Panasonic DMR-ES10 Reviewed

[ejai]

This weekend I tested the DMR-ES10 and I love it. I was able to record some tapes that were in very bad condition and create a dvd copy that looked at least 10 times better than the original. The noise filters are very good in this unit, I agree with Lordsmurf on the abilities this machine has for pre-processing video. It cleans up video quite nicely.

The color correction filters in this unit really are astounding. Yellowish skin tones are now more of a natural color than the washed out look that we experience using old tapes. Sharpness is another plus that this unit has (which was one of my biggest greviances with the JVC M10).

I did find the unit works well for capturing as long as you don't go into the LP 4hr mode. I never really do, my longest captures are 2 1/2 hours, I've tried a few captures at 3hrs and I still like the quallity. 4hrs presented too much block noise for my taste.

I like the fact that you can finally put a thumbnail in the menuing system. I have to admit that I would've of loved to see motion thumbnails, yet the still images are fine for now.

All-n-all I agree with Zorankarapancev this is by far one of the best machines that Panasonic as put out to date. I don't really have much negative to say other than for the dollar it is hard to beat.

Just my opinion.

[KeepItSimple]

Concerning the Line-in NR--
Automatic: Noise reduction only works on input signal for video tape.
On: Noise reduction works for any input video.
Off: Noise reduction if off. Select when you want to record input as is.

How does the DVD Recorder know if the signal is from video tape? I might also record from a DVD player or from a Digital Cable Box using the A/V outputs. How does it know the difference? I'm hoping that either Automatic or On will clean up the rather fuzzy signal I'm getting on 2 favorite channels, TV Land and TCM. All the news channels seem to come in perfectly .

[zorankarapancev]

That is a good example for the bad Japanese translation. The better one should be:

- Automatic: Noise reduction automatically detects and eliminates randomly generated noise and color irregularities typical for the videotapes.
- On: Noise reduction is permanently ON for any video input.

[ejai]

I don't think it only works on tape input signals. The reason I say that is because I had some video clips I downloaded from the internet and the original clips had all sorts of mpeg artifacts. Once I applied the NR feature the video looked much better. Most of the artifacts were gone, and the video looked quite good.

I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the NR setting or the main system filters. I do know that the pixelated noisy mpeg clip looked very good once I recorded it using the ES10.

To make sure it wan't the TV screen that was masking the noise, I took the video I recorded on dvd and played it on the computer and it looked better than the original. Some sort of noise reduction was definately applied.

[lordsmurf]

The noise filters are very good in this unit, I agree with Lordsmurf on the abilities this machine has for pre-processing video. It cleans up video quite nicely.

That's not exactly what I said.

I have the ES10 here on my desk. It has one purpose: sync filters. It does really well on unstable tapes, and removes the tearing and smudging artifacts from the video, re-sync's it. That's all it does. And sometimes that can lead to a another artifact, a slight ghosting, but it's the lesser of evils. The ES10 filters are probably TOO STRONG for their own good, as I have seen ghosting on normal recordings. The "noise reduction" is a temporal blur, though slight, but that's about it. Not any chroma noise or grain reduction, that's for sure.

As far as color filtering, or anything like that, there is not any such thing on these units. It exists ONLY on the playback side of things. Most decent DVD recorders and players have "picture modes", usually to tweak contrast and brightness/IRE output.

The perceived "better color" is again, simply a side effect from having a darker image. That's something any photographer is going to know, and is why certain filters are even made. You darken one part of the spectrum, it augments that color to be "darker" and therefore "richer", but the side effect is that it deteriorates contrast and brightness. On a still photo, which will later be corrected for this offset in a darkroom, or Photohop, that's fine. But not on a video recording that has no such later corrections performed. If you want to tweak color, buy a proc amp, $50-75 off ebay, $300+ new. I routintely tweak color, and it always looks better than the source.

Again, ES10, here on my desk. Excellent piece of machinery, just not for recording with. It is a much-needed doctor for those nearly-dead VHS tapes. But I pass the signal on to better equipment, be it a capture card or another DVD recorder.

[ejai]

I totally disagree with Lordsmurf in terms of color enhancement, this unit does an excellent job of enhancement of colors. Some of the originals I used were very bland in color and after recording them with this machine the color is more vivid and true to life.

This recorder can be used for filtering but it much more better than that. This machine will please most people.

[OldeMan]

While I certainly agree that the ES10 that I have boosts/emphasizes colors, I don't think its color is true to the orginal image. Mine seems to have a slight red push as well.

Some people will prefer the added color in any case. To each, his/her own...

[ejai]

While I certainly agree that the ES10 that I have boosts/emphasizes colors, I don't think its color is true to the orginal image. Mine seems to have a slight red push as well.

Some people will prefer the added color in any case. To each, his/her own...

I agree it does have a slight redish tint, but I like it anyway. I remember when the E50 had a more greenish tint which I hated.

It all depends on what you prefer.
I'll take the red over the green anyday....

[ejai]

I must admit that Lordsmurf and Gshelley61 are right about the ES10's noise filtering being subpar.

I recorded a movie that was very grainy using the ES10 and it looked just as bad as the original. I decided to use the JVC M10 instead and the video looked much better. The grainy look was hardly noticeable.

The Panasonic is good for color and 2 1/2hr captures. The JVC does a better job on bad grainy video. My only issue with the JVC is the blurring of the video in order to get a good picture. As stated in another thread this is something you have to live with in order to get a better picture.

I still prefer the Panasonic for the sharpness and color but I do admit that there are some situations where the JVC is a better machine to use.

Thank goodness most of video I capture is much cleaner than vhs.

[bgclarke]

One chip has BU2365FV with no manufacturer identified.

ROHM seems to be the major supplier of these clock generator chips.

Here's a PDF of their BU2365FV chip.

http://www.rohm.com/products/databook/av/pdf/bu2365fv-e.pdf

[KeepItSimple]

My only issue with the JVC is the blurring of the video in order to get a good picture. As stated in another thread this is something you have to live with in order to get a better picture.

One thing I noticed is yes, the JVC softens the picture some during recording but it also softens it during playback. That double softening is too much. Take a DVD recorded on the JVC and play it in the ES10. I did and the picture was noticeably sharper, even with the Panny picture set to normal and the JVC set to sharp. The JVC recordings look grrrrreat when you play them back on another machine, like the ES10.

[ejai]

I think I will give it a try. I know I don't particularly like the softening even when the recorder does it during recording. I find the loss of detail unexceptable. The type of blurring I do like is a more gaussian blurr (smart blurr) similiar to the one I had in an older model vhs recorder I owned. What it did was smooth out the gradient areas, yet it left the sharp areas untouched.

The JVC has the softening feature implemented well, it's lack of a better sharpening process I have a problem with.

[goal]

Hello

I want Panasonic DMR-ES10 only to use it as a sync filters (with s-video in/out between VHS and capture pc card)

My doubt is:

I have video tapes in format PAL-N combo

Do I have problems with this?

thank you for responding....