My new toy

[vinzi]

It's the Panasonic DMR-E85 Multiregion DVD Recorder with Hard Disk ...
the machine features an 80GB Harddisk for a total recording time of 142h ... no more missed TV shows, ever :-) cause if the disc is full, you just transfer it to DVD for archiving ....

Woohooo... can't wait till they deliver it.

Anyone got something like it and would like to share how good/bad the things are... ?

[sukr_4_dbldips]

Congratulations!

I don't have anything like it though...well, I have a Tivo, so I don't miss any shows, but it's a pain to archive anything. Not that I've ever really wanted to.

[incubus0]

So what can this puppy do? Can it record HD signals in HD, or does it down convert it, or what happens there? When you transfer it to a DVD can it be 16:9? Inquiring minds want to know?

[Wirehed]

Drool.

Neat toy.

Does it have some kind of membership like Tivo guide for setting up your recordings?

[tomdkat]

Congrats!

Why would a DVD recorder need to be multi-region? Mainly for playback of multi-region DVDs? I guess my real question is: is there any need for concern about regions when talking about DVD recording?

Peace...

[vinzi]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

Congrats!

Why would a DVD recorder need to be multi-region? Mainly for playback of multi-region DVDs? I guess my real question is: is there any need for concern about regions when talking about DVD recording?

Peace...

yeah, mainly because of playback... but also I guess for recording NTSC, PAL and SECAM TV formats ....



"Does it have some kind of membership like Tivo guide for setting up your recordings?"

What do you mean by "setting up recordings" ?? Programming the timer and such? We have something called "ShowView" here... i.e. in the TV magazines you get a number code for every program. you just type in the code and the timer sets itself to the day, time and channel...

For labeling the recordings, we have Teletext which is sent with the TV signal... the shows are labeled automatically if the Title is transmitted by teletext...

[vinzi]

woo-hoo... I got it today and will test extensively over the weekend... I'll let you know... here's a full description of the machine:

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.





With the DMR-E85HS's onscreen programming guide, it's
easy to schedule the recording of your favorite TV shows.
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.

The Chasing Playback feature lets you watch the recorded program from the beginning while it's still recording.



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.

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 provide multichannel and stereo sound, incredible storage capacity, and unique bonus materials not available on regular audio CDs.

What's in the Box
DVD player/recorder, a remote control, remote batteries, an RF audio/video interconnect, a stereo analog audio/composite-video interconnect, an AC power cord, a blank DVD-RAM disc, a user's manual, and a registration card.