My new toy (pic) - GoFuckYourself.com

mardigras · 09-30-2004, 09:58 AM

I wanted a DVD recorder primarily to transfer over my old home movies and other tapes that I am concerned with deteriorating but I wanted the discs to be playable in my family's DVD players. That's why I didn't put a DVD recorder in my PC, I've had horrible compatability with anything I've created with internal drives I've used over the years so went for a stand-alone DVD recorder.

Local choices sucked or were mostly PC based so I went online (limited myself to eBay and amazon.com) and decided on a
Panasonic DMR-E85H because it has a 120 gig harddrive that says saves up to 213 hours of programming in the EP mode.

This is an updated version of their previous unit which adds a larger hard drive and free TV Guide listing service. That basically gives you Tivo capabilities without a monthly charge, BUT this does not work with any satellite services (I'm all big dish, I knew before ordering I wouldn't be able to use this

) Also, it is not a PTV unit, it doesn't pause/rewind live TV. which somehow I thought it did when ordering. It would be nice to be able to rewind a program and start recording, but since that is not why I bought the unit that is not a real biggie.

The disc tray and display look like mirrors until it lights up. Looked really cool coming out of the box. It's about 4 inches wider than my VCR but thinner.

I've saved about a dozen programs using the SP mode (appx 54 hours available on hard drive in SP mode) and watched a number of them. I'm able to leave my satellite on a channel and have the unit save a progam via timer when I'm gone. So far I've only burned 1 DVD and it played fine in my family's players and looked great. A neat feature is that you can fast forward it through a program and set chapers by clicking 1 button. If you do that before and after commercial breaks you can make a playlist without the commercials and the disc is burned without them. It's not as flexible for editing as PC software but for simple skipping over/joining segments I think it is going to be fine. I'll just record my home movie segments in the order I want to join them

The unit also will record straight onto DVD in modes that go from 2-8 hours on the disc depending on quality you want. I haven't done that yet, will try it soon. I can't tell from the manual if you have to record it all at once or not. Regardless the unit does all I wanted it for. You can see more photos and info here
(note: this is not the place I bought it from, I got it from an eBay power seller, this is just the first Google link that had extensive photos and info, I don't have any experience with them)

Overall so far, I give the unit

Fairly simple menus and plenty features for home use.

It uses DVD-R discs (and something called DVD-RAM which nobody around here has). It does not use DVD+R discs. I had to take some of those back

DVD-R discs are about twice as expensive but about the same price as blank VHS (about $1.50, less depending on bulk) with the exact same available recording times. Flexible Recording lets the unit fill the disc up with the higest quality available recording speed Vs length of program/space available.

I have probably used my VCR to record TV for the last time

axelcat · 09-30-2004, 10:04 AM

Basic_man · 09-30-2004, 10:06 AM

Wow ! that's a pretty nice head unit !

Wiggles · 09-30-2004, 10:06 AM

How much did you get it for?

BuckLover · 09-30-2004, 10:08 AM

Very nice

macho · 09-30-2004, 10:12 AM

Good device!

foolio · 09-30-2004, 10:16 AM

sweeeet I have been looking to get something along those lines - let us know how it works out

loverboy · 09-30-2004, 10:18 AM

worth buying

Tricksy · 09-30-2004, 10:41 AM

looks really nice!

Manowar · 09-30-2004, 10:43 AM

Nice, looks like it will be useful

WPProphet · 09-30-2004, 10:48 AM

How much did you pay?

MattO · 09-30-2004, 10:58 AM

Nice unit. You might be interested in this:

White 50-Pack 8x DVD-R in Spindle - $19.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0962&CatId=405

I've used these and haven't made any coasters yet.

09-30-2004, 09:58 AM	#1
mardigras Bon temps! Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: down yonder Posts: 14,194	My new toy (pic) I wanted a DVD recorder primarily to transfer over my old home movies and other tapes that I am concerned with deteriorating but I wanted the discs to be playable in my family's DVD players. That's why I didn't put a DVD recorder in my PC, I've had horrible compatability with anything I've created with internal drives I've used over the years so went for a stand-alone DVD recorder. Local choices sucked or were mostly PC based so I went online (limited myself to eBay and amazon.com) and decided on a Panasonic DMR-E85H because it has a 120 gig harddrive that says saves up to 213 hours of programming in the EP mode. This is an updated version of their previous unit which adds a larger hard drive and free TV Guide listing service. That basically gives you Tivo capabilities without a monthly charge, BUT this does not work with any satellite services (I'm all big dish, I knew before ordering I wouldn't be able to use this) Also, it is not a PTV unit, it doesn't pause/rewind live TV. which somehow I thought it did when ordering. It would be nice to be able to rewind a program and start recording, but since that is not why I bought the unit that is not a real biggie. The disc tray and display look like mirrors until it lights up. Looked really cool coming out of the box. It's about 4 inches wider than my VCR but thinner. I've saved about a dozen programs using the SP mode (appx 54 hours available on hard drive in SP mode) and watched a number of them. I'm able to leave my satellite on a channel and have the unit save a progam via timer when I'm gone. So far I've only burned 1 DVD and it played fine in my family's players and looked great. A neat feature is that you can fast forward it through a program and set chapers by clicking 1 button. If you do that before and after commercial breaks you can make a playlist without the commercials and the disc is burned without them. It's not as flexible for editing as PC software but for simple skipping over/joining segments I think it is going to be fine. I'll just record my home movie segments in the order I want to join them The unit also will record straight onto DVD in modes that go from 2-8 hours on the disc depending on quality you want. I haven't done that yet, will try it soon. I can't tell from the manual if you have to record it all at once or not. Regardless the unit does all I wanted it for. You can see more photos and info here (note: this is not the place I bought it from, I got it from an eBay power seller, this is just the first Google link that had extensive photos and info, I don't have any experience with them) Overall so far, I give the unit Fairly simple menus and plenty features for home use. It uses DVD-R discs (and something called DVD-RAM which nobody around here has). It does not use DVD+R discs. I had to take some of those back DVD-R discs are about twice as expensive but about the same price as blank VHS (about $1.50, less depending on bulk) with the exact same available recording times. Flexible Recording lets the unit fill the disc up with the higest quality available recording speed Vs length of program/space available. I have probably used my VCR to record TV for the last time __________________ .

09-30-2004, 10:06 AM	#3
Basic_man Programming King Pin Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Montreal Posts: 27,360	Wow ! that's a pretty nice head unit ! __________________ UUGallery Builder - automated photo/video gallery plugin for Wordpress! Stop looking! Checkout Naked Hosting, online since 1999 !

09-30-2004, 10:06 AM	#4
Wiggles Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 14,423	How much did you get it for? __________________ no sig

09-30-2004, 10:12 AM	#6
macho Confirmed User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Internet Posts: 2,875	Good device! __________________ GayPay X2 -- #1in the niche! $35 per sign! Up to 70% revenue share! http://www.gaypay.com

09-30-2004, 10:16 AM	#7
foolio ICQ: 178725656 Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Sunny San Diego Posts: 12,366	sweeeet I have been looking to get something along those lines - let us know how it works out __________________

09-30-2004, 10:04 AM	#2
axelcat Adult Locals Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: West Coast Posts: 25,450

09-30-2004, 10:08 AM	#5
BuckLover Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: I'm everywhere Bitches!! Posts: 1,656	Very nice

09-30-2004, 10:18 AM	#8
loverboy When it rains, it pours Industry Role: Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 20,609	worth buying

09-30-2004, 10:41 AM	#9
Tricksy Confirmed User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: USA Posts: 2,601	looks really nice! __________________ Real-Bucks.com - Real Bucks for Real Webmasters.

09-30-2004, 10:43 AM	#10
Manowar jellyfish Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 71,528	Nice, looks like it will be useful

09-30-2004, 10:48 AM	#11
WPProphet Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Valencia, CA Posts: 340	How much did you pay? __________________ AIM: WPmktgdir ICQ: 278887331

09-30-2004, 10:58 AM	#12
MattO The O is for Oohhh Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: AUSTIN TEJAS Posts: 10,861	Nice unit. You might be interested in this: White 50-Pack 8x DVD-R in Spindle - $19.99 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0962&CatId=405 I've used these and haven't made any coasters yet.