Panasonic DMR-EX75EB-S - DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Disk - Freeview Tuner - and HDMI With 1080i Upscaling

February 29, 2008 | By Doug In DVD Recorders |

Panasonic DMR-EX75EB-S - DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Disk - Freeview Tuner - and HDMI With 1080i Upscaling
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-SR150M/XEU Multi Format Freeview DVD Recorder
Multi Format Freeview DVD Recorder
Amazon Price: ?118.00
Used Price: ?101.99

Sony RDR-HX910S DVD Recorder with 250GB Hard Drive
Used Price: ?237.95
Customer Review: I bought two
I love these HDD/DVD recorders. With a huge hard disk, I just set the weeks recording on Saturday morning and then can forget it. The interface is not as intuitive as my previous Toshiba (you can’t combine recordings into one file or make copies onto the hard disk from the hard disk) so loses a star.
Customer Review: Whoever invented this wonderful machine is a genious!!
I purchased this machine as an upgrade to my DVD recorder. I wanted a hard drive with a lot of memory so I could record things when I am away from home. I am not dissapointed in any way with this! It’s so easy to use & u can record over 400hrs worth of progs!! The great function is ’synchro record’, which allows you to record with ease. This is great if you have Sky or Cable, because all you need to do is select all your progs in your tv guide to autoview and switch your box to standby-and the machine will do the rest! It records when your digibox activates a signal and there is no need to set your timer ever again! Easy!

Pioneer RCSLX60D 1080p Premium Home Cinema System with DVD/250GB Hard Disk Recorder
in Black
Customer Review: Good value, all rounder with some very minor snags
The Pioneer RCS LX60D is a good choice if you want an all-rounder which doesn’t necessarily excel in any particular area, but it won’t break the bank either. There’s loads of features which you can read on the pioneer website, but not many user reviews so I’m going to concentrate on stuff I’d like to have known when I bought it. The system is basically three components - the Pioneer DVRLX60D (can be purchased separately) and a multi channel receiver/subwoofer (SX-LX60D) and speaker system (SSP LX60D) which can’t be bought separately. Set up was a bit fiddly with the speaker system comprising 6 cube speakers (Front L, Front R, Centre x2, Rear L, Rear R) which can be positioned in traditional surround around the room or fastened together with the supplied brackets as front surround. Pioneer recommend the front surround, avoiding the need to hide wires and perch speakers around the living room, so that’s what I went for. There’s a few miles of speaker cabling to hide behind the unit, although you are provided a tiny little bit of spiral wrap to get you started on cable management… The subwoofer doubles as the digital audio receiver/processor and there’s a separate lcd display unit (it’s the thing sitting on the HD/DVD in the picture) which is connected to the subwoofer by a 1.5 m cable. I put mine under my Panasonic 32LXD700 and it goes nicely. Once the speakers are set up you can set the EQ, channel balance and optimum surround setting with Pioneers MCACC, and the supplied mic. This works really well in my living room, which is a rectangular shape (TV in the corner) and has patio doors/fire surround/curtains either side - in other words plenty of accoustic variables. The front surround is accurate and sounds excellent at low volume as well as high, with the specific Quiet & Midnight settings on the receiver which alter the balance. You can adjust all the settings manually if you need to. There’s a range of audio settings which you can try, but I have always come back to the auto feature which selects the best output depending on whether you are listening to music on the AM-FM radio, a cd or watching a film with DTS, Dolby digital/prologic ii. Connected with HDMI, the upscaled 1080p picture quality on my TV was spectacular, as expected. Not much more to say - it’s up there with the Sony RDRHXD970 and Panasonic DMR-EX87 both with 1080p up-conversion for standard DVDs, although the Panasonic might have been a better choice for the ease of use with Viera link, this system has a host of extras which I thought it worth spending another ?300 on, including the surround system and connectability. This system has 2 remotes - one for the receiver and another for the HDD/DVD (but both have a flip-down bit with some common controls for both). This was a bit annoying and another mark against the system. There’s an analogue and freeview DVB tuner, and a CA slot for paychannels. A dual dvb tuner would have been nice, but I haven’t seen any systems with this spec and 2 tuners. The Gem Guide EPG is good, easy to use, although it does not show the digital radio channels and takes a while to set up (downloading from the analogue tuner ITV channel). If you have a Sky box or external cable system, you can upload the channels to the EPG on the HDD/DVD recorder via a G-Link infra red link. You can then control the recording of your external devices connected to the DVD recorder. The on screen display is simple and easy to use, record programmes or edit from the menu. The blurb says you can save your whole CD collection on the 250GB hard drive - but only if you have 999 tracks. This is a bit disappointing, as the sound quality of the surround system when playing back MP3s (or WMAs only without DRM!!) and CDs is very good. I would have liked to upload a few more tracks onto the HDD - although I can connect my MP3 player either via the optical or analogue audio or there’s a USB link. You can also only see 999 tracks at a time from a PC or MP3 player (hard drive or flash). You CAN get a pre-converted Multiregion version of this system - it’s worth checking other websites . Finally, if you can get this system for under ?700, you are not going to be disappointed with the quality. This is easily the best sounding complete HD/DVD/Surround system I have tried and that more than makes up for the minor niggles mentioned above.