But we can't fault the deck's MPEG encoding prowess, given that pictures recorded in HQ are identical to the live broadcast. The powerful colours and fine detail are perfectly preserved, making for very striking recordings with the right material (bright studio-shot programmes look best).

There's more of the same when using SP, which doesn't look too dissimilar to HQ - the differences are virtually impossible to spot.

If you're recording a movie that just dips over the two-hour mark then you don't have to select LP and waste disc space - the 2.5-hour mode SPP mode bridges the gap nicely. It does suffer from slightly more block noise and break-up during fast movement than SP, but not enough to make you think twice about using it.

When you reach LP, the pictures suffer from even more block noise and lack the crispness enjoyed in HQ or SP. For day-to-day viewing the results are fine (and tolerable for the three-hour recording time).

On the whole, the quality of pre-recorded DVDs playback is above average. Viewing movies on a large screen over 42in reveals a touch more noise than we'd expect, but it's within acceptable limits. That aside, colours are vibrant and realistic and the slick upscaling keeps all of the detail intact.

Sound

There are no qualms with the quality of the stereo Dolby Digital encoding for TV recordings, as they sound clear and free from distortion. Likewise, movie soundtracks played on a good home cinema system, and even CD playback through the analogue outputs has a bright, breezy quality that makes it consistently enjoyable.

Value

We'd have to admit that the £200 asking price on Philips' own website is too pricey for a standalone deck, considering that you can find DVD/HDD combis with loads more features for under that price online.

But if you absolutely, positively don't need a hard disk and can find the DVDR5500 at a discounted price then it's worth snapping up, as the built-in Freeview tuner, USB port, video upscaling and support for DVD+R DL make it a pretty good all-rounder.