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Panasonic DMR-EH75VS DVD Recorder (DVR/VCR, 80GB Hard Drive, HDMI - MPN: DMREH75VS)
Description: Your hectic schedule isn't always compatible with TV program schedules, so being able to quickly locate your favorite shows and record them for later viewing is important. The TV Guide On Screen? Electronic Program Guide lets you easily fin.... Read More Description: Your hectic schedule isn't always compatible with TV program schedules, so being able to quickly locate your favorite shows and record them for later viewing is important. The TV Guide On Screen? Electronic Program Guide lets you easily find your favorite programs and set up your DVD recorder to record them unattended. Explore program listings up to 8 days in advance, searching by genre or keyword to help narrow down your choices. Once you've found what you want in the listings, simply select the program and your DVD recorder will automatically begin recording at the preset time. Minimize |
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| Date Reviewed: 11/24/2006 |
- boathead38
from MI
- Member Since:
Apr 2006
View Member's:
Reviews
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Strengths: Built in TV Guide makes it easy to record programs, simple VHS to DVD or HDD dubbing, setup was SIMPLE, HDMI for one cord hookup, search function for TV listings.
Weaknesses: There are so many features that it will take a couple of weeks to learn how to use them!
Summary: We have had the DMR-EH75VS Recorder for a couple of days and have most of the basics figured out. It has every feature I could ever want, great for dubbing old VHS tapes to DVD, Timeshifting, creating DVD slideshows, and movies to bore the relatives with! The remote is about as intuitive as you'll find considering the fact that the recorder does pretty much everything. The Hitachi unit I replaced had a TERRIBLE remote and was problematic almost as soon as it came out of the box. Panasonic build quality is first rate and is well laid out and I anticipate having a MUCH better time using this unit. Now it's time to upgrade our old plasma to an HDTV unit.......it never ends!
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| Date Reviewed: 01/07/2007 |
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Strengths: Very flexible, can record to and from Hard Drive, DVD, VHS and SD card. Appears to be well made. Produces high quality recordings.
Weaknesses: As with any all in one unit, if one section breaks (ie VHS), you will be without the entire unit while it is being repaired.
Summary: 2007-01-15 06:46:43 I purchased the DMR-EH75vs to time shift TV programs and to convert a large collection of video tapes to DVD. The TV Guide menu system makes time shifting easy, but it does take getting used to.
With my VCR, I would need to set the VCR to channel three and set the cable box to whatever channel I wished to record. The VCR could not control the cable box, so I was limited to taping a single channel. With the DMR-EH75vs, there is an attachment which will send a signal to the cable box to change channels at the appointed time.
The DMR-EH75vs can be programmed via the TV Guide system, by VCR Plus code or manually. Setting up TV Guide is a lengthy process, involving finding the correct remote control codes to match the cable box, selecting the proper channel line up and then waiting for the listing to download. The DMR-EH75vs must be turned off and the cable box must be tuned to a specific channel in order for the download to occur. It will change the channel on its own as long as the unit is turned off. If you are watching TV and don't want the channel to change, simply turn the DMR-EH75vs on. Therefore, receiving downloads typically occurs over night or when I'm not home. It took a few days before I received the full 8 day listing.
Manual programming can be done without waiting for TV Guide to download.
The manual provides step by step instructions on how to use each feature. However, finding what you are looking for in the manual can be difficult. Fortunately, Panasonic has a PDF of the manual available for download on their website. Searching the PDF is much easier than thumbing through the manual and will show you all of the sections in which a topic is covered.
So, far I have converted three tapes. The quality of the copy to the hard drive and the subsequent burn to DVD was maintained throughout the process. One of the three tapes had a physical defect (a small scratch which was a bare spot on the tape). The internal VCR recognized this defect as an end of tape indication and would automatically stop when it reached this point. In order to copy this tape, I needed to use an external VCR as a playback machine which would play through the scratch.
The DMR-EH75vs has basic editing functions, so commercials may be edited out. Titles may be split but not joined. Chapter marks can be added or removed. Play lists built from multiple titles and chapters can be created. There is no undo function, but there is a prompt that allows you to cancel if you realize you are making a mistake.
While chapters may be created, the final DVD has a limited menu structure, showing top level titles only. The machine cannot create chapter menus.
The DMR-EH75vs has a 1 year warranty. I purchased a third party extended warranty as well. The box includes an extended warranty option directly from Panasonic, but as I had already bought the third party warranty, I did not call Panasonic for details.
Overall I am happy with my purchase. I would recommend downloading and reading the PDF version of the manual before buying this or any DVD recorder to ensure that it meets your specific need.
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| Date Reviewed: 04/20/2007 |
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Strengths: Feature laden, excellent VHS quality, ability to edit before archiving, records to dual layer discs from hard drive.
Weaknesses: Can't choose where to split dual layer discs. Remote layout could be better, particularly the TV guide key placement
Summary: 2007-06-05 21:35:45
I have owned another prominent brand dvd/vhs recorder for about 2.5 years, but have been unhappy with the dubbing quality as well as the length of time it takes to load and eject media. In addition, DVD burning format pretty much limits one to 1 or 2 hours of recording if video quality is an issue, so this machine was inadequate for recording most movies and operas on PBS. The machine will not record to dual layer so it was time to look for another alternative.
I then decided to buy a TV tuner for my PC and good software for recording programs and burning to DVD, but I have been unhappy with the time it took to edit these programs as well as the loss of quality due to compression to MPEG and subsequent conversion to DVD-video.
I then ordered a DVR through my cable company, but am not happy with the obvious artifacts when playing back analog programs and YES, I AM DEFINITELY FUSSY!
Since I like to archive many of the programs I watch, I decided to give this machine a try since it sounded like it might help me achieve my goal. After using the product for about 3 months, I have to say, I am just DELIGHTED with it.
There are so many features that it is really hard to describe the unit fully, so I will explain by example what this machine allows me to do that the other methods did not.
I record movies, but have found that for good quality I must record at least at SP speed which allows for at most 2 hours on the disc. Most good movies are over 2 hours. This machine allows me to record any movie up to 4 hours in length at SP to the hard drive after which I can dub the movie to a dual layer disc.
I can also record several programs for archiving if I so desire. I record to hard drive, edit, and then burn them to disc for future viewing. I have used this machine to dub some of my favorite VHS recordings to DVD. The VHS playback is FANTASTIC - tapes from a variety of sources playback clearly and with clear sound (unlike the VHS playback on my Sony combo which was HORRIBLE!!!)
If I want to archive a program on to disc at the same quality level/speed, the machine has a high speed copy mode which can copy a progam recorded in SP mode at a rate of about 8 minutes per hour. Thus I am able to dub a 3 hour recording to dual layer disc in just about 25 minutes. The quality is wonderful and the process fairly easy.
Another thing I've done with the machine is to record American Idol to hard drive. (Yes, I know, I'm a LOSER!) I can then cut out the commercials and performances I didn't like and burn the keepers to DVD. I can add performances from week to week and when the disc is full, I finalize it an it can play in all of my other devices (computers, DVD players). I've done the same with clips from Letterman, the Tonight Show, Conan and Jimmy Kimmel so I have a great late night comedy DVD that is fun to watch.
The machine has not let me down at all. I have not had any problems with it reading media. I usually use good media (Verbatim dual layer, Verbatim DVD-R, HP DVD+RW, Sony DVD+RW) but I found that the machine will even read and write to Office Depot DVD+RW.
Finally, even though DVD-RAM is not compatible with most players, I find it to be an excellent format for time shift viewing since it works just like a video tape but BETTER since you can easily jump from one program to the next and delete programs that are no longer wanted IN AN INSTANT! You do not need to fast forward or rewind to the program you wish to view or delete. Once the program is deleted, new space will be available for additional recording. Last but not least, when the machine is recording to DVD-RAM, you can view the program from any previous point (time-shift viewing). This is very helpful if you are interrupted while watching a program that you are recording since you can pick up where you left off and do not have to wait until the recording is finished to view what you missed.
The inputs on the front panel allow me to connect my Digital video camera and my notebook computer for dubbing. I am also able to copy my own unprotected DVD's to the hard drive for replication.
The only caveat I would have is that this unit is not for the technophobic or faint of mind! ;) There are MANY MANY functions and thus there will be much to learn. Not all of the function commands are intuitive and many of the keystrokes required are buried within menus. (This is really due to the nature of the machine and not due to any fault on the part of Panasonic. I've seen and used other recorders by other manufacturers and IMHO it is just the nature of the beast.)
That being said, if you are interested in having a free TIVO type option that allows you to record or dub in any direction, I don't think you will do better for the money the the DMR-EH75VS. There has not been a single moment that I've regretted my purchase.
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| Date Reviewed: 04/02/2007 |
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Strengths: DVD-RAM, VCR, and 80 GB DVR all built into one; HDMI, component video, and digital audio out; TV Guide feature is great
Weaknesses: A bit complicated to figure out at first, but well worth the time investment; failure of one feature (DVD, DVR, VCR) means the whole thing needs to go to the shop
Summary: I was looking for a box that would consolidate an old VCR and DVD player/recorder into one unit, and I was delighted that Panasonic offers not only those two features, but also a 80 GB DVR in a single box. I've never been a big TiVo fan for some reason, but the DVR on the EH75VS is great, and Panasonic has teamed up with TV Guide to make finding and recording your favorite shows even easier. I now use this feature to find something to watch on TV.
The manual's a bit daunting at first simply because there are so many features and options, but soon after I got the unit installed I was on my way to figuring out its capabilities. I haven't yet copied any of my old VCR tapes to DVD or DVR, but that's probably the only thing that I haven't done yet with this unit. Great product!
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| Date Reviewed: 03/31/2007 |
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Strengths: HDMI works with both the DVD and VHS output. Lots of choices as far as recording media.
Weaknesses: Owners manual does a lot of jumping around. Remote is not the best quality.
Summary: This is probably the best all round multi function/multi task unit out there. I had read enough reviews going into my purchase to know it was not the end all-cure all. I never was a big fan of multi function components, but these three (DVD/VHS/DVR) belong together. I still have a lot to learn about this thing.
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| Date Reviewed: 08/30/2006 |
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 DMR-EH75VS - Best all in one available at the moment Strengths: TV Guide and Features
Weaknesses: Picky about the media it reads
Summary: Machine is very good and a nice tivo substitute (well sort of). It’s great at backing up vcr tapes to dvd. This device has a lot of features and will take a while to learn them all and in what cases you want to use them.
I’ve had this for about a month and still have to refer to the manual when I want to do something specific. The best way to tackle is to briefly leaf through the manual after getting it setup and then refer to it when you want to perform a specific task.
I love the timeslip feature. You hit the button and it fast forwards you 1 min. This is great when skipping commericials. Hit the button 2-3 times to bypass them.
When recording from the tv guide, the program is saved with the program name and date.
It has an 80GB drive. As long as you use the hard drive for temp storage to watch tv recordings and then erase, you will be fine. You won’t be able to store everything on it. Just burn it to dvd if you want to keep it.
Even though a few major dislikes, I still like this machine and would recommend it. I’m just more of an advanced user and spoiled by my Philips dvd 642 which played everything I ever threw at it. Unfortunately, I still have to keep the Philips to play all of my media collection.
Perhaps someone is looking for this feature…this recorder will not allow you to record a divx movie from dvd drive to the hard drive.
What I like:
- HDMI connection.
- Upscale conversion. Looks good
- Editing is easy and quick
- Free 8 day TV Guide
- TV Guide features and usability
- Flexible Recording
What I don’t like:
- Divx files can only be played form cdr, cdrw or dvdr. It will not read a divx file from dvdrw, it will tell you that the disk is not formatted correctly and asks if you want to format it.
- Divx files do not autoplay and there is no continuous play if you have multiple avi’s on a disk. I have a couple of movies I have recorded in divx files that are broken up into 2 files. So the first divx file will play and at the end it will go back to the file menu and you have to manually select the 2 file. (I still keep my Philips dvd 642 so I can play them continuously)
- Drive is very picky about the media it reads. Does not like TDK dvdrw’s. Some movies that I have recorded will not play in this player and will get the “cannot play” message.
- No zoom button for 16:9 tv’s. (forced to keep my tv remote close by to change aspect ratio on 4:3 movies)
- Some features are only if you record in XP mode and burn in highspeed mode (such as keeping chapter marks and thumbnail pics)
- Tv Guide is small and only displays 1 ½ timeframes. (you have to keep scrolling to see additional timeframes. Ex, you will only see 8pm, 8:30pm, and 9pm)
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| Date Reviewed: 06/03/2006 |
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Strengths: Everything
Weaknesses: None
Summary: Without a doubt the best DVD recorder I have ever purchased. It has everything anyone would want in a recorder.
I own two Pioneer Recorders that I paid $1400 and $1100 for so I could edit and copy recordings for my kids and all the relatives. Although they are excellant recorders it was a hastle and time consuming job copying from one unit to the other.
With the DMR-EH75VS everything is so simple. The TV Guide menus are a great time saver. All I have to do to record a program is to highlight the program I want to record, press the REC button, and it automatically records that program at the proper time. Being able to see everything that's coming on cable for the whole week and to mark them for recording is just great. I don't even need a cable guide anymore, so I can save the 3 bucks a month for mailing DVD discs to my relatives.
When copying from the 80 GB Hard Drive that the programs were recorder on, the copying is done at high speed to a DVD-R or DVD-RW disc so it doesn't take the time that a full length movie does. The copying only takes a fraction of the time. Not only that but I have a hundred DVD-RW discs with three movies on most of them that was recorded on my Pioneer recorders in the VR mode. I can insert and copy them to the hard drive in high speed mode, also. They just won't high speed copy back to a DVD. At least I haven't yet found a way to do it.
With the built in VCR it's real easy to copy them to the Hard Drive, do the fast editing (taking out commercials), and then copying them from the Hard Drive to a disc. I guess you can copy directly from tape to a DVD or Cd but I don't have a need for that.
If anyone has a lot of VCR tapes or do a lot of recording from cable this is the only way to go. I am so satisfied with this unit that I just sent for Panasonic's new recorder the DMR-EH55 that has a 200GB drive to use in addition to this one. The only difference, I am told, is that it doesn't have the VCR feature. Just what I was looking for. Now I can give my kids the two Pioneer recorders.
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| Date Reviewed: 11/07/2006 |
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Strengths: Quality, TV guide, looks, and SD card slot
Weaknesses: Price and size
Summary: After extensive research and discussions with my tech savvy brother, I bought this unit. My second choice was the Pioneer DVR with 160 GB hard drive.
Panasonic’s 80 GB hard drive may be small to some people but that’s 17 hours of recording in best quality and that’s more than enough for me. Yes, Panasonic should have put in a bigger hard drive for this top of the lin unit but it’s nothing to cry about.
The TV guide feature works well. It updates listings when the unit is off. I have Comcast cable and recording is a breeze now. I just pick the show I want recorded and it’ll record that same show whenever it comes on regardless of the day or time (choice of once, weekly, and regular). The best is that some shows change times or lengths and with my VCR before I had to change the times every week which was a hassle, but not anymore!
The biggest downfall to this unit is its size. The dimensions are 16.9” x 2.3” x 13.9” (WxHxD). It barely fit inside my TV cabinet but it fit. I’m still glad I bought it.
Oh yeah, the remote also includes some TV features (power, channel, volume, and input) so when you want to use your DVR you don’t need to use your TV remote.
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| Date Reviewed: 08/15/2006 |
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Strengths: Can record to and play from DVDs, HDD, VHS tapes;
Good compatibility with DVD formats and brands;
Good picture quality;
Can copy between HDD, VCR, and DVD;
Supports Flexible Record Mode.
Weaknesses: TV Guide function does not work with all cable/satellite systems;
Many functions not very intuitive;
80GB HDD small compared to many competing DVRs;
Summary: The Panasonic DMR-EH75VS is the only available all-in-one VCR/DVD/DVR player/recorder/copier that I am aware of. Because it has the internal hard drive (HDD) as well as a VCR and DVD recorder, I decided after reading many reviews to buy this unit. After about 2 weeks of using it, I can say that I find I love some features and am disappointed in others. To begin with, the on-screen TV Guide feature (TVGOS) seemed like it was going to be a great feature for me. Even though I read reviews from several buyers who discovered that it would not work with their cable or satellite systems, I figured that since I had Directv I would be one of the lucky ones that could use the TVGOS. Well, after a frustrating week and a half of it constantly changing my satellite channels but accomplishing nothing noticeable, I finally called Panasonic support. It was then I found out that TVGOS does not work with Directv HD receivers. Since I have HD, I am out of luck. The DMR-EH75VS is built around having the TVGOS feature available. If you cannot use TVGOS, you've lost one of its key features. Without TVGOS, you have to manually set recording times (like a VCR). However, its manual record function is not as easy-to-use as most of the better VCRs around. Also, I have discovered an annoying issue when the IR Blaster is used: it seems to want to change the current channel to the last channel that was successfully recorded whenever various functions are changed on the DVR. So far, the only way I have been to stop this annoyance is to remove the IR Blaster from in front of the Directv receiver. That does not have any negative impact because the IR Blaster's main value is to allow the DVR to change channels as necessary. If you are not using the TVGOS, you don't really need it to change channels as long as you can remember to change the channel when you want to record a particular program on a different channel than the one you are watching. I have successfully copied some old VCR tapes to DVD, and it was pretty simple to do it, and the resulting quality was good. The only downside I noticed was that for some reason, I could not adjust tracking while doing the copy. Sometimes old VHS tapes recorded on various recorders need some tracking changes during playback, and this DVR does have tracking adjustment buttons on the remote, but they did would not work when copying a tape. One concern I had in buying another DVD recorder (this is my second one) was compatibility with various DVD brands. My old Samsung DVD recorder was extremely finicky about what brand of DVD-R I used. The DMR-EH75VS has so far accepted every brand of DVD-R/+R that I have tried - including one of those cheap noname brands of DVD+Rs on a 50 DVD spindle. I have also not had any issues playing DVDs recorded with this recorder on my good Sony DVD player. So, one big plus is that the DMR-EH75VS seems to have very good DVD compatibility. Another annoyance that I have noticed with this DVR is that chapters that have been painstakingly created on programs recorded on the HDD do not seem to transfer to a DVD-R. It is possible that the recording mode I used (Flexible Record Mode - FRM) negates that. I will need to do some more experimenting to find out. The FRM itself is a great feature to have. FRM allows the DVR to select whatever speed is necessary to fit a recorded program into the available space on a DVD. In other words, you can record a program onto the HDD in high quality XP mode and not worry about available space when later transferring it to a DVD. There have been many complaints about the complexity of this DVR and the poor quality of the user manual. There is indeed a degree of complexity, and many of its functions are not very intuitive. So, most people will have to read the manual. Unfortunately the manual suffers from Panasonic's attempting to compress a lot of information into as few pages as possible. You frequently have to do some paging back-and-forth when reading about how to perform some functions. I mentioned earlier about chapters not copying to DVDs. Adding chapters to recorded programs is necessary when you want to remove unwanted parts of the program. For example, commercials and excess material at the beginning and end of a movie can be edited out by creating chapter divisions around them and deleting the unwanted chapters. However, editing programs in this manner can only done on the HDD or on DVD-RAM disks. Other than deleting unwanted parts of recorded programs, chapters also allow going straight into parts of a program via the DVD menu. So, it would be nice if they always copied when copying the program itself. All-in-all, I like the DMR-EH75VS despite its annoyances. I gave it a four star rating mostly due to its ability to easily copy between the three types of media (HDD, DVD, and VCR). I also think its picture quality is very good. The TVGOS feature however needs some work.
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| Date Reviewed: 07/27/2007 |
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Strengths: Lots of features, Flexibility to record between different medias, Built in TV Guide, Writes to DVD+R DL discs, HDMI up Conversion, Play DivX files,
Weaknesses: Higher learning curve, 80GB hard drive is bit smaller then some other models,
Summary: I have had this unit for more than 3 months and I love this product.
This DVR by panasonic is so rich in features that even after months of use I am still discovering new features and possibilities. It has saved me a lot of time that I may have spent editing movies on the computer and then burning to DVD media.
The DVR comes with a built in TV Guide, it may take time setting up the channel line up for your service provider, but once it is setup it saves a lot of time scheduling TV program recordings.
My favorite feature is the ability to convert those old VHS tapes that haven't been touched in a while to DVD. The DVR lets you save VHS content to the hard drive. You can then edit it before burning it to a DVD.
HDMI output makes it possible to connect the DVR to a HDTV. The DVR can up convert the video up to 1080i resolution.
Digital camcorders can be hooked directly to the DVR using the DV Input port, thus making DV to DVD transfer easier.
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| Date Reviewed: 07/03/2007 |
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Strengths: It does ALL,goodbye to TIVO & DVR monthly fees.It will record to your Hard drive,all formats of DVD's,CD's and has VCR that can play & record. SD card for your digital camera's "slideshow". AMAZING!!
Weaknesses: A must to spend the weekend READING the user manual in order to learn to operate. There are so many functions, its hard to remember all of them.
Summary: This is trully an ALL in one machine that present an amazing picture and capabilities with the built-in HDMI up conversion. I'd buy another one of this machine if i could find one somewhere?? I see people on here who did not read the manual and probably does not know how the other features & functions work. Well, what could i say..not everyone likes calculus, probability or math. People just want something to fall on their lap.
The built in TV Guide simplify things for most people..
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| Date Reviewed: 06/07/2007 |
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Strengths: Excellent DVD recording and playback, Easy copying VHS to DVD and Hard Drive to DVD, many advanced features, menus easy to navigate. DVR ability.
Weaknesses: Price is expensive, slow reaction of buttons on remote, remote too small for all the buttons on it.
Summary: When I looked for a new DVD recorder, I decided on this one because of all the features it offers. It allows very good recordings of your old VHS tapes to DVD, as well as recording to VHS if you want to. The DVR function is quite good with the built-in 80 gigabyte hard drive and program listings you can receive right from your antenna free of charge. Since I don't have cable or dish this actually worked quite nicely for me and I had no problems getting the listings almost right away overnight and they keep coming automatically.There are a lot of buttons on the remote which is almost too compact for all that has to be on there. Overall I would definitely buy this unit if you are looking for the combination of a VHS, DVD, and HD recorder.
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