Panasonic DMR-EA18K Tunerless 1080p Upconverting DVD Recorder

• Does not include TV Tuner
• Multi Format playback: DVD, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW
• Viera Link to Panasonic Televisions
• 1080p Upconversion via HDMI
• SD card slot

I was looking for a DVR to replace my old TIVO unit and after much searching I decided on this unit. Since I was connecting it to a cable TV input I didn't need a tuner. In a nutshell the unit has performed very well. I didn't have any problem setting it up as the instructions were pretty clear. The picture from bought DVD's is very good. I am using the HDMI output to my AV Receiver. My input is the s-video. So far the shows I have recorded in the 2hr (SP)mode (using a RAM disc) have been very good. Since the recorder can control my cable box (a great plus!)I tried programing and recording a HBO movie at night. The setup was like a VCR and after a short while becomes easy. The next day I checked and the movie recorded and when I looked at it I thought the quality was good. It should be noted that I am not a expert in reviewing pictures but to me the picture was clear and the sound was good. Since I use a seperate connection to my TV along with the connection thru my AV reciever I am able to watch a show using my TV's tuner while recording a different show. I am very happy with this unit so far (approx 2mths) and the only negative is that I don't have the TIVO guide I was used to for setting up programs. This unit does have a better picture quality than my old TIVO both normal program viewing and recorded viewing. Another slight negative is that it is slow in starting up although this might be my fault as I have it in the low power mode. A great plus is that you don't have to pay a monthly fee like TIVO now (my old TIVO was free for basic). The unit works fine with the Harmony 880 remote. There are many functions I haven't tried yet such as copying old VCR's but if the unit performs as well as it has so far I shouldn't be disappointed. One last thing the unit didn't play a audio slide show I made up although the show does play on my Sony DVD player. Not sure why?

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I bought this to replace a Toshiba DR410 DVD recorder that I bought last December. That recorder was great untill the end of May when it gave out. I checked around and then read an article on Cnet how this Panasonic unit records a much better picture than the Toshiba among other things. It was true. So far I am very pleased with it. Easy set up.

I paid $165.11 plus shipping from a dealer on Amazon, but I see that some of their dealers are asking around $300.00 for it now. ( Panasonic sells this unit direct for $179.95 with free shipping).

Panasonic states that their discs are recommended but I still find that Maxell DVD discs are the best. I use only -R discs. (No, I don't work for Panasonic or Maxell)

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Okay I tried a Samsung version of a DVD Recorder it just wasn't all the way right. Finally it stopped recognizing all DVD's. I replaced it with this Panasonic unit and like most items from Panasonic it works great. The set-up is easy, and since I do all my tuning through my cable box I do not miss having a build in tuner. My one criticism is I do not like the look of the IR transmitter that has to be placed in front of the cable box to allow the unit to control the cable box. Everything else is great.

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I liked our previous Panasonic DVD recorder, and am still sorry that it somehow lost its ability to record. With our Panasonic TV and Viera link, I wanted to stay within the brand.

Here's what's good:

* Viera HDMI connection gives much better picture than the prior model. Very nice for prerecorded discs.

* Does the job, records and plays. Mostly we watch commercially prerecorded discs.

Here's what's frustrating:

* The system takes a LONG time to turn on. My husband counted that the display flashes "HELLO" slowly at least 12 times before it starts to do anything. There's a "Fast on" setting, but that means the player draws more power when it's off.

* The display doesn't show what chapter you're on, just the time elapsed in the show. When you hit Stop once, it "memorizes" where you were, so when you hit play (even if the unit powered down), hitting Play should start up again wherever you stopped. But in the case of a power outage, accidentally hitting Stop twice, or needing to reset the machine, you lose all that and then are left guessing at the chapter where you stopped.

Here's what I still need to investigate or is not really their fault:

* When I activated the "Fast On" setting, the system will sometimes go into a frozen mode where it flashes "o"s on the display and won't respond to any remote control commands or buttons on the machine. The only solution seems to be be hold down the power button for at least ten seconds and reset the machine, which then loses your place on the disc (see the prior point). This may be some sort of sleep/standby mode, but I haven't been able to find anything out about it in the manual and need to go to the Panasonic Web site.

* The video out from the RCA jacks is really, really grainy. I need to try swapping it out with an S-video cable, and the paperwork notes several times that this will improve the video quality. Wish Viera could feed back into the machine.

* Be aware that this is a *tunerless* recorder. Our prior unit was able to connect directly to the cable coax feed, so that's part of the reason that it had a better video quality on recorded discs. Here you're subject to taking the video output through the TV, another DVD/VCR player, etc. It also means that you need to leave whatever's giving the output on the right channel fo it to record the right show, and if you activate the digital cable menus or something else during the show, then it will record that as well.

* There are only two video inputs, and one will be taken up with whatever provides the main video input since it's tunerless. For most people this will probably not be a problem, but our prior unit took the main input from the coax, and then had three additional RCA inputs where I connected another DVD player, a VHS, and (gasp) a Beta archial player. Now I've got to switch the RCA jacks around when I want to change between sources.

My husband says he "hates" this unit, but my emotions aren't quite that strong about it yet. Suffice it to say, be aware of the unit's limitations before you buy, and make sure they won't adversely impact you.

I had the older version of this DVD recorder and it failed due to U61 code. The machine was at least 4 years old. I read all over the Internet and it was a common problem with Panasonic recorder. So, I started shopping for other brands not wanting to end up with another panasonic machine with the same problem.

Being familiar with the older panasonic and what it can do including higher playback resolution, it was very hard to replace the expectation. I tried Toshiba because of its price and feature, but I returned it immediately. I am a big fan of Sony, but the reviews of their DVD recorder were not favorable.

At that point, I was stuck without a DVD recorder for my daugther for 1 month. Desperate, I told my wife I am going back to Panasonic. She totally agreed as she really likes the features and the ease to operate. I started looking for this model DMR-EA18K. To my surprised, it was no way to be found. Everyone was out of stock. I placed an order directly with Panasonic and it took 2 weeks before they told me they are not shipping yet. I looked through Amazon and found one with better price and available now.

I have this unit for a few weeks now and have no complaint. In fact, this newer model is better. Case in point, when you do your programming, there is a preview window to show what is playing in the background. You don't need to get out of the programming mode to see the TV content. Also, I was worried I will be getting old stock with legacy "U" code problem. I looked at the back of the machine and found the manufacturing date to be very current July 2009. I hope they have fixed all the issues and ship better machines. So far, it is working great and I love it!