Panasonic DMR-E30...a new owner...and I will tell you why

[Erwin]

I have researching and thinking about getting a DVD-R/+R recorder or burner for a loooooong time. I bought a Sony 500A Burner which was really nice looking, but I would have to spend atleast $500 (processor,WinXP, memory, new pwr supply, motherboard, and a new capture card.....yes, a whole new computer ) on hardware just to get decent captures(not including the new DVD drive). I was hesitating buying a DVD-R or +R recorder b/c I am big fan of graphics and art, and you simply cannot create menus with your own personalized backgrounds and text; this is nonexistent with any of the recorders regardless of the expense.
I was going to buy a Philips today that was an "OPEN BOX" at Circuit City for $699. It was the same price as the DMR-E30, so, I figured I would just try it. I wrote a check and it didn't go through b/c I just moved and our checks with the old address were useless. So, I left and came back 15 minutes later to buy the Philips using another method. I looked around as the guy was ringing it up and, "what's this, the Panasonic was now selling for $499!" The guy said that as of tomorrow they will be sold at this price. I was going to get it at SAMS for $588, but $499 is much better. Sure, there have been sites selling these for this same price, but I am not very uncomfortable when forking out this much money from places like Buydig.com. You can even get a 3 year extended warranty for $49 which is very beneficial for this type of product. I purchased a 3 pack of Verbatim DVD-Rs. Now, I must record............I hope this works.

[pan-dmre30s]

glad you were able to buy one and it was the panasonic e30.
Also glad the price has dropped as they had it much higher than mail order.

[Erwin]

Yeah, it's about time they came down. I remember seeing an article where they were going to drop to the level.

Well, I recorded 2 full DVD-Rs today. I used the F Record mode that allows one to get the highest bit rate possible in a set time. The first disc I put 6 Simpsons Episode on a DVD-R. I messed up once, I hit the record button when starting the next episode and the player went to it's default XP(1 hour setting). I guess you have to select the F Record mode every time which is not a big deal. Anyway, the DVD-R turned out great. I have 3 DVD players and I tried them all. I went to my ProScan DVD player first b/c it was released in 1998. The disc played like any other DVD. I figured it would play on the Pioneer and my Curtis Mathes DVD players because they are pretty recent players. Now, I need to get some more DVD-Rs. These Verbatims were great. My SAMS store carries a 12-pack of Verbatim DVD+Rs for $23.99- to bad it's not DVD-Rs. I must say I am very impressed with this recorder. The picture looks as good or better sometimes than the VHS source. The Panasonic is not very difficult to get used to, although I highly suggest a buyer to read the manual carefully, read every related post on this site to the Panasonic, and buy media that works like Verbatim DVD-Rs. I was able to get 7 Simpson episodes on one DVD-R (2hrs 38min) and they look really good. The only annoying thing is giving names to each title (I found myself abreviating b/c it's not fun using arrow keys to type each letter), however, the picture/sound quality, ease, and price make up for this.

[tjrueberg]

Erwin,

I bought the DMR-E20 about 6 months ago for $400 and now just bought an E30 for $499 (plus I get a progressive scan DVD player FREE, which by the way plays DVD-RAM also). Already I see them on the NET for under $400. There is a small window to buy "last years models" at good prices. I love both of my Panasonics and have used them extensively. To me $499 was the right time. Yes we will see them lower but it is hard to guess how low for how long before they are gone.

I hope you enjoy your toy!

[Erwin]

"I bought the DMR-E20 about 6 months ago for $400 and now just bought an E30 for $499 (plus I get a progressive scan DVD player FREE, which by the way plays DVD-RAM also)."

Yeah, I saw that "free player" promotion at Panasonic's site......too bad I didn't get the player in Febuary. March 1 or March 2 must have been the magical day, b/c now most places are selling the unit for $499 or below. So, which recorder do you like better? The E20 or E30? If all one wants to do is burn their VHS tapes and record TV, this is definitely the way to go. I have over a hundred VHS tapes that need to be transferred on DVD.