Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK

I own several DVD recorders, and DVD/VHS recorder combos, and this one is my favorite. I especially like that when dubbing a VHS tape to DVD, it divides the recording into separate programs. This way… I can have every episode of a TV series, (for example), separate, so I don't have to search through 6 hours of programming. I also like that you can change the Thumbnail, and there is plenty of room to write each title. An added feature for Me, is a trick of the digital tuner. Since I have several DVD recorders hooked up to my cable system, I do not have a Cable Box. That means I only get basic cable, and no HD channels. But this DVD recorder allows me to get some of them. (for example) Ch. 2.1, Ch. 4.1, Ch. 7.1, etc. so at least I get the HD channels of the broadcast netowrks. On the whole, both the VCR and DVD recorder are easy to operate, and are easy to control. (shuttling, for example.) I highly recommend this DVD recorder/ VCR combl !!

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I reviewed the recorders carefully on [...]. This is the best buy I found for a recorder with all its options. I did purchase from [...] due to free extended warrenty offered by that store though. I dont… have a HDMI cable box yet to really test out the picture quality's my tv and recorder have but its "normal" from what I've seen. I read in almost all the reviews that people had issues with recording to dvd-rw's and had to use the dvd-ram... no you don't. When I setup which was very easy, I too had issues with the dvd-rw not being usable. After troubleshooting from the pages I found the list of dvd types to use. You can only use to record 1x to 4x speed.. anything higher and the recorder can not use them. I scrounged and found a 4x speed dvd-rw media and it worked perfectly. Page 92 under Specifications is a LIST for all the media to record or playback. So before you freak out trying to record or figure out what you can use or take it back to the store, review that page. I would recommend this product to everyone that wants to be able to copy, record and have options to directly input from SD memory sticks. It is great.

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I bought this at Fry`s for $299.99 but you can get it cheaper here at Amazon. So far this machine works great. One person complained about the manual being 100 pages long and that the remote did not have an… eject button for the VCR tape. If you read the manual it will tell you on page 15 to select the VHS drive then press and hold the stop button on the remote for 3 or more seconds and it will eject the tape. I have Time Warner Cable basic and have timer recorded programs to both the VCR and DVD. Works absolutely perfect. The clock is keeping good time so far. I have not yet used the other functions on the machine, but for recording programs it is working very good. I have used Sony DVD+RW disk`s with no problem. I plan on ordering from Amazon the Panasonic DVD-RAM to give them a try. The manual has good clear instructions. Just take your time reading it. I can not compare this to any other DVD Recorder since this is my first, but for my use it has been an excellent machine!

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I don't have this model, and from reading the reviews, I won't be getting it, either. I had the DMR-EZ37V, bought just over 2 years ago (Aug. 2007) for basically the same price ($297.00) as this model.… The complaints I see here are almost identical to problems I had. It froze occasionally, slow channel changing, clock lost 3 seconds a day, etc. You'd think that after 30+ years they would be able to make an accurate clock. It's a pain to have to reset the clock every few days for timer recording, or record an extra minute in the beginning of a show to get all of it. I'm sure glad I bought the 2-year extended warranty from the retailer (Wal-Mart), because it completely stopped reading recordable discs just after the 2-year mark. If I'd bought the 1-year extended, I'd be up the creek. If I didn't know better I'd swear all the negatives in these reviews were written about my model. This tells me that Panasonic doesn't care enough to fix the problems, but just adds a feature or two, changes the model number, and keeps on truckin'. I just got the call today from the warranty repair shop saying they could not get the needed part and will be issuing a check to me. At least I didn't have to pay to ship this thing to them. I just called and they sent a prepaid UPS label. I love the features described in the pros, but the cons are too numerous. I just wish I hadn't bought 15 RAM discs to use with it, because they are apparently useless with any other brand. Last year when I had a problem that was solved by a firmware update, I was looking at other RAM-capable units made by Samsung or Toshiba I think, but they are no longer coming up in my searches. It looks like I will have to go the DVR route for now. It's a shame, because I used to have so much respect for Panasonic products.

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