Philips HDT8520

259 reviews

Jun, 2025

Positive
usability (122)
design (35)
price (27)
size (19)

Negative
reliability (47)

General overview
Price comparison

alaTest has collected and analyzed 259 reviews of Philips HDT8520. The average rating for this product is 3.2/5, compared to an average rating of 4.0/5 for other products in the same category for all reviews. Comments about the size and price are on the whole positive. The design and usability also get good opinions, but many are critical about the reliability.

usability, design, price, size

reliability

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other products in the same category the Philips HDT8520 is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 84/100 = Very good quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 259 reviews)

Expert Reviews

User Reviews

Review Ratings

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Features

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Showing 1 - 137 of 259 Show Reviews: in English

Consumer review (amazon.co.uk)

Amazon.co.uk review summary for Philips HDT8520

alaTest has collected and analyzed 127 user reviews of Philips HDT8520 from Amazon.co.uk. The average user rating for this product is 2.8/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.0/5 for other products in the same category on Amazon.co.uk. Reviewers are impressed by the price. The design is also mentioned favorably. The size and reliability get negative comments.

usability, design, price

reliability, size

53% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

Jun, 2025

Expert review by : What Hi-Fi? (whathifi.com)

Philips HDT8520 review

Well kitted out, the Philips HDT8520 is a excellent Freeview HD+ box

Great styling and display ; detailed, vibrant HD and SD pictures ; solid sound ; 500GB HDD

EPG could have more features ; the Digital Stream DHR8205U has an even better picture

Stylish and feature-laden, the Philips is an excellent Freeview HD+ box

Aug, 2010

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Expert review by : Jason Denwood (pocket-lint.com)

Philips HDT8520

The age of the personal video recorder (PVR) dawned long ago, but the folk over at Freeview are only just catching-up. Freeview+ recorders - initially called Freeview Playback - have been around a while, but haven't sold too well. And certainly not as...

Picture quality, speedy interface

LED lighting, no Top-Up TV, no online features

Quick, functional and sporting good quality SD and HD pictures, Philips HDT8520’s benefits hugely from a new software update to become a good value Freeview HD recorder. There’s few bells and whistles - missing features include Top-Up TV, media...

Sep, 2010

Partner Source

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Expert review by : paul_smart (gadgetspeak.com)

Philips HDT8520 Dual HD TV Recorder

This Pace unit (badged Philips) was the first HD unit I saw in a presentation in the spring, here now the production unit. If you need HD recording then this 500GB digital unit may just tick all the boxes on your wish list.

A nice unit with good sound and picture quality even in standard definition in HD it is truly excellent, it is virtually silent in use

Dec, 2010

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Expert review by : Geoff Rabans (reviewexplorer.com)

Philips HDT 8520 Freeview HD Recorder

The Philips HDT 8520 was the first Freeview HD Recorder to be released in the UK, but at the time there was a general feeling that it had been a little rushed onto the market in the Spring, to capitalise on the World Cup during the summer.

Nov, 2010

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Expert review by (allaboutyou.com)

Review of Philips HDT8520 PVR

Good points: Smart set top box manages to keep its energy consumption low, despite the bright blue LED strip. It also has a simple on screen menu system and a great remote control that allows one touch and series recording. The big 500GB capacity means...

Smart set top box manages to keep its energy consumption low, despite the bright blue LED strip. It also has a simple on screen menu system and a great remote control that allows one touch and series recording. The big 500GB capacity means you can...

Slight lag when channel surfing

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Consumer review (reevoo.com)

Philips HDT8520

keeps freezing

Nov, 2011

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Consumer review (reevoo.com)

Philips HDT8520

picture quality very good easy use timer

no picture in picture when looking at the tv guide

Nov, 2011

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Consumer review (reevoo.com)

Philips HDT8520

Lots of storage, easy to use, great design

Series link records +1 and subsequent repeats

Nov, 2011

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Consumer review (reevoo.com)

Philips HDT8520

Straightforward setup, Indication when powering up and down. Easy to patch to current release level 7.21. -...

EPG cuts off current channel (No Picture in Picture or sound) until cleared when it returns unless altered.

Nov, 2011

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Consumer review (reevoo.com)

Philips HDT8520

it looks good

if all you want is the equivalent of a video recorder then this is for you. If however you want something more like Sky + then avoid. Bite the bullet and get yourself a Humax.

Nov, 2011

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