Mental
The DVDR985 has all the features you'd expect on a high-quality DVD player, such as Dolby Digital and DTS digital audio output as well as a progressive-scan component output. The progressive output is driven by Faroudja's DCDi deinterlacer, which bodes well for the image quality. Not only that, the unit acts like a standalone line doubler, applying DCDi to the selected signal and sending it to the progressive component outputs.

As a video recorder, the DVDR985 uses a next-generation MPEG2 encoder compared with the previous DVDR1000, and audio is recorded in Dolby Digital 2.0. The unit includes all the normal features of a VCR, including one-touch recording and VCR+ Plus. There are only six timer programs available, unlike in most VCRs, which provide at least eight. If the audio volume of the material you wish to record is too low or high, you can control it manually.

As mentioned earlier, the DVDR985 is designed to record on DVD+R and DVD+RW discs, and it can play DVD-RW (recorded in Video mode, which makes the disc compatible with most standard DVD players) and DVD-R discs, as long as they've been finalized. It can also play DVD-Video, CD, CD-R, CD-RW (audio content only), Video CD, and Super Video CD.

DVD+R and DVD+RW offer recording times of from one to four hours per disc, trading image quality for longer times, as you'd expect. However, both formats use variable bit rate (VBR) at all time settings to maximize picture quality according to the amount of motion in the image. By contrast, DVD-RW uses a constant bit rate (CBR) in Video mode (the mode that is play-compatible with other DVD players), and the maximum record time is two hours. Interestingly, Pioneer recorders use CBR with DVD-R discs, while Panasonic recorders use VBR with DVD-Rs.

In addition to VBR, the Philips includes various algorithms to reduce noise and otherwise improve picture quality, especially when recording from VHS tape or cable in the 2-, 3-, and 4-hour modes. The 1-hour mode uses less processing and is intended primarily for recording digital data from a DV camcorder. All picture-enhancement algorithms are completely automatic; there are no user controls (with one exception: the Rec Mode control's Standard and Sports settings adjust the bit rate and filtering at the two lowest-quality levels). This lack of control makes it easy on naïve users, but power users might want some control over the process. This is one area in which I prefer the Pioneer DVD-R/RW recorders, which provide many controls for manual adjustment of the recorded image.

On the other hand, DVD-R/RW provides almost no editing functions when recording discs that are compatible with standard players. DVD-R offers virtually no editing capabilities in any event. The only exception is the ability to name discs and titles.

This is one area in which DVD+R/RW shines. For example, each recording includes a thumbnail image that you can select from anywhere in the material, and the thumbnails appear in the title menu when the disc is loaded into any compatible DVD player; DVD-R and DVD-RW (Video mode) do not offer this. Another cool feature is the ability to protect and unprotect discs from recording and editing.

Being a rewritable format, DVD+RW offers more editing potential than DVD+R, and most editing functions are available while maintaining compatibility with conventional DVD players. Any recording on a DVD+RW can be erased, and the space becomes available to use for new recordings; with DVD-RW (Video mode), the space taken by an erased recording becomes available only if it was the last title on an unfinalized disc, and space is never recoverable on DVD-R and DVD+R discs. With DVD+RW, you can divide one title into two separate titles, and existing recordings can be partially overwritten, neither of which can be done with DVD-RW. (Note that if the beginning of a title is overwritten, the entire title disappears. If you erase a title in the middle of the list and record something that is longer than the original title, the following title will be erased.)

Chapter markers can be inserted automatically every five minutes, or manually at any point during recording. They can also be inserted manually after the recording is finished. In addition, you can hide chapters; for example, you might insert markers around commercials and designate them as "hidden" so they don't play. However, markers inserted into an existing recording and hidden chapters render a disc incompatible with standard players; the Make Edits Compatible function removes these manipulations. Markers inserted during recording don't affect a disc's compatibility.

One of DVD+RW's claims to fame is that, unlike DVD-RW, there is no need to initialize discs before recording, or to finalize them before they can be used in conventional DVD players. The "minus" camp disputes the finalization issue, saying that DVD+RW finalizes automatically as it goes, which Philips confirms. To me, the point is moot; if the user doesn't have to finalize, who cares if the recorder does it automatically and transparently? If the discs are compatible with standard DVD players, this is a big plus in my book. Like all write-once media, DVD+R discs must be finalized by the user to be used in conventional players, but Philips claims this takes just one minute, as opposed to DVD-R, which can take from three to 15 minutes, depending on how much is stored on the disc.

One really cool feature is the ability to update the firmware by simply inserting a Philips-supplied CD-ROM into the recorder. This sure beats having to take the unit to a service center for a chip swap. Philips has already released an update for the '985 that fixes some timer-recording bugs (with mixed success, which I'll discus in a moment) and a slight vertical displacement problem from the progressive outputs that affects a few displays. In addition, the DVDR1000 and '1500 can be updated to record DVD+R in this manner. The disc is available to owners of the older machines at no charge.