Panansonic DMR-E50S

[jjis]

I just bought the DMR-E50S, it records to dvd-r and dvd-ram. Can I use any type of those discs(1x, 2x, 4x) or are there only ones designed for a standalone recorder?

[KTH]

Panasonic stand alone DVD Recorders like the DMR-E20, DMR-E30 tend to be really picky in terms of recordable media. I would suggest that you purchase media that specifically states that it will work with units like the E20, E30, & E50. The only thing is that the E50 is so new that most companies might not list it on their web sites yet. So I would say it would be a good guess that if it works on the older Panasonic models (example: E20, E30) then it would probably work on the E50 as well. You might actually want to call or e-mail these retailers first to verify if they'll work with your unit before purchasing and media. Also I wouldn't waste money purchasing 4x media for the DMR-E50. It's not as if you'll be able to make use of the extra speed anyway. The unit won't burn a 2 hour DVD in 15 minutes. One more thing to note is that you may want to get a lens cleaner for your unit. I find that my E30 is really sensitive to a dirty laser lens. This is especially true with DVD-RAM media. My unit will fail to recognize the DVD-RAM media and it can give you a "U11" error code. When this happens the unit will refuse to eject the disc. The only way to get it to release the disc is to repeatedly turn the power off and on while pressing the eject button in between the on, off functions. The unit will eventually release the disc. Hope this helped!!!