We purchased this unit in July, 2006 at PC Richard in NJ. Their advertised price was $299.99. They matched our web price (from another store) of $278.

While we were there we purchased some DVD-Rs and some DVD/RWs. DVD-Rs are write once/watch many times. DVD/RWs are write/rewrite. We got help from the salesman since this was new technology to us.

Why We Bought this Unit

Our old VCR started 'eating' our VHS tapes, so we decided it was time for something new. Knowing that VHS tapes were becoming somewhat obsolete, we knew we needed the ability to play DVDs. We tend to record favorite TV shows on tape, watch once, and then write over them, so we still wanted the VCR capability. And finally, we thought it would be nice to be able to record DVDs.

We narrowed the search down to a Sony unit and this Panasonic unit. The Panasonic unit had a few added features for the same price, so that's what we picked.

Using the Unit

One thing that I have to say up front is that this unit is not for the faint hearted. On the plus side, it has a lot of features. On the negative side, it's not a simple machine at all.

There is a 78 page manual (in English) that is very complete. Installation instructions are repeated in French at the back.

There is also a Set up guide that is separate from the manual. I was very glad to see this because the large manual is intimidating. This guide contains step by step instructions on connecting the unit and setting it up. It includes sections on how to copy VHS tapes to DVD, what kinds of disks to use for recording, and how to use the finalize feature which is needed to play the disks on other machines. It also contains color pictures, an 800 number and a web site address for help.

Overall the connecting and setting up of the unit took about a half hour. For someone who has never connected a VCR, it would probably take longer since, as I mentioned, the process is a bit intimidating.

Once we got everything together, we tested it out by first watching a tape. There was nothing different here from any other VCR. We then tried recording a tape. The only thing that I found to be a little confusing is the fact that there is a 'Drive Select' button on the remote. You turn the unit on and it also has to be set to either the VCR or the DVD. Not impossible but it is different.

After we got used to the new VCR, we tried recording to DVD. We used the DVD-RWs because we want to be able to reuse the disks. The process is somewhat the same as taping to VHS, but when you load the disk to watch, you get an onscreen mini video of each program. When you are done with the programs that you have recorded, you have to erase the disk.

The unit comes with a special disk that you use when you want to start watching before recording is complete. This is a wonderful feature. For example, we've recorded football games when we could not be at home to see the beginning. When we're ready we start watching and skip commercials. When we catch up, the recorder stops and we start watching the actual game.

Update to my original review (Jan 8, 2007)- COPYING VHS to DVD
I've been copying our old movies from VHS to DVD. Once I got started, I realized it wasn't hard. It is time consuming. To get started, you need to know what you want your copy speed to be. There is SP which takes up an entire DVD and EP which uses only as much time as you need. Each DVD has 6 hours of recording space when using EP. We tested the copy on a DVD-RW and found that quality is fine with EP, so that's what I'm using.

If you want to copy the entire tape, there is a one button copy feature. I have not used this since I want to be able to pick what I want to watch. If you have a full tape of various events and you use the one button copy, you will only have one 'movie' on the DVD. But if you want it broken up into various events, you need to figure out the beginning of your event and the exact amount of time you want to copy.

Once you know the speed and the start position and the amount of time, you use on screen menus to set up the copy. It takes some practice and then it does seem intuitive.

But again, if you are copying a 2 hour segment, it will take 2 hours. During this time you cannot view a tape or DVD and you can't watch tv through your unit. So pick a time when the unit won't be needed.

After copying to a DVD-R disk, you finalize the DVD. Doing this allows you to play the disk on other machines.

The only problem I've had during all this copying is that a few of my DVDs became corrupted. I'm not sure what I did, but I'm willing to agree that I may have caused the problem. And I'd say that the DVD unit is very sensitive which is not something that I ever had to deal with when using tapes.

You can also copy a DVD to a VHS. We have not tried this feature.

I have not tried to insert an SD card which lets you play digital photos and copy them to DVD RAM. No computer is needed to do this.

There is also a connector for a DV camcorder.

The Remote Control

The features of Record and Play are handled with the unit's remote control. Since the remote handles both sets of VHS and DVD functions, there are a lot of buttons. It does take some getting used to to be able to easily do what you want to do. It takes some practice and it makes sense to make some trial tapes and disks rather than waiting till there is something important to record.

So far the only thing I really dislike about the remote is the fast forward button on the VCR. You can fast forward a small amount by holding down the button. You can also fast forward very fast by tapping the button. I've tapped the button in error many times and ended up having to back up to the place I really want to be.

Quality

We've found the unit to play well and it's very quiet (as opposed to the old VCR). Quality is good on both the tapes and disks.

Update to original review (Jan 8, 2007) - We're having a problem with the DVD drive. It seems to not be able to format a disk. We'll be calling Panasonic to determine what to do. Panasonic has an 800 number for tech support and they try very hard to help.

Update (Jan 20 and 25) - Panasonic sent us a disk to update the firmware which may have become corrupted. This has not solved the problem which is that we can't format a disk. This is needed to use or re-use a DVD-RW. After several more calls to the tech support folks, we've got the unit to the point that it is again able to format a DVD-RW. Now it seems that the only remaining problem is that the DVD-RAM disk may be corrupted. They are mailing us a new one and we'll see if it works which will mean that the unit is now fixed.

Update (Feb 10) - Panasonic sent us a box of DVD-RAM disks! Finally, all is well with the unit. During the time that there was some corruption somewhere within the unit, the original DVD-RAM disk became corrupted. Once this happens, the disk can't be used. We have no idea what caused the corruption. But the tech support people are knowledgeable and helpful. We needed to call quite a few times to get to the point that the machine is fixed but it was worth it to avoid mailing it back for repair.

At this point, I'll make a general statement that the DVD writer is very sensitive. Maybe the entire unit is sensitive. This isn't great but I'd guess that it's the nature of the process rather than a problem with Panasonic.

Feature List Summary

Record and play VHS tapes.
Record DVD and DVD/R.
Record to RAM to watch before completion of recording.
Connect video camera to watch on the TV.
Edit still pictures to create an album.
Copy VHS tape to DVD.
Copy DVD to VHS.

Conclusion

We like this unit's quality and its features and we feel it's definitely worth the cost.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): $278