Panasonic DMR-ES30VS DVD Recorder/VCR Combo
Some incomprehensible product design decisions
I've tried three DVD recorder/VCR combo machines.  The JVC DR-MV5S has great recording quality but poor user interface.  The Insignia (Best Buy store brand) has user interface so beautiful it brought a tear to my eyes to have to return it due to its unacceptable recording quality.    The Panasonic seems to combine the worst of both worlds.  The on-screen options and menus seem to have been organized by the world's worst secretary.  For example, you are repeatedly warned that in order to make a burned DVD playable on other machines, you must \\"Finalize\\" the disc.  Wouldn't you think the \\"Finalize\\" option would be somewhere on the recording or editing menu?  No.  It's under FUNCTION -> OTHER FUNCTIONS -> DISC MANAGEMENT.    I would put up with such nonsense (and there's lots more like it) if the recording quality made up for it.  This machine records fairly well at the 2-hour per disc SP mode.  At the 4-hour LP mode, however, there is seriously noticeable blocking, kind of like watching streaming videos over a slow net connection.  So here's something truly boneheaded:  Panasonic offers a flexible recording mode (like the JVC), which would allow you to use the best recording rate if you have, say, a 2-1/2 hour tape to fit onto a DVD, without forcing you to jump to the 4-hour mode.  But guess what?  You CANNOT use flexible recording mode to dub tapes to DVD's!!!  You also apparently cannot use flexible recording mode to timer record broadcast shows.  It can only be used if you are manually and immediately starting an recording.  I hope somebody gets fired for that decision!  I must also laugh at the hapless customer support lines.  I gave up expecting a consumer electronics expert on the line, but I thought I would at least get somebody who fields calls specific about this model and maybe has gone through the manual a few times.  Nope, he's reading the manual on the line in real time, same as I am.