[hopenhower]

I was just in the same boat. I ended up getting the LG LDA-511. It was either that or the Philips. I did a lot of research and both sounded like they would play anything. It wasn't until I got in the store that I decided on the LG. It was more expensive ($140) but it said right on the box that it played XVID, DIVX, etc. Yes, you can burn them to DVD. Can fit several movies on one disc. The best thing about it is no more spending hours transcoding downloaded movies. Worth every penny. I would make sure that the Philips can do the same before I would get it if I were you.