Couldn't agree more, LizzieL - its that flexibility that I'm hoping will locate quite a few missing marriages and baptisms for me in Berks and Bucks.
I agree that the CDs produced by Berks FHS are good ( and a darn sight more than most FHSs come up with) but there's nothing like seeing the originals especially to make sure you've got all information available, as Sloe Gin says. They've just updated their burial and baptism CDs but most of the new stuff is for more recent years and the parishes I'm interested in are not included.
I have bought individual parish CDs from them as well but they do seem to have slowed down in issuing them, presumably because of lack of volunteers. Unfortunately, I've enquired and most volunteer work needs to be done in situ.
As for Bucks FHS - no, Smudwisk, I agree - I think the only Bucks items on FindMyPast are marriage transcriptions and I'm pretty sure these were commercially available rather than supplied by the FHS. Bucks name searches are brilliant - and reasonably priced - and they've issued CDs for a few of the parishes in South Bucks where my branches mostly came from: Hambleden, Little Marlow, Eton. I snap these up as soon as they're issued but the production of these also seems to have slowed down somewhat. Volunteer shortages again, perhaps.
I'm not in any way having a go at the FHSs -both Berks and Bucks FHSs are great. I'm way up here in sunny but chilly Yorkshire, so little chance of getting to their respective Archives and, anyway, I've found from visiting my own local Archives that, however much you prepare before going, there's always something you forget, leave behind etc and have to go back again! I couldn't do that on a special journey to Berks or Bucks!!
No doubt we'll find out on the first Friday in May (assuming their 'once a month' follows a pattern) whether the next PRs to be released are originals or transcriptions, and I think that may establish the way of it.
Jill