Quick question (DMR-ES25S & 540H)

[ACLUguy]

Hi all,

I've read most of the suggested threads and reviews of the recorders i am curious about purchasing; i have been lurking here for about three weeks. (in total i've been a fan of videohelp way back before it was called videohelp)

I have come up with a few questions, first i will give a preamble/qualifier to explain the situation.

I plan to buy a simple video recorder to archive movies off of hbo/showtime and ondemand (i might get a netflix acct for tv shows). I have considered the Pioneer 540H, specifically because it's going down in price (like 300 at amazon through onecall discount, plus if you add a fatwallet.com % back it can come down an additional 3-5% as well).

However, i tend to be leaning toward the Panasonic DRM-ES25S. It is inexpensive and seems to have everything i am looking for. (I plan to get a HDMI tv in the next couple years.) If you can suggest a better 150-200$ recorder i would love to hear it...

So here are my questions:
1) Are the problems with brightness, as seen in the sticky thread, still applying to the ES25S? (or it's sister system with vhs)

2) I've read about problems in Canada where recorders can't record specific things, is this a problem with only specific brands, or is it all brands? If only specific brands: does it apply to this recorder? If specific channels: how prevalent is this problem, anyone run into this with ondemand or hbo/showtime?

3) Is this a bad choice? I've looked at the LG a lot of people like and it doesn't seem to compare. The Pioneer seems the best choice overall but the extra 130$ doesn't seem like it will be worth while in the short term, unless everyone seems to think that the panasonic is crap and the only way to go is the 540H.

Anyhow, i've tried to answer the first two Q's and am having a hard time finding the answers, so i appreciate any responses. I guess the third question is a contentious one, that has been asked before; however, considering what my uses are, i think it may be easier to answer.

Thank you for your time,
ACLU guy

Postscript: *Edit* I suppose since this is my first dvd-recorder i just wanted to make absolutely sure that this is the best choice. If you suggest another recorder, it would be really helpful to explain why it's superior.

[deuce8pro]

No problem with hbo or on demand recording and you can adjust the brightness with this recorder. Id take it back and get my money back if I couldnt record those channels.

You asked to suggest another recorder, for a similar price the Sony is very nice
with a lot more picture adjustment controls.

[ACLUguy]

Thanks a million for the prompt response!

Great to hear about ondemand and hbo working...

I assume you are using the ES25S and enjoy it, great to hear.

As for the brightness, sounds as if it can still be a problem, but adjustment options seem like the sure fire cure. I guess i can see what's up with it when screwing around with a RW disk.

As for the Sony, i've heard the GX330 really can't compare for quality (manufacturing/parts wise) and picture (capture/chip wise)... Were you speaking about this one specifically?

I haven't seen many people here talk about the gx330 and cnet/zdnet doesn't seem to think too highly of it, thank you for the suggestion i will look into that model further.

Really appreciate the response,
ACLU guy

[Scorpion King]

My first recorder was a Sony. It played well but was limited on functions. I also had many problems with it being picky about disk brands. Some brands, like memorex, it just would not read. But it would always read Sony disks. Nice feature for Sony, not so nice for me.

My present one is a Panasonic DMR-ES15. It records great in the 1-2 hour mode and most people can't tell it from live tv. After that the recorded quality really depends on the quality of the input signal. It does not offer 352x480. It uses 720x480 then jumps all the way down to 352x240, which is all but useless to me.

I love the flex recording feature and use it often. Flex offers any time you need from 1 hour to 8 hours on a dvd. It reads all my disks and also DL which is one feature I needed. It also returns quickly when pressing the stop button (disk write), which I like.

I haven't returned this one yet so i guess it's doing ok.

[ACLUguy]

Thanks Scorp,

Yep that's what i hear: Panasonic's run well, long and hard.

As for the input, i assume you use something like svideo or rca's?

I would most likely use the RAC's; however, the HDMI and optical audio outs should prove to be perfect under future conditions with a newer tv, not that they have anything to do with input.

Ohh, as for the media, are you throwing cheap disks at it? (like 10$ 50 pack comp usa) or Verbs/TY?

Thanks for the info Scorp, seems like people are only strengthening my decision here.

ACLU guy

[deuce8pro]

Thanks a million for the prompt response!

Great to hear about ondemand and hbo working...

I assume you are using the ES25S and enjoy it, great to hear.

As for the brightness, sounds as if it can still be a problem, but adjustment options seem like the sure fire cure. I guess i can see what's up with it when screwing around with a RW disk.

As for the Sony, i've heard the GX330 really can't compare for quality (manufacturing/parts wise) and picture (capture/chip wise)... Were you speaking about this one specifically?

I haven't seen many people here talk about the gx330 and cnet/zdnet doesn't seem to think too highly of it, thank you for the suggestion i will look into that model further.

Really appreciate the response,
ACLU guy

Yes I have a es25 and I know what you mean by the brightness but you can adjust the picture to make it darker which looks fine to me and yes I was referring to the gx330. Thats a nice machine. I havent heard a lot about it either. I actually like the recording quality better on the Sony then the panasonic and the Sony has the noise reduction adjustment features and possibly but im not sure, a time based corrector.

[ACLUguy]

Hey thanks again for the response.

I just have an additional question about the brightness.

The "Tips and Tricks" sticky thread suggests how to setup the panasonic, although later in the thread it talks about newer models having different problems.

I can only assume there is a correlation with the IRE thread where the images show "older panasonics" needing an IRE/brightness adjustment.

Is it as simple as the tips and tricks thread, where it's suggested to just set the input to "darker", or is it more of a fine tuning thing?

I read through the manual (online) and it didn't appear to have a great deal of information on IRE or darkness specifically. If it's just setting it to "darker" that is super easy, i just have a hard time fine tuning.

Thanks again and I'm sorry to keep asking questions, just want to have a good idea of what im getting myself into before it arrives,
ACLU guy

[BCdave]

ACLUguy, I have an LG LRH-780 (80GB HDD) recorder which I love for the superb video quality down to the 4 hour mode - but I was surprised to find that it wouldn't record an analog movie channel called Encore Avenue (noting the presence of "record-blocking signals"). I have read that LG's are particularly sensitive to "DRM-type" signals (if that's the correct phrase), although I can't confirm if LG is more or less sensitive than any other makes. However, as you said, it might be a bad choice if you're primarily planning to record premium channels.

Does anyone have a problem with premium/pay channels in the U.S.A. ?? And with which recorders ??

[deuce8pro]

Its really up to you and your preference.
I would suggest trying out the es25.
You shouldnt have any problem recording pay channels, period.
Any recorder that cant record a pay channel is useless to me.
I think its as simple as setting the picture to darker, but that may not be good enough for you. You can always consider trying out similar models by Sony, Toshiba or Jvc.

[ACLUguy]

Hey thanks again guys really appreciate all the fine help and "hand holding" through this process.

Deuce, yeah i placed my order off amazon through J&R for 182 /w shipping, as well as 100 TY's and 100 normal size dvd cases this morning. I can't wait to start screwing around with it and a RW disk. lol i'm giddy to the point where i'm planning out how to hook it up at the moment.

DCdave, yeah i've seen this mentioned in a few threads, apparently the EU, and Canada can be fairly poor for this situation. If you search Hockey you will find someone in canada not able to record hockey. I plan to test the channels here in Minnesota (VS- a national channel, FSN-a regional channel, and 12-a local channel) so i can report back to them on conditions in the states as for material that is "property" of NHL as well as Gopher hockey (college) on FSN.

I've studied a bit of law, as well as some of my friends who are far more knowledgeable (even working on cases like this), and understand that this material isn't illegal to record, nor is other material. Sorry to digress - i guess that's really only relevant in the "why are mnfgr's getting outta the biz" thread.

Again, thank you all very much, i appreciate your time and effort,
ACLU guy

[ACLUguy]

**edit** Last night, after partying i attempted to explain a couple questions and it turned into a long incoherent ordeal.

-I will re-write it and post in a little bit,
ACLU guy

[ACLUguy]

So here is a brief synopsis of the manual. (sorry about last night's post)

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/DMRES25-MULTI.pdf

On page 9, section c, it shows steps 2,3 and 4 for cable boxes. It suggests connection of coax from the wall to the dvr, then to the cable box and then to the TV.

It also shows steps 5 and 6 where you connect RCA-A/V cables (RWY) from the cable box, to the dvr, to the tv.

Questions:
1-Why am I connecting both the coax (starting with dvr) and the RCA (starting with cable box)? Does this have something to do with their TV guide function? (I’m really not all too interested in using their tv-guide function and the manual is lacking in explaining this.)

2-Would it make more sense to connect the wall coax to the cable box, RCA from cable box to dvr, S-video & RCA audio out of dvr to tv?

3- If I setup the way they suggest on page 9, section c, using both coax and RCA’s, will I be able to switch back and forth between the two inputs to compare brightness/darkness, or is this just something that becomes apparent after burning the dvd?

Sorry for the long and incoherent post last night. I hope this clear and concise about my questions.

Thanks again!
ACLU guy

[deuce8pro]

What I do is use both coaxial cables from the wall and the cable box to the recorder. If thats where their coming from, I havent checked before posting this. Then Iuse the s-video and rca cables from the back of the tv to the recorder. Try that and let me know how it works out.

And I saw that you bought TY discs. Good. Those are the best.