i was wondering if i could get any advice on this:

i'm kinda new at this dvd recording and i probably won't do it much, but i do wanna do it right. so, when i record something and then play it back the picture looks really bad. i have my dvd recorder hooked up from just basic cable to the unit, then the cable out to a vcr, then the cable out of the vcr to the tv, per the dvd's instructions. then i have just audio cables and an 's video' from the dvd to the tv. the tv is just a basic sharp brand lcd-edtv. not hdtv. when i play the dvd's back on the same dvd recorder to that tv the picture quality is not near the picture quality of when i am just watching tv. any suggestions? tia.

What "Record Mode" did you use...XP, SP, LP, SLP? One reason the pic may be bad is you recorded at the lowest-quality mode (SLP on your unit?).

Some DVDRs show the rec. mode in the titles, or at least in the "Display" or "Info" screens that may be available via the remote?

Make sure you set your DVDR to record in SP mode or better and see how that compares. If still bad, something else is wrong.

1 time for sure was LP, once i can't remember but i know it wasn't SLP.

LP can look bad at times, depending on how good the source is.

You should try a recording at SP (2-hour mode) and see what that looks like. If not as good as you saw it on TV, then you might have a different problem. See what happens with SP first...just a short test.

hold everything...i just realized that the picture on the tv looks bad even if i am just watching using the tuner of the dvd recorder, not just recorded dvd's. i put the same channel on my tv as the recorder, then switched back and forth between inputs and the picture is definitely worse from the dvdr. now i really don't know what to do...

OK, now it's more likely a cable or a setting in the DVDR.

Try the easiest thing first...hook up a RCA video cable from the yellow output jack on the DVDR to the yellow input on the TV and see what that looks like. (Select the right TV input to watch...not sure what inputs and selections your TV has?)

i think you may be onto something, i just unplugged the rca cable from dvdr to vcr and used that and i think it looked better but i've no more time to mess with it tonight. thank you so much for your help, i'm gonna work on it tomorrow maybe.

This isn't a laughable question, namiboy.

I have an obvious question though: what do commercial, pressed DVDs look like when played on your recorder? If they play back correctly, with the proper quality, then you can eliminate the connection between the recorder and the television. Do you have access to another source of video? Compare that video signal going into a "video in" on the dvd recorder with it going just into a "video in" to the television. These tests could narrow down the source of your problem. It could be the cable in, or it could be a defective tuner in the recorder.

^^^as unskilled as i am, i cannot believe i didn't think of trying a commercial dvd. hanging my head in shame. so, yes a store bought dvd looks fine. i now have it hooked up with component cables, i eliminated the vcr, and i keep switching back and forth between the same channels on the dvdr and just the tv, and the picture looks different between the two, but i can't decide which looks better, they just seem different, although i guess it looks better than with the 's' cable i was using. sports seem better just with the tv than using the dvdr tuner. i'm just using basic cable out of the wall to the dvdr, out to the tv, and the component cables. maybe it has something to do with the dvdr processing the basic cable signal? i don't know...i just can't believe it's the dvdr's tuner. oh, by the way it's a panny ez27. sorry for rambling.

^^^as unskilled as i am, i cannot believe i didn't think of trying a commercial dvd. hanging my head in shame. so, yes a store bought dvd looks fine. i now have it hooked up with component cables, i eliminated the vcr, and i keep switching back and forth between the same channels on the dvdr and just the tv, and the picture looks different between the two, but i can't decide which looks better, they just seem different, although i guess it looks better than with the 's' cable i was using. sports seem better just with the tv than using the dvdr tuner. i'm just using basic cable out of the wall to the dvdr, out to the tv, and the component cables. maybe it has something to do with the dvdr processing the basic cable signal? i don't know...i just can't believe it's the dvdr's tuner. oh, by the way it's a panny ez27. sorry for rambling.

I don't know about this specific Panasonic model, but Panasonics usually have a setting for Inputs for "brighter, normal or lighter" or something like that. Is the difference in picture in terms of that or are you seeing other differences?

no, its just overall picture quality.

Panasonic has never had very good NTSC tuners in their DVD recorders.

I would go into the menus and check for any adjustments that might help. If your model's remote has a "Display" button on it, hit that and look under "video".