Panasonic DMR-E30K Progressive Scan DVD Recorder
Great replacement for a VHS VCR!!
I bought one of these for about $550 almost two years ago and I use it steadily, although markedly less now that I also have a TiVo. This unit works well, is easy to use, and, at least in my case, has never \\"screwed up\\" in any way. <br /> <br />The DVD-RAM discs that it uses for re-writable media are excellent if not well-accepted by the masses. The discs allow the recorder to record and play simulataneously which is amazing and very useful. DVD-RAM discs also allow you to erase specific recordings or even parts of recordings (like commercials) without having to erase the entire disc. That erased footage is then available as free space on the disc. <br /> <br />It can also use DVD-R discs which are inexpensive and are compatible in just about all DVD players but are not erasable. <br /> <br />The recordings are good, especially in XP mode where you can get just 60 minutes on a DVD. SP is 2 hours on a disc and is acceptable but go any lower than that (LP for 4 hours or EP for 6 hours) and the quality starts to suck pretty bad. It's fine for TV shows, though, and the sound is not affected by the slower recording speeds. <br /> <br />The only two things I do NOT like about this model is 1) that it has no DV input so recording from a digital video camera is not quite as crisp as it would otherwise be and 2) that it automatically generates a god-awful-ugly startup menu on all DVD-R recordings you finalize for playback in other players. It's really nasty looking and it takes a long time to peck at the remote control to enter titles for your recordings. I guess there is a third thing. You can't add arbitrary chapter breaks in the DVD-R recordings; it automatically creates a chapter break every 5 minutes which is pretty annoying when you'd rather create chapter breaks in logical places on your dubbed home videos, for example. <br /> <br />Overall good recorder and I give it three stars. I like Panasonic equipment but this particular model could have used a little polishing.Buy it if you see it for $300 but don't pay more than that. 4-14-2005