DMR-E20 K & S
Written: Mar 26 '02
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Pros: Ease of editingDVD-R play on other players.Record quality.Timeslip,Stereo to PCMdigi.for play on a DigiitalDolbyreceiver.
Cons: RAM comp.Cost of blank discs.Avali.of RAMdiscs.Time it takes to read discs.Finalizing time.Lack of digitalHookups.
The Bottom Line: Good unit , does what I use it for better than any other unit out there at the present time .
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| gt-master's Full Review: Panasonic DMR-E20 DVD Recorder |
The Panasonic DMR-E20 has many features . One touch recording . This is like the "Quick Timer" function that Sony users are familiar with . A Time Base Corrector & the 3D Y/C separation , help in recording analog signals . And since there are no digital inputs and the tuner is analog they are always working . The recoreded video is quite good , even things recorded on VHS EP mode come out looking very nice . Some say better than the original . It does help if you compress the signal before recording . On many vcr's they offer menu settings for playback & editing , ( on Sony VCR's there is a switch marked "EDIT" ) . On some units there is a sharpness control , cut it all the way back and you will get a similar effect . Playback picture controls are many and also include digital features ( brightness,color,contrast,gamma ), ( 3D noise reduction,block noise reduction,mosquito noise reduction ) . All of these features help playback of your recordings as well as prerecorded programs . Record mode XP (excellent picture) /SP (Very good picture) /LP ( Equal to S-VHS ) /EP ( Just better than VHS ) and FR ( which allows you increase the length of the recordings without loss of picture quality ) . FR ( best picture for longer recordings ) relies on Mpeg 2 Encoding with Hybrid VBR ( Variable Bit Rate ) Technoligy . A word of caution , some older DVD players cannot playback recordings longer than 133 minutes . Also if there is a lot of action , the playability playback recording time will be shorter . This is also true of some prerecorded media . The unit records in 2 channel Digital Dolby , which makes TV sound better through a Digital Dolby receiver . A real plus is that it turn "MTS" stereo into a PCM digital data for a more accurate playback . The unit will playback DVD-Video , DVD-R , DVD-RAM , Video CD , CDDA , CD-R , and CD-RW . Some Video CD's will not play . As I stated there are no digital inputs , but there is an Opital out for hookup to your Digital Dolby receiver . "TimeSlip" is a nice feature borrowed from Tivo and other chip recorders . It works well . "CM Skip" CommercialSkip is a function that the chip recorders don't have . Moves foward in one minute intervals . "VSS" is a sound enhancement feature that works on your recordings and prerecorded media . "RAM" random access memory , which means no wasted rercording space . Also means that you can edit out commercials and gain recording time . It is very simple , you access the recording menue and cut out the parts that you don't want and gain avalible recording time . When you've finished you'll have seamless playback for recording to another format . This is why I purchased the unit . Now for the drawbacks and there are some big ones . There are only a few unit that will playback the DVD-RAM recordings , and they are all Panasonic . I own two these recorders , and not because I think they look nice !! The reason that I got them was to edit and record to DVD-R . The DVD-RW , DVD+RW , & this units DVD-R will playback on other DVD players , but the copyguard on those players doesn't distinguish between my recordings and prerecorded copyguarded media . So playback for editing is impossible in those formats without the investment in two recorders . And even in those other recorders (Panasonic included) , the units read finalized DVD-R recordings as copyprotected media (Not allowing you to record from your own recordings)??!! At the present time Panasonic's DVD-RAM is the only option avalible . Nothing I read told me this , and I researched this for weeks before I made my purchased . I got lucky and found this out before I purchased the recorder . Since the only choices that I had were buy two of the DVD-RAM recorders for $750 each or a player for $500 . So I thought it was better to add the $250 and get another DMR-E20S player/recorder . I like the editing features of DVD-RAM much more than Pioneer's DVR-7000 DVD-RW , not to mention the problems that described with the other formats . Campatibility with cheap DVD-R discs is not discussed in the manual or are the manufacturers of the discs any help . Panasonic was not much help either . Trial and error , that is the only advise I got from anyone . The Comp USA DVD-R's work , but out of 25 discs , two wouldn't work . So keep your receipt . I found that when I get home I open them all and see if the unit can read them . That way you don't get a surprise months latter when you have something to record and the discs doesn't work ! The unit is not hard to work and the manual is well written . But until they get the copyguard issues solved , the DVD-RAM recorder is the only option for me .
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 739
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Epinions.com ID:
gt-master
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 1 member
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