Anyone know much about the Panasonic DMR-E85HS??

[u2bonoman]

Someone's selling these on eBay for a great buy and I'm thinking of getting it. Anyone here have one or know much about them? Here's the Amazon.com site info:


Panasonic's top-of-the line, fifth-generation DMR-E85HS DVD recorder packs a built-in 120 GB hard drive capable of storing up to 284 hours--more than 11 straight days--of audio/video programming in EP mode. So whether you're seeking the time-shifted TV viewing abilities of a VCR-like DVR or you want to archive your home movies to long-lasting DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs, this is the recorder for you.

But it doesn't just slice and dice. The DMR-E85HS is also a progressive-scan DVD player for use with standard and high-definition or HD-ready TVs. It handles your DVDs, CDs, and homemade MP3 discs, as well as high-resolution DVD-Audio discs, which specialize in multichannel music mixes with quality surpassing that found on commercial CDs.

The DMR-E85HS offers the flexibility of recording on both DVD-RAM--perfect for instant chapter access and for multiple rerecordings--as well as DVD-R, generally regarded as the most widely compatible of the many DVD formats. DVD-RAM offers high storage capacity, high-speed data transmission, exceptional picture and sound quality, fast random-access memory, and rewritability up to 100,000 times. DVD-RAM recording time extends to 16 hours per disc in EP mode on 9.4 GB double-sided media.

You can program the recorder for daily or one-time broadcasts much as you would a VCR. To simplify programming, the DMR-E85HS includes the TV Guide On Screen Electronic Programming Guide. With DVD-RAM, you can even perform simple nonlinear video editing, such as rearranging the order of scenes, skipping over unwanted scenes, and creating custom play lists of favorite scenes on a disc.

One touch of a button is all it takes to record data from the DMR-E85HS's hard disk drive to a DVD-RAM or DVD-R disc at high speeds. You can blaze along at a quick 12x normal speed when writing to DVD-RAM, or 24x normal speed when going from the hard disk to DVD-R (in EP mode, both cases). For example, you can burn a one-hour program to DVD-RAM in just 5 minutes, or to DVD-R in just 2.5 minutes.
Panasonic's Time Slip feature lets you use your DVD recorder like a personal video recorder, or PVR. Because of DVD-RAM's extremely fast transfer rate, you can view the recorded portion of an ongoing program from the beginning, while still recording the program in progress.

With Chasing Playback, you can view the recorded portion of a live program, from the beginning, while continuing to record that program until its completion. Simultaneous record & play lets you view a previously recorded program on either a DVD-RAM disc or the hard disk drive while simultaneously recording a different program.

Relief Recording automatically checks the remaining disc space when recording to DVD-RAM or DVD-R. If there's not enough space, the video recorder shifts the balance of the recording to the hard drive.

In addition to recording new video content, the DMR-E85HS lets you transfer your favorite VHS recordings to durable, space-saving discs. You can archive, preserve, and easily catalog and accessed your personal movie libraries and family videos.

The recorder comes with a new Direct Navigator that simplifies the process of previewing recorded programs, letting you access recorded material from an onscreen menu that lists recording dates, times, channels, and titles. Finding and viewing recorded material is simple because there's no need to search, fast-forward, or rewind.

DVD-Audio offers super high-fidelity (192 kHz/24-bit) sound. DVD-Audio discs providemultichannel and stereo sound, incredible storage capacity, and unique bonus materials not available on regular audio CDs.

[RoseNylund]

I bought one of these this past month, and it worked very well for me. But, I did return it after a couple of weeks, and really for one reason. it kept rebooting on me when I started to high sped dub. And then it froze on me once. (I unplugged everything and that seemed to do the trick.) But because of tose two occurances during the first two weeks I owned it, I thought this might not be the machine for me, especially since I paid $599 plus another $99 for warranty.


But I have to admit, it was sooo easy to transfer tapes. The editing is so easy, they have templates for menus. You can divide chapters, etc. I do miss it. I transferred a lot of tapes in that two weeks. It takes about 15-20 minutes to high speed a dub from the hard drive to DVD. It really seemed like a wonderful machine, and I just wonder if maybe I got one that was a little tempremental. I think if the machine was maybe $400 it would be worth the aggrivation. Good luck!

[u2bonoman]

Originally posted by RoseNylund
I think if the machine was maybe $400 it would be worth the aggrivation.

Well the guy on eBay is selling them for $429, so maybe it's worth it!


Thanks for your response - I think I'm sold. Hopefully, it will work well. Thanks!

[cp2k]

I've used several Panasonic DVD recorders... your rebooting problem sounds like it didn't care for the brand of media you were using

I think the e85h would be a great buy.. I've got the e80h, but I'm planning to upgrade to their new model with a 400 GIG hard drive once prices come down

[debwalsh]

I'd agree that the rebooting problem was probably less a bug with the recorder, and more a problem with the actual disc in the drive you were high-speed copying to. I've had the same problem on occasion with my E80, and I just put a new disc in after the reboot, and everything is fine. I probably spent two months just experimenting with media to find brands that both played well on most of the players in my family and recorded consistently.

I would definitely like to get a second recorder at some point. There is so much in my collection I want to back up, especially since so much of my collection is on Beta or PAL.

[u2bonoman]

Well, I ordered it from the eBay seller. I'm so looking forward to my first DVD Recorder! Can anyone recommend a really good brand of DVD-R? Comparable pricewise to most?

Thanks!!

[cp2k]

I personally like these discs VERY much... I've used them with my e80h for years now as well as my PC Drive and I've never had any problems with them. I think out of hundreds I may have had one or two bad discs..

http://www.meritline.com/beall-4x-dv...disc-bulk.html

They have other deals that have cases with the discs too

[y2k3Joker]

I have 2 of these machines (both E-80 models) and I love them.

I've had a lot of success with Prodisc media (silver top and white ink-jet printables)


buy them in bulk from www.rima.com


Good BUY!!! you'll enjoy it.


>Joker