make that purchase, spend half an hour reading this...

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...buying+philips

[firedog]

true, however, thats like calling for anyone whos had problems with Bush, Sony, Beko, Samsung - you will get loads of posts, but wheres the posts regarding positive comments???!!

[Pepperoni Man]

Thing is that on here unless you buy a Sony or Panasonic you're going to see your set get a helluva lot of bad reviews

Peugeot 206 has come bottom of a recent survey but I would bet the majority of 206 owners are generally happy with them

[fat controller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepperoni Man

Thing is that on here unless you buy a Sony or Panasonic you're going to see your set get a helluva lot of bad reviews

Peugeot 206 has come bottom of a recent survey but I would bet the majority of 206 owners are generally happy with them

Not according to the Driver Power Survey which is compiled by Auto Express - and they get all the data needed for the survey only from owners completing a review of their car.

There are many other manufacturers other than Sony or Panasonic that make worthy products (Pioneer, Toshiba, JVC, B&W, Arcam, Cambridge Audio, Samsung, NAD, Denon, Onkyo........ I could go on and on) - sadly, so many people have either been on the receiving end of Philips poor reliability and customer service through a purchase they have made, whilst others have had dealings with them through the trade - either way there are plenty of people that would advise steering clear of them.

Any manufacturer can make a dud model (Sony had the F-series TV's for a start) - the difference is how they handle the situation when that arises, and the fact that it is a relatively rare occurrence for them.

[Pepperoni Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fat controller

Not according to the Driver Power Survey which is compiled by Auto Express - and they get all the data needed for the survey only from owners completing a review of their car.

Err.....yes I know. That's the survey I meant in order to make my point

[Pepperoni Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fat controller

Not according to the Driver Power Survey which is compiled by Auto Express - and they get all the data needed for the survey only from owners completing a review of their car.

There are many other manufacturers other than Sony or Panasonic that make worthy products (Pioneer, Toshiba, JVC, B&W, Arcam, Cambridge Audio, Samsung, NAD, Denon, Onkyo........ I could go on and on) - sadly, so many people have either been on the receiving end of Philips poor reliability and customer service through a purchase they have made, whilst others have had dealings with them through the trade - either way there are plenty of people that would advise steering clear of them.

Any manufacturer can make a dud model (Sony had the F-series TV's for a start) - the difference is how they handle the situation when that arises, and the fact that it is a relatively rare occurrence for them.

Agree re your point about other manufacturers making good products. I was basing my original comment on TVs and it is true to say that on these forums Sony and Panasonic are fairly bullet proof whilst other manufacturers are not

[Dan Sette]

I currently use a Panasonic plasma bought in 2005, however the decision to upgrade was for space / domestic reorganisation reasons, not anything else.

For the record I bought my Philips 32" widescreen back in 1994 when in demos it consistently outperformed the Sony variants (which was my original first choice after years of Sony ownership)

A friend asked if he could have the Philips if I had no use for it, and again, because of its picture quality, replaced his main set.

March 2008, it's still going strong.

[fat controller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepperoni Man

Err.....yes I know. That's the survey I meant in order to make my point

Sorry - I miss interpreted your point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepperoni Man

Agree re your point about other manufacturers making good products. I was basing my original comment on TVs and it is true to say that on these forums Sony and Panasonic are fairly bullet proof whilst other manufacturers are not

It is certainly true that Sony and Panasonic have their fans (I'd confess to being a bit of a Sony fan at times) - some of which can see no wrong with them no matter what. Sadly not everyone can be as objective as you and I

[Pepperoni Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fat controller

Sadly not everyone can be as objective as you and I

I've noticed that

[AlanO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by breath

I've noticed that there's a few posters being tempted by Philips products recently. Well, before you make that purchase, spend half an hour reading this...

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...buying+philips

It's been a while since that forum was 'alive' with posts and I haven't seen too many recent ones of problematic Philips products.

We need to remember no product / manufacturer has 100% reliability - as many of the repairers / trade guys who post will attest. It's also worth noting that we don't have 'concrete' figures on reliability available i.e. how many Philips items / 1000 sold fail within 2 years - I suspect the failure rate as a %age of those sold is probably fairly low.

Yes Sony and Panasonic do seem to enjoy better reliabtility than most - worth remembering though that their products are usually at the top-end of the price range at any one time as well.

Philips are still a major manufacturer and make some well reviewed audio - visual products - the Pixel Plus tvs seem to get excellent write ups.

[archie2000]

I have had my Philips 37PF5520D LCD tv for 2 years and 3 months now and I have never had a problem with it. In fact, I have never had a problem with a Philips product.

[Pemblechook]

Panasonic HDD/DVD machines are a pile of junk.

NEVER ever buy one.

[AlanO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pemblechook

Panasonic HDD/DVD machines are a pile of junk.

NEVER ever buy one.

You've expressed this opinion elsewhere and other posters who have more knowledge on this have pointed out that Panasonic had a specific problem with the PSUs on some products which has now been resolved.

Given that Panasonic's reputation with VCRs, and DVD players and recorders is generally reckoned to be one of the best and their kit is widely used by professional organisations I think you're probably part of an insignificant minority expressing this view.

Also - rather than just stating 'x is junk' or 'y is crap' at least have the courtesy to explain your view to allow those who haven't seen your other posts the opportunity to decide whether or not you have a case for making such sweeping statements.

[Pemblechook]

We have had 3 Panasonic machines give endless problems. Various problems.

PILE OF JUNK.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanO

You've expressed this opinion elsewhere and other posters who have more knowledge on this have pointed out that Panasonic had a specific problem with the PSUs on some products which has now been resolved.

Given that Panasonic's reputation with VCRs, and DVD players and recorders is generally reckoned to be one of the best and their kit is widely used by professional organisations I think you're probably part of an insignificant minority expressing this view.

Certainly Panasonics reputation for HDD/DVD recorders isn't 'one of the best' (quite the opposite) - they had massive problems over a large range of their models - I would like to think they have sorted it out on new models?, but have no evidence either way.

However, despite Panasonic being a major player in the market, they never actually cured the huge numbers of faulty machines they produced. You can get them repaired, but repairing to the original flawed design is hardly a satisfactory solution. Panasonic should have either recalled them all and refunded the money, or (more sensibly) designed a PSU that was 'up to the job', and replaced all the faulty PSU's.

The general opinion in the trade is that Panasonic added an HDD to an existing DVD recorder, but the existing PSU wasn't big enough for the extra load imposed - so the PSU's fail within a fairly short time. As far as I'm aware, the non-HDD versions are fine?, at least I've never seen one with similar PSU failure.

The worrying thing isn't that Panasonic made a really bad design, it's that they never actually sorted the problem out!.

[Pemblechook]

I didn't actually bother contacting Panasonic. I read such horror stories of total arrogance by Panasonic when people did contact them and the quoted cost of repair was ridiculously high. Panasonic more or less said 'get lost' to folks.

NEVER EVER BUY PANASONIC CRAP.

[Pepperoni Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepperoni Man

it is true to say that on these forums Sony and Panasonic are fairly bullet proof whilst other manufacturers are not

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pemblechook

Panasonic HDD/DVD machines are a pile of junk.

NEVER ever buy one.

..Got that wrong !

[Gort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pemblechook

I didn't actually bother contacting Panasonic. I read such horror stories of total arrogance by Panasonic when people did contact them and the quoted cost of repair was ridiculously high. Panasonic more or less said 'get lost' to folks.

NEVER EVER BUY PANASONIC CRAP.

Was it a DMR-E85H? I had one and had the well documented problem with it. It's hit my confidence in Panasonic, but seeing that I currently have a Panasonic CRT TV that's nearly a decade old and still giving great pictures, plus I've had other Panasonic stuff that's been a joy to own, I'll give them another chance. If it weren't for the other good Panasonic products I own or have owned, I suppose I might well feel like you. One thing for sure, most of their products aren't crap, even in the eyes of this once burnt customer.

As for Philips, I've had problems in the past with a few of that company's stuff, so they're on my do not buy list. Saying that, I do have a Philips radio alarm clock that's twenty-two years old going strong. Exceptions, exceptions...

[AlanO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

Certainly Panasonics reputation for HDD/DVD recorders isn't 'one of the best' (quite the opposite) - they had massive problems over a large range of their models - I would like to think they have sorted it out on new models?, but have no evidence either way.

In fairness I did state 'Given that Panasonic's reputation with VCRs, and DVD players and recorders is generally reckoned to be one of the best ' - which can be backed up by either looking at the reviews in the relevant magazines where Panasonic's kit has won a significant number of awards and also the reviews from Which ? that state Panasonic's reliability is amongst the best.

As for Pemblechooks comment " I didn't actually bother contacting Panasonic. I read such horror stories of total arrogance by Panasonic when people did contact them and the quoted cost of repair was ridiculously high. Panasonic more or less said 'get lost' to folks."

I have a Panasonic widescreen CRT which went faulty after about 20 months. I had it repaired and then contacted Panasonic Customer Relations who were helpful and after I put my case in writing they refunded the cost of the parts (which was about 50% of the repair bill) so all I had to pay was the labour. Given that Pemblechook 'didn't bother' to contact Panasonic, he/she doesn't actually know whether Panasonic would have helped out.

[Pemblechook]

"""" Given that Pemblechook 'didn't bother' to contact Panasonic, he/she doesn't actually know whether Panasonic would have helped out. """"

Extensive reading of other's bitter experience showed it to be a waste of time.

Avoid Panasonic. They make good reliable tellies but NOT HDD machines.

[Trollheart]

It's the old story again, isnt it?
I bought a Panasonic HDD DVD recorder 6 years ago, had one problem with it (while under warranty) -- hard disk failed. Repaired and since then it was fine until age began to tell on it and I had to replace it. Never really had a problem other than that though and I would deffo recomm Panasonic.

Now, replaced with a Philips DVR3595, which after less than two weeks (!) has fallen apart. Last night, the final straw after recordings jumping, sticking, sound going, coming, disc tray not opening --- it failed to recognise any signal from my telly, which was fine. SO back it goes tomorrow.

That said, I have two Philips standalone CD recorders which have given me great service over the years. Never a single problem with them.

I'm hoping to take a chance and replace my Philips 3595 with the (I'm told) better built 3575, so I'm prepared to give Philips another chance. This may prove that it was just a defective model, and that Philips are not crap, or it may prove the opposite, that the 3575 is the only good recorder in Philips' range, and the rest are terrible.

TBH I don't really care: I just want a DVD recorder I can rely on!