dvr 510h versus dmr e80

[ontario]

I am looking at buying either a used Pioneer DVR 510H or Panasonic DMR E80. Which should I buy? I am only interested in using it for its VCR capablities and not for viewing videoes from a camcorder. Which brand has a better reputation for quality? Many thanks for your replies.

[Sam Ontario]

I have seen captures with Pioneer 510 in this Forum. Very good!

Since you do not have much requirements such as editing features, I suggest you buy a Daytek DVR-P30. Simple to use and a lot cheaper with almost undistinguishable PQ compared with Pioneer and Panasonic if you consider the P. quality and recording time of a VCR.

[Meritocracy]

If your main use will be for transferring vhs based footage, go with the Panny. Pioneer users have mentioned dropout problems when transferring some vhs tapes to the 510H.

[dr_vanski]

Hi,

I have a Pioneer 510 and it works ok for VHS transfers so long as I use the VCR the VHS recording was originally made on.

As far as viewing and copying recorded material to DVD, the 510 is awesome. The editing functions work great once you get used to them. Chase play is awesome for watching live sporting events and doing your own slomo replays. Picture quality is excellent at the higher settings, and the commercial skip function is also very cool.

A solid unit, overall.

DV

[ontario]

Thanks for all your replies. I think I'll just go with the recorder that's cheapest

[bnbhoha]

FYI the panasonic E85 is out too. It offers picture thumbnails, 4x recording, dvd back to hard drive (re-encode involved though). I think it's the best bang for your buck for HDD recorders. Pioneer has firwire in/out and the E85 does not. Most people prefere panasonics around here.