LG RH 177 > Reviews > No end of problems

Author's product rating:   

Picture Playback	Good
Sound Level	Good
Ease of Use	Average
Range of Features	Average
Value for Money	Poor

Advantages:	80gb hard drive
Disadvantages:	Large and unreliable

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

The LG RH 177 is easy to install and set-up, and as you'd expect it has one touch record, time shift and playback. It comes with a 80gb hard drive.

When you attempt to go beyond the basic features you will notice a number of annoying features, such as;

1. When you set the player to record at set times, the system will not record if it is already switched on, particularly annoying if you're watching a DVD. You will receive a message on screen reminding you that it will start recording in X minutes, you then have to switch the player off and it will automatically switch itself back on.

2. Doesn't support Freeview, therefore if you're recording one channel and want to watch another, you can only watch an analogue channel.

3. System clock doesn't update automatically, despite having an option within the menu to do this. (I found this out to my horror after returning from a holiday).

4. If you edit any programme you record, for example cut out the adverts, the only way you can transfer the programme to DVD is to allow the system to play the programme in full. (If you do not edit the programme you can use the fast transfer option.

My personal experience with this player has so far led me to returning the system to LG for repair twice, initially I had a problem where DVDs would skip or get stuck, following the first return this problem was not fixed and it later led to the system being unable to play DVDs at all, including the ability to copy from the hard drive to a DVD.

These issues aside, to date I haven't had a problem with the hard drive, and while the player is a little on the large side, it has become almost invaluable, but I suspect this is more to do with the convenience to record / time shift. If buying a DVD recorder I would suggest you avoid this model, no matter how low the price goes, but definitely consider a DVD recorder with a hard drive.