Just bought this Pana DMR-EH55 for $600 at Harvey Norman in Chadstone(Melbourne).

Input from STB with S-cable, output with component cable to 42" plasma.(this is the best connection for picture quality)

recorded TV programe(SP mode) picture quality is almost good as direct signal from STB to TV, only when I close to TV screen at 0.5 m, can see little snow effect on recorded picture, but can not see it at a viewing distance (3m), it is very quiet, progressive scan give nice picture for viewing dvd movies.

Like it: plays DivX and MP3 disc, can record to all the blank dvd disc. good size 160GB HDD, basic opeartion is easy, one button recorded, chase play ext,

Like the G-code recording then timer recording, but that way I only can get signal from inbuild analogue tuner.

Dislike: no UBS conection, advanced editing and copy is hard, as they need go to 3rd or 4th sub menu

need more time to find about advanced operations, like to hear others got this dvd recorder,

I concur. I have a digital stb (vcr output from pan ht-104a) and foxtel feeding into it (both composite). Component out to pan Hidef 76cm CRT tv.
Record quality is very good. I wouldn’t bother with EP though. SP is good for most situations.
divX playback is very good.
Bring on the world cup!

I nearly purchased this unit but decided against it because it was unable to burn to dual layer media. I will be interested to hear about more of your experiences using it.

BTW I ended up buying the LG RH-7823. Very similar unit with a few additional functions and USB input. Got it for $570 at Clive Peeters in Maidstone

You can burn to dual layer disc, just have to record in HDD first,

Thats interesting. not what i was told at JB HiFi

when I start this topic hope you guys got same recorder share our experience and give anyone looking to buy a dvd recorder some informations as well.

Here is more infor about recording, editing and copy my own VHS to DVD-R.

you must turn ON "high speep copy" before record anything to HDD, this way let you fast copy to dvd-r later, the factory setting is OFF, copy 2 hours VHS to HDD(can not speed up this stage) and without fast copy turn On, It will take another 2 hours to copy HDD to dvd-r, if use fast copy, from HDD to DVD-r is about 15 min,

record signal from STB in WS format, watch it from HDD is same WS, but copy to DVD-R, it only in FS, the disc play back to a FS TV, will show long face, but if play back to a WS TV, picture is normal in WS. recording in FS format, it will be FS all the way.

Partial Delete is usefull to detele all ad in TV show. add Chapter can create better looking to your own movie, but I read the 75 pages Instructions more then 3 times. just start to understand how it works, do not think my wife will like to use these functions.

so far so good, If it has a inbuild digital tuner I will be much happier,

You're right about this peterpeter.
There's a lot to read to begin using the various functions.
I've had mine for a few days now and I'm quite happy with it.
I notice on page 82 of manual it says AV2 has RGB In.
But when you go into the setup of the DVD recorder for AV2, I can only see Video & Svideo.
There is no RGB option to pick.
Any clues on this?
Thanks.

RGB-IN, not OUT. That menu option is for setting the standard of AV2 OUT. RGB in means essentially that it is used as a passthrough or possibly to record from from a SCART device with RGB-out.
Regards

I do not use these SCART connection, because it's for european TV system, component is the best option for our TV. in the manual there is not much talk about SCART, looks the book only for AU and NZ market.

I'm only referring to INPUTS for recording on the DMR-EH55 (component is output only)
The manual mentions Video (composite RCA), Svideo & RGB for INPUTS.
In the setup menu for AV2 Input, only video & svideo can be selected. There is no RGB option even though the manual mentions this.
RGB Input for recording would be the best option (if it was possible)

Vinny
if you press Input Select on remote, there are 4 input options, RF, DV and S Video x2, so no RGB input I think,



my understand about it, they are S Video or Video convert to Scart input, not real RGB signal.

Thanks peterpeter. I'll check this out.

I've also been thinking that perhaps the RGB option only becomes visible if a "Scart <> Scart" connection existed. I'm going to borrow one of these cable and check it out.
I'm just trying to establish if RGB input is possible or not.

Otherwise I'm very happy with Svideo input & the quality of the recordings.

Looks like I've solved my own problem.
I had downloaded the DMR-EH55 manual before buying to checkout various functions etc.
(http://panasonic.com.au/content/library/files/F001740.pdf)
In this manual, it mentions RGB In on AV2
This manual is for DMR-EH55 & DMR-EH56.
So RGB In on AV2 maybe for DMR-EH56 (not sure which country has this model)

When I checked the manual that came with my recorder, RGB In on AV2 is NOT mentioned (only Video & Svideo). Also this manual is about 10 pages shorter than the other one.

RGB input would've been nice, but as I said, quite happy with Svideo.

anybody had a look at the older model,was looking at the pdf file from panasonic web page,there is only 1 model the eh 50,so no mix up there,on the intructions,it says you can input rgb video,anybody looked this up in the settings in the dvd player.

Just plugged in my dmr-eh55 and got all connected up. Have to say I agree with the previous comments on the manual!! Also took me a few hours to get this far!

SO I have just tried to record on the HDD following Page 20 of the manual (Drive Select->HDD, CH select->4, Rec Mode->XP....press record) and I get 'Cannot record. Disc is full'. Have never recorded anything before so it should be full. Am I doing something wrong? Tried recording on the freebie DVD-RAM and had no problems. Any ideas?

Also, tried hooking up another TV to the RF out and can't seem to get a thing on the other TV when I play a DVD. The other TV is a Samsung Plano 14" but does not have an AV option.

Any ideas?

When playing back DVD's (commercial) and you want to jump to a specific Title or Chapter, most dvd players have a Title button on the Remote that allow you to key in Title & Chapter number.
With the Panasonic EH55 there is no Title button.
Apart from using the SKIP button continuously , does anybody know of a way to jump directly to the desired Chapter?
Thanks

Hi Fishman, EH55 owner too....yeah the concensus is that the manual is RUBBISH....I found the best thing to do is connect it all up...put your free RAM disc in and sit down and record some live telly, program some stuff for 2 mins ahead and just generally play around with it......using the manual as a fall back reference if you are unsure of some of the menu settings etc.

I found this SOOOO much easier.

Anyway getting to your prob. Make sure that you've got HDD showing on the display ......I suspect you're still in DVD mode. Are you recording LIVE or are you trying to program when you're getting this message? The disc full one?

And your 2nd point.....were you tryin gto hook this 2nd telly up at the same time as you have your main display hooked up? If so maybe the EH55 doesn't output signals to both ports simultaneously......try removing your main one and check the secondary.

I'm stoked with mine...have just input half the group matches for the WC into the timer, veddy happy camper.



GOOD POINT...noticed this the first time out myself, bloody annoying and you'd really think they'd have one as its SUCH an entry level feature on even $60 dvd players!

Funny how they miss such small things....love to hear if anyone knows a way. Cheers, NjF

i have had one to play with and it DOES reocrd in dual layers on DVD-r

dont know who stated that it doesnt. the big point is why do you wnat to record on dual layers FOR???

the unit records 500 line res in long play = no quality loss at all compare that to other brands = 300 - 250 line rubbish
one dvd-r = 4 hours recording capabilities and cost you bugger all

plus the 160gig capacity means that effetivley 160gig = 320gig for the 160 gig price because you have doubled your recording capacity

well done PANA and the people that bought the 55

must admit im pissed about the lack of good imputs, i would like a component in or something. I tried the DV input in the front, which works well i havent tried using thid from another player to record digital though
do you know any set top boxes that output via dv? so i can try it? i cant think of any off the cuff

it has two inputs on RGB, one scart (buy a scart/rgb/s-video adapter) scart is a better than RBG anyway, we just dont use it here. you could use that RGB for S video if you wanted then.
plus you can get a switchable scart to output or input (your choice)


the units that i have played with 65 & 55 both have very seperate booklets/manuals? is it just off the website one?

Excellent point Mythbuster and this was a significant part of the rationale I used in deciding to go with the Panny. I've personally never understood the fascination folks have with wanting DL recording....

IMO its far superior to have RAM option....having owned a dvd recorder before (Liteon 5005) the +RW's I ised to use have a limited lifespan...whereas RAM is all but immortal (100,000 or so uses).

Did like the 12bit digi to analogue video converter too.....most other recorders seem to only have 10bit.

Yeah, the inputs are rubbish....and it should have have a digi coax out for audio.

What would be the preferred input in this case?

For output would HDMI be the preferred way to go (which the 65 has)?

[quote name='mythbuster' date='Jun 7 2006, 05:03 PM' post='420437']

scart is a better than RBG anyway

Hi mythbuster,

Your above statement has made me curious, SCART being a connector style and RGB being a signalling protocol?
Could you expand, please?

Rob.

I dint staet hat too correctly.

RCA can carry RGB and you can use scart to output RGB (type of signal) but for the EH65 you can use a scart to S-video connector. What i meant to say is that it is better than using just rca cables as it can carry a variety of signals, s-video in/out, RGB, audio in/out etc

in regards to inputs i would use s-video for the 65 adn output i would definatly use the HDMI.

Had this model for a couple of days now and still trying to figure out the functions. Yes, the manual is not clearly written. Manually programming timer recordings on page 25 says "Press [▲▼] to select "New Timer Programme" and press [Enter]". The fact is when you use this function for the first time, you only need to press [Enter], you can't use [▲▼] to select New timer program. And also, Page 61 says "AV1 Output". I haven't tried outputting using AV1, but I'm sure it does input. I connect my digital satelite receiver to AV1 of the recorder using scart cable and the recording quality is very good.

When you connect your TV, STB, VCr or digital satelite receiver to the input of the recorder (AV1, AV2 or AV4 at the rear), and you wish to record to HDD or blank media, you must select the corresponding input (AV1, for example) to record by pressing INPUT SELECT on your remote controller.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the model. Recording quality in XP mode is very good. I haven't tried the other modes, though I know they won't be as good as XP mode. I decided on this model against Pioneer 630H because the EH55 can record to different types of disks including RAM disks while Pioneer 630H can only record to _R/RW and DL disks. And also my digital satelite receiver has two scarts out but no S video out.

Will take me some time before I get familiar with all the functions.


Cheers

sharp eye

Hi,
I live in France and am looking for one answer on EH55;
Is it possible to copy the DivX files from DVD or CD to the hard disk?
If yes, how is the arborescence done? Easy to use?
And what about the MP3 and their arborescence on the disk? Easy to use?
Thanks a lot!

Just bought one the other week and so far seems like a pretty good unit. Its amazing the price you can get it at when there's a JB and Good guys a few doors down from each other!

Anyway, got one issue and don't know how to get around it. I've got one title on the hard drive that is say ~ 1/2 hr long or ~1 GB in size and it was recorded of the STB at SP mode recording. I want to transfer this file to a DVD, but when it copies across in FR mode it takes up more than double the space on the DVD. I just want to copy it across at the same size, but can't figure out how to set the copy size to stay at SP. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,

JK

Set"Rec for hight speed copy" On before record anything to HDD, then high speed copy to dvd disc that is same size as your orginal HDD files. otherwise it will select FR recording to disc, see page 46.

Thanks Peter.

If you set "rec for high speed", would you then still be able to copy in FR mode (ie the other way around) as well?

Vinny - on my E85H - when you go to the Direct Navigator you have the option of going to a thumbnail view or going to a chapter view which lets you jump to a chapter - or even move it around

I am aware of this for Navigating the HDD.
But I'm referring to jumping to a Chapter or Title when playing a DVD.
The only way I know is to STOP DVD from playing, then press Navigator which brings up the DVD menu, then select Scene selections (or other Titles)... and then select Chapter......which is all a bit long-winded!!

Also, it would be nice to see how many MBytes a recorded session takes up in the Navigator window (for when planning to burn more than 1 selection onto a DVD). The only way to know, is to make up a dummy recording list...which then shows the number of MBytes taken.
This is OK...but again...long-winded!!

I hope Panasonic will have firmware updates in the future.

Hi, guys, has anyone experienced this? Timer recording can not be set for EH55 if start time is 0:00 (midnight). Last night I tried to timer record Germany vs Ecuador match but couldn't set timer recording. I then changed the start time to 11:59 pm and it was OK. This morning I had another try and still could not set timer recording. Does anyone know why? Is this a bug?

Cheers

sharp eye

PS. timer record to HDD in XP mode.

Any other EH55 owners have the problem?

Cheers

sharp eye

Sharpeye, same thing happens at midnite (ie 0:00) on mine too.

On a separate issue there's been a bit of talk above on the inputs for this unit and I'm just a little confused. Would someone be able to (in a subsequent post) list each input (eg AV1 .....AV4) and list through what video inputs can be used on each. AV4 at the front is an easy one (s, Composite and DV) but needs some resolution on the 2 scart plugs. The equipment I wish to connect to them is a Topfield 300cipro sat receiver and the Healing HSD821 STB, both of which have scart outputs on the back, but then again I can vaguely remember that their outputs may not offer all the video outputs.

Thanks,

Jk


Sharpeye, same thing happens at midnite (ie 0:00) on mine too.

On a separate issue there's been a bit of talk above on the inputs for this unit and I'm just a little confused. Would someone be able to (in a subsequent post) list each input (eg AV1 .....AV4) and list through what video inputs can be used on each. AV4 at the front is an easy one (s, Composite and DV) but needs some resolution on the 2 scart plugs. The equipment I wish to connect to them is a Topfield 300cipro sat receiver and the Healing HSD821 STB, both of which have scart outputs on the back, but then again I can vaguely remember that their outputs may not offer all the video outputs.

Thanks,

Jk


...and one more question. Has anyone tried burning DL disks? If so have you had more success with a + or - disk (if you've done that comparison)?

Hi, JK200SX,

I emailed Panasonic last week re midnight timer recording but haven't got a reply yet. It looks like it's a bug.

With regards to the two scart connection at the rear of the machine, it is a bit confusing. Page 61 says "AV1 Output", but it is also an input. I connected my Phoenix digital satelite receiver to AV1 and the EH55 recorded beautifully. You should be able to connect your satelite receiver to AV1 just like I did. Not sure if it works by connecting your STB to AV2 but you can have a test. Make sure the INPUT SELECT is set to AV2 when recording from STB

Some more info on the two scart connection, Panasonic Japan site says the scart does both input and output and AV2 when used as input only takes RGB signals. Here is the link: http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/diga/eu...tions.html#eh55

Haven't burned DL disks yet, so don't know which format is better with the machine.

cheers

sharp eye

Just had a reply from Panasonic re timer recording starting 0:00 (midnight): When setting the recording time to at midnight the next days date needs to be entered.

I'll test when I get home today.

cheers

sharp eye

Just a question on FR Mode:

As an example say you record a program from TV in SP mode and the program is say over 2 and under 4 hrs. According to the manual if you want to then copy across to a disc (eg DVD-r), the optimum way of doing this would be to set the copy to FR mode so you utilise the full dvd space (eg 4.64 GB). However, when I have done this I've seen that the disc typically fills up to about 4.1GB and when looking at the underside of the disc, you can see that the last few mm's of the disc haven't been written to. Does this occur to the rest of you or not? I would've expected that the recording would have been stretched/compressed to utilise the maximum dvd space to get the best possible picture quality?

anyone?

bump...

I just bought the EH55 and I must say the 16:9 aspect ratio it brings to my plasma is much to be desired... streches it too wide. I ve tried setting my plasma on other pic modes such as cinema, wide, etc but they all seem ...lets say warped..
Yes I know I can hook up my HD stb to but then timer recordings are confined to the stb. Also the DivX playback is is very unstable... doesnt work on most DVDRWs where as the same discs would playback fine on my LG DVD player.
Pitty I really liked the interface of this unit but I may need to exchange it to the LG equivallent or perhaps a PVR.

Hi there

I've recently purchased the PANASONIC DMER-EH50 and had the same issue as a lot of others with the instructions - much easier to just play around, as it really is quite user friendly!

The only think I don't know, is how (or if it is even possible) to convert this to a multi-region player? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Hannah

When playing DVD's only the TIME elapsed is seen.
There is no TIME REMAINING on the display.
There is NO way of knowing how long a DVD is.
I hope there is future (soon) firmware upgrades.

The 3 things I like to see added in a firmware upgrade are:
1. Jump to Title & Chapter via remote when playing DVD's
2. DVD time remaining on playback
3. Size in MB (megabytes) of recorded sessions on HDD

I use a R1 disc to test EH55. It works ok. so it is a multi-zone player. not sure about your EH50,

Ive been helping a friend with his EH55. He recorded a show off foxtel to the HDD. I managed to copy it to a DVD. But I had to actually watch the show all the way through while it copied to the DVD. We werent able to watch n e thing else on Foxtel while it was copying.

How do I (if poss) make it so i can copy something and watch something else at the same time? Cause the way i see it, its only copying from the HDD to the DVD and not using the Foxtel reciever at all. So Y cant i change the channels.

By the way its going through AV4 off memory

I think you also need to connect your Foxtel directly to an AV input on the TV.
Then when recording, switch the TV to the AV with the Foxtel input.

I've been using all types of DVD discs in this recorder (+/- R, +/- RW) & they all work fine.
I have just found out, that if I record something on my PC using DVD +/R or -RW, they playback fine in the recorder.
But if I record to +RW on my PC, they will NOT play in the recorder (always comes up as "UNFORMATTED")
I find this strange.
Does anybody have this same problem?

I have the Panasonic EH65 unit and it would NOT play DVD+RW. I have stacks of TDK discs in that format and I ended up having to buy new DVD-RW discs. My Pioneer dvd player plays all formats.

Are you sure about that? I've got EH55 and it can play DVD+RW fine. The brand that i tried was SKC 2.4x. It can play DVD-RW as well (I tried TDK brand).

One thing I don't like about EH55 is it cannot copy thing from DVD to HDD in high speed. It can only copy in real time speed (it will take 1 hour to copy 1 hour DVD). It would be nice if can copy a DVD to HDD, cut out all the pieces that I don't want and then copy back to another DVD without having to wait for long time. I think this problem also occur in Pioneer as well.

It would also be nicer if can backup unprotected DVDs like the pioneer one.

Sorry, I misunderstood what your meant. I only record to a DVD+RW using the dvd recorder not the computer. I think the dvd recorder use a special format to record to a DVD+RW or DVD+R. They call it +VR (+R/+RW Video Recording) format. It expects some files from a folder called Video_RM in the DVD+RW.

Some notes about recording and playing back (using PAL):
DVD+R, DVD+RW:
- Cannot do time search (jump to a particular time) in another DVD player nor MS Windows Player nor Win DVD if things are recorded to discs either directly or from HDD using High speed.
- If the first vob file (vts_01_1.vob) is open in virtualdub, it will show the frame size = 352x240, frame rate= 29.971. This is a frame size and frame rate of NTSC not PAL! Cannot demux the file correctly using VobEdit, TmpegEnc
- Can only use time slip in EH55 if recording directly to a disc, cannot use time slip if the show is transfered from HDD to a disc
DVD-RW:
- Can do time search in another DVD player or Win DVD
- Cannot use time slip in EH55 (nothing happen)

I just bought this unit today, although feature wise its great, i think its looks cheap and crap. I wanted the pioneer 540H but it didnt have optical so i bought this.

Couple of things.
1. What RCA Plugs are you guys using? The 2 that came with the system or a different one? Im using one that came with the system from the recorder to the TV and one i bought from the Recorder to the wall outlet cos i need like a 5m long cable.

2. Is there like a electronic TV guide on the Recorder so you no what on instead of looking at the mag TV guide?

3. How do you record something on TV while you are watching live TV, and can you pause live TV like foxtel IQ?

Thanks

Do any of you guys have a speaker system set up to your 55? When mine is hooked up i loose alot of volume, is that normal?

Anyone?