Panasonic DMR-E80H Extracting Drive?

[companda]

I've recently acquired both a Mitsubishi HD-2000u and the DMR-E80H, which I've been using together, testing an archiving setup. I'm really happy with the picture and it's an ideal setup to capture. However, as you can guess, trouble in paradise when it comes to getting those files onto a computer. My questions:

• Is there a way to get the videos without removing the drive?
• After removing the drive, what's next?

I'd also like to swap the drives at some point, but I don't want too far ahead of myself. First things first, what's the best plan of attack?

[october262]

I've recently acquired both a Mitsubishi HD-2000u and the DMR-E80H, which I've been using together, testing an archiving setup. I'm really happy with the picture and it's an ideal setup to capture. However, as you can guess, trouble in paradise when it comes to getting those files onto a computer. My questions:

• Is there a way to get the videos without removing the drive?
• After removing the drive, what's next?

I'd also like to swap the drives at some point, but I don't want too far ahead of myself. First things first, what's the best plan of attack?

for the Panasonic DMR-E80H, see this thread -
https://www.avsforum.com/threads/panasonic-dmr-hard-drive-data-recovery-it-can-be-done...1010518/page-7

[lordsmurf]

Remove the drive, use ISOBuster (paid).

[companda]

Thank you, lordsmurf. I did come across IsoBuster as well as TestDisk, both look promising, IsoBuster in particular. Do you think one is better than the other for this puprose? Also, I see that I'll need a bay to plug into the drive > desktop, is there one you'd recommend?

[orsetto]

ISObuster in some ways has better support, primarily thru the reports of VH member jwillis84 (uses the same handle at AVSforum and LordSmurf's DigitalFAQ). He was heavily involved in assisting the ISObuster developer to add and debug the dvd recorder HDD extraction feature.

As to a good bay, your guess is as good as anyones. These have long since been anonymous commodity items with abruptly changing chipsets etc, so it isn't always possible to recommend a specific example. jwillis84 has described what to look for in several posts across multiple forums: I suggest you peruse all his posts/threads on the topic for a good grounding on the process.

FWIW, I gather it isn't the greatest idea to constantly disconnect/reconnect the HDD of Panasonic recorders: they can be more balky about it than some other brands, and if a hiccup occurs you could lose all recordings on the drive. I'd recommend waiting until the HDD is significantly filled with captured material before a harvest, and if at all possible use the recorders DVD transfer function to make optical backups of the most crucial videos prior to each disconnect/reconnect cycle.