Panasonic DMR-ES30VEBS Multi-format DVD RAM Recorder/VCR Combi

February 4, 2008 | By Doug In DVD Recorders |

Panasonic DMR-ES30VEBS Multi-format DVD RAM Recorder/VCR Combi
Customer Review: If these come back in stock then don’t hesitate, just buy one.
These machines are awesome, I got DVDs mine as a refurb and they gave me a 12 month warantee!!! Not a scratch on it, just like new. The that this thing churns out play great, no jumps when you play it back on my computer like with my dads lite on recorder. I’ve still kept my Aldi divx player for now to play my downloads and to hook up to my surround as it has a built in 5.1 decoder (not the panasonic) Anyway, I’ve used this machine to sucssesfully transfer some of my old VHS tapes to as they were gathering dust on the shelf and I want to move into 2007 with them, don’t like VHS any more I want everything on DVD, much more compact and better looking. A word on this recorder, it’s almost multiformat as in it records on DVD-R DVD-RW DVD-Ram and oddly enough DVD+R but not DVD+RW??? Maybee panasonic will bring out a firmware upgrade for this baby so that it will do DVD+RW. I don’t really care for now though, it’s a great machine. I know that it has standard analogue tuners (2 tuners, what a great idea, you can record BBC1 on VHS and ITV on DVD! At the same time!) and Analogue is getting phased out soon but you have 2 scart sockets at the back, whats to stop you from pluging 2 digiboxes into it? At just over ?0.00 each from Asda you can’t go wrong!!! The timeslip function is brilliant. You can record tv onto DVD-RAM (I think timeslip works with other formats too but have not tested it properly yet) press pause, go make a brew and continue on from where you left off, you could even fast forward the adverts if the machine has been paused for a while, have your brew when you want it, not when Channel 4 decide!!! Quality on the VHS is excelent, much better than my old Akai machine (had 4 heads) this machine has 6 heads making for better quality. I was going to buy one of Asdas DVD/VHS combo’s but when I realised it only had a mono VHS I turned round and walked away, it was ?0.00 cheaper but when your spending this kind of money you want it to be more future proof than that. Chances are everything will come down when Blu-ray and HDDVD starts selling big style but I will still have this machine as long as there still selling DVD-/+R’s Besides at 100,000 overwrites my 5 DVD-RAM disks will last me a lifetime!!!

Customer Review: Simpler than it looks
I have been very impressed with this Panasonic Video and DVD recorder as it does what it says on the tin! Copying from DVD to Video tape, video tape to DVD, from TV to DVD from TV to Video and also from TV to both DVD and Video at the same time recording different channels!! What more can you ask I hear you cry? Having considered the cheaper Daewoo unit, but having looked at the feedback comments, I chose the Panasonic and have been totally impressed with this slightly more expensive unit. The manual is a bit mind blowing at first, but once I settled down to it and practised a little it all became very simple and logical, so don’t be too put off by the manual. A brilliant machine and a welcome addition under the TV as I can now get rid of my DVD player, Video recorder and DVD recorder and replace it with one neat attractive unit which does the lot! Now where is that ebay button?

3 YEAR EXTENDED WARRANTY - DVD RECORDER ?500-?1000

Panasonic DMR-EX75EB-S - DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Disk - Freeview Tuner - and HDMI With 1080i Upscaling
Used Price: ?207.00
Customer Review: Over-rated and very annoying to use
This is my 5th dvd player having previously used 2 Pioneer DVD-Rs, a Mitsubishi Black Diamond and a Chinese generic brand. All the ratings and mags rave about Panasonics, but this machine has been disappointing. I use this side-by-side with a Pioneer DVD-R and am consistently unimpressedd. The upscaled picture is not what I expected - I run DVDs through my old Pioneer using component cables and it is better than the Panasonic though the HDMI. The on-screen menus are horrible - very hard to follow and not intuitive at all. It takes forever to do anything like editing a recording, or trying to record from HDD to DVD. The Pioneer is much clearer and easier to use - a real delight of sensible design. The controller is also awful - very clunky and stiff. Buttons often do not respond until they have been depressed firmly for the 10th time. It takes ages to do anything using the controller as it is so poor. It is also very badly set out and requires constant reference to the guide book to know what to do. It is also unattractive to look at, though this is a minor point, but is consistent with the poor design throughout.
Customer Review: Remember playback
I love many features on this recorder the hard drive is brill, I have a few problems though but a no one has mentioned them so am not sure if it is just me not able to find them. This machine always starts a DVD from the beginning it does not remember where I was up to some machines remember the last 20 DVDs that were played so when you put them in it starts where you left off and gives you the option to go to the start if you wanted to. I can’t find how to turn on the VPS/PDC, I find the manual not very good not as good as the recorder.

SAMSUNG - DVD-HR735 DVD Player/Recorder 160 GB HDMI
Customer Review: do not buy this rubbish!
I bought one, its overcomplicated, the sound does’nt synch with my (samsung) TV, it switches itself off randomly. IT soon stopped working with dvd-rws…I had it repaired, now it won’t record on any disc…the guarantee has now run out. Wish I had asked for my money back. Samsung are not the best customer service, similar problems with my fridge….once bitten….darn it!