Panasonic DMRE85HS Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder with 120 GB Hard Drive Recording
Great potential but flawed by TV listings
Although purchased elsewhere, here are my notes on the device so people can decide if it's for them. My observations should also apply to similar Panasonic Hard Disk Drive DVD Recording units. <br /> <br />GOOD <br />* Programs can be recorded to hard drive at best quality for MANY times longer than allowed by a tape-based VCR. Although promoted as being able to record for 213 hours (in EP mode), 26hr. (XP) and 52hr. (SP) modes have the most acceptable quality. Anything with lots of detail or motion recorded below SP mode has noticeable distortion (blurry, blocky images.) <br />* Material can be edited out of a recording (shorten) and recordings can be split into separate segments. <br />* Programs recorded to hard drive can be edited and transfered to DVD while maintaining original quality (using high speed mode dubbing and using 4X DVD-R media) <br />* TV guide listings are free (but come with a BIG tradeoff, see BAD below.) When it does work, however, selecting a program to record from the listing is very easy. <br />* TV listings can be sorted by type, alphabetically, genre, etc. and then chosen for recording. <br />* A program can be watched from the beginning while it is still being recorded (time slip), or watch previously recorded programs while the unit is recording. <br />* Some customization is offered in making DVD-Rs: set index points, chapters, image thumbnails, several standard menu looks (the latter is chosen when \\"finishing\\" a disc.) <br />* The unit can record to rewritable discs, DVR-RAM media, although they can be hard to find. <br /> <br />Summation: the unit has long recording times, good editing features, and the ability to transfer to DVD-R or DVD-RAM without losing quality. <br /> <br /> <br />BAD <br />* The TV guide listings are free, but implemented so it is uncertain the listings will actually feed in. Put another way, actual use of the product prevents the TV listings feature from working. Here is why: The listing is taken from the broadcast signal twice a day at unknown times (depending on your zipcode, the actual station and its feed-in time varies greatly.) The unit must be OFF and NOT RECORDING during those times. If it is, then \\"No Listing\\" will appear in the schedule for days until the programming info is collected. Using the unit makes it questionable if the listings will feed in (and again, the feed in times are unknown.) <br />* The TV listings information is only as accurate as the listings service (the service used is from Gemstar/TV Guide.) The unit can't follow programs which change their time or have incorrectly listed times. You will sometimes need to visit a TV station's website for the most up to date program schedule, then set a manual recording so you won't miss it. <br />* It's not obvious how to back out of certain situations, like totally canceling out of the direct navigator or disc setting (try the TV Guide button there.) <br />* Some tasks, like manually recording or modifying programming info for a scheduled recording, have lots of steps and use arbitrarily chosen buttons. As an example of the latter, the functions for buttons named \\"blue\\" and \\"green\\" are not self explanatory! <br />* The manual is detailed but not put together well. You must thoroughly read it several times to understand how to do things: again, lots of steps, arbitrarily chosen and named buttons. <br /> <br />Summation: Be prepared for the TV listings not to work at times, manually set program recordings at times, and read the manual many times (keep it handy for a month or so at the beginning.) <br /> <br /> <br />NOTES <br />* DVD-R discs must be \\"finished\\" before they can work in other players. <br />* It takes about 15 minutes to transfer an hour of material from the hard drive to DVD-R (using high speed mode dubbing and 4X DVD-R media) <br />* To use high speed mode dubbing, enable that option before recording anything. <br />* When making DVD-R discs, only titles (not chapters) will have thumbnails in the main menu. <br />* A DVD-RAM disc acts like a smaller, removable version of the built-in hard disk drive. <br />* Manual recordings can only be named after they have finished recording, not beforehand when setting a manual recording. <br /> <br /> <br />CLOSING THOUGHTS <br />Only buy this unit if you are prepared for the TV listings not working at times, accept that manual recordings will have to be made, and double-check a TV station's Website to be sure the listing information is correct. <br /> <br />If you are not OK with this, hold off purchasing this model (and similar ones) to buy future models which CAN load TV listings when the unit is on or currently recording.