Panasonic DMR-EH55S DVD Recorder with 200 GB Hard Drive, HDMI, SD Card, and DV Input

Product Review

Never be short of entertainment again. The Panasonic DMR-EH55 Player and Recorder with Hard Drive makes it easy than ever to save and control all your digital media. It combines a DVD player, recorder and internal hard drive for better media management - and easier enjoyment. Record your favorite shows to the 200GB hard drive -- then watch them directly from the drive or burn it to a CD or DVD. Choose which shows you'd like to record and view later, with help from TV Guide's on-screen Electronic Programming Guide. If you want instant copies of your homemade video, load your SD card into the built-in slot and transfer it directly to hard drive for big-screen vieiwng, or burn it to a DVD for instant sharing. The HDMI connection and allows you to connect multiple components without the mess of wires. When connected to any HDMI-compatible screen, the DMR-ES25 converts video to 720p or 1080i, for a beautiful image that almost jumps out of your TV. The DV input and multi-drive recording and playback let you record & play back DVD-Audio & Video, CD audio, CD-DA and MP3/JPEG discs. 2x LP horizontal resolution (500 lines) HD resolution up converter - 720p & 1080i Transfers content from a DV camcorder or SD card in just one step Task-oriented GUI menu for easier use and completion of DVDs Simultaneous playback & recording VCR Refresh Dubbing with advanced DNR DV auto recording and playlist creation Built-in SD card slot and SD viewer for JPEG images Records using MEPG-2 compression, for up to 8 hours of video on one disc VBR recording for optimized bitrate depending on type & length of recording Time base corrector for stable, natural images HDMI Front A/V input Inputs - 2 S-Video, 2 Component, 2 SCART, 2 line in 1 line out, 1 Optical, 1 Component, 1 S-Video, 1 Composite Playable formats - DVD-RAM, -R/RW, +R/RW, DVD Video, VCD CD-

Amazon.com Product Review

With the Panasonic DMR-EH55S, you'll never by bound by TV schedules again. With the 200 GB hard drive and DVD recorder combined with PVR (personal video recorder) functionality, you can save all your favorite shows for later, more convenient viewing. It includes the TV Guide On-Screen programming guide, which lets you easily search through programming and set up either the DVD or PVR (hard drive) recorder to record them unattended. Explore program listings up to eight 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 the DMR-EH55S will automatically begin recording at the preset time. The 200 GB hard drive can store up to 355 hours of programming (when recorded at the most compressed EP setting).

This unit also includes an HDMI digital audio/video output, which can "up-convert" standard DVD movie discs to near HD resolution. Where standard DVD players (even progressive scan models) provide just 480 lines of resolution, the DMR-EH55S up-converts the picture up to 720p and 1080i high-def video formats--taking full advantage of your HD television's sparkling resolution. (Note that your TV must have an HDMI connection; HDMI cable not included.)

Choose from a full spectrum of recordable DVD media--write-once DVD+R and DVD-R discs or rewritable DVD-RW/+RW and DVD-RAM discs. (For temporary storage, such as your favorite weekly shows, DVD-RAM discs are a great choice as they can be rewritten more times than DVD-RW/+RW discs.) In addition to standard DVD movie and CD audio discs and its compatible recordable formats, the DMR-ES25S can play back CD-R/RW, dual layer DVD-R/+R, and VCD disc formats as well as JPEG, and MP3 digital formats.

Panasonic's Time Slip function consists of two features designed to give you added flexibility and control when making DVD recordings: Chasing Playback and Simultaneous Record & Play. With Chasing Playback, you don't have to wait for an entire program to be recorded before watching it from beginning to end. This feature allows you to watch a program that's currently being recorded from any point that's already been recorded--while continuing to record the live program in progress. Simultaneous Record & Play allows you to record a program onto a disc while simultaneously watching any other program that's previously been recorded on the same disc.

You can set your recorder to one of five different recording speeds, each varying in recording quality and length. EP mode yields the most recording time, LP & SP modes provide less recording time with higher quality recording, and XP mode gives you the highest quality recording. There's also the FR (Flexible Recording) mode that lets you record with the best picture quality possible for the recording time and remaining space on the disc.

The Direct Navigator feature makes it easy to find a previously recorded program on a disc. A list of recording dates, times, channels and (user-entered) titles are shown on screen. With the Playlist Playback function, you can perform simple non-linear video editing using, such as rearranging the order of scenes, skipping over unwanted scenes, or copying selections

Jump directly to any spot on a disc and begin playback or recording right away with the Rapid Random Access function when using DVD-RAM discs. Even if there is no sequential area of empty space available, this DVD recorder can record data on available space throughout the rest of the disc. You will also avoid searching for a blank spot to start recording, or accidentally recording over desired material.

Enjoy a great picture on you flat screen LCD or plasma HDTV using the component video output, and immersive surround sound via the optical digital audio output for Dolby Digital and DTS home theater effects. It also offers a FireWire port (also known as IEEE1394 or i.Link) for direct connection to a digital video camcorder, enabling you to download footage directly to disc. The full lineup of video and audio connections includes:

• RF input: 1
• Composite video/audio input: 2 (1 front)
• Composite video/audio output: 1
• S-Video input: 2 (1 front)
• S-Video output: 1
• Component video output: 1
• HDMI audio/video output: 1
• Digital audio output: 1 optical

Tech Talk
HDMI is a lossless, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface to link any audio/video source (such as a set-top box, DVD player, or AV receiver) with your TV--all over a single cable. It provides up to a 5 GB per second bandwidth for transmitting pure digital video and audio signals with no degradation in the transfer. It can carry up to eight discrete audio channels, making it compatible with 7.1-channel surround sound systems. Signals are encrypted with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) to prevent recording. HDMI is fully backward-compatible with most DVI connections .

Component video (also called Y/Pb/Pr) features a three-jack video input, which provides separate connections for luminance (Y), blue color difference (PB) and red color difference (PR). This results in increased bandwidth for color information, resulting in a more accurate picture with clearer color reproduction and less bleeding than you would get with S-Video or composite (RCA yellow video plug) connections. You will need a separate RCA left/right audio cable for sound.

High Definition Formats: The most common high-def (HD) video format is 720p, which displays video at 720 vertical by 1280 horizontal pixels. The "p" denotes that it is progressive scan, meaning that all video lines are filled at the same time. The 1080i format displays video at 1080 vertical by 1920 horizontal pixels, and the "i" means that it is interlaced (the old-school way of presenting video where the screen scans the odd-numbered video lines first, then the even-numbered lines). The 1080p format has the same pixel resolution as 1080i, but it is a progressive scan format and thus has a constant vertical resolution of 1080 lines.

What's in the Box
DVD recorder/hard drive, remote control (with batteries), AV cable, RF cable, power cord, one DVD-RAM disc, printed operating instructions

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