Hi,
This is the 1st time I've written in here.I found this web site a few days ago and wished I had found it sooner. I am not a technical person. I've been researching DVD recorders VCR combos for the last month. I finally bought my 1st a dvd recorder vcr combo model #DMR-EZ47V/DMR-EZ475V last week. After reading the manual thoughouly about 3 times, and understanding 1/2 of it-if that. I thought I was ready to experiment. I had taped some shows on the vcr with commercials. I started transferring them onto the dvd with the intention of taking out the commercials while pausing the DVD, going to the VCR and fast scanning untuk it was on the show again and switching to DAVID and ununpausingWell it didn't work. I started reading the manual again trying to find anything. They only had 2 pages dodevotingo copying to VHS to DVD and visa versa. I e-mailed Pasnasonic explaining the situation. When I didn't hear back from them, I wrote another one stating that I wasn't impressed by their service and quoting them on the e-mail that was sent after I had registered it which states "You're one of our most valued customers, and we want to make sure that your ownership experience is always exceptional. If you need to contact us, or obtain support for your product, we've listed some helpful links below....." I also threatened to write on every board on the net that I recommend to people not to but Panasonic and why. Well about 3 hours later I got an e-mail back asking what the problem was. The next day I received another re-mail regarding my answer to my pausing problem in which they said turn off the DVD go to the VCR scan forward then start recording it again. Well duh, I had already figured that out and was fafairlyertain that I wouldn't be able to pause on this machine the way I wanted to.

Before I heard from them, another problem ococcurredhe problem that I have now is that the remote control doesn't work. I do have another Panasonic in which I used that remote control. I looked at the manual again and found out after the fact that I needed to switch the RCRECwhatever that is]. I disconnected my new recorder for a day hoping it would resolve itself- it didn't. I still can't use the remote control to set anything up such as the time, date, channels,etc. I tried all the troubleshooting that was in the manual. I even disconnected my panasonic vcr. I just took it back.

I also found that it took awhile to get ready once you powered it on.

I've been reading a lot of your forum questions and answers and it looks like Panasonic is the choice for a lot of people.

Now for my questions.
I want an easy to use recorder/combo that will pause when want while fast forwarding to where I want to start again.
I want one that doesn't take forever to get started.

I do have and old(1991) Sanyo which is still working. I know eventually I'll get something new so I'd want something that would be able to convert to all that.

Any suggestions on what to get keeping in mind the pausing issue?---I know, I know duh : )

Has anyone had any trouble copying a 6 hour vcr tape unto a DAVID straight?


Thanks in advance.

Linda

(snip)

Now for my questions.
I want an easy to use recorder/combo that will pause when want while fast forwarding to where I want to start again.
I want one that doesn't take forever to get started.

I do have and old(1991) Sanyo which is still working. I know eventually I'll get something new so I'd want something that would be able to convert to all that.

Any suggestions on what to get keeping in mind the pausing issue?---I know, I know duh : )

Has anyone had any trouble copying a 6 hour vcr tape unto a DAVID straight?


Thanks in advance.

Linda[/QUOTE]





Hi Linda,

I'm not real sure I understood your entire post as to what you are wanting, but I can give you my experience. I bought the Phillips DVDR 3575H a couple of months ago and have been taking my old video tapes and converting them to DVD. I have done this by playing my VCR into the front jacks on the Phillips and recording the entire video tape onto the hard drive. After that I go in to the copy on the hard drive and edit it (divide it into appropriate subject sections, use the Scene Delete to cut out anything I don't want on the DVD, and give them all a title.) Then I record them to a DVD and title the DVD and finalize it. This is working GREAT for me.

One note - if you read the different sections of these forums, it appears ALL the video recorders have issues. None appear to do everything and none appear to do even what they claim to do without some sort of problems.

I wish you well on your search. It's difficult sometimes to decide what you should do with all the variety out there.

Ken

^^Linda has a dvd recorder/vcr combo unit, and sounds like she can't pause recording to dvd while dubbing from the tape. I have a combo unit, the Panasonic E30, but I don't remember ever trying pausing while dubbing.

Linda, how did you initiate dubbing? Did you set dubbing thru the Timer setting, or did you press the dubbing button on the remote? Again, I can't recall ever trying a live session, vhs dub/ record to dvd...Normally, I just stick the tape in, press the dub button and leave.
Can you switch the unit to the dvd side, and turn to the line input channel, then with tape inserted, press play on the unit (not the remote) to start playback of the tape, and watch to see if the vcr feed shows up on the line input?
... then with a RAM disc or a RW inside the dvd tray, press rec to start the dvd recording? If you can do that, you should then be able to pause recording. I'm not at home, so I can't try it, but if no one else can shed light on how to do it, I'll try it tomorrow and report back...

As for the remote, it sounds like the code for operating it was accidently changed. With another Panasonic device in the room, you needed to set the recorder to use a second remote code. Changing the code requires going into the Settings, which can only be accessed with...the remote. Oy...that's gonna be a tough one.

Linda,

I own two Panny DVD recorders, but not the newest models --- so it may be slightly different... but I don't think so. I believe they basically all operate the same.

Manually dubbing (with pauses) is easy on the Panny units if you do it correctly.


With the combo unit (DVD/VCR) you'll have to constantly switch the remote between DVD and VCR control before you press any buttons to record, pause, stop, etc. --- IF you want to edit/pause as you go along. Failing to switch the control unit on the remote sends the PLAY/PAUSE/RECORD instruction to the VCR or DVD by mistake when you really wanted to control the other one.

If your stand alone VCR works well, this might be a simpler source for dubbing/pausing since you'll have seperate remote controls for each unit (no cross commands when buttons are pressed). Just connect the RCA cables from the stand alone VCR into the inputs of the DVD recorder.



1) Perhaps you simply got a bad unit or a bad remote to start with. Yes, the units do take about 30 seconds to get started when you first power up (hard drive units being a somewhat longer time), but they should all be ready to use in well under a minute when working properly. Some can also be a little touchy if you do not have the remote pointed pretty directly at the unit when pressing buttons.

2) From your long explanation I'm not sure what you were pressing when attempting to pause/un-pause, but if you were pressing STOP or PLAY you were making a mistake.

When recording manually and you want to pause --- DO NOT PRESS STOP, PLAY or RECORD. Press PAUSE once to pause, then press PAUSE again to instantly resume recording. If you press STOP the unit will go into a checking/stopping mode that takes about 10 seconds to complete. While in this checking/stopping mode you cannot resume anything until the front display stops flashing.


PROPER MANUAL DUBBING STEPS:

(NOTE: All button "presses" are quick taps --- DO NOT hold the button down. Also, you must have first chosen to control the DVD on the remote --- so the signal isn't meant for the VCR)

a) Press the red record button once and recording will begin with 1 or 2 seconds.
b) Temporarily PAUSE by pressing the PAUSE button once.
c) Instantly resume recording (no 1 or 2 second delay) by pressing the PAUSE button once again.
d) End the recording/dubbing session alltogether by pressing STOP button and wait up to 10 seconds while the unit completes the stopping process.

NOTE: Using the STOP button to PAUSE will also leave some noticeable gaps when you play back the DVD you have dubbed. Using the PAUSE button properly (as described above) will give you a very smooth playback with no playback glitches.

Westley has the right idea if you are willing to dub everything onto RAM disks. These disks can be used unattended and you can edit out whatever material you do not want and fill-er-up again. Just set up a 2 hour timer recording in SP mode (or up to 2 hrs 25 mins in FR mode or 4 hrs in the LP mode), start the VHS playing and walk away until the time is up. Edit out what you don't want from the RAM disk and then fill-er-up again (re-use the remaining space you just freed up by editing).

However, like many people, I suspect you are wanting to dub to a DVD+-R disk. If true, then your best bet is to manually dub and use the PAUSE button properly --- since you cannot reclaim edited space on a DVD-R disk as it is a one-time record process only.

Finally, dubbing more than 4 hours onto any DVD media requires you to record in the EP mode ( 6 hrs). NOT RECOMMENDED because the quality of EP mode stinks on ALL units of any brand. The newer Panny units have an enhanced LP bit rate that gives almost the same video quality result as SP mode --- depending on the crispness and clarity of your source for the dub. You can test LP mode with a portion of your VHS source material to see if it meets your expectations. If not, SP will be slightly higher quality for dubbing and should be what you expect.

Using XP (1 hr mode) for recording (highest quality) will not benefit you since a VHS tape is no where near that high of quality (resolution) to begin with. It would be overkill and generally waste disk space.

I swear by the Panny's mainly because they allow you to record and play re-useable RAM disks (which function just like a hard drive) and because Panny's have the best editing capabilities of any brand. Many people really like the Phillips, Samsung or other off-brands that are still available... but not me. I recommend the Panny, but since I have not owned the other brands I cannot knock them except to point out that they lack some capabilities I desire.

I hope this helps.

:)

Thank you for responding to my post. I know it was long and confusing, but hey, I'm a woman what can I say.................... a lot lol : )

To clarify what I was asking-at least try to,
-I want a dvd recorder/ vcr combo that has a good picture and sound.
-when dubbing from the vcr to the dvd, I want to be able to pause the dvd, while I go to the vcr to edit commercials out then unpause the dvd when the program is back on. I did "play" with my parents dvd recorder/ vcr combo yesterday. They have a Panasonic too and I could not do it on theirs. So I'm thinking they may not have that feature partucular feature. Does anyone know?

Has anyone had any trouble copying a 6 hour vcr tape unto a dvd straight? Did you have stop recording to let the dvd cool down before continuing?

Thanks
Linda

Thank you for responding to my post. I know it was long and confusing, but hey, I'm a woman what can I say.................... a lot lol : )

To clarify what I was asking-at least try to,
-I want a dvd recorder/ vcr combo that has a good picture and sound.
-when dubbing from the vcr to the dvd, I want to be able to pause the dvd, while I go to the vcr to edit commercials out then unpause the dvd when the program is back on. I did "play" with my parents dvd recorder/ vcr combo yesterday. They have a Panasonic too and I could not do it on theirs. So I'm thinking they may not have that feature partucular feature. Does anyone know?

Has anyone had any trouble copying a 6 hour vcr tape unto a dvd straight? Did you have stop recording to let the dvd cool down before continuing?

Thanks
Linda
1st of all, you might try putting 6 hrs of content on 2 3 hr dvds. better picture quality (pq); 2nd, are any of the pannys other inputs connected to a comcast scientific/atlanta set top box (stb) or digital video recorder (dvr), same thing, i believe. there were issues w/ pan. dvd recorders hooked up to said stb; slow or no response to remote commands, etc. if so, disconnect, reroute cables if necessary and possible. good luck! i use the pan es 15 (no hard drive), i use the pause a lot, works great to edit out commercials, etc. i also used to copy vhs movie tapes onto this dvd recorder, works great, but now i guess its illegal so i had to quit. ps; best info is 2 posts back!