Panasonic DMR-ES35VS DVD Recorder / VCR Combo with DV Input

• Combo DVD recorder/VHS player recorder; measures 16.9 x 3.3 x 13.9 inches (WxHxD)
• Easy one-touch dubbing of DVD to VCR and VCR to DVD (non-copy protected sources)
• Records onto DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, and DVD-RAM; plays back dual-layer DVD-R/+R and CD-R/RW
• Connections: composite (2 in, 1 out), S-Video (2 in, 1 out), component (1 out), RF (1 in, 1 out), Firewire (1 in)
• Optical digital audio out for Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound

The DMR-ES35V dvd/VHS recorder is just ok. It needs a few more features that are found on cheaper older models. A zoom function would be cool, also being able to eject the dvd or vhs from the remote would be handy. The instructions as usual from Panasonic are very poor. The manual seems to have been written by someone that has a poor understanding of technology. The instructions are not precise and spaced all over the manual. The simple instructions on how to record from the vhs to dvd was hard to find, and it kept referencing other pages for tips on how to do it.

The machine works as advertised. I used Verbaitim dvd-r disks and Verbatim +r dual layer disks. Both worked fine. The reason I selected this recorder was for the ability to record on DL disks, and I was not disapointed.

The remote control is poorly layed out. Also the lack of a cover on the front of the player to cover the optinal inputs was poorly thought out. But at least the port for the firewire was coverd. Why they did not place them all under one covered door is confusing to me.

All in all this recorder will do what you want, as long as you are recording non protected vhs tapes to dvd it works great. As with all recorders of this type Macrovision is in effect and not to be over ridden.

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This combo unit has a good DVD player/recorder and a good quality VCR. It is only 2-head but the quality is good -much better than Samsung's 4-head VCR. If you want to transfer VHS to DVD and want a combo unit to do this, then this is probably your best bet (or the 45VS if you want upconversion to HD).

That said, this unit has several flaws. First, you really cannot edit your DVD titles before you finalize them -even when using -RW discs. Granted, you can do this with RAM discs, but I wanted a DVD that would work on other players. Second, you cannot pause or easily stop recordings (unless a RAM disc), so editing out commercials (for example) is very difficult. Third, the remote is rather confusing and mine did not work very well. Sometimes I had to shake it to get it to work. Poor quality. Finally, I've heard that Panasonics can have trouble plaing discs burned on other recorders or computers. I have not tested this, but I've heard that the newer models still have this issue.

Bottom line: for basic recording, this works well, and it's great for transferring VHS when you want to just transfer the whole tape (as is) without editing. The resulting DVD quality is very good -much better than expected. Its probably the best of the combo VHS/DVD recorders, but unfortunately, that is not saying very much.

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I purchased this item 5-20-06. I wish I would have never have bought it. I also read another review about this dvd recorder and they had the same promblem I had. It did not work. This other person who bought this item bought 2 and returned both of them with the same problem. I bought it also and had the same problem also. Here is the problem. I hooked it all up and it worked great for about 5 minutes. Then I could not even get the remote control to work at all. It would not do anything. So I read the instuctions again for 2 hours to be sure I was not doing something a wrong. It still locked up. The Dvd recorder would not do anything at all. I thought the other person that wrote that bad review maybe did not read the instructions . He was correct with his bad review. He had to return both of his defective dvd recorders. I should have listened to what he said. I think Panasonic should pull this product off of the shelves to get the problem fixed. Seems kind of strange that 3 of these dvd recorders had the same exact problem.

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I bought this item in May. First exchanged it and then returned it. My problem was jittery (shaky) images while watching a still picture and some animated movies (like South Park). The other problem mentioned in the other reviews about remote control is fixed now. You need to download the patch by use of a computer.

It's a shame that an otherwise great product has a lot of bugs in it.

Hookup was a breeze.. I used a Cable splitter so I could bypass the unit when watching TV My Sony TV has a better tuner.

The unit played well with a fantastic picture with both VHS and a phenominal DVD image.. near HD on my regual set.

It recorded well with only a slight loss in quality to bot DVD and VHS.

The manual was a little confusing since there is So Much gadgetry this thing can do..I sat down to read it until I understood what it said FIRST, before getting frustrated.

Once I had that down it's a very sweet unit for the price.

HOWEVER, and thats a big HOWEVER First try at transferring vhs to DVD TOASTED the laser and I had to return it for exchange.

It was very nice of Panasonic to put in a error message that said

" U61(power interupted) Self check failed, refer to service"

Thats the best thing when a unit quits..a message that states don't even bother to fiddle with it.