I have now 200 to spend... hoping to get more for the tazes, but I am looking at these: A Phillips WITH a Hard Drive Philips 720/17 http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11091971&whse=BC&topnav=&browse= Or A Panasonic NO Hard Drive DMR-ES20S http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...CategoryId=pcmcat13900050019&id=1117178795463 I plan to go today, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Whichever one you choose, be aware that both units use "TV Guide On Screen" which has proved to be VERY buggy since September. (see the last 25 or so pages of http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/37/143317). I have a Panasonic unit (E85), and based upon my experiences, I'd try out the Phillips. I haven't seen any reviews on the Phillips, but am disappointed with Panasonic's support and "generlaized" error messages with their products which aren't specific enough for them to pinpoint the problem. I don't know if the Phillips is any better, but it can't be any worse! Hope this helps.
Of those 2, I'd go with the Philips. For one it has a hard drive and 2 because it uses the + format which is proving to be the better format from what I keep reading. You might could check the online places for a better price. Try www.newegg.com . They have a good selection and good prices. They take checks too.
Ok well, I had to travel 14 miles, but I got the Phillips. I have it setup, only thing I am having trouble with is the TV Guide not showing up... but I think I need to leave it on stdby over night for it to get the listings I think. I hope thats all that it needs. I want to thank everyone who helped me out here, and my other thread about another machine. I will post later how the machine works, and how I like or dont like it. Thank you again. Wish me luck with this machine.
Ok as I said, I would post how I like or dislike this DVD Rec. Well so far it is holding its own. I like how I can just go to the TV Guide on screen thing and hit one bttn to set the program to rec. I like the Hard Drive, I dont have to worry about running out of time on a VHS like I had been with my VCR. Ive recorded mostly on the 8hr setting, so far havent burned anything to a DVD though. The 8 hr is good for shows u wanna rec watch later, not great if you want to keep like old home movies or something, but there are other settings as well. 2hr 2x hr (not sure exactly what the x is) 4hr 6hr 8hr The editing feature to edit out commercials or unwanted parts is fairly simple. But thats the extent of the editing, and you can edit the title. I like how u can be watching a show, and pause it then hit play later. Or rec something while watching another show you rec to the hard drive. I'll post more when I try to burn a DVD with it.
I want to add more to the way this DVD recorder works. The 8m and 6m recording mode are ok, on certain channels. The better channel, the better quality of the show airing, has alot to do with the way it looks after. Some things might look real bad, others look decent. So I am overall happy with this recorder. I do wish it could play .avi files though.
I would suggest you go with Pioneer rather than going philips or panasonic. Pioneer will work longer and get the awsome quality. Thank you
