Panasonic DMR-E75VS Progressive-Scan DVD Recorder/VCR Combo
Doing Okay So Far
Just got this unit hitched up on Sunday and it has performed well so far. On Monday I discovered I had five minutes to record a movie I wanted and was able to grab the manual, find the instructions, and start the DVD on time. Recorded on 2-hour speed and it looked great. Husband did a dub of an old aviation film on video (no Macrovision) and he said the process was very simple.<br /><br />I do agree about the manual--I think it was translated from another language by someone who needs a little more training on grammar and syntax. The instructions are there; it's just difficult to wade through them. Lots of abbreviations used that could be confusing. I couldn't figure out where the finalize instructions were, either, until husband pointed out the page. Some color coding might help!<br /><br />I am using Maxell disks I got on sale at Office Depot this week. They appear to work fine.<br /><br />Both DVD and VCR play look fabulous. We're using component video and the picture just pops out at you (television is a Panasonic as well).<br /><br />Update--October 2005<br />Crossing fingers; still okay. I have dubbed off the contents of at least 75 videotapes recorded at EP mode and am still going. Many of my tapes are very old (1980) and a few I have had to fiddle with the tracking, but it's not a problem. Signal from VCR to DVD is *very* sensitive--I have a couple of things that I recorded from PBS that had a flutter on them and the recorder interpreted that as Macrovision and quit recording. I solved that problem by playing the tape on an old VCR nearby and using the line feed for the input into the recorder. This has, however, only happened on two tapes out of 75 or more.