Thinking of buying Panasonic E30. Comments anyone?

[fsuorange]

Okay guys I am finally narrowed my purchase down to E50 and E30!

Is E50 really worth the extra money?!! What are the diffences? I would be recording to dvd-ram and then burning to dvd-r with my computer with each of these. E30 has a lot better ratings on the comments section I noticed and am really interested in this.

ANY COMMENTS OR THOUGHTS ON WHICH ONE YOU THINK IS BETTER PLEASE POST!!

Thanks!

[Bob W]

I seem to remember that the E30 has some problem like stopping in the middle of a recording or some other weird problem. The E50 goes for $400 so how much does the E30 sell for?

[ejai]

The E-30 also has a bug that makes the video slightly lighter than the original. This bug was fixed in the E-50 and higher.

[FulciLives]

The E-30 also has a bug that makes the video slightly lighter than the original. This bug was fixed in the E-50 and higher.

The bug that ejai is talking about is called the "black level" bug. The older models of stand alone PANASONIC recorders (everything pre DMR-E50) were set to assume the input was at an IRE 0.0 Black level. However that is only correct for PAL and Japanese NTSC. USA and Canadian NTSC use IRE 7.5 Black level.

The DMR-E50 and newer models allow the user to select DARKER or LIGHTER for the input level and one means IRE 0.0 and the other means IRE 7.5 although I always forget which is which (I have a DMR-E20 that a friend gave me but I hardly use it anymore due to the black level bug).

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[fsuorange]

Is it really that noticeable? I mean I have heard so many good reviews on this unit that it seems hard to believe that it is that big of deal. PC MAG even gave their Editors Choice for this. Any screenshots of this in action?

[ejai]

I am a very picky person, so yes it was noticable to me. I noticed it before people started commenting about it, I found it strange that the dark shadows in the original video were lighter in the dvd capture.

After hearing others discuss the problem on several forums I decided to buy an E-50, and boy was it ever noticable. For me It was like night and day. The darken areas maintain their color depth and the colors were much more richer. On the E-30 the colors were a bit washed out and not strong as the colors that were created using the E-50.

I gave the E-30 to my son, he could care less about a more brightened video. Don't get me wrong the E-30 still has a very good picture that will rival any dvd recorder on the market, but if you are looking for a machine that will give true color depth then you are better off getting an E-50 or higher.

[fsuorange]

Okay so if it is lighter can't I just take the dvd-ram put in it my LG GSA-4040B and edit the contrast, burn to dvd-r, and then everything would be okay?

[Bob W]

Okay so if it is lighter can't I just take the dvd-ram put in it my LG GSA-4040B and edit the contrast, burn to dvd-r, and then everything would be okay?

Does the 4040B read DVD-Ram discs or VRO files? But then why would you want to spend many hours correcting what should have been right in the first place?

[FulciLives]

Okay so if it is lighter can't I just take the dvd-ram put in it my LG GSA-4040B and edit the contrast, burn to dvd-r, and then everything would be okay?

The so-called beauty of using a stand alone DVD recorder is the ease-of-use and the fact that they do really nice real time MPEG-2 recording.

The idea of putting it in the computer is to make a custom menu with custom chapter points etc.

However you can't "mess" with it much. You can get away with some simple editing but if you try to do anything more (such as correct brightness and color etc.) then you have to re-encode it which will lower the quality and takes FOREVER and in effect makes using a stand alone DVD recorder pointless.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[fsuorange]

Man I am having trouble finding a good low price dvd recorder. Can anyone reccomend a good low cost one?

[Bob W]

Man I am having trouble finding a good low price dvd recorder. Can anyone reccomend a good low cost one?

Sharp makes one (don't remember the model number) and I have seen it online for as low as $349.

OK I found the Sharp recorder here http://www.xocute.com/product_details.asp?product=DVRW2U

[fsuorange]

anyone know of the lowest price to get this (400 is too much for me) or of any other good low cost dvd recorders?

[andkiich]

The lowest price DVD recorder I have seen is the Lite-On that BestBuy is advertising on their website right now($199). Don't know how good it might be but it seems to fit into your price range.

[FulciLives]

A friend of mine bought the Cyberhome DVD recorder. He seems pretty happy with it. I saw a DVD he made with it from CINEMAX (a recording of NIGHT OF THE COMET which is not out on DVD) and it turned out pretty well. He recorded it on a DVD+RW and imported to the computer and then used TMPGEnc DVD Author to create a custom DVD+R with a menu and chapters and it came out really nice looking.

I checked about a week ago and Wal-Mart had it on-line for just under $300 (something like $296).

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[fsuorange]

My struggle finding a good low cost dvd-recorder has ended I got a brand new Panasonic E50 for $325 off ebay! (Sorry to be so cocky but this is the season to be merry!)

[FulciLives]

My struggle finding a good low cost dvd-recorder has ended I got a brand new Panasonic E50 for $325 off ebay! (Sorry to be so cocky but this is the season to be merry!)

Congratulations

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[lacywest]

Yes Yes ... Congratulations ...

I used EBAY to get the Toshiba SD-M1712 for $25 bucks for reading DVD-RAM disks with my Sony 500A DVD Burner.

Here is what I paid for the Panasonic DVD Recorder DMR-E50S

Your Order Information:
----------------------
Order Number : XXXXXX
Ordered on : 13 NOV 2003 20:54
TC # : xxxxxx

Shipped UPS Standard
Tracking #: XXXXXXX

Qty Description Each Total
-----------------------------------------------------------
1 Panasonic DVD Recorder DMR-E50S ... 386.66 386.66
Should arrive between Wednesday, 11/19/2003 and Tuesday, 11/25/2003

Your Billing History:
--------------------
Hanford, CA 93230
USA

14-Nov-2003, Invoice #XXXXXXX

Wal-Mart Credit Card (last 4: XXXX
Purchases: $ 386.66
Shipping: $ 7.19
Subtotal: $ 393.85
Tax: $ 28.03
Total: $ 421.88
-------------------------------------------------------------

I've got it already and am using to record Cable movies ... no complaints.

Yesterday last night ... a timer recording messed up ... I tried to record "Midnight Express"

I'm using CompUSA ... cheap DVD-R 1X Speed DVD-Rs. No Complaints.

[j_b]

Okay guys I am finally narrowed my purchase down to E50 and E30!

Is E50 really worth the extra money?!! What are the diffences? I would be recording to dvd-ram and then burning to dvd-r with my computer with each of these. E30 has a lot better ratings on the comments section I noticed and am really interested in this.

ANY COMMENTS OR THOUGHTS ON WHICH ONE YOU THINK IS BETTER PLEASE POST!!

Thanks!

I have both. Both work very well. I do like the fact that the 30 has 2 video outs, if you have to make copies

[ejai]

The E-30 is an excellent pick if you are not concerned about the video you copy being lighter than the source. I must say I love the additonal outputs that come with the E-30.

One strange thing that I would like to mention about the E-30 is that the light video will only be noticable on another dvd player. If you play the video on the E-30 the color and lightness will appear normal, yet if you play it on another brand the video will be lighter.

I own both models and because I want the final product to be as close to the original, I prefer the E-50.

[MagnumJoe]

fsuorange,

Okay so if it is lighter can't I just take the dvd-ram put in it my LG GSA-4040B and edit the contrast, burn to dvd-r, and then everything would be okay?

I also have a panny e30 and I was wondering how do you edit the contrast? I've looked for such a program but haven't found one.

Thanks,

[FulciLives]

fsuorange,

Okay so if it is lighter can't I just take the dvd-ram put in it my LG GSA-4040B and edit the contrast, burn to dvd-r, and then everything would be okay?

I also have a panny e30 and I was wondering how do you edit the contrast? I've looked for such a program but haven't found one.

Thanks,

Well once you import it into your computer you can fool around withthe contrast/brightness as well as color saturation etc. but then you will have to re-encode it which pretty much makes having a stand alone DVD recorder pointless.

The other option is to buy an external video processing unit that has such controls on it. You connect your source to it then it connects to the DVD recorder. In this way you can compensate but this method would probably require a lot of trial and error until you get it "just right" since you can't trust the output of the DMR-E30 as a guide. I know ejai once said that he used this trick with his older Panny before he got the DMR-E50 so perhaps he could comment on it.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[MagnumJoe]

FulciLives

Well once you import it into your computer you can fool around withthe contrast/brightness as well as color saturation etc.

Thanks for the quick reply, what software program do you use to adjust the contrast/brightness when taking it to your computer?

Also do you know of any hardware device (video enhancer) that I could put in between the source and the panny to adjust the brightness?

[FulciLives]

Thanks for the quick reply, what software program do you use to adjust the contrast/brightness when taking it to your computer?

This can be done with VirtualDub or TMPGEnc. I believe it can also be done with AviSynth.

Also do you know of any hardware device (video enhancer) that I could put in between the source and the panny to adjust the brightness?

Well I know ejai said he used the AVT-8710 Time Base Corrector which is an excellent choice because not only does it feature controls for adjusting the picture quality (such as BRIGHTNESS and CONTRAST and COLOR SATURATION etc.) but it is also removes all forms of copy protection from the source allowing you to copy just about anything including copy protected VHS and DVD videos. Since the stand alone recorders are sensitive to copy protection you will probably find this device very usefull. However it is an expensive solution at $179.00 USD

Another slightly cheaper option would be the Sima SCC Video Color Corrector which sells for around $100 and can also control the picture quality in the same way that the AVT-8710 unit can but unlike the AVT-8710 the SIMA unit will not bypass ALL forms of copy protection but only SOME forms of copy protection. This is because unlike the AVT-8710 the SIMA SCC is not a full blown TBC.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[MagnumJoe]

FulciLives

TMPGEnc is what I use to edit my DVDs but I don't see any place to adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation. If you could tell me how to adjust this with TMPGEnc I would be grateful.

Yes, Sima SCC Video Color Corrector is the one I was looking at. I just got my panny e30 a few days ago, and to be totally honest sometimes I can't tell if the bug is there or not. I sometimes notice it when I bring it to my computer, or on my Mitsubishi 55" widescreen (I don't notice it much on my 20 or 27 inch TVs) I don't know if this is a bug for all e30 or not, (mine was manufactured on November 2002).

Anyway, if you can explain to me on how to adjust the brightness with TMPGEnc, it would be greatly appreciated.

[FulciLives]

FulciLives

TMPGEnc is what I use to edit my DVDs but I don't see any place to adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation. If you could tell me how to adjust this with TMPGEnc I would be grateful.

Here is a nice guide on using TMPGEnc

Configuring TMPGEnc for high-quality, DVD-compliant MPEG-2

Unfortunately this excellent guide does not cover the use of the built-in filters of TMPGEnc. To get to the color controls:

CLICK on the ADVANCED tab on the MPEG SETTING window. If you are using the WIZARD mode you can get there by clicking on EXPERT SETTINGS.

On the ADVANCED tab you have SIMPLE COLOR CORRECTION or CUSTOM COLOR CORRECTION. The CUSTOM option has more ways of controling the image than the SIMPLE option.

These will allow you to control all sorts of things like color saturation, brightness, contrast etc.

Yes, Sima SCC Video Color Corrector is the one I was looking at. I just got my panny e30 a few days ago, and to be totally honest sometimes I can't tell if the bug is there or not. I sometimes notice it when I bring it to my computer, or on my Mitsubishi 55" widescreen (I don't notice it much on my 20 or 27 inch TVs) I don't know if this is a bug for all e30 or not, (mine was manufactured on November 2002).

When you play back the recording using the DMR-E30 it will look normal i.e. the way it should because the player compensates for the black level bug upon playback. Most other DVD players wll show the bug including computer import to DVD-R method. So it is there!

If I were you I would try to sell the DMR-E30 on eBay and buy the DMR-E50 or newer. The black level bug just ain't worth using the unit in my opinion!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[accountwiz]

I found an outfit selling the E50 for $295.00 on eBay, brand-new, unopened. You might want to take a look, fsu.

[ejai]

I own a Sima SCC Video Color Corrector and that is why I had to go out and get another device to bypass copy protection. My E30 and E50 were unable to copy any dvd disks using the Sima but were able to copy them using the AVT-8710.

Also the Sima doesn't give you a clean signal. I found more noise in the video after using the Sima than before.

Save your money. You get what you pay for.

[MagnumJoe]

Well I broke down and bought a brand new e50 last night on eBay for 330.00 usd. I have a 55" widescreen and I noticed the slightly brighter copies more on that than my smaller sets. My first thought was just to adjust my TV’s to account for the "slight brighter copy", if I know it’s there it bothers me. ejai, I’m sure you know what I mean.

ejai, I’ve read your post about how much better the colors are fuller and I can’t wait to see the difference myself.

I got a great deal on the e30, and I’m sure I can get what I paid for it on eBay.

[ejai]

ejai, I’ve read your post about how much better the colors are fuller and I can’t wait to see the difference myself.

I hate to say I told you so, but the E30 is a great machine if lighter copies are not a problem to you.

Yes you will love the quality you will get from the E50 it's like night and day. I'm glad you decided to try the E50 and please let us know what you think, I'm curious.

[MagnumJoe]

ejai,

I got my e50 yesterday and just as you stated the pictures look richer. I don't notice the slightly "lighter duplicated copy" as I did with the e30. This is more noticeable on a larger set. It's not as noticeable on my 20" or 27" in sets. Both are very good recorders.