Since this is my only experience with a DVD Recorder, can't compare it to another unit. But thus far it works great in doing what I wanted it to do....storing movies on DVD format.

As mentioned in previous reviews, a little pricey, but shop and you can beat the prices at some of the more expensive stores.

Even though I have only had the DMR-20 for a short period of time, so far so good! I have it set up coming from a TiVo unit, and at first I had trouble getting the DMR to recognize anything I had stored on TiVo. This was particularly bad as my main purpose was to be able to record those shows I watched on TiVo and wanted to keep permanently. However, after making a call to Panasonic (after countless hours staring at my cable connections from cable boxes, TiVo, DMR, and the TV) I got great support and they determined I had not properly selected the "line in" button on the remote. A little frustrating, but it now works. I recorded my first movie, and after finalizing it, I tried it on another DVD player and it worked great! Very nice picture! Anyway, for anyone looking for a way to record and keep their favorite shows and movies (great for pay-per-view), I would highly recommend this unit. So far it has worked as reported and seems relatively simple to use (except for that darn "input line" button!). Oh....Alan in the previous review gave a great link to a store you can buy the DVDs from. Already bought some and they were very prompt in delivery. I followed Alan's recommendation and bought the Sony DVD-R. Remember, DVD-R is for permanent storage while the DVD-RAM is for read/write capabilities (not much need for this if you have TiVo).

easy to use

none

Works great. Bought it at GoBuys.com for only $648.95. Great recording quality.

Similar Products Used:

Sony

picture and sound. Many picture adjustments to tweak.

still a little pricey

The previous poster covered this machine well! It makes very clean copies of anything with circuity to clean up nosiy signals. I only found one OOP tape that I couldn''t copy due to copy-write signals -- The Quiet Earth -- go figure! I was able to get a LserDisc of it, better quality!!! For those of you out there who are willing to spend the money, but not sure about this new fangled recorder; order or buy from Sears or Crutchfield.. Both places have 30-day trial periods, plus Crutchfield includes pre-paid UPS stickers, no shipping charges back if you don''t want it !!!!! Buy It !! You''ll love it !!

EXCELLENT PICTURE AND AUDIO when using XP and SP modes...can actually noticebaly improve VHS signal. STRAIGHT FORWARD ergonomics...easy to use. On Screen CONTROL of all functions for DVD very easy to use. ABILITY to scan at rates from 2x to 100X for quick manuevering.

MANUAL , as stated, is tragically cumbersome, although necessary for some of the finer details and less used options....does however have a nifty glossary of ''digital age'' terminology

Was able to recently pick this new gem up from ebay for 720 + postage. Absoultely brilliant is the only thing needed saying. Functions exactly like a VCR would with the ability to stop and start recordings from nearly any imaginable video source onto DVD-R or RW. Once complete, you may supply cucotm titles to each program, chapertize the contents with markers, etc. Once finalized, the resulting DVD-R is now a VALID DVD-VIDEO Type 1 and plays in nearly evryplayer Ive tried including PS2, xbox, computer DVD, home units and eaven cheapies like the 79 dollar APEX seemed happy. STUNNING video quality with noticible improvemnts in picture and sound, something I was a bit skeptical of until the proof before me. Currently transferring some 300 + live videos to DVD and Ive yet to have a single problem. BALANK DVD-R and RW have come down considerably. Currently using DVD-R media fro CDROM2GO (@ 4.65 a piece !). WELL BUILT, MULTIPLE INPUTS and OUTPUTS including SVIDEO and COMPONENT OUT...another handy feature is the audo digital output I have linked to an MD . DOLBY ENCODED GOLD MY FRIENDS ! Dont wait any longer..get this unit. FIRST MOVIE TRANSFERRED ? AC/DC''s LET THERE BE ROCK - PARIS 79...WOW ! Im a happy guy !

Similar Products Used:

1001 assorted VCRs...the only one worth a crap...my old 1987 Mitsubishi 4 HEAD. Sell those VCR''s folks...wont be worth much a few years from now....

Terrific quality of build and recordings. Ability to watch a program while still recording the rest of it, using DVD-RAM, and also to create playlists - where you can easily rearrange scenes (take out commercials too). Works as easy as a VCR.

The manual isn''t written the best. At first it looks intimidating, belying the simplicity of the machine. The machine really is very simple but you''d never know it from the book.

I bought one of these DVD recorders when they first came out last September and I loved it so much I bought two more. The machine is amazing. It works basically like a VCR - timer-recording, etc - but with DVD-RAM it also has the ability to view a program while you are still recording the rest of it. You don''t have to wait until the recording is finished to watch it. I''ve recorded hundreds of DVD-R, which once finalized cannot be recorded on further, or again - but they will play back on the vast majority of other DVD players, so you can put home video onto DVD and sent it off to a friend or relative. Name-brand blank DVD-R (the only kind I use, because I''ve heard of problems others have had with generic cheapies) are currently about $5.50 for Sony at http://www.taperesources-store.com/store/products.asp?dept=19 You cannot copy most pre-recorded videotapes (i.e., Star Wars) because most of them contain a copyguard signal to prevent copying. Also, DVDs cannot be copied for this reason. If you try to record such material the machine won''t begin recording and will display a message telling you that copying of such material is prohibited. Laser discs, however, contain no such copyguard signal and may be copied - as well as, of course, any tapes you''ve made yourself, home video, of TV programs, and so forth. The DMR-E20 contains an excellent signal processor so that the DVD quality is actually BETTER than your source material. This is very helpful when recording old videotapes of dubious quality. They come out better than the original. The machine has four speeds - XP, SP, LP and EP. (1-hour, 2-hour, 4-hour and 6-hour) My eye can''t tell a difference between the 1 and 2 hour speeds, but the bitrate is about double for the 1 hour speed according to a display on my other DVD player. But to the eye, no difference. The 4 hour speed is quite acceptable for TV shows, but you can see a slight "pasty" look if you look close and are picky. I don''t recommend using the 6 hour speed at all because the quality is noticeably poor. This is not a progressive scan unit, but for the price it probably can''t be. I got one of my units for $999 from Crutchfield and another for $749 from www.ecost.com One of mine is black, and the other is silver, but they are identical otherwise. DMR-E20S stands for "silver."

Similar Products Used:

Only VCRs - on their way OUT. No more rewinding! No more tracking problems! And DVD quality can''t be beat.