My guess is it's just one of the many bugs of the EZ-17. During my ~12 months of 5 EZ-17's(actually 1 EZ-27 too) I discovered several bugs, mostly relating to the timer function. As Digado used to say when talking about the EZ Panasonics, "and the bugs go on":D
The only EZ I now use is a almost new EZ-28 and the only thing I really use it for is to open up the 400MB buffer(prep the discs) for my ES Panasonics. The EZ-28 isn't really a bad DVDR it's just I'm spoiled by almost 100% reliability with my ES and EH Panasonics. The EZ-17 just wasn't in the cards for me.

Friends of the DMR-EZ28K - I thought my machine had bit the big one. Hit the reset button under the front cover, the whole front display went blank, tryed to power it back on, got the OOO OOO OOO scrolling across the front, stopped at "hello" and stayed there. Did the two channel hold down, main power on the left front, nothing. So I pulled it out of the cabinet, disconnecting cable and HDMI and power cord and took it to the TV in the bedroom. It came back to life, and acted like nothing strange had happened. This recorder is like having a second spouse, giving me nothing but trouble.

So I pulled it out of the cabinet, disconnecting cable and HDMI and power cord and took it to the TV in the bedroom. It came back to life, and acted like nothing strange had happened. This recorder is like having a second spouse, giving me nothing but trouble.
For the EZ series...strange is normal.

Update, it was not the EZ28, it is currently back at the main TV, hooked directly to the TV. It was my Yamaha RX-V667, it won't hand-shak with the HDMI connection. My next stop is the RX-V667 thread.

Hello all, I started to look through the thread but 26 pages is alot to scroll through, Ive seen a couple NO DISCS but not sure if those are my issue. So forgive me if this a repeated question. Recently when I put in a professional store bought movei in this case 2012 I keep getting a NO DISC yet when I put the same disc into a different player it runs fine. Today it did it with a Disc from a MASH box set, I looked at the disc and its clean and also plays in my other players in the house. Can someone tell me what the deal is? Am I looking at buying a new recorder?

Hello all, I started to look through the thread but 26 pages is alot to scroll through, Ive seen a couple NO DISCS but not sure if those are my issue. So forgive me if this a repeated question. Recently when I put in a professional store bought movei in this case 2012 I keep getting a NO DISC yet when I put the same disc into a different player it runs fine. Today it did it with a Disc from a MASH box set, I looked at the disc and its clean and also plays in my other players in the house. Can someone tell me what the deal is? Am I looking at buying a new recorder?

This post might be of some help:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14479898#post14479898

A Panasonic recorder manufactured for use in North America plays Region 1 or "no region" DVDs. Some DVD Players will play DVDs from other regions.

In order to save wear and tear on the (expensive to replace) laser assembly used in DVD recorders the common wisdom is to use DVD recorders to record DVDs. Use DVD Players to play DVDs. DVD Players, when they fail, are inexpensive to replace. DVD Players have more playback features than DVD Recorders.

thanks Ill give it a try

AS with others i haven't read all 20 odd pages but have a ez28 which was giving the no read error, so have cleaned the spindle, rubber and lens as recommended but still not joy.
My question relates to the Disk icon on the front panel of the machine. Does this just show that there is a dvd in the tray ?? If so has anybody ever had a problem where this is always on irrelevant of whether there actually is a DVD in there as thats whats happening with this unit. It also makes the exact same noises and actions without a disk in as it would with one in.

Many thanks for any info.

AS with others i haven't read all 20 odd pages but have a ez28 which was giving the no read error, so have cleaned the spindle, rubber and lens as recommended but still not joy.
My question relates to the Disk icon on the front panel of the machine. Does this just show that there is a dvd in the tray ?? If so has anybody ever had a problem where this is always on irrelevant of whether there actually is a DVD in there as thats whats happening with this unit. It also makes the exact same noises and actions without a disk in as it would with one in.

Many thanks for any info.

You mention "noises" but you don't describe them. It would be helpful if you describe those noises.

The DVD icon might be displayed when there is a failure to locate and/or read a disc.

This post describes the various noises a problematic DVD Drive makes when it spins up and attempts to locate and/or read a disc. The types of noises are good indicators of the nature of the problem(s) and remedial measures:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14479898#post14479898

Two other posts in that thread describe and illustrate remedial measures when there have been DVD Drive reassembly errors, beginning with this post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15745506#post15745506

AS with others i haven't read all 20 odd pages but have a ez28 which was giving the no read error, so have cleaned the spindle, rubber and lens as recommended but still not joy.
My question relates to the Disk icon on the front panel of the machine. Does this just show that there is a dvd in the tray ?? If so has anybody ever had a problem where this is always on irrelevant of whether there actually is a DVD in there as thats whats happening with this unit. It also makes the exact same noises and actions without a disk in as it would with one in.

Many thanks for any info.

It should only display that icon if theirs a DVD in the tray, if it is on with no DVD in the tray it's not a good sign, my guess is a failed laser assembly:(
AFA the noise, when you turn the machine ON(even without a DVD in the tray) is will make a short erp erp sound, this is normal. If the sound continues for more than a second it's probably related to the machine thinking a DVD is in the tray, again not a good sign.

OK thanks a lot guys.

Does seem most likely that the laser assembly is done for.
Great info tho and glad i tried cleaning it up first, bit of reading of other posts now required :)

DMR-EZ28, 2008-2011, Aged 2,634 recording hours, R.I.P.

Tonight my DMR-EZ28 DVD Drive's laser assembly failed. Upon visiting the home office the EZ28 front panel was observed displaying "NO READ." Resuscitation efforts were futile as the DVD Drive "clunked' repeatedly as it could no longer determine if a DVD was present. EZ28 had evidenced some infrequent operational/functional difficulties in the last year or so but continued to give good service right up to the end.

EZ28 was manufactured in April 2008. I purchased EZ28 in like-new condition on 9/18/2008 from DealTree ($19.85, including shipping). Upon delivery on 9/24/2008 EZ28 checked out OK after the DVD Drive was serviced. Other DVD Drive servicing was performed on 8/22/2009 and 12/31/2010. EZ28 was in continuous daily use beginning 9/24/2008, recording exclusively from TCM SD into early December 2009 after which EZ28 recorded exclusively from TCM HD.

EZ28 expired in the 8:00 p.m. hour Tuesday, March 29, 2011 while recording Platinum Blonde (1931), part of TCM's Jean Harlow Star of the Month programming. DigaDo was in the next room when EZ28 expired. EZ28 was predeceased by two EZ17 models in the fall of 2009. EZ28 is survived by other EZ series family members, a companion EZ17 in daily use--EZ28 is seen in the most recent photo, fourth from the bottom--among other companions. Other surviving EZ series models are two standby recorders, an EZ17 and an EZ47, not pictured.

Tomorrow there will be a glass raised in a toast to EZ28. Following the toast EZ28 will have the AC power cord disconnected. In days to come EZ28 will be removed from the home office stack and laid to rest with the two EZ17 models (2007-2009) that predeceased EZ28. These three EZ series models will repose together as "parts machines." R.I.P.

EZ28's successor is yet to be determined.

^^ :D

My sincere condolences to the family and friends.:o I can sympathize with you...I lost my EZ48 a couple of months back. He wasn't always reliable, but when he worked, he did his job well, recording beautiful images from his digital tuner. His remaining family-an older EZ47 brother and their elder ES30 carry on in his stead.
My youngest-the adopted year old refurb Magnavox 2160 doesn't understand why I dolted on the old guy. "You had to watch his every move" 2160 will say...but there was good in 'ol 48 I tell him, and he was a good soldier right up until the end... :rolleyes:

Sounds like the only negative, really, was that he wasn't able to get the movie recorded all the way through. ;)

That's unreal.

Sounds like the only negative, really, was that he wasn't able to get the movie recorded all the way through. ;)

That's unreal.

Yes and No. EZ28 trashed it's final TY disc but the Magnavox 515, seen just below EZ28 in the earlier photo, was also recording the Jean Harlow programming last evening.

I powered up my EZ-28 today after reconfiguring some cabling(I took my Toshiba XS-35 out of service, great SP picture quality but bad on anything longer than 2hrs 20 minutes) and replaced it with a EH-50(nice to 4hrs). Anyway after powering up the EZ-28 all seemed fine, until I went to change the channel with the UP button. It advanced to the next channel briefly but then jumped back to the previous channel, when I hit CH UP again I got a warning on the screen to hit ENTER and the unit would shut down and do a system check:rolleyes: After hitting ENTER it shut down and proceeded to scroll 000000s. 5 minutes later:eek: it was still scrolling 000000s so I hit the little RESET button. After more 0000000s it finally shut down. Upon power-up all seemed fine..........well as fine as the EZ's get that is;)
Great recording quality but IMO the tuner is a large source of trouble. I think one is much better off actually typing in the channel number than trying to use the CH UP or CH DOWN buttons, still buggy but not as bad. I very rarely have issues recording from the line inputs but I'm sure many buy it for the digital tuner and on that point:confused:

A quick question about the Panasonic EZ-28 (thinking of purchasing one of these) that does not seem to be easily found in the manual...When connected to the display by component or HDMI can you get HD output (1080i) from the tuner to view on the display? The manual refers to downconverting for recording on DVD (naturally) but I did not notice any information on outputting HD directly as in using the unit as a tuner only (as there is finally going to be OTA HD in my area in the next few months).

Cheers,
P.E.H.

A quick question about the Panasonic EZ-28 (thinking of purchasing one of these) that does not seem to be easily found in the manual...When connected to the display by component or HDMI can you get HD output (1080i) from the tuner to view on the display? The manual refers to downconverting for recording on DVD (naturally) but I did not notice any information on outputting HD directly as in using the unit as a tuner only (as there is finally going to be OTA HD in my area in the next few months).

Cheers,
P.E.H.

If you are going to be using the EZ28 as a tuner only, why not buy a tuner?

DTV-5000HD is one example. I have two, and they came from Canada.

Joe:

It would be nice to be able to make a recording if it became necessary, hence the choice of the EZ-28. If it does not output the HD signal as HD I will most likely use my built in ATSC tuner (rather use the display just as a monitor) or maybe get a "tuner" along the lines you suggested. Just for convenience, this would replace a SONY DVD recorder I presently use as an SD tuner (and recorder).

Cheers,
P.E.H.

DMR-EZ28, 2008-2011, Aged 2,634 recording hours, R.I.P...

there will be a glass raised in a toast to EZ28. Following the toast EZ28 will have the AC power cord disconnected. In days to come EZ28 will be removed from the home office stack and laid to rest with the two EZ17 models (2007-2009) that predeceased EZ28. These three EZ series models will repose together as "parts machines." R.I.P.

EZ28's successor is yet to be determined.

The first photo shows DMR-EZ28 4720 (3/29/2011, aged 2,634 recording hours, R.I.P.) before it was placed back in it's original box. At the right is DMR-EZ17 1105 (8/23/2009, aged 1,523 recording hours, R.I.P), that was brought out of the Taiyo Yuden Value Line shipping box for a last photo. The TY box also contains DMR-EZ17 5107 (11/12/2009, aged 1,665 recording hours, R.I.P).

DMR-EZ28 4720 was replaced by standby recorder DMR-EZ17 7653, seen fourth from the bottom in today's photo of the home office main stack. That standby EZ17 had already accumulated 2,164 recording hours before having it's DVD Drive serviced on 1/10/2010 after which it was set aside as a standby recorder.

A quick question about the Panasonic EZ-28 (thinking of purchasing one of these) that does not seem to be easily found in the manual...When connected to the display by component or HDMI can you get HD output (1080i) from the tuner to view on the display? The manual refers to downconverting for recording on DVD (naturally) but I did not notice any information on outputting HD directly as in using the unit as a tuner only (as there is finally going to be OTA HD in my area in the next few months).

Cheers,
P.E.H.

ALL DVDRs(including the EZ-28) downconvert HD broadcasts to SD immediately and those with HDMI outputs just upconvert that SD to back HD, of course it's not true HD but just upconverted HD.
FWIW I've found the EZ-28 does an excellent job with 720p broadcasts(IMO basically as good as the source) but 1080i broadcasts are noticeably worse than true 1080i HD.
If you want true 1080i HD you'll need a real HD tuner like the one Joe mentioned.

Thanks for the information....seems kind of silly, but not unexpected.

P.E.H.

ALL DVDRs(including the EZ-28) downconvert HD broadcasts to SD immediately and those with HDMI outputs just upconvert that SD to back HD, of course it's not true HD...

Thanks for the information....seems kind of silly, but not unexpected.

P.E.H.
Understand that this GREATLY simplifies the internal wiring in the machine, so it does not have to have multi signal paths or formats. They could do it, but that would add cost--can't have that!

I just found out today from the Panasonic order line that the EZ28K dvd recorder
is no longer available .. Looking online and they are out of stock everywhere . Guess I will have to get mine fixed.. Not to many DVD recorders out there , does anyone know of a good replacement that is similar to this one here ... ??
Oh yes when I went to best buy to get it fixed , they gave me a quote of 200 dollars ( more then I paid to buy it.) Theres lots of info on this recorder here in threads and I will persue getting it fixed through cheaper options.

I just found out today from the Panasonic order line that the EZ28K dvd recorder
is no longer available .. Looking online and they are out of stock everywhere . Guess I will have to get mine fixed.. Not to many DVD recorders out there , does anyone know of a good replacement that is similar to this one here ... ??
Oh yes when I went to best buy to get it fixed , they gave me a quote of 200 dollars ( more then I paid to buy it.) Theres lots of info on this recorder here in threads and I will persue getting it fixed through cheaper options.

If you are fixed on DVD-RAM there isn't much you can do. If not, you could look into a Magnavox 2160A/513H/515H. They all have a hard drive and support every other DVD format but DVD-RAM. It has a great thread on this forum. A new 513H sells for $200 on walmart.com, less used on ebay. The video & audio quality are about the same. The EZ28 might have a better tuner.

I have one virtually new EZ28 with under 1 hour of run time I bought new as a spare. I also have another I have used for over a year - DVD-RAM compatability with my Toshiba RX-50 keeps it in use. Or did until I bought the 515H for SD digital recording. I would part with my spare for 1/2 of the best buy quote. Add your cost for shipping. My zipcode is to the left. A PM isn't required - I'm on gmail.com also.

Man, how things have changed. A year or two ago, ebay was flooded with hundreds of EZ2x's and EZ1x's. I got several for around $30 each shipped, all practically mint.

Some deals can still be had though. Toshiba D-R4xx and KR4x (clones of 4xx series) are going for around $50. These are pretty good recorders too.

I just found out today from the Panasonic order line that the EZ28K dvd recorder
is no longer available .. Looking online and they are out of stock everywhere . Guess I will have to get mine fixed.. Not to many DVD recorders out there , does anyone know of a good replacement that is similar to this one here ... ??
Oh yes when I went to best buy to get it fixed , they gave me a quote of 200 dollars ( more then I paid to buy it.) Theres lots of info on this recorder here in threads and I will persue getting it fixed through cheaper options.

I also responded to you post in the Panasonic Repairs thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=20369632#post20369632

Don't waste your time and money to repair a Panasonic EZ series recorder, purchase a Magnavox HDD/DVD recorder through walmart.com:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Magnavox-MDR515H-F7-500GB-HDD-and-DVD-R-with-Digital-Tuner/15080509

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Magnavox-MDR-513H-F7-320GB-DVR-and-DVD-Recorder/14291489

If you are fixed on DVD-RAM there isn't much you can do. If not, you could look into a Magnavox 2160A/513H/515H. They all have a hard drive and support every other DVD format but DVD-RAM. It has a great thread on this forum. A new 513H sells for $200 on walmart.com, less used on ebay. The video & audio quality are about the same. The EZ28 might have a better tuner.The PQ from the tuner is the same? I'm surprised, as the EZ28 is usually rated as having the best PQ from it's digital tuner of any recent DVD recorder. If that's true, they must have improved the Maggie's PQ from it's tuner since the H2160 (I never personally saw it, but I've seen the PQ from the H2080's tuner, and I remember many describing the H2160's as being exactly the same. I've also seen the PQ from the EZ28's tuner - both on my 50", HD display, where you could readily spot the difference - and I certainly did notice one. The Panny's PQ from HD sources was much more tolerable on that size display, at least to me. I didn't find the SD to be too different, though, except for some black crush from the H2080).

What kind of TV are you comparing them on? I've got a Pio Elite, so I suppose it's possible that it "shows the flaws" more.

I just found out today from the Panasonic order line that the EZ28K dvd recorder
is no longer available .. Looking online and they are out of stock everywhere......

Oh yes when I went to best buy to get it fixed , they gave me a quote of 200 dollars ( more then I paid to buy it.)Like I said in that other thread, I found one place online that (supposedly) still had it in stock - "LA Computer Center".

But it's a bit over $200.00. For that price, I'd just get the Maggie, with the hard drive.

Some deals can still be had though. Toshiba D-R4xx and KR4x (clones of 4xx series) are going for around $50. These are pretty good recorders too.Are any of those the models that honor the widescreen flag? If so, I might be interested in grabbing one for that price.

Know anybody offhand that's got any good deals?

THIS (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1014246)thread may tell you. I had one of these a long time ago and had good results with it. Honestly, I don't really understand the significance widescreen flag. I don't think I've ever used any recorder/media that set/read the flag, but all my widescreen recording/playback has always turned out fine anyway.

The PQ from the tuner is the same? I'm surprised, as the EZ28 is usually rated as having the best PQ from it's digital tuner of any recent DVD recorder. If that's true, they must have improved the Maggie's PQ from it's tuner since the H2160 (I never personally saw it, but I've seen the PQ from the H2080's tuner, and I remember many describing the H2160's as being exactly the same. I've also seen the PQ from the EZ28's tuner - both on my 50", HD display, where you could readily spot the difference - and I certainly did notice one. The Panny's PQ from HD sources was much more tolerable on that size display, at least to me. I didn't find the SD to be too different, though, except for some black crush from the H2080).

What kind of TV are you comparing them on? I've got a Pio Elite, so I suppose it's possible that it "shows the flaws" more.

Just an ol' Sony 32EX700. The smaller size makes everything look better. Also, I'm comparing DVD-RAM to DVD-RW, both with HDMI & 1080p upconversion. The EZ28K was fed from a QAM tuner via line inputs, and the Mag 2160A was right off the internal QAM tuner. I never did a real side-by-side comparison, but a DVD made on my Toshiba with its line inputs from an HD or SD source looked pretty good when played back on the EZ28K. 400 lines can only go so far.

It is true that the playback of a digital recording from the 515H HDD looks very good. So did one from the 2160A.

So did one from the 2160A.The H2080 was fuzzier and blurrier, with more ringing.

The Panny on the other hand was more like my Channel Master CM7000 CECB over s-video on the display. Obviously softer and less detailed than true HD, but still a lot "cleaner" than what I could get out of the H2080, even with constant fiddling.

I'll have to get ahold of a 515 or 513 one day and try it.

I don't know if anyone has posted this...

There seems to be new firmware for both the EZ28 and EZ48 dated 01/28/2011...

ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasonic/call_center/firmware/DVD_REC/DMREZ28/Main/

ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasonic/call_center/firmware/DVD_REC/DMREZ48/Main/

I have an EZ27, so I can't test it... :(

Man, how things have changed. A year or two ago, ebay was flooded with hundreds of EZ2x's and EZ1x's. I got several for around $30 each shipped, all practically mint.

Some deals can still be had though. Toshiba D-R4xx and KR4x (clones of 4xx series) are going for around $50. These are pretty good recorders too.

I bought a like-new DMR-EZ28 for $19.85, including shipping, from DealTree back in 2008. That recorder was in daily use until it died a month or so ago.

In 2010 I bought a little-used Toshiba D-R410 for $25.00 through Craig's List. That recorder is being used as the DVD player connected HDMI to the family viewing TV. Toshiba recorders are low to mid-priced products manufactured by Funai. That Toshiba model has a "satellite link" feature. (Since we don't have satellite service I'm not familiar with what that feature does.) I prefer the Magnavox recorder models, also manufactured by Funai. Magnavox recorders offer a better selection of recording modes than Toshiba recorders. Of course, no current recorders compare to the Magnavox HDD/DVD models--I have five of them.

I use my DVD recorder exclusively to record movies and TV shows that I want to archive from my DVR. About 10 days ago, I got a read error and my heart almost stopped. It turned out to be a bad disc - I've made a dozen or so good DVDs since then. But that did start me to thinking about a possible plan B for the future.

I occasionally use the 1, 2 & 4 hour presets but most DVDs are made using the flexible record function. Digado said "Magnavox recorders offer a better selection of recording modes than Toshiba recorders" - do those modes compare to the Panasonics?

I'm wondering if I'll need to bite the bullet in the future to secure a spare Panasonic or if another manufacturer might have a better/usable solution for my specific task.

Thanks for all the helpful info here.

I use my DVD recorder exclusively to record movies and TV shows that I want to archive from my DVR. About 10 days ago, I got a read error and my heart almost stopped. It turned out to be a bad disc - I've made a dozen or so good DVDs since then. But that did start me to thinking about a possible plan B for the future.

I occasionally use the 1, 2 & 4 hour presets but most DVDs are made using the flexible record function. Digado said "Magnavox recorders offer a better selection of recording modes than Toshiba recorders" - do those modes compare to the Panasonics?

I'm wondering if I'll need to bite the bullet in the future to secure a spare Panasonic or if another manufacturer might have a better/usable solution for my specific task.

Thanks for all the helpful info here.

Comparing "picture quality" is a subjective matter that one must determine on one's own.

Post-2004 Panasonics maintain full resolution out to the LP (four hour per DVD) recording mode whereas Funai manufactured recorders maintain full resolution out to the SP (two hour per DVD) recording mode. But, what constitutes "picture quality" largely depends upon the quality of the source material fed through line inputs or received through the NTSC, ATSC and clear QAM tuners. (In my opinion my Magnavox HDD/DVD recorder ATSC and clear QAM tuners are better than those in the Panasonic EZ series recorders.) With my Panasonic ES, EH, EA or EZ series recorders I generally don't use recording modes of lesser quality than LP--or close to same LP four hour program content--when using Flexible Recording.

Panasonic's EZ series recorders (from the 2007-2011 model years) are full of bugs and design flaws, especially the VHS/DVD combo recorder models. These problematic EZ series recorders have been discussed in some detail in these pages. It's best to avoid Panasonic EZ series recorders.

With my post-2006 Funai recorders I generally find very good picture quality with the SP two hour per DVD recording mode and good enough picture quality with the SPP 2.5 hour and LP three hour per DVD recording modes. These recording modes are entirely satisfactory for my use. Funai manufactured recorders do not offer a flexible recording feature.

Comparing "picture quality" is a subjective matter that one must determine on one's own.

Post-2004 Panasonics maintain full resolution out to the LP (four hour per DVD) recording mode whereas Funai manufactured recorders maintain full resolution out to the SP (two hour per DVD) recording mode. But, what constitutes "picture quality" largely depends upon the quality of the source material fed through line inputs or received through the NTSC, ATSC and clear QAM tuners. (In my opinion my Magnavox HDD/DVD recorder ATSC and clear QAM tuners are better than those in the Panasonic EZ series recorders.) With my Panasonic ES, EH, EA or EZ series recorders I generally don't use recording modes of lesser quality than LP--or close to same LP four hour program content--when using Flexible Recording.

Panasonic's EZ series recorders (from the 2007-2011 model years) are full of bugs and design flaws, especially the VHS/DVD combo recorder models. These problematic EZ series recorders have been discussed in some detail in these pages. It's best to avoid Panasonic EZ series recorders.

With my post-2006 Funai recorders I generally find very good picture quality with the SP two hour per DVD recording mode and good enough picture quality with the SPP 2.5 hour and LP three hour per DVD recording modes. These recording modes are entirely satisfactory for my use. Funai manufactured recorders do not offer a flexible recording feature.

I'm sorry when I wrote that the EZ28 had a better tuner I didn't explain it better. The PQ from the EZ28 is equal to the Mag 515H to my eyes. Same with audio. I should have explained further that I was speaking of the issues with channel numbers and signal levels, all of which have been documented in the outstanding help area of that thread.

Bugs? It took me six months to give up trying to record my digital QAM channels with the EZ28. It will record fine via line inputs from a tuner. The support people at Panasonic gave up on me too. The clock on my EZ28 drifts badly. The clock on the 515H is rock solid.

Before I discovered the Magnavox units, I would record to DVD-RAM a one hour show starting one minute early and ending one minute late: 62 minutes. At the highest bit rate, around 9.2mbs, I could add another minute or two. With the Mag you get 60 minutes with +-RW and that's the spec. The whole issue with DVD recording isn't so important with 100 hours of HQ now. That's a whole lot of DVDs.

...With my post-2006 Funai recorders I generally find very good picture quality with the SP two hour per DVD recording mode and good enough picture quality with the SPP 2.5 hour and LP three hour per DVD recording modes. These recording modes are entirely satisfactory for my use. Funai manufactured recorders do not offer a flexible recording feature.

I should clarify that my Funai manufactured Magnavox, Philips and PYE recorders offer the very useful SPP 2.5 hour and LP three hour per DVD recording modes as well as the other common recording modes (one, two, four and six hour content per DVD). Some other Funai manufactured recorders, Toshiba, Sylvania, TruTech, etc., might not offer those 2.5 and three hour per DVD recording modes. (Check recording mode specifications before purchasing Funai manufactured recorders.) One of my Toshiba recorders provides eight and ten hour per DVD recording modes, but those recording modes produce nearly unwatchable recordings.

one last question before i bury my EZ 28 , i realized I had a couple of dvds that i was recording some stuff to , I hadnt closed the disks yet .. Can the DVDs be closed on any other device or No ? i beleive not but hey ..
I order that nice magnavox 515 , nice .. cant wait to try it ....

one last question before i bury my EZ 28 , i realized I had a couple of dvds that i was recording some stuff to , I hadnt closed the disks yet .. Can the DVDs be closed on any other device or No ? i beleive not but hey ..
I order that nice magnavox 515 , nice .. cant wait to try it ....

Unfinalized DVD-R DVDs may be finalized on just about any another Panasonic newer than 2003. With DVD+R DVDs it's best to finalize with a 2006 or newer Panasonic.

If you provide your general location perhaps another nearby Panasonic owner might offer to help you.

I responded to a Panasonics owner posting on Craigslist who had about 8 unfinalized DVDs he wanted to finalize. I hooked up a ES-30v to my kitchen TV on the counter because A). I didn't want to use one of my HDD recorders and B). My other Panasonics are stacked and to hard unstack. I'm glad I did since one DVD must have had a glitch in it and soon as I inserted the DVD my drive started making loud noises. Try as I did I couldn't get the DVD out of the machine. As a last resort I tried forcing a power down with the power button, it shut down but as soon as I pushed EJECT it started the grinding again. I even tried unplugging the machine but the ES-30v apparently needs to read a disc before ejecting it, as soon as I plugged it back in the grinding would start.
My last recourse was to unplug the machine and physically take the drive apart(like is needed to clean the spindle) for the life of me I couldn't find any sort of manual eject lever on the bottom of the machine. Anyway taking the drive apart worked just fine and so did my ES-30v after hooking it back up. Needless to say we didn't try that DVD anymore and the owner just threw it away in my trash. In his posting he offered money but I declined several times, he persisted and I figured with all the trouble with the drive I finally accepted $10, he was pushing for $20 but again I figured the ES-30v was probably due for a spindle cleaning so I was able to kill 2 birds and even get paid for it:D
But this should be a warning for anyone else, don't use your favorite DVDR and preferably use one that's easy to access. I'm sure the DVD was damaged by his old ES-10, he said it was grinding before he stopped using it. When I asked him if he still had it he said no, he recently brought it into a recycling center:( probably just needed a spindle cleaning which he knew nothing about...