Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK

• Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 20 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 8 stars

  Mostly A Success

  by sfniceguy on July 24, 2008

  Pros: Does everything as advertised.

  Cons: Software occasionally locks up, and you have to reboot unit

  Summary: I have been using this unit (okay, actually a slightly different model, the DMR-485VK, an essentially similar if not identical model I believe made exclusively for Costco; I paid $240) ...

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  Summary: I have been using this unit (okay, actually a slightly different model, the DMR-485VK, an essentially similar if not identical model I believe made exclusively for Costco; I paid $240) for a couple months now. DVD recording quality of broadcast/cablecast television in it's 1-hour "XP" mode is excellent. Other modes 2-hour, 4-hour, and 6-8 hours recording modes are okay, but pixelation and compression artifacts become more obvious, particularly in complicated and/or fast moving scenes. And it's QAM digital tuner is excellent at recording SD and HD signals if passed through by your cable company. (I use cable, but don't have a cable box. I just subscribe to basic analog cable, but my cable provider Comcast includes local digital unscrambled channels in this package as well, such as FOX, NBC, CBS, and ABC, something I didn't realize they did until I bought this digital recorder and an HD TV set).
  
  I love using RAM discs to record TV programming. RAM discs allow you to simultaneously record one program while watching another program already recorded on the disc. This makes watching an evening of television very easy, and being able to skip through all the commercials. And not having to wait for the recorder to finish all the evening's scheduled recordings before starting to watch. DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs do not allow that feature -- only DVD-RAM discs.
  
  I'd give this unit even higher marks (a 9 or 10) were it not for it's buggy software driving all of its features. The unit occasionally gets "confused" and locks up -- not responding to buttons on unit or on remote control. You have to unplug and re-plugin to reboot the software. This happens about once a week. This is only a minor inconvenience (takes about a minute to reboot), and re-powering it does not make it lose any of its stored channels setup or scheduled recordings memory.
  
  The unit (and interestingly two other Panasonic DVD recorders I have) also suffered a problem with recognizing what date it was for a while if left set automatically. I had to set the date manually for a while (a couple weeks). But now automatic date seems to be working again. I suspect some software bug.
  
  The other problem I have occasionally, is that it occasionally fails to record a scheduled program, for no apparent reason (there's still room on disc). I have not been able to figure out why (although the manual suggests it could be due to digital rights management issues on digital broadcasts, but I'm not convinced of that).

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  17 out of 17 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Just what wanted

  by tomkato on June 12, 2008

  Pros: All-In-One

  Cons: EPG would make it perfect

  Summary: This is a handy unit that does just about everything I want. I was pleased with the ease of programming the unit and the recordings are really good. Digital channels ...

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  Summary: This is a handy unit that does just about everything I want. I was pleased with the ease of programming the unit and the recordings are really good. Digital channels are amazingly clear and sharp on this unit, even though this does not have an HD tuner. EPG would be nice, but I have digital cable, so I can get by without it.
  
  The VHS VCR picture quality doesn't seem any better than my old 1993 JVC 4-head VCR, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.
  
  Updated on Jun 22, 2009

  After a year of using this unit, it's dead :-( It was a good unit while it lasted.

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  10 out of 12 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  Just what I wanted.

  by cakeman25 on July 7, 2008

  Pros: Great for burning VHS to DVD and making DVD's from tv shows.

  Cons: Clock won't set automatically and loses 30 seconds per week.

  Summary: I have an EZ47v and an EZ48v. The EZ48 will make DVD's from tv programs and VHS tapes that will play on other DVD players. I can't get ...

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  Summary: I have an EZ47v and an EZ48v. The EZ48 will make DVD's from tv programs and VHS tapes that will play on other DVD players. I can't get the EZ47v to do that. Neither unit will set time automatically and both lose 30 seconds per week. It is a small inconvenience to reset the clock weekly for the ability to convert my old VHS tapes to DVD and record tv shows on DVD. Very good unit overall.
  
  Updated on Dec 21, 2009

  I have had the unit for 19 months and after using the unit for about 400 hours of VHS to DVD recording, I get heavy pixelation in the DVD playback. I experienced the same problem with the EZ47 (a refurbished unit) after about 4 months of use. I emailed Panasonic for information on the expected life of the lens but did not get a good response. I called the technical support center and did not get a good response from them. They wanted me to send it in and get a refurbished unit. After my experience with the EZ47, I stated that that was not a viable option for me. Based on my experience with the two units and with Panasonic's Customer Support. I would now rate the DMR-EZ48 a "one" star. My advise is to look for a different unit.

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  7 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 3 stars

  Not worth the headaches

  by Jazzed7 on September 3, 2009

  Pros: Records HD

  Cons: Records HD widescreen, but only on DVD-RAM; DVD-RAM is proprietary, very few drives recognize; system locks up once a week, misses scheduled recordings because of it; HDMI output to TV has intermittent signal

  Summary: Don't buy this recorder, unless you want a bunch of headaches. Sure it records HD widescreen, but only on DVD-RAM. DVD-RAM is proprietary to Panasonic. Most other computer DVD ...

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  Summary: Don't buy this recorder, unless you want a bunch of headaches. Sure it records HD widescreen, but only on DVD-RAM. DVD-RAM is proprietary to Panasonic. Most other computer DVD drives are not compatible, so you can't share the recordings with others. The system locks up solidly and randomly once per week. We've lost a lot of scheduled recordings because of it. And the HDMI output to the TV is inconsistent, the TV says there is no signal even though the Panasonic and TV acknowledge an HDMI connection exists. We have to power down the Panasonic and power back up to actually watch what we wanted on the TV. I've called Panasonic numerous times. They said they would send a disc with the latest firmware. They did not ever send it. I downloaded from the web site and put on disc. Apparently the Panasonic already had the latest, because it wouldn't accept it. But, there is no way to check what version you have, no magic buttons to press. So, now we are stuckwith this inadequate, $400 waste of money.

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  3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 6 stars

  Too darn fickled

  by denny004 on July 22, 2009

  Pros: When it works it works exceptionally well.

  Cons: It very sensitive. Once you set your schedule, if you change it the unit gets flaky. The disk acts like its full. it freezes. sometimes it will record and sometimes it wont. it takes a while for the channels to catch up to the button pushed.

  Summary: I'd be hard press to buy another panasonic DVD-R

  Summary: I'd be hard press to buy another panasonic DVD-R

  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 6 stars

  Newly purchaed equipment and find it very likeable

  by Larhart1 on April 2, 2010

  Pros: Easy to set up and use, remote control is easily delt with and the promps are understandable.

  Cons: The biggest issue I have is that it is unable to copy over air digital signals over the air to VHS and that is one reason I purchased it. I will atttempt to copy over air digital to DVD. This recording was important for other members of the family.

  Summary: Just call me old fashoned. If I had known that the unit would not copy over air digital in VCR mode I probably would not have pruchased it. I will ...

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  Summary: Just call me old fashoned. If I had known that the unit would not copy over air digital in VCR mode I probably would not have pruchased it. I will say that the integral tuner is a very good one and does clear up the reception at times my new HDTV becomes pixelated with poor signal strength.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 4 stars

  BOAT ANCHOR, MEDIOCRE IS REALLY A STRETCH. C'MON PANNY

  by Escorial-Green on March 7, 2010

  Pros: When it is working it does have a nice picture.

  Cons: ROYAL PITA T0 USE / FREQUENTLY FREEZES
  
  Ever so slow, manual is a nitemare. Not at all user friendly.

  Summary: Wow what a dissapointment! This is my 2nd from Abt (which is a fantastic Company) These uints are extremely slow, I have found if you hit eject while a movie ...

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  Summary: Wow what a dissapointment! This is my 2nd from Abt (which is a fantastic Company) These uints are extremely slow, I have found if you hit eject while a movie is playing the unit will eject the disc and freeze up. Any normal dvd/cd player you can do this w/o a problem. Change channels too fast it will freeze up, hit the wrong button Direct navagator instead of Return the unit will freeze up and more!
  
  I also tried the Toshiba combo units that were even worse. These seem to be the only ones available and all I can say for the money that they get for them they are both boat anchors.
  
  Panasonics customer service is basically useless. Bottom line these companies have been making DVD and VHS players for many years that I have used and all were all great and very user friendly , these new combo units are a disgrace.
  
  The operators manual for the Panasonic is nuts! On the positive side the Panny does have a great picture quality as well as plays back most discs. but make a home movie using Nero in DVD format and trying to put it to a VHS tape forget about it so I would only say the only enjoyment that the VHS player will give you is to play your old VHS tapes. You can not record DTV onto VHS either what they do not tell you is that you can only record analog TV to VHS. Big deal as there is no more analog TV in the USA........... I am going to keep the unit, BUT basically this is the best of the worst that is available on the market. Eventually techonology will catch up and they will either come out with a decent firmware upgrade or better units will be made. But I need to have somthing that can record TV shows.
  
  Bottom line if you get one of these make sure to leave ball point pen on top of the player as you will need it to hit the reset button as this thing freezes up for any number of reasons, at least you will get a lot or excersize getting up all the time to re-set it.
  
  PANNY YOU REALLY DROPPED THE BALL ON THIS!
  
  Owned 3 months now and get more dissapointed everytime I use it. For the money Panasonic ask for it you would expect it to work correctly. It does not period.
  
  Personally I wish that I could get by w/o a recorder but at this time this is one of the "BEST OF THE WORST" units on the market. If you can get by w/o one wait till a manufacture comes up with one that actually works out of the box and is user friendly.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 1 stars

  Machine starts out great, but dies an early death

  by TV_Junkie on January 22, 2010

  Pros: The unit did everything as advertised -- dubbing from VHS to DVD, recording on DVDs, etc. The picture was great, and despite the fact that there were some quirks with the unit, I was satisfied for one year, at which point it died.

  Cons: One month after the warranty expired, the machine froze up with an unretrievable disk in the DVD drive. I followed Panasonic's troubleshooting instructions, but the reset button did nothing, and the unit shut down briefly, and then turned itself on.

  Summary: If you want to buy a relatively expensive DVD/VCR recorder that will quickly break down on you, buy this model. If you buy an extended warranty, you might get ...

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  Summary: If you want to buy a relatively expensive DVD/VCR recorder that will quickly break down on you, buy this model. If you buy an extended warranty, you might get three year's worth of use, although all that Panasonic says is that it will provide you with a refurbished unit if you send yours in for repairs. Until purchasing this recorder, I trusted Panasonic products.
  That trust is now gone.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  I really enjoy this recorder

  by lmjj83 on June 23, 2009

  Pros: Easy to record; press "Schedule" button and fill-in the blanks. RAM discs allow chasing playback. Plays DIVX & XviD files, even directly from SD card, or even a flashdrive. Play & burn videos directly from digital video camera via the "DV IN" port

  Cons: Remote has no Mute button. Channel surfing is slow (use "Favorites" button instead). Slow turn-on (there's an option for faster start-up, but setting this feels like leaving a laptop computer running all the time).

  Summary: When I started receiving broadcast digital TV programs, I tried to find a DVR that could receive digital broadcasts and record them in digital quality, without monthly fees (sorry Tivo). ...

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  Summary: When I started receiving broadcast digital TV programs, I tried to find a DVR that could receive digital broadcasts and record them in digital quality, without monthly fees (sorry Tivo). Based on reviews, the only ones on the market seemed problematic. When my VCR started to fail, I decided to go with the Panasonic VCR / DVD Recorder.
  
  The unit accepts various types of discs. I've used DVD-R / -RW / +R / RAM, and haven't experienced any compatability problems. Using RAM discs allows you to watch a program anytime after it starts recording (chasing playback); very handy when your favorite program starts, but you need a few minutes to get the whole family together. The bad thing about recording to RAM discs is that you can't "Finalize" them to view on your computer.
  
  I also love the fact that the Panasonic can play DIVX & XviD files. It can even play them directly from an SD card, or a flashdrive (using the USB port). I can also play movies (& burn to DVD) directly from my digital video camera via the "DV IN" port conveniently located on the front of the unit.
  
  This unit has a few bugs, but they rarely show-up: A few times I've turned the unit on and the TV images have been in pastel colors! Turning the unit off and on (reboot) resolves this. Also, once in awhile when pressing PLAY after fast-forwarding through a program, the video plays too fast. Pressing STOP then PLAY brings it back to it's senses.
  
  Overall, I really enjoy the Panasonic DVD recorder, and would recommend it to my friends.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Wonderful!!

  by rioone on July 27, 2008

  Pros: Easy to use. Great remote. Easy copy to DVD or VHS.

  Cons: Manual confusing...wife had to explain!!

  Summary: This is truly a great product. It does everything it says it will and more. Once you figure out the quirks of the manual it really goes pretty smooth. I ...

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  Summary: This is truly a great product. It does everything it says it will and more. Once you figure out the quirks of the manual it really goes pretty smooth. I highly recommend this product.

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  2 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.

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