Panasonic DMR-ES10 - already discontinued?

[bgclarke]

I have been looking at this DVD recorder in addition to the JVC DR-M100 (had horrendous luck with JVC in the past, so a bit guarded on the JVC brand).

All of a sudden, all of the electronics and furniture stores around here (Best Buy, Audiotronic, Brault & Martineau) that used to carry the DMR-ES10 are no longer carrying it, and do not intend to.

It now seems that only the local department stores (Sears & Zellers) are (apparently) carrying it.

Has this model been killed off already?

[dcsoulchild]

I saw bunch of them at my Best Buy store here in MD just last night.

[bgclarke]

Oops...should have mentioned that I am in Canada.

[lordsmurf]

It should be killed and buried.

If they'd flip that crap chip of their's and slap in an LSI or Renesas make, they'd have a great machine.

Quickly discontinued? Maybe.

[trhouse]

Best Buy and Circuit City here seem to have a good supply. I wonder if the hurricane is affecting deliveries to the eastern seaboard.

[ann coates]

It should be killed and buried.
If they'd flip that crap chip of their's and slap in an LSI or Renesas make, they'd have a great machine.
Quickly discontinued? Maybe.

lordsmurf, do you (or anyone else) know what chip is used in the Pioneer 531?

[captcrunch]

Yep noticed this too,It was on the circuit city website now its gone????

[trhouse]

You are right. It is gone from the Circuit City web site, but they show the DMR-ES30 and the DMR-EH50. BestBuy's web site shows the DMR-ES10 but not the DMR-ES30 or DMR-EH50. They do say it is on back order 5-7 days however.

[lordsmurf]

It should be killed and buried.
If they'd flip that crap chip of their's and slap in an LSI or Renesas make, they'd have a great machine.
Quickly discontinued? Maybe.

lordsmurf, do you (or anyone else) know what chip is used in the Pioneer 531?

I believe it to be Renesas.

[ann coates]

Thank you.

[oldfart13]

Lotsa ES10s still at Futureshop...

[zorankarapancev]

Still available on the official US and Canadian sites:

http://panasonic.ca/english/audiovideo/dvdvcr/recorder/index.asp

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelList?storeId=15001&catalogId...00000000005702

[bgclarke]

Lotsa ES10s still at Futureshop...

That's bizarre...they sell them in the stores, but they aren't even listed on their web site.

Amazon.com is listing the DMR-ES10 as discontinued by the manufacturer.

[bgclarke]

Still available on the official US and Canadian sites:

http://panasonic.ca/english/audiovideo/dvdvcr/recorder/index.asp

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelList?storeId=15001&catalogId...00000000005702

I noticed on the US site that the "Add To Cart" option is gone.

[trhouse]

Strange, I found this at Amazon's US site and the cart works fine.

[bgclarke]

Yep, it's on the Amazon US site, but the descriptive text for the S and K models is indicating it's been discontinued.

Batteries: 2 AA batteries required. (included)
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,063 in Electronics
ASIN: B0007WKB0U
Item model number: DMR-ES10K
Dimensions: 18.00 inches x 20.00 inches x 6.00 inches
Date first available at Amazon: February 28, 2005
Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

It may be an error on Amazon's part, but they are also listing the DMR-ES30 as being discontinued.

Abt Electronics is also indicating the DMR-ES10 is discontinued.

Anyway, I've sent a message to Panasonic to see if they will tell me anything.

[trhouse]

You are right, but the strange thing is that the E55, the ES10's predecessor, is not listed as discontinued. Also, have you ever seen a manufacturer discontinue two mainstream models without a word about a replacement? For example, JVC still makes the M10 after the M100 came out and Panasonic still had the E55 available after the ES10 arrived.

Please let us know what you hear from Panasonic.

[bgclarke]

I received a response back from Panasonic Canada. When I sent the original message to Panasonic, I did not mention any retailers' names.

Thank you for your email. Please contact Sears or Zellers regarding
availability. The DMR-ES10 is still available as it is still posted on our
website.
http://www.panasonic.ca/english/audiovideo/dvdvcr/recorder/index.asp

Sincerely,
Customer Care Centre
Panasonic Canada Inc.

KM

Not sure what it means when the product vendor tells you to contact department stores for their product (versus an electronics retailer).

[ntscuser]

It's possible those two stores bought the entire remaining stocks, or not. Movie studios often give Amazon as the sole example of a store from which their products can be obtained bu they are still available elsewhere

[bgclarke]

I received a response back from Panasonic Canada. When I sent the original message to Panasonic, I did not mention any retailers' names.

Thank you for your email. Please contact Sears or Zellers regarding
availability. The DMR-ES10 is still available as it is still posted on our
website.
http://www.panasonic.ca/english/audiovideo/dvdvcr/recorder/index.asp

Sincerely,
Customer Care Centre
Panasonic Canada Inc.

KM

I just checked the Panasonic Canada web site and the DMR-ES10 is now gone.

The DMR-ES20 is there now.

EDIT: The DMR-EH60 is also there.

[trhouse]

I always thought the DMR-ES20 was the European version of the ES10. Essentially the same machine except with PAL/NTSC capabilities and electronic program guide (EPG). Those might be nice features to have. Here is a link to specifications,

http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?p=panasonic+dmr-es20&sm=Yahoo%21+Search&toggle=1&e...icp=1&.intl=us

I wonder if it will have the Scart connector rarely seen in the US.

[ntscuser]

"I always thought the DMR-ES20 was the European version of the ES10. "

No, Panasonic has always made separate versions of the machine for the US and European markets. The ES-10 is still available from some UK retailers.

"I wonder if it will have the Scart connector rarely seen in the US. "

Unlikely. Previous US Pannies have always had component connectors instead of Scart. The latter wouldn't be much use to North American viewers as it employs a different colour configuration altogether.