Philips DAT850

No - this is not a hoax or a fake : this really is a Philips D.A.T. recorder !

Just like several years later with Philips' D-VHS deck playing against its own upcoming DVD recorders, Philips produced a DAT recorder playing against its own (upcoming) DCC format. The arcanes of marketing are dark and unsettled.

Well, Philips did not produce a DAT recorder, really : Philips rebadged somebody else's DAT recorder, namely the JVC XDZ-505.
Philips added ferrite rings, slightly cleaning the internal wiring along the way and, according to the german Stereoplay magazine, thus made the DAT850 sound better and cleaner than the original.
SCMS was naturally kept - DRMs aren't such novelties if, then as well, rather redundant with the various taxes pressed upon blank media and such things.

The original DAT850 was a JVC/Victor, the original Philips D-VHS recorder was a JVC/Victor - the arcanes of marketing can be constant, albeit fairly unsettling. Whatever, needless to say, the DAT850 is an x-rare unit.

Marantz also had a contemporary version of the DAT850 under the DT-80 name - seemingly identical, with only minor design differences. That one is just as rare... as the original rebadge of the original :)

These two images come from a may 1991 Stereoplay review ; MSRP for the DAT850 was 1699DM.