you should get one too

[garretrevels]

i just got a panasonic dmr es10
and man
its by far the best machine ive tested

ive had four others:
himage (no name)
liteon 5101
pioneer 220
liteon 5005

this machine is great
if you want one with a hard drive they got them too

im just so happy after being so frustrated with all those other machines
i can finally settle down and record some stuff.
reading all these forums ive noticed alot of people having trouple and never being 100% satisfied, just another reason to get something from the new line of panny's.

[solidsnake]

is that panny in the U.S.? If so, where can you buy one?

[garretrevels]

ive heard of people getting them in the us
i got mine from here in canada $366 tax in
i hear they sell for about $199 plus tax in the states

heres a link with some info
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=a76741454bd48bd415476c57b506c4c2&threadid=521209

[leo_canada]

Re: Dmr ES 10 in Canada.

Did you find it at that price at an authorized
Panasonic Dealer in Canada?

Thanks for the info!

ps. I almost got a Himage from Zellers, I got a Liteon 5101
from Wal-Mart and returned it (it was not working),
and I was about to try a Liteon 5005.
But the Panasonic is probably a better machine...

[garretrevels]

@ leo
i got it from a place in nova scotia called glubes sound studio also i noticed a place here called wacky wheatleys they had them too.
i got it for $366 cnd taxes in

i would go with the panny for sure if you could find one.

if not and your are not doing old in bad shape vhs conversions the pioneer 220 is around for a decent price and is a very good machine, other than its problems with vhs source recordings. (i got my pioneer from zellers $299cnd)

but really even if you cant find one i would hold out untill you can.
its the new generation dvd recorder
its got some pretty neat technology

[trhouse]

They are available at Circuit City stores for $189.99 in the US but curiously enough, their online price is $199.99. At the closest Circuit City they had two in stock March 24th, then four more came in but now they are all gone. The hard drive version does not seem to be available here just yet.

This web site has three reviews on the DMR-ES10 in the DVD recorder section.

[bnbhoha]

It would be nice to know why your so impressed with this one vs. the others.

[garretrevels]

had a himage dvr (no name) -took it back (good picture, power cord was messed up it kept losing power and kept on reseting source when recording edited vhs tapes)

got a liteon 5101 -took it back (horrrible pictureand recorded titles played back extremly pixilated from vhs source)

then i got a pioneer 220 -took it back (great machine beautiful picture nice layout but had major jitter issues with vhs source recordings)

then i got a liteon 5005 -just took it back (alright picture, nice enough menu but has similar issues and then some with the pioneer)



the picture, function, just everything seems better smoother, and it newer technology and all that good stuff, the first recorder that seems to have no issues imo

[mr_strong]

rotfl panny is one of the worst piece of shit in the DVDR market son. that es10 you got is the same shit as the e55 with just a few upgrade in features but the same encoder chip and that gay ass green tint plus the bad FR mode that create macroblocks

[lordsmurf]

rotfl panny is one of the worst piece of shit in the DVDR market son. that es10 you got is the same shit as the e55 with just a few upgrade in features but the same encoder chip and that gay ass green tint plus the bad FR mode that create macroblocks

Though written in a fairly vulgar tone, I totally agree with this.

[linetest]

So from what I gather, avoid Panny for macroblocks, avoid JVC for reliability, avoid Pioneer for VHS dub blank outs, avoid Sony because of decoder quality, avoid Samsung, Memorex, Magnavox, Emerson, etc for general reliability problems.
Instead, go with LiteOn and iLo and the numerous complaints with those? That's a sad state of affairs! Maybe when I return my LiteOn, I should pick up a VCR!
Where is the "Dream Machine"???

Actually, that may be asking to much.
Where is a machine that WORKS?

[lordsmurf]

I'm still quite fond of my S-VHS VCR for recording tv shows.

[Richard]

a question, what are people's problems with the
Zenith DVR-413 ? I've been happy with it so far.

[PaisanNYC]

I purchased a Sylvania DVR90VE DVD Recorder/HiFi VCR combo for $239 from Amazon. Ive only had it a short time, but so far its worked good for me no macroblocks, nice menus etc.
When I get a lil more familiar with it, I guess Ill be the first to report on it in the guides section here. LOL

[garretrevels]

rotfl panny is one of the worst piece of shit in the DVDR market son. that es10 you got is the same shit as the e55 with just a few upgrade in features but the same encoder chip and that gay ass green tint plus the bad FR mode that create macroblocks

no marco blocks here in fr mode and deffinately no green tint for that matter. (my lite-on had a green tint problem)
even 8hr mode is pretty good
maybe i got a freak or something
but it works like a charm for me
and ive been through a couple, enough to base my reviews on anyway.

if these recorders are bad i guess i'll consider mysely lucky because its working damn near perfect for me.

and also
"Related myths: (1) Panasonic has "deeper colors". That is simply not true. It is a visual distortion caused from being slightly too dark, which gives false illusion of "deeper" colors. (2) The TBC improves quality. DVD recorder TBCs are so weak they may as well not exist. "

i can say that the tbc in the panny deffinately helps the quality, in all my recorder prior to this one they had alot of trouble with recording vhs, but the panny will record all the vhs i have, i tried afew that wouldnt even come close to the pictuce staying steady and not jittering, but with the panny no problem at all.

[lordsmurf]

even 8hr mode is pretty good .. maybe i got a freak or something

Your quality requirements are super super super low.

[garretrevels]

even 8hr mode is pretty good .. maybe i got a freak or something

Your quality requirements are super super super low.

"maybe i got a freak or something, but it works like a charm for me "
thats what i was saying
after i said "even in 8hr mode its pretty good" their should be a "."
because that was the end of that thought
so maybe you misunderstood


i mean in relation to 6hr modes on the other machines ive tested
i just said that for people that like fitting as much as they can on a dvd
i was just testing the modes
i almost always olny use the 2hr mode, because thats all i need


im not trying to be a jerk or anything
im just letting people know that after all my messing around with recorders, that ive finally found one that i cant complain about,
and suggesting they give it a try also

i dont know
i like it

perhaps some of you strongly disagree but you should test it out for yourself.

its hard to find people that are totally happy with their recorder
there always seems to be something wrong
but im telling you ive had no problems with it yet
where as by now with other machine it didnt take long to find major flaws in my application of each recorder

[leo_canada]

@garretrevels

Thanks a lot for the pointers on the stores that carry the Panasonic, I found their addresses and
phone numbers with Google.

[basketweb]

garretrevels wrote:...
(2) The TBC improves quality. DVD recorder TBCs are so weak they may as well not exist. "

i can say that the tbc in the panny deffinately helps the quality, in all my recorder prior to this one they had alot of trouble with recording vhs, but the panny will record all the vhs i have, i tried afew that wouldnt even come close to the pictuce staying steady and not jittering, but with the panny no problem at all.

Please, tell me: Panny ES10 have or not the TBC as the DMR E55 ? Do you have dropped frames with ES10 ? My friend have a E55 and that's perfect VHS to DVD - no drops frames.
Thanks

[trhouse]

I asked Panasonic customer support about this. They referred me to their engineering dept. which sent the following e-mailed response.

"The DMR series recorders utilize a frame synchronizer where incoming non-synchronous video is and referenced against an internal reference signal.
While a TBC performs the same function, it also regenerates horizontal and vertical sync as well as the color burst reference signal.
Since these are designed for the consumer market, no technical specifications of this caliber are available."

As to performance, the only test I have done is to feed it a vhs tape which had problems with both horizontal and vertical sync. The vertical sync issue was severe enough to cause the picture to roll. The horizontal problem was less severe with noticeable line to line jitter within the vertical parts of letters.

The recorded copy showed little of the horizontal problem but it did not completely eliminate the vertical problem. The output did not roll but there was a light colored horizontal line which scrolled slowly from top to bottom.

[Captain315]

I agree with "linetest", there must not be a good PVR made. I've read all the reports I can find on every make there is and all of them seem to be great or worthles, depending on the post you read. One person says they're great and the next one says they're junk. I've been wanting to buy one but I can't afford to throw my money away. Maybe someday there will be a machine that actually gets good reviews from everyone.

[lordsmurf]

Maybe someday there will be a machine that actually gets good reviews from everyone.

Never. People will always find trash to be treasure, and whiny people will always make good products seem like trash. Nobody will ever agree. JVC, Pioneer and LiteOn are easily 3 of the best machines made right now, with many people enjoying a high-quality trouble-free experience, but there are still people that bitch and moan about them. If you seriously care about reviews that much, develop a "stupid filter" for yourself, to sort out all the rabble (which is most of it). Also remember that magazine reviews are jaded, and online reviews tend to represent the piss/moan crowd only, or the clueless newbie crowd (people that only use 1-2 machines and declare one of them "bestest ever" without testing or even seeing the output of any of the others).

The best review is your own.

[linetest]

If you seriously care about reviews that much, develop a "stupid filter" for yourself, to sort out all the rabble (which is most of it).

Well, alot of the complaints are legit. If LiteOn is one of the best, then that is a sad state of affairs, IMO. I can overlook alot of shortcomings, but not malfunctions.

Saying "The best review is your own" is the bottom line. Buy one, try it and decide. I did, and it was the only way to cut through the BS.

[trhouse]

Most stores have at least a 30 day return period so that is not such a bad way to go.

There is much emphasis on picture quality on this site but I am not so sure the average consumer cares that much. Witness all the brands of vcr's out there with which the average person is content. Once picture quality reaches a level to satisify most then ease of use is often the deciding factor. You know it is all over when decorator colors become important.

[pfh]

I think once HD reaches critical mass then quality of output will be HUGE!!

[trhouse]

Yes, and we will need all new hardware again!

[pippas]

The best review is your own.

Good advice! --- Panasonic for me, based on my experiences with the kit - mind you, as I live in PAL land, I have a head start on source data!

How on earth a nation as successful, and demanding of good quality, as the US, ever got saddled with NTSC amazes me!

[pfh]

Yes, and we will need all new hardware again!

With decorator colors of course

[oldfart13]

Point #1

Hey man...I love your columns but does this also describe you: "whiny people will always make good products seem like trash"?

LOL

Point #2

" How on earth a nation as successful, and demanding of good quality, as the US, ever got saddled with NTSC amazes me"

It was the first system for colour at a time when the UK was still using 405 line B&W transmissions. PAL comes much later than NTSC...

[nelson133]

Yup, I'm definately going to save the text of somebody's posts here . They will be "returned to sender" when the next whiny post that pops up from them.
Nyah Levi