| Author |
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Steve59
Guest
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 Posted:
Fri Oct 14, 2005 9:05 pm Post subject:
Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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I'm of to Costco over the weekend to buy a DVD recorder, but I'm not
sure what one to get.
Its a choice between,
Panasonic DMR-eh50 80gb hard drive
or
JVC DR-MH50 250 gb hard drive.
I've read a couple of reviews saying the JVC has no RGB ?
and the Panasonic is very noisy (HD noise)
Thanks for any suggestions
Ste
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kaboom
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 15, 2005 2:31 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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On Fri, 14 Oct 2005 17:05:24 +0100, Steve59
<rednose59@REMOVEgmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | I'm of to Costco over the weekend to buy a DVD recorder, but I'm not
sure what one to get.
Its a choice between,
Panasonic DMR-eh50 80gb hard drive
or
JVC DR-MH50 250 gb hard drive.
I've read a couple of reviews saying the JVC has no RGB ?
and the Panasonic is very noisy (HD noise)
|
**What will be the primary function of the recorder? If you intend to
archive a lot of stuff from VHS then I suggest the Panasonic. I have
Panasonic e85 and I don't feel that it's very noisy but, yea, it is a
different model.
On the flip side, I don't use the TVGuide that came with it because it
made the machine screw up terribly. It's worked fine ever since I
managed to shut it off completely, so I love it again :)
The avsforums are a good place to research electronics
http://www.avsforum.com
kaboomie |
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only human
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:40 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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Both recorders suck. the pannys are horrible with a lot movement in
video.
and the JVC is known to crash a lot.
keep looking |
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Brian
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:54 pm Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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Steve59 <rednose59@REMOVEgmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | I'm of to Costco over the weekend to buy a DVD recorder, but I'm not
sure what one to get.
Its a choice between,
Panasonic DMR-eh50 80gb hard drive
or
JVC DR-MH50 250 gb hard drive.
I've read a couple of reviews saying the JVC has no RGB ?
and the Panasonic is very noisy (HD noise)
Thanks for any suggestions
Ste
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Take a look at Pioneer DVD Recorders. There are many happy owners.
Regards Brian |
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Johnnie Scott
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:57 pm Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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Fully agree Pioneer they are great
"Brian" <bclark@es.co.nz> wrote in message
news:st52l15k4bjvps5kstfuhfjibfbb1pnjuu@4ax.com...
| Quote: | Steve59 <rednose59@REMOVEgmail.com> wrote:
I'm of to Costco over the weekend to buy a DVD recorder, but I'm not
sure what one to get.
Its a choice between,
Panasonic DMR-eh50 80gb hard drive
or
JVC DR-MH50 250 gb hard drive.
I've read a couple of reviews saying the JVC has no RGB ?
and the Panasonic is very noisy (HD noise)
Thanks for any suggestions
Ste
Take a look at Pioneer DVD Recorders. There are many happy owners.
Regards Brian |
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kaboom
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Oct 16, 2005 1:36 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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On Sat, 15 Oct 2005 02:40:01 -0400, surfer989@webtv.net (only human)
wrote:
| Quote: | Both recorders suck. the pannys are horrible with a lot movement in
video.
and the JVC is known to crash a lot.
keep looking
|
**I burn FIA World Rally races as well as motorcycle races and other
car races and haven't had any problems. I use FR or SP with the
occasional LP. LP can result in a bit of pixelation with a lot of
movement but I didn't find it annoying.
Oh, I should add, the Panny doesn't record well off of a digital box.
I'm still trying to figure out if that's fixable. But I primarily
bought the recorder to convert VHS tapes, in this, it excels.
As the others have said, you should look into a Pioneer, too, they
make a good recorder.
kaboomie |
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GaryP
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:00 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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In what way does the TV Guide screw up the machine? I've had numerous
problems with the DMR-EH50 where the scheduled recording timer, used either
by selecting a program off of the TV Guide On Screen (TVGOS) system or
simply manually programming a date/time/channel, often fails to work and
does not cause the unit to record. If I turn the unit on sometime in the
middle of the time it's suppose to be recording, it records from that point
on. I've seen a handful of posts where others have had this problems, but
not many. I went for several weeks without a problem until one point where
I had to unplug the unit for a short time and it hasn't been working
reliable since. Just wondering if this was the problem you experienced.
Also, how did you shut off TVGOS completely? I'm experimenting with that
option right now, by 1.) entering all zeros in for the TVGOS zip code and
2.) turning off the auto startup option under Setup > Review options under
the TVGOS menus to have it not always nag about needing to be set up. Just
wondering if this is the best and only way to disable it.
I've spend a lot of time and energy trying to get answers from Panasonic
customer support on this. I've been told three times recently that I'd get
a call back the next day from individuals that never followed through, and
was told twice that firmware to fix this would be sent to me in the mail,
which never showed up. One person told me that newer firmware doesn't exist
for this model and that the previous customer service people were mistaken
on which model I had. I now tend to believe this is true ... I called
several authorized repair centers and they weren't aware of any updates for
this model yet. One person was good enough to check with Panasonic on this
(not sure if they use the same customer service people I have access to or
not). I'll probably send it in to one of them, but have little confidence
in getting a unit back that works any better (assuming a firmware bug).
Because there are some but not a lot of people that have posted this timer
issue, it seems like the problem may be under unique circumstances only.
Perhaps it has something to do with the TVGOS feed being received from local
PBS stations that is corrupt some how. I'm in Cedar Rapids Iowa and
presumably receiving it through KIIN/channel 12/Iowa City.
The DMR-EH50 is a pretty good unit overall, with the exception of the
frustrating problem I'm having with the timer. I've bought a lot of
Panasonic gear over the years and am now appalled at how Panasonic's
customer service has handled this issue with me. The people and
conversations have been professional but I've received completely different
responses over the numerous calls I've placed, and am absolutely no closer
to understanding the problem with them than I was many long weeks ago. It's
unbelievable the different things I heard!
"kaboom" <kaboomicus@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5e80l1tmv8989r2f8uaufmmeqtbjn0t3t1@4ax.com...
| Quote: | On Fri, 14 Oct 2005 17:05:24 +0100, Steve59
On the flip side, I don't use the TVGuide that came with it because it
made the machine screw up terribly. It's worked fine ever since I
managed to shut it off completely, so I love it again :)
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kaboom
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:40 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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On Sun, 16 Oct 2005 18:00:51 -0500, "GaryP" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
| Quote: | In what way does the TV Guide screw up the machine? I've had numerous
problems with the DMR-EH50 where the scheduled recording timer, used either
by selecting a program off of the TV Guide On Screen (TVGOS) system or
simply manually programming a date/time/channel, often fails to work and
does not cause the unit to record. If I turn the unit on sometime in the
middle of the time it's suppose to be recording, it records from that point
on. I've seen a handful of posts where others have had this problems, but
not many. I went for several weeks without a problem until one point where
I had to unplug the unit for a short time and it hasn't been working
reliable since. Just wondering if this was the problem you experienced.
|
**Hi Gary. I was having freezing problems, the TVGuide page would turn
a fuzzy, pixely green and you were stuck in it. After buying it, it
worked fine with the TVGuide service for 3 months and then there was a
glitch so I unplugged it and I was up and running for another few
months. However, the problems started coming fast and furious and I
worked out that it was actually the TVGuide service itself (glitches?
changes? don't know) but the e85's software couldn't deal with it. It
was making the recorder screw up even when I wasn't using the guide.
It would freeze everytime I started it up. It got to the point where
it wouldn't find a channel lineup for my area at all. Comcast was
doing all these changes because they are trying to shift people to
digital and they were making many channel changes.
All of that said, this may not be your problem :) but I know that the
TVGuide problem caused my recorder to glitch elsewhere.
| Quote: | Also, how did you shut off TVGOS completely? I'm experimenting with that
option right now, by 1.) entering all zeros in for the TVGOS zip code and
2.) turning off the auto startup option under Setup > Review options under
the TVGOS menus to have it not always nag about needing to be set up. Just
wondering if this is the best and only way to disable it.
|
I couldn't get the TVGuide to shut off initially. It refused to
completely purge the schedule so you can't switch it off. I tried
unplugging, factory resets, everything. You want to get it to "set up"
where you can select "auto channel setting." None of those buttons
would work. One day, my area had a 6-hour brown out. I unplugged the
recorder and left it that way for not quite two weeks. When I finally
plugged it in, I was right back at the absolute beginning like it was
fresh out of the box.
So I started the set up, of which, you must complete most of the
TVGuide set up even if you don't intend to use it. When you get to the
screen that says: "Watch TV?" don't click "enter"!! I hit "set up"
twice and it brought me to the set up page. I clicked auto channel
setting and it took a couple of minutes as it scanned channels and
then it set the clock. It's been fine since then but you can only
schedule everything manually which is no big deal for me.
<snipped info on Panasonic's non-help desk>
**Look to the bottom for some info.
| Quote: | Because there are some but not a lot of people that have posted this timer
issue, it seems like the problem may be under unique circumstances only.
Perhaps it has something to do with the TVGOS feed being received from local
PBS stations that is corrupt some how. I'm in Cedar Rapids Iowa and
presumably receiving it through KIIN/channel 12/Iowa City.
|
**This is what I believe. I googled- panasonic eh50 timer problems
-and was barraged with results. Dang! Here's an interesting result:
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/218034
| Quote: | The DMR-EH50 is a pretty good unit overall, with the exception of the
frustrating problem I'm having with the timer. I've bought a lot of
Panasonic gear over the years and am now appalled at how Panasonic's
customer service has handled this issue with me. The people and
conversations have been professional but I've received completely different
responses over the numerous calls I've placed, and am absolutely no closer
to understanding the problem with them than I was many long weeks ago. It's
unbelievable the different things I heard!
|
**You know, go to avsforum.com and manuever to the forums. I bet
you'll find the answers you need.
kaboomie |
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GaryP
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Oct 18, 2005 3:59 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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"GaryP" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:4352f10b$1@news.mcleodusa.net...
| Quote: | I've been told three times recently that I'd get a call back the next day
from individuals that never followed through, and was told twice that
firmware to fix this would be sent to me in the mail, which never showed
up. One person told me that newer firmware doesn't exist for this model
and that the previous customer service people were mistaken on which model
I had. I now tend to believe this is true ... I called several authorized
repair centers and they weren't aware of any updates for this model yet.
|
Well, one day after posting this, what should show up in the mail ... a CD
labeled DMR-EH50 FIRMWARE UPGRADE along with a couple sheets describing the
upgrade process and what to expect. There is one file on the CD named
PANA_DVD.FRM, 6,738 KB in size, and dated 8/24/2005 8:25 AM. The update
went as documented. I'm going to reset the machine to completely set up the
TVGOS system from the start and see if this firmware upgrade has corrected
the timer problem. Maybe there is hope. |
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kaboom
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:40 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 17:59:57 -0500, "GaryP" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
| Quote: | "GaryP" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:4352f10b$1@news.mcleodusa.net...
I've been told three times recently that I'd get a call back the next day
from individuals that never followed through, and was told twice that
firmware to fix this would be sent to me in the mail, which never showed
up. One person told me that newer firmware doesn't exist for this model
and that the previous customer service people were mistaken on which model
I had. I now tend to believe this is true ... I called several authorized
repair centers and they weren't aware of any updates for this model yet.
Well, one day after posting this, what should show up in the mail ... a CD
labeled DMR-EH50 FIRMWARE UPGRADE along with a couple sheets describing the
upgrade process and what to expect. There is one file on the CD named
PANA_DVD.FRM, 6,738 KB in size, and dated 8/24/2005 8:25 AM. The update
went as documented. I'm going to reset the machine to completely set up the
TVGOS system from the start and see if this firmware upgrade has corrected
the timer problem. Maybe there is hope.
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**Keep us informed and good luck :)
kaboomie |
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GaryP
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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Yes, I'll try to post the results ... especially if the timer fails to work
with this new firmware! In the first 24 hours, it's worked okay, recording
four different times, but it's far too early to assume this firmware fixed
anything. I had the unit work just fine for a few weeks in a row when I
first got it after failing to record the first couple of days, but then
after unplugging it for a short period of time September 12, the problems
with the timer started (and persisted for several week intermittently).
Seems like it was almost worse with the manual timer (as opposed to using
TVGOS), so I'll try that out also in a few days.
I really don't think the DMR-EH50 timer problem is related to the infamous
DMR-EH85 U99 issue others are experiencing with changes TVGOS made.
Problems with the EH50 timer have been noted far before the U99 started in
September.
"kaboom" <kaboomicus@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:05e8l15nio0gsv609g565ivgml3k1ej1gp@4ax.com...
| Quote: |
**Keep us informed and good luck :)
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kaboom
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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On Wed, 19 Oct 2005 19:00:06 -0500, "GaryP" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
| Quote: | I really don't think the DMR-EH50 timer problem is related to the infamous
DMR-EH85 U99 issue others are experiencing with changes TVGOS made.
Problems with the EH50 timer have been noted far before the U99 started in
September.
|
**Yea, the more I read up on it, I figured it was two different bugs.
I really didn't have the U99 problem though, it did happen once. I did
a lot of manual programming before I left on vacation. I came back and
looked at the recorder quickly and thought: Hmmm U99 is a funny time.
I had spent the whole day driving so forgive me :) My problem was just
weird glitches and mucho freezing.
What's interesting is the new round of Pioneer's now have the same
TVGuide feature and in avsforum, there was a rash of complaints about
it (screw-ups and whatnot).
For something completely different: Would your recorder, by any
chance, be directly hooked up to a digital box? If so, how does the
recorded material look? My e85 records a horrible picture off of it
and I can't figure out why.
kaboomie |
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GaryP
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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No, I'm using analog cable only, with no cable converter box. Very good
signal, and excellent recorded picture (indistinguishable from watching live
when using the best XP high quality mode). Do you have other options for
connecting your digital box to the recorder (RF, RCA A/V, S-VIDEO)?
"kaboom" <kaboomicus@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:n7odl118uhu5fb10bkd4nbne869evhmjqm@4ax.com...
| Quote: | For something completely different: Would your recorder, by any
chance, be directly hooked up to a digital box? If so, how does the
recorded material look? My e85 records a horrible picture off of it
and I can't figure out why. |
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kaboom
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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On Wed, 19 Oct 2005 19:41:49 -0500, "GaryP" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
| Quote: | "kaboom" <kaboomicus@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:n7odl118uhu5fb10bkd4nbne869evhmjqm@4ax.com...
For something completely different: Would your recorder, by any
chance, be directly hooked up to a digital box? If so, how does the
recorded material look? My e85 records a horrible picture off of it
and I can't figure out why.
No, I'm using analog cable only, with no cable converter box. Very good
signal, and excellent recorded picture (indistinguishable from watching live
when using the best XP high quality mode). Do you have other options for
connecting your digital box to the recorder (RF, RCA A/V, S-VIDEO)?
|
**Off analog cable, the Panny is fantastic. When I record off of the
d-box, it's pixely/smeary within vast expanses of color. Like
close-ups of faces or a field of green, you get this really weird
effect, like a smeary pixelization but it wouldn't smear outside of
the face, for instance. Perhaps it's an encoding problem with digital.
The digital box only has the options of a co-ax hookup or an RCA
hookup. The co-ax, for some reason, manages to look a tad better than
the RCA. If it's an encoding problem, an upgraded connection might not
help but I haven't heard of others having this problem. I admit that I
haven't really researched it either. Maybe I oughta get on it :) I'm
bummed, I thought it would look fantastic off of the digital box.
kaboomie |
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Camper
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:17 pm Post subject:
Re: Which DVD recorder should I buy? |
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| Quote: | **Off analog cable, the Panny is fantastic. When I record off of the
d-box, it's pixely/smeary within vast expanses of color. Like
close-ups of faces or a field of green, you get this really weird
effect, like a smeary pixelization but it wouldn't smear outside of
the face, for instance. Perhaps it's an encoding problem with digital.
The digital box only has the options of a co-ax hookup or an RCA
hookup. The co-ax, for some reason, manages to look a tad better than
the RCA. If it's an encoding problem, an upgraded connection might not
help but I haven't heard of others having this problem. I admit that I
haven't really researched it either. Maybe I oughta get on it :) I'm
bummed, I thought it would look fantastic off of the digital box.
kaboomie
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I have a Panny E50 hooked up to a digital set top box and the result as
good as going directly through the TV. I have it going from the digital to
AV4 on the panny. |
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