Philips LX7500R review

Features
Philips is at the heart of the DVD+RW alliance, so it's not surprising to find that the LX7500R shuns the cheaper -R/RW format in favour of the more compatible +R/RW. However, that's the only format it supports -- a lack of DVD-RAM compatibility makes this one limited little recorder. However, it claws back some favour thanks to Super Audio CD compatibility -- a real bonus for any audio purists. While the catalogue of titles is still fairly limited, the format can provide multi-channel music that far surpasses the quality of standard audio CDs.

The number of recording modes on offer is also particularly impressive, especially as this isn't a standalone recorder. Many such devices, such as Liteon's LVW-5045, have only four recording modes at increments of one hour, two hours, four hours or six hours per disc. The LX7500R recorder, however, offers up to eight hours recording per disc. We find that the number of recording modes beyond around 3 hours is academic, as the quality loss is noticeable enough to spoil the viewing experience, but any of the M1, M2 or M2x (two and a half hours -- perfect for a movie) are very acceptable. And of course, if you use a DVD+RW disc, you can edit down your recording and cut out the ad breaks. With the system's VideoPlus system, you can also set recording schedules with ease, and with up to six programmable events for a month into the future. This might seem limited, but with a relatively small amount of space per disc, it's unlikely that you'd need any more.

Surround sound support is wide ranging, even if it doesn't touch the advanced features of the Denon system. The player supports vanilla Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS, which will cover every DVD movie on the market, and you can also route your television audio through the analogue inputs. The system will then create a Dolby Pro Logic II surround stage from the stereo source, with rear effects calculated automatically. The remote control also allows you to tailor your surround sound experience. You can adjust the bass, subwoofer and treble levels without going into any menus, and you can set the system to a quieter 'Night' level as well. If you prefer your surround-sound investment to be more noticeable, you can also turn up the rear speaker levels.

Disc access is extremely slow, however. It took about a second to actually skip chapters through test disc Punch Drunk Love, which proved very annoying. Nearly all other players can do this immediately.

Performance
While the speaker system will serve most physically undemanding programmes well, the subwoofer really lacks the power to maintain a commanding performance. Sure, the dialogue is accurate and detailed, thanks to the centre speakers' accurate driver positioning, but when you turn the volume up on a movie like Bad Boys II, you can't help wanting more. The speakers are very adept at picking out the detail from an SACD, though -- Beyoncé Knowles' Dangerously in Love was even more enjoyable than usual.

Picture quality, on the other hand, is universally excellent. Recordings in the M1 or M2 mode are very enjoyable to watch back, and commercial DVDs look great whether you use RGB Scart or component as your output of choice. The colour reproduction was excellent, and the player was able to pick up plenty of shadow detail too, making it far from a budget performer when it came to DVD playback.

Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Nick Hide