Panasonic DMR-E500HS DIGA DVD Recorder with 400 GB Hard Drive and Ethernet Port
DMR-E500 GETTING A BAD RAP
I purchase one of these units when it first came on the market.  It worked great so later on I purchased a second unit, that when the problems started. <br /> <br />For no reason I started getting the dreaded U99 error on the first unit I bought and then on the second unit a few days later.  I noticed that I could reset either unit in the moring and when I came home, I would have a U99 again.  I called Panasonic customer service - no help, tried to do the Panasonic flash upgrade - no help.  I did quite a bit of research on the net and found that many people were having the same problem but some had been able to tie the problem together with the TV Guide feature.  I noticed that when I had the U99 error, I lost all of the guide info. <br /> <br />I had just about come to the conclusion that I was going to have to live with two bad decisions when VIOLA - the problems on BOTH UNITS WHEN AWAY AND BOTH ARE NOW WORKING GREAT!!. <br /> <br />Based on what I have seen, I feel that all of the problems were related to the programming of the TV guide information which is automatically sent over the cable. <br /> <br />The units work great but to get full utilization, YOU MUST READ THE MANUAL.  These units are a bit complicated but considering what they will do, its not a problem.