Panasonic DMR-EX87 - 250gb Hard Drive DVD Recorder - With 1080P Up-Conversion & Freeview - Black

October 27, 2007 | By Doug In DVD Recorders |

Panasonic DMR-EX87 - 250gb Hard Drive DVD Recorder - With 1080P Up-Conversion & Freeview - Black
With 1080p technology. By combining intelligent i/p Conversion and 1080p Up-Conversion technologies, DIGA’s 1080p technology renders high-resolution 1080p images from DVD movies and TV broadcasts. Also they are equipped with a new digital tuner that achieves stable signal reception even under poor signal conditions, such as when signals are reflected by surrounding buildings.

Customer Review: Average Product / Check Out In Store First…
I guess I made the mistake of trusting in the review comments both on Amazon and other web sites without actually making the effort to check the product out more carefully in store against other brands.

Having had a high end Sony SACD/DVD player previously perhaps my expectations of the Panasonic were too high? The build quality feels flimsy, each time the DVD drawer opens it sounds and feels as though it will be the last, placing a CD in the drawer needs to be done with kid gloves to avoid feeling as though it will drop off!

The functionality of the player is acceptable, nothing startling nor innovative, in fact compared to a friends earlier Sony model, for some reason seems to lack a sense of progression in it’s intuitive nature.

The manual seems to over complicate the functionality of the unit and it seems difficult to pinpoint a specific instruction to complete certain basic functions, they’re obviously in the manual but it’s not straight forward (unless I’m ageing and losing my technical ability!!)

Perhaps if I had taken time to compare the unit with others I may feel more comfortable in my purchase, my father in law is looking for a new unit to replace his Sony, sadly I can’t say I’ve suggested he rushes out and buys one of these.

I guess it probably does what it says on the box but asside of that it doesn’t delight, merely serves a purpose (in my opinion…)

Consider your purchase carefully on YOUR own research and findings not solely as I did, purely on the advice of others…

Customer Review: Almost perfect…
A ‘What Video’ Best Buy, this is an excellent DVD/HDD recorder that’s very simple to use. It has an inbuilt Freeview tuner that works well, and the 1080p upscaling is effective.

I’ve experienced none of the problems associated with cheaper HDD players, like dodgy lip-sync or image lock. With its huge memory capacity, this player virtually eliminates the need to record on disc at all, though it’s capable of recording, and playing back, just about all formats.

My one quibble is it doesn’t come with multiregion capability, though it is available pre-chipped elsewhere if you shop around.

Overall, an excellent player, which makes a perfect partner for Panasonic’s LXD700 TV.

Samsung DVD-SR150M/XEU Multi Format Freeview HDMI DVD Recorder
Multi Format Freeview HDMI DVD Recorder

Ellion DVR-950S Slimline Dual Format Multi-region Capable DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Drive, MPEG4 Playback
Customer Review: You Get What You Pay For
Initially this was a good buy. Yes the blue light was annoying, but it worked, was easy to record to HDD and then from HDD to DVD. However I started getting problems with the sound, it took a while to come on when it booted up. Then after 10 months it has now failed completely. Also the remote control burnt out and I couldnt find a replacement for it. Basically it served me well for a number of months, but I wouldn’t say it is A1. I bought a Daewoo dvd player a few years ago from Amazon and that was fine. Therefore I have just ditched this and ordered a Daewoo DHR 8100P and so far so good. I believe the fan is fairly noisy, but when you have the TV on you dont notice it. If you put it in standby mode then you dont hear it either. Therefore for an extra ?60 I would recommend the Daewoo.
Customer Review: Spend more if you can
I had to return my unit as it caused considerable interference on my TV screen. I also found the picture quality to be poor and the remote control very awkward to use, even with the few features the unit has. You get what you pay for and I would recommend you spend an extra 100 quid and go for something like the Panasonic 75 like I did.