Panasonic DMR-ES20K DVD Recorder
Not Ready for Prime Time
Great color and contrast, many conveniences at this price (and many missing), nice black and white levels when dubbing old VHS tapes. But...dot crawl, mosquito noise, edge artifacts, macroblocks -- a whole catalog of typical digital defects, even at XP and SP speeds. The digital noise on LP and EP is horrific, and noise reduction on playback gives some of the strangest and most irritating effects I've ever seen (such as facial features disappearing into shapeless blurs every time an actor turns his head). DVD has a long way to go to beat high-end VCR's, even when you take VHS tape noise into account. The DVD standard will change soon anyway, so save your $$$ and find a refurbished high-end VCR for now. The ES20 weighs slightly less than a desktop paperweight, so don't expect durabilty. OK if your input image is pristine, but the DIGA processor can't handle any kind of input irregularities, so dubbing your old Law&Order tapes recorded at EP is out of the question. Also has a noisy input section, made worse by dim floating gray RF bars from the unit's onboard fan noise, as well as blacks that are often too inky and a tendency for color casts (usually red) in recordings. No image size adjustments on playback, and most player-only units have better output anyway. If you thought VHS tape was noisy, wait until you see the weird artifacts this unit records onto your DVDs.