PANASONIC E20 STAND-A-LONE DVD RECORDER

[kv5]

I am looking into purchasing either the Panasonic E20 or the Pioneer 7000.....

Obviously price is a serious factor !

I know all I to know regarding the Pioneer unit but I have a question about the Panasonic.....

The E20 records on DVD RAM & DVD-R..... but, can It record onto DVD-RW (Not interested about erasing / formating the disc.... as I've got the A04 )

If anyone out there has got the Panasonic E20 or knows someone that has ?

Also, has anyone come across any good prices for either of these units ( UK Reputable Dealer )

Cheers,

Paul UK

[Kusanagi]

Obviously price is a serious factor !

Well, the price on the E20 can't be beat now - it's down to $579.95 now here in the US. See -- http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=963458

As for E20 reviews/comparisons, check out the following threads --

http://www.dv-info.net/cgi-bin/ib/ikonboard.cgi?s=3ce3f65a2ad9ffff;act=ST;f=5;t=12

http://www.dv-info.net/cgi-bin/ib/ikonboard.cgi?s=3ce3f65a2ad9ffff;act=ST;f=3;t=32

http://www.dv-info.net/cgi-bin/ib/ikonboard.cgi?s=3ce3f65a2ad9ffff;act=ST;f=3;t=34


Do a search here as well - alot of people have already asked about the E20 (functions, compatibility, ease of use, etc.).


Kusanagi

[kv5]

Thanks for the links kusanagi.... very very helpful..

However, I still dont know if the PANASONIC E20 will succesfully burn on a DVD-RW disc...... Does anyone know ?????????

I'm ready to make my purchase ...........

But will it be the........

PIONEER 7000

or

PANASONIC E20

The Panasonic if it takes DVD-RW's... and its cheaper ! :P

Paul ( UK )

[nick1977]

I know most people woul dbe buying this to record with, but I thought it's worth mentioning that the UK model of the Panasonic E20 sucks ass big time with playback quality of pre-recorded DVDs.
Where I work we have it hooked up to a 42" Panasonic Plasma, and the Sony DAV-S800 system beats it hands down aon playback quality.

Nick

[PhilipL]

Withdrawn

[fonoop]

Thanks Kusanagi, I just ordered mine. I've had my eye on it for awhile and I was waiting for a lower price. And $589.95 just seemed to be the magic price for me.

[bnbhoha]

A word of caution on the Pioneer 7000. It only records up to 2 hours on dvd-r. I believe it will record up to 6 on dvd-rw but it would be in VR mode which is not compatible w/ most dvd players. Pioneer is coming out w/ Pioneer 3000 which will have the ability to record up to 4 hours on dvd-r. I belive that would be the only difference between the 7000 & 3000. The panasonic e20 will allow you to record up to 6 hours on dvd-r in dvd video mode which is compatible w/ most players. The Panasonic E20 does not have firewire in the US models. Be out on the look out for Panasonic HS1 coming out in the next few months. It is a progressive scan dvd player and has a built in hard drive so editing would be very easy and it comes w/ firewire in. The panasonic e30 is also coming, its exactly like the e20 but it has firewire too. Good luck

[Bud]

I have the E20 and it's great. I have it hooked up to my Digital Cable system, do my recording on the 4 hour mode which is about the 352x420 setting. I have run a original VHS tape to a DVD-R and it came out great, recorded stright to the E20 with any problems.

Bud

[nemethmik]

However, I still dont know if the PANASONIC E20 will succesfully burn on a DVD-RW disc...... Does anyone know ?????????

The Panasonic E20 has the Panasonic LF-D311 DVD-RAM/R drive internally and cannot write or read DVD-RW discs.

[Bud]

I also have the LF311 installed in my PC as the DVD read/writer I have burned DVD-R/DVD-RW again without any problems, agreed you can not use the E20 to burn the DVD-RW, but as a DVD-R recorder it works great when doing copy work direct from a VHS or Digital Cable System like I have. What I do is have some blank DVD-RAM cartridges, copy my movies from HBO/STARZ/Showtime etc in the 4 Hour mode (You can set it to record 2/4/6 Hour) Then I copy the MPEG file to my PC, run it through TMPGEnc and end up with a great VCD copy (again I have a Digital System)

Bud

[nemethmik]

I also have the LF311 installed in my PC as the DVD read/writer I have burned DVD-R/DVD-RW again without any problems

Please check again, I'm sure you burned DVD-R discs but not DVD-RW. LF-D311 is a DVD-R (besides DVD-RAM) burner but definitly not DVD-RW compatible (it cannot even read a DVD-RW disc). I have both the LF-D311 and the Pioneer DVR-104. The Pioneer burns DVD-R and DVD-RW (but not DVD-RAM). A DVD-RW disc is quite different from a DVD-R disc. When you place a DVD-RW disc into the LF-D311 it will not recognize it as a DVD medium. AFAIK, the only DVD-RAM/R/RW combo-readers are Hitachi GD-8000 and Toshiba SD-M1612 DVD-ROM drives, as well as Panasonic RP91 DVD player. No DVD-RAM/R/RW combo-burner is available today.

[wellsi]

I too have the Panasonic DMR E20 under the TV and the Panasonic LD-D311 on the PC.
Can confirm both will only write to DVD-R and DVD-RAM. DVD-RW is a Pioneer-only format I believe.

Cheers,

[kv5]

Thanks to everyone for all the help..... much appreciated

Ian ( In London ) what DVDR media have you used with your E20 ?
Do any the cheaper brands work ? (Princo / Bulkpack ) from SVP.

Thanks again..........

Paul ( UK )

[wellsi]

I've used the Vivastar unbranded without any problems at all; I've heard good and bad re Princo, so I've not actually tried them. Just bought a load of Bulkpaq, but not yet tried them...

Most of the suppliers will sell you 2 or 3, allowing you to test before you buy loads...

Cheers,

[kv5]

Ian ( London ) .....Let me know how it goes with the 'BulkPack' please ?

Also.....where did you purchase your machine from ( E20 )

Thanks,

Paul ( UK )

[wellsi]

I got mine from Comet for £700. I know that there are a fair few places that you can pick it up for £600 now though.
Browse through the DVD Players and Recorders section in the forums at http://www.avforums.com/ for some good deals; most of the forum members are based in the UK...

Will try the Bulkpaq and let you know,

Cheers,

[DVD Knight]

Then I copy the MPEG file to my PC, run it through TMPGEnc and end up with a great VCD copy (again I have a Digital System)

Bud

My Panasonic E20 work fine with me, I can copy from my dvd ram cartridges to my PC using Panasonic LF311, the only problem is the extension is .vro, I have a Dazzle II card, I can import it and play, but CANNOT EDIT. I also use DVD IT to burn them into .VOB but there no sound, can TMPGEnc can edit into MPEG2?
thanks,
DVD Knight

[Bud]

What I found out was you have to run the VRO file through the DVD2AVI process, this will create the video pointer and extract the sound file. Then I use TMPGEnc to edit/create VCD/SVCD. I record up to two movies on one DVD-RAM, using the DVD2AVI I can "edit" the start/stop points of film one, then do the same for the second film. I end up with two sets of pointers and sound files that TMPGE will accept. You treat these files as you normally would with TMPGEnc.

Bud

[MicoMan]

I know someone who bought one below and you get 6 DVD-RAM and 3 DVD-R's worth over £100 free with it

Price - £699 + delivery

http://www.multiregionmagic.co.uk

http://homepages.force9.net/grahamash/magic/dvdrec/dmre20.html

[wellsi]

Bud,

That's exactly what I want to do; record on the DMR using RAM, then playback on the LF D311 to hard drive, but to burn to DVD-R.
Does TMPGEnc work for PAL, as Kwag's guide states it's NTSC only...

Any thoughts?

Cheers,

[kv5]

I've Just got the E20..... Very nice Machine !!!!!! - very Pleased with it !

Burns to DVD-R fine ( A Bit Fussy With the Cheaper Media ) creates all the .vobs etc. etc. as they should be. (Standard DVD)

Does anyone know of a DVD Rom..... that will read the RAM Disc's ?
( Not a writer though! - As I've already got the Pioneer 104 )

Thanks again

Paul ( UK )

p.s - Wellsi... those 'BulkPac' DVDR's dont work with the E20.... they just stop recording after about 1min 20 sec...... and turns the machine off.

[Eug]

I've Just got the E20..... Very nice Machine !!!!!! - very Pleased with it !

Burns to DVD-R fine ( A Bit Fussy With the Cheaper Media ) creates all the .vobs etc. etc. as they should be. (Standard DVD)

Does anyone know of a DVD Rom..... that will read the RAM Disc's ?
( Not a writer though! - As I've already got the Pioneer 104 )

Thanks again

Paul ( UK )

p.s - Wellsi... those 'BulkPac' DVDR's dont work with the E20.... they just stop recording after about 1min 20 sec...... and turns the machine off.

Toshiba SD-M1612 and Hitachi GD-8000. They will read the DVD-RAM discs assuming you have the right drivers for UDF 2 and software that understand DVD-VR.

I can confirm that the Toshiba read DVD-RAM fine on my Win XP system. I've installed the drivers for my Panasonic DVD-RAM burner only. No Toshiba drivers. The drive reads both UDF 1.5 and UDF 2. I've played a DVD-Video off of DVD-RAM in that drive, but haven't tried playing a DVD-VR, since I don't have a VR disc and I don't think my software supports it. The drive cost me US$50.

[kv5]

Thankyou 'EUG'.... I got the Toshiba 1612 (As you mentioned) and it reads the RAM Disc's just fine

A Tip For anyone with a Panasonic E20 or the likes:

If you wish to transfer your recordings from your Stand-a-lone DVDR that have been recorded on a RAM Disc...... to be edited on your Computer...
Simply copy the '.VOR' File across and rename the extension to '.mpg'..
The file will now load directly into TMPGenc for further encoding (Or Whatever) etc. etc..... It will also play directly in the media player !

If anyone's interested....... The new Generation3 DVDR's (Branded or Unbranded) work without a hitch on the E20.... and also work in a PS2 (Much more compatable than the cheaper brands of DVDR!)

Paul ( UK )

[Eug]

Thankyou 'EUG'.... I got the Toshiba 1612 (As you mentioned) and it reads the RAM Disc's just fine

A Tip For anyone with a Panasonic E20 or the likes:

If you wish to transfer your recordings from your Stand-a-lone DVDR that have been recorded on a RAM Disc...... to be edited on your Computer...
Simply copy the '.VOR' File across and rename the extension to '.mpg'..
The file will now load directly into TMPGenc for further encoding (Or Whatever) etc. etc..... It will also play directly in the media player !

If anyone's interested....... The new Generation3 DVDR's (Branded or Unbranded) work without a hitch on the E20.... and also work in a PS2 (Much more compatable than the cheaper brands of DVDR!)

Paul ( UK )

You're welcome, and also, thanks for the info on the .vor files.

BTW, the M1612 reads UDF 1.5 DVD-RAM discs fine too on WinNT4 (at work) with no extra drivers. It was a great way to transfer some of my bazillion files from my home desktop to my NT4 desktop at work. I have not yet tried UDF 2.0 discs though.