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Panasonic DMR-EZ47V: DVD/VCR recorder with ATSC (digitl), QAM(digitl) & Analog Tuners

179K views 639 replies 126 participants last post by  Zudrick007 
#1 ·
The Panasonic DMR-EZ47Vis a DVD/VCR recorder with a ATSC (digital) tuner as well as QAM("cable digital") and analog tuners (warehouse [Costco or Sam's Club] derivative model, DMR-EZ475ZK, is apparently the DMR-EZ47V with HDMI cable in the box).


I've read two good/okay reviews of the Panasonic DMR-EZ47V. They are notes 17 & 18 linked at: Wikipedia under DVD_recorder (Comparison of 2007 ATSC DVD recorders.) I read one bad review regarding the DMR-EZ47V 1080p up-converting (at Amazon under Panasonic DMR-EZ47VK Up-Converting 1080p DVD-Recorder/VCR Combo with Built In Tuner). Fastexas and I already discussed this in the Panasonic DMR-ES45VS Thread, but I'd like to start a separate thread that is more visible to everyone and to continue the feedback on this unit, which has an appealing price at the warehouses. Fastexas also gave this unit a thumbs-up, finding it to be an excellent DVD player through his Samsung t5054 plasma, as well as a "good" VCR for his old tapes. He also compared it to the Oppo 980 and felt they were comparable, however, he did not get to check the Panny's1080 up-converting.


Others say they would not get any first generation DVD recorders with an ATSC tuner.
 
#527 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Westly-C /forum/post/13943185


Bought a refurbed 47 this week, and it arrived yesterday.


Early comments-I love the picture quality of the Panasonic tuners. It makes the analog cable chanels from Comcast look so much better than the tv's tuner does.

Being Saturday, there wasn't much in the way of tv programming to try out a recording of the 12 clear QAM stations.


Day 1 with the EZ47, and no horror stories...yet. Da-da-dummmmm...


Stay tuned.

One week later....



Mostly pleased with the recorder. Though I have run into-you guessed it, issues with it. The nonsensical crippling of features found in previous generations of Pannys continues to fascinate. On the ez47, it appears that you cannot create playlists for material recorded to RAM. It will permit you to view playlists made on a RAM disc on another unit, but not make them. It's not going to be that big of a headache for me, as I have 2 other Pannys-the hdd eh85, and es30 combo. And perhaps someone without an earlier unit won't need to create a playlist, but it feels wacky not to carry over that ability.


Did a couple of dubs-vhs to dvd & vice versa just for kicks, and echoing the sentiments already on record, this process sucks.


And the last point may be interesting. While glancing at a clear QAM On Demand channel, the movie started to fast forward. A few secs into this and the unit went into U99 error mode. It happened again on another night too, during a por-erm, mature audiences performance showcase... yeah, that's it.
Could the digital signal from the cable co have caused this? Or maybe the unit just can't handle signal streams that way. Just curious, it's not a deal breaker to avoid those chs, as there's no way to determine what shows up and when.

I'd just like to know if anyone else has experienced the ff/rewinding on those On Demand chs, and if the same freeze happened.
 
#528 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Westly-C /forum/post/13943185


Bought a refurbed 47 this week, and it arrived yesterday. Yeah, I know, I've read the thread since it was started, but with the EZ48 still a little too pricy, when I saw the 47 at a great price-$48 at ubid, I decided that, despite what I've read, it was worth getting one. I did purchase a 12 month extended warranty, so, if the worst happens, I'm covered-at least for a year after the Panny 3 month warranty ends...

Are DVDRs like Pringles?
After getting my 'open box' EZ-17 @ $100, another ATSC/QAM tuner for $48 sounds interesting - how much was the warranty?


I checked a few times at the Buy.Com Outlet (I 'think' that's where someone said to look) but I never found any refurbed Panasonic DVDRs there. I thought the other place was eBay
- good thing you posted with uBid - are there other sites to check? Are the prices ALWAYS this good? Or regularly - at intervals? Or RARELY?!? Is there more than one vendor? Anything to watch out for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Westly-C /forum/post/13943185


...Gripe 1-the ch scan lists a bunch a digital chs that were labeled 'added' under the Channel Settings menu, but there's nothing on them. Imagine the disappointment at paging thru those, only to find a blank screen...

I found the same with the EZ-17 and was tempted to delete the blanks and label the unlabelled. But, in my newbie confusion, it seems to be a waste of time - i.e. there's no way, AFAICT, to save the labels and a new scan RESETS everything (I go back-and-forth between QAM and ATSC). I also saw mention of not being able to manually ADD channels but truthfully I can't remember if that was for Panasonic or Philips.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Westly-C /forum/post/13943185


...The other 2 were back to back recordings, 1am & 2am, on different digital QAM channels. Both recorded just fine...

I thought I read that you would lose a few seconds from the beginning of the 2nd show as the DVDR closed the file for the first show?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Westly-C /forum/post/13985575


...

And the last point may be interesting. While glancing at a clear QAM On Demand channel, the movie started to fast forward. A few secs into this and the unit went into U99 error mode. It happened again on another night too, during a por-erm, mature audiences performance showcase... yeah, that's it.
Could the digital signal from the cable co have caused this? Or maybe the unit just can't handle signal streams that way. Just curious...


...I'd just like to know if anyone else has experienced the ff/rewinding on those On Demand chs, and if the same freeze happened.

I came across one of those channels when I was mapping out my QAM Excel spreadsheet. The Comcast On Demand 'Subscriber' was *VERY* adept with his/her remote - s/he seemed to know *EXACTLY* where each scene was located.



No U99 on my EZ-17.
 
#529 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ClearToLand /forum/post/13986805


Are DVDRs like Pringles?
After getting my 'open box' EZ-17 @ $100, another ATSC/QAM tuner for $48 sounds interesting - how much was the warranty?

Warranty was $7.07. Shipping about $16.
Quote:
I checked a few times at the Buy.Com Outlet (I 'think' that's where someone said to look) but I never found any refurbish Panasonic DVDRs there. I thought the other place was eBay
- good thing you posted with uBid - are there other sites to check? Are the prices ALWAYS this good? Or regularly - at intervals? Or RARELY?!? Is there more than one vendor? Anything to watch out for?

There are 2 separate auctions at ubid for Refurbed ez47s-auction 1 ends in less than 90mins and has 11 units up at a starting bid of $119.


The second auction has 2 units up for bids starting at $148, and ends on Monday..
http://www.ubid.com/Panasonic_DMR-EZ...703189055.html

Quote:
I thought I read that you would lose a few seconds from the beginning of the 2nd show as the DVDR closed the file for the first show?

I used a RAM disc, and the few sec change over didn't stand out as both shows ended, then started on commercials.
Quote:
I came across one of those channels when I was mapping out my QAM Excel spreadsheet. The Comcast On Demand 'Subscriber' was *VERY* adept with his/her remote - s/he seemed to know *EXACTLY* where each scene was located.

LOL....Blushes.
 
#530 ·
Today is the last day I can purchase an extended warranty for my Panny DMR-EZ47V (one year anniversary since I bought it).


Panny will sell warranties for the following prices:

1 year- $50

2 year- $80

3 year-$110


I have read in posts that some recommend avoiding them. I still have to copy about 100 to 150 VHS tapes to DVD.


Also, do any of you recommend an annual service, like cleaning VCR heads?


Thanks,


jhollister
 
#531 ·
"Personally" I'm not too big on extended warranties. That said in the case of the EZ-47 I "might" consider it.

One reason I might not in your case is because yours has lasted 1 year with no problems yet, maybe you got a good one. If the warranty included shipping both ways I'd be more inclined to go for it. If not shipping is so darn expensive now days if you had to ship it back more than a few times that could get expensive plus the cost of the warranty.

A lot of it boils down to how much personally you feel comfortable doing minor maintenance. Cleaning the VHS heads wouldn't be a bad idea although a $10 wet cleaning tape also works good for minor cleanings. A bigger concern would be cleaning the DVD drive spindle. If properly prepared it's not that hard of a job, although it does require removing the units cover as well as the DVD drive cover(a cleaning disc only cleans the DVD lens NOT the spindle). If you don't feel comfortable with this I might also be more inclined to go for the warranty. Trust me, if you've used your unit more than a few hours and have dust in your house the spindle is going to need attention soon. I've had Pannys need spindle attention after less than a years use. Some after less than 6 months(and I don't smoke or have pets). I don't even bother with warranty repair for a dirty spindle. It only takes 15 minutes to do the job. It would take me more time to take it back to the store or box it up to ship it back to Panasonic.


So in the end it's up to you. If you feel comfortable with minor cleanings I might be tempted to skip the warranty. If you'd just as soon not bother I guess I might go with one. Figure out how long you plan on keeping the unit to decide on warranty length. The Panny EZ-x7 series machines make great recordings when they work, it's just they do have their issues. I guess if you knew you were going to get the dreaded U99 error I'd really go for the warranty. I had 5 EZ-17's all die with U99. luckily they were all under warranty and were able to be exchanged for another new one. By the 5th I was given my money back and more or less told I should try another DVDR


My ES machines just keep on ticking. Really never have issues with those, other than spindle cleaning.
 
#532 ·
Thank you JJeff!


1. I am cool with trying to clean the DVD drive spindle. Does anyone know any special differences for cleaning the DVD drive spindle in the DMR-EZ47VK and DMR-EZ475VK, or can I just follow the instructions at Link #487 (posted by DigaDo to Dndata)? Please see it quoted immediately below:

Quote:
Originally Posted by DigaDo /forum/post/13889073


Dndata,


....Here is advice concerning DVD drives that seem to be failing but just need a spindle/hub cleaning:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=210507


Following these detailed instructions clean the lens, rubber and plastic spindle parts and hub area, and the circular guide in the DVD drive lid.


Panasonic 2006 and newer DVD drives are easy to service. Remove the case top cover to get access to the DVD drive. Remove the four small Phillips screws and lift the DVD drive top lid. When viewing the DVD drive from the front (where the tray rolls out) notice the roller assembly at the rear of the DVD tray. This mechanism must be positioned to the left corner before reassembly so these parts will be correctly aligned to the guide rail on the underside of the drive lid. With the 2006 and newer models opening of the Panasonic case, removing the DVD drive lid, cleaning the drive, closing the drive lid, and closing the case takes around fifteen minutes.


.... Note: On a combo recorder be sure to hold the VHS door open as the front panel is fitted back into place. This will correctly align the VHS door opening mechanism.

2. Does anyone know if the DMR-EZ47VK has the appropriate heat sinks? I'll definitely take the unit out of the open backed, glass door cabinet, or at least keep the doors open when in use.


3. A repair technician told me special care needed to be taken when cleaning VHS heads. Can anyone give me a good link on instructions for cleaning the VHS heads in the DMR-EZ47VK? I've not done it before, but it should be fun!?


4. Should I try to get updated software for this unit, and if so, from where and how would I install it? (Bought from Costco in June 2007).


Many thanks to all for such a helpful community!


jhollister
 
#533 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jhollister /forum/post/14158534


I am cool with trying to clean the DVD drive spindle. Does anyone know any special differences for cleaning the DVD drive spindle in the DMR-EZ47VK and DMR-EZ475VK . . . A repair technician told me special care needed to be taken when cleaning VHS heads. Can anyone give me a good link on instructions for cleaning the VHS heads in the DMR-EZ47VK? I've not done it before, but it should be fun!?

These EZ series machines are from 2007. While the DVD drives are different in a few respects from those in 2006 models the cleaning procedure is the same.


The DVD drive lid is anchored at the front and tips up at the rear. With this design there is no need to disturb the machine's front panel so the advice about holding the VHS door open when refitting the front panel to the case is unnecessary in this instance.


Jeff has posted better advice than I originally posted (see his post below) for cleaning procedures for various parts of a VHS mechanism. Here are a few of my general observations:


All the tape-path parts are accessible without removing the machine's front panel. There are several rollers and guides in the tape-path. There are also stationary recording heads and rubber pinch rollers in the tape-path. These parts are not particularly delicate. Clean the stationary recording heads first then move to the guides and rollers. Most of the residue will be found on the large rubber pinch roller to the right of the spinning drum. The small heads on the spinning drum are delicate and may be damaged very easily. These heads are located in small cut-outs along the bottom edge of the spinning upper portion of the drum. Using force may damage the heads or dislodge them. After this I clean the sides of the upper spinning drum, taking special care not to touch the heads while cleaning the drum. There is a lower, stationary assembly that aligns with the spinning drum. Clean that as well, again taking care not to touch the heads on the drum while cleaning this lower assembly. Take care not to pick up other residue. The spinning upper drum and the lower assembly (that portion above its guide groove) are cleaned as they are within the tape-path. There are several greased parts in the VHS mechanism. Take care not to disturb this grease or allow grease residue to contact any parts in the tape-path.
 
#534 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jhollister /forum/post/14158534


Does anyone know if the DMR-EZ47VK has the appropriate heat sinks? I'll definitely take the unit out of the open backed, glass door cabinet, or at least keep the doors open when in use.


Should I try to get updated software for this unit, and if so, from where and how would I install it?

With regard to heatsinks I think the more important consideration is appropriate ventilation and airflow, especially when using the VHS mechanism as it is big, clunky, and has many moving parts.


Firmware may be found at the Panasonic Support page:

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-e...-DVD+Recorders


Be sure to print out and follow the instructions found there.
 
#535 ·
Digado, while a person could use cotton swabs I personally only use foam swabs for cleaning the tape path. For cleaning the spinning video heads I only use chamois cleaning sticks. Their specifically designed for cleaning video heads and are flat and about 1 cm in width. I used to use the cheaper foam swabs for the video heads but didn't like it when the foam would occasionally catch on the video heads. The most important part about cleaning the video heads is to NEVER use a up and down motion. The heads are very fragile and can easily snap if a up and down motion is used. For this reason what I do(and I believe is recommended) is to hold the flat chamois cleaning stick against the drum and slowly spin the drum around several times, only stopping the spinning when the little heads were NOT under the swab. Note I also like to hold the leading edge of the stick away from the head which eliminates the possibility of the heads catching on the swab. When looking at the cleaning swab it is easy to see the brown dirt when using the tan flesh colored cleaning sticks. The ones I have are double sided and since they are about a inch tall I get several cleanings out of each 50 cent stick.

Personally I wouldn't use cotton swabs for any of the cleaning because of the possibility of loose fibers coming off the swabs. The foam swabs may cost a few cents more but have no fibers.


This is just my 2 cents about cleaning video heads. I'm quite paranoid about using any up/down motion since I did this on my first VCR back in '84 and ruined the head. It was a $250 mistake
This was in the days of $1000 new VCRs and I guess $250 for a head replacement was cheaper than a new VCR. I doubt anyone ever replaces video heads in $100 VCRs or even $300 combos now days. Maybe professional equipment though.


BTW jhollister, to be safe you may just want to clean the tape path and leave the video head alone. Personally I think the wet cleaning tapes do a fine job of video head cleaning, they just don't get all the nooks and crannies of the tape path like a manual cleaning does. As far as a cleaning chemical Isoprop alcohol should work fine although they do make a specific chemical for cleaning video heads. Radio Shack might still sell it, although with the demise of VCRs who knows
 
#536 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jjeff /forum/post/14160707


Digado, while a person could use cotton swabs I personally only use foam swabs for cleaning the tape path. For cleaning the spinning video heads I only use chamois cleaning sticks.

Based upon your better advice I have edited some bad information out of my earlier post.
 
#537 ·
Digado and jjeff,


1. Thank you for the walk-through on cleaning the VCR video heads. I went to a few sites for pictures and descriptions and then I remembered that I have the suede chamois-tipped cleaning sticks and foam sticks for my miniDV camera. I also have professional head cleaning fluid. It feels dicey when you're a novice, but I didn't ruin the miniDV cam.


(BTW, I have compared azeotropic alcohol (~91% isopropyl alcohol plus water) and 99% isopropyl alcohol. Though some argue that the azeotrope leaves less of a ring than the 99% alcohol , if you put a dab of each on a clean mirror and look at evaporation time and residue left behind, I found the 99% to leave virtually no ring after evaporation. Not so with the azeotrope mixture. Regular 70% leaves the worst ring and has the slowest evap. time.)


a few VCR tape head cleaning sites:

[URL='http://forum.videohelp.com/topic347772.html']http://forum.videohelp.com/topic347772.html


http://www.scifi2k.com/misc_html/vd/dmanualclean.html

http://hometheater.about.com/cs/vcrs...eadcleaing.htm

http://www.fixer.com/osm/cleaning.php


Yeah, jjeff, maybe I will just get a wet cleaning cartridge. I figured as long as I unplugged the EZ47 and took off the cover, I'd do all the maintenance. But then if I have a malfunction, I've got two systems to wonder about my having disturbed.


2. Since I have a Mac and was not sure if I could burn the Windows update with it, I called Panasonic Customer Service and they are sending me the software free, to arrive in 3-5 days they say.


3. The Panasonic representative said with the original or their extended warranty, they pay for shipping both ways. When the warranty has expired, they only pay for shipping on the return to owner. I think I'm over my time limit to buy the extended warranty now.


4. Lastly, I've noticed a slow response to commands from my remote recently, and I wonder if the computer in the EZ47 gets fouled up if one tries to send commands to it too quickly? I've always been able to finally eject and or reset any freezes, but it does scare the hell out of me.



Thank you both for the generous support.


jhollister
 
#538 ·
Thanks for the follow up about the shipping. If they pay both ways it would make it more tempting, but since you sound like you're not afraid of using a screwdriver you should be able to take care of the common maintenance, which takes care of the majority of problems.

As far as the slowness of the EZ DVDRs in general I always have to laugh. I'd swear their running on something like Windows 98. The ES machines are superior in that respect but unfortunately don't have the nice digital tuner built in. Of course by nice I don't mean fast, they are slower than molasses in January, but at least they have the tuner built in for maximum flexibility.
 
#539 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dndata /forum/post/13943058


"... If you want to give Panasonic one more chance I would suggest returning your last EZ-47..."


DONE.

- Thank-you, Costco.


Okay... step 1: Finalize those dvd-rw discs before this one 'implodes'...

(I'm joking: kind of...)


Whoooo Boy - I sure hope THIS unit 'hangs in there.'

(Needless to say, I've bookmarked this thread in case I need to clean the spindle at some point.)


Trust me, amigos...

- If this sucka fails on me w/in the 1st 6 months or so (make that YEAR or so) I assure you I'll colorfully get the word out



Now...

- Onto the "Official Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK thread"...

Hello, Gang

- It's Me' again - the guy whose house is haunted by the invisible I Love To Destroy Panasonic DVD Recorders' demon


1 MONTH & 3 DAYS!

- That's all the time it took for my EZ-48 to self-destruct.


Lucky me: I came home just in time to watch the fun

- I walked into the house at 9:59 pm Sat w/my brother to watch a movie. The EZ-48 was just finishing its scheduled recording from the SciFi channel (scheduled from 8-10pm); media was a re-used Panny DVD-RW. The machine was just powering down as we walked in. All of a sudden, that hideous stream of 0 0 0 0 0 0 started scrolling across the display: a minute or 2 later I got the infamous & dreaded U99 error message. (Needless to say: unit completely frozen' & couldn't eject disc)

- Powered off (holding Power button for extended period) - waited a minute & powered on - hit/held Eject as Hello blinked: No luck.

- Waited until Hello stopped blinking & hit/held Eject immediately after Hello stopped blinking: No luck.

- Powered up the machine again: 0 0 0 0 0 0 U99

- Powered down, waited a minute or 2, powered up, & after Hello stopped blinking & 0 0 0 0 0 0 started streaming, inserted paperclip into Reset eventual result: 0 0 0 0 0 0 ad infinitum (Lucky me: no more U99 - just Endless Zeroes streaming across my display forevermore)


I unplugged the unit for a day & plugged it back in: result - 0 0 0 0 0 0 ad infinitum


-----


This is the FOURTH unit to die on me in last 2-3 years:

1st lasted just over 6 mo.s (DMR EZ475V predecessor: DMR-ES45V I think)

The subsequent replacements (both DMR EZ475Vs) each worked OK for 3-4 months

- At least the others took their time croaking*: they'd start rejecting discs I'd recorded on them & stop reading Panny dvd-rams (Even BLANK ones) before freezing up).


* The last time I went through this, my queries initiated an educational series of spindle/hub cleaning discussion on the DMR-EZ47V thread ( http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...5#post13888905 ).


This time the unit just self-destructed right in front of my eyes.

- Guess it all has to be something having to do w/the sophisticated' circuitry that runs the d*mn thing as opposed to the spindles, eh?


I dunno (understatement of the century!)

Am suspecting (in my ignorance) that perhaps

- Re-used dvd-rw discs just freak out the brains' of units I purchase (as opposed to units everyone else in the universe purchases): might a scratch on the disc or some such &^%*!! be responsible for making my Pannys commit suicide - Or

- Perhaps there's some kind of spurious unevenness' in the current of the AC outlets in my wall that fluctuates just enough to KILL my machines (my home entertainment electronics are plugged into a surge-protecting power strip: need I, perhaps, buy a bona fide UPS battery-back-up system like I have for my pc.s??)


I mention this, Gentlemen (most of the posts I read around here SEEM to be from guys [like me]) because I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS KEEPS HAPPENING TO ME (ALONE).

- I'm completely flummoxed!


I Just Do Basic DVD recording through a standard co-ax analog cable connected from Comcast.

My Panny dvd-recorders stand all by themselves on top of my home entertainment stand shelf all by themselves (w/no adjacent cabinet walls or other electronics to impede airflow).


Am connected to several-year-old Panasonic TH-50PX600U 50 inch Plasma (Costco's TH-50PX60U) via HDMI & component & a Kenwood HTIB.


-----


Frankly, I'm afraid of returning to Costco for (yet) another replacement: am imagining that Costco corporate will inform me that I'm abusing their return policy & they're therefore kicking me out of the club' (Sure maybe I'm paranoid - but for some reason beyond my current comprehension it seems I'm cursed: I buy the machines, use them somewhat sparingly [a few hours a week] for basic recording tasks & my machines blow up' on me.)


So

Since my machine isn't even 2 months old, & is DEAD (I just looked at it again: 0 0 0 0 0 0 ad infinitum may as well unplug), I'm thinking of having THIS one serviced instead of returning it (& sparing myself the daggers from the eyes' looks from those Costco Return Desk personnel).

- Just Maybe the Panasonic repair-techs can tell me WTH happened: why it 'fried.'


There's a Panny Service Center w/in a 30 min. drive from here.

Do you folks think I should trust them - or should I go through the additional hassle of shipping to one of the giant Official' service centers?


I see posts here mentioning conversations w/Panasonic engineers. How do you guys reach them?

(My experiences w/Panny tech supt. have been, am sorry to say, just terrible.)


What other makes should I consider for a dvd-recorder? (I recall that wajo really likes the Phillips unit w/the built-in hdd (& believe jjeff concurred [?]); I've read complaints elsewhere on AVS posts that the picture quality isn't up to par compared to the Pannys

- Is there anything to that?

I'll miss the FR' recording mode, & I guess I'll have wasted my $$ on the dvd-ram spindles sitting on my shelf if I eventually go that route, I suppose)



That's it for the moment, I guess.

If I come across as despairing or glum, apologies: I waited 2 daze' before posting so I could keep my language clean (feeble chuckle). Truth be told, I'm mighty blue. Am on really restricted budget* (hard times), & - for the veritable life of me' - I can't figure out what's goin' on. (Any of you heard of anybody ELSE who's had units like these inexplicably crap out 4 d*mn times w/in 2 years?).


* I've even considered upgrading to Comcast service w/dvr & hd programming (G'Bye beer budget ...but even seeing the hd channels I get via basic service here makes me shudder (pixilation gone mad on hd channels): &, not only is FIOS not quite yet available here, FIOS in these parts doesn't even have TCM on its roster, making the option untenable even if it were available


Groan


(Am posting this on EZ-48 thread & cross-posting at DMR EZ475V thread, since that's where I first sought-out help, & that's the thread where I outlined my difficulties from the beginning.)


Hope you folks are doin' better than I!
 
#540 ·
DnData,


Don't fret about being glum. That is part of the reason we are here, to support. Besides, you wrote with a sardonic wit. It would be funny if it weren't so true. I think Jjeff had dreaded U99's more than once, so it is not just you or your set-up.


Any chance the spindle hub could already be dirty? Any smoke or dust sources?


I would at least call Panasonic Customer Service. I've had good luck with them most of the time. (I sometimes have to contain any feelings of indignation: I have a spiteful face when I slice off my nose.) I think the warranty is suppose to cover shipping both ways, but maybe that is only if you purchase the extended warranty. You might also try calling or writing someone higher up at Panasonic to request help, but that is a lot of work and no guarantee that it will help. You'd have to ask Customer Service for help.


You might level with Costco, explain your concern, and ask for your money back. I think Jjeff would not recommend this Panny recorder. I hope you don't have too much $ tied up in DVD-RAM discs.


I'm sorry to learn the EZ-48 is delivering trouble like its predecessors. I think you've all the evidence that you need that this series is temperamental in your home.


Maybe someone else can offer better advice.


jhollister
 
#542 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jhollister /forum/post/14191639



I would at least call Panasonic Customer Service. I've had good luck with them most of the time. (I sometimes have to contain any feelings of indignation: I have a spiteful face when I slice off my nose.) I think the warranty is suppose to cover shipping both ways, but maybe that is only if you purchase the extended warranty.

The regular 90 day warranty and the extended warranty cover shipping both ways. You call them up, and they send you a letter to take to the UPS Store in your city, and they print up the return label there and ship it off. You have to pack it up in an appropriate box for shipping-after putting it in the box it came in, or pay a fee to the UPS Store and they will pack it up for you.
 
#543 ·
You sound like my other half


Reading your post reminded me of my horrors with 5 EZ units: EZ17's and EZ-27.

In the ~3 month period I had with my EZ-28 I got some great recordings but did have several anomalies. Missed recordings, corrupted disc and cascading 00000. My unit always cleared with by holding down the power button 10 seconds to force a shutoff. Never the U99 though. The machine didn't die like my x7's but I was waiting for the day. I finally returned it after it screwed up a important recording while trying to chase play using a almost new Panasonic RAM disc.


Most of my failures with my EZ-x7's were to -RW discs so when I got my EZ-28 I made sure to use PANASONIC RAMs. Well they also had issues so I really don't believe the failures are disc related. I just think the EZ machines are flaky. I'm sorry to hear about your U99. That takes the machine from flaky status to downright AVOID status. A missed recording 2% of the time might be acceptable(not desirable) but a downright machine failure is unacceptable, IMO.


As far as what I did was to purchase a EH-55 from Canada. It lacks the VHS drive but included a nice 250GB HDD and more important is reliable as are all my ES machines. Using a CM-7000 CECB I am able to get digital recordings that are ~95% of my EZ machines. To me I'll take the 5% hit if I can guarantee 100% recording success.

Now if you wanted to go the combo route I'd suggest a EH-75(w/HDD) if you can find one. If you wanted to omit the HDD I'd try and find a old ('05) ES-30. I have several, and other than the occasional spindle cleaning it's 100% reliable. Note none of the units have a digital tuner. I understand it might be important to some, it was VERY important to me being OTA only, but I just couldn't stomach the problems with the EZ units to make it work for me.


As far a 3575/6 PQ I'd have to say it totally depends on what you expect. I personally like to record in a FR speed of ~3hrs/disc. Using that speed I "personally" was not happy with the 3575. You may be different, and if using speeds like SP the difference is even less. Personally it sounds like you're used to the Panny picture so what I might suggest would be to purchase a 3576 at Sams Club(maybe a friend has a membership?) or Walmart for ~$50 more. If you're ok with the PQ then good, be done with it and keep the Philips. If you're not happy with the PQ then I'd personally suggest a '06 or 05' Panny ES series machine and some type of external digital STB to get better recordings. Note a '07 EH-55(w/HDD) from Canada would also be a good choice as well as possibly a '08 Canadian ES-18 or ES-36 w/VHS. They have the analog tuner and are based on the more reliable ES design. Link to those:
http://www.panasonic.ca/english/audi...rder/index.asp


If you're OK with the Philips that would sure be your easiest route. It would not only be cheaper than some of the other options I mentioned but will also be handy with it's built in HDD and digital tuner. Because the Philips has the HDD you will find out you are able to use the 1 and 2 hour speed more often for time shifting since you don't have to worry about the 1 or 2 hour limitations of a DVD. I think the Philips records something like 68? hours in HQ to its HDD.


My father switched from his Pannys to a 3575 and hasn't looked back. Well we actually both thought it was acting flaky by occasionally not finalizing DVDs, but it turned out to be a un-noted "feature" that the machine would not allow finalizing of discs less than 1 hour prior to a scheduled event. I think Wajo discovered this hidden "feature"



Lastly people may wonder why other people may not have problems with their EZ machines and guys like you and I have had many problems. My explanation to this would be, how much does the average person use their DVDRs for scheduled recordings?? My guess would be the people with little to no problems rarely use their machines or don't use scheduled events that much. Just a thought
I gave up on the thought that I might just be getting select bad units after the 3 or 4th new unopened unit went bad.


jhollister, personally I wouldn't worry about finalizing your discs before the firmware update. I never had problems after firmware updates, it's just the updates did nothing to fix my problems.

BTW one more advantage to the Philips unit. It has a option to UNFINALIZE -RW discs. That is you can finalize the -RW disc, play it in another player, then unfinalize the disc and add more back to it on the 3575. I sure wish the Pannys had that feature, I'd sure use it.
 
#546 ·
I was wondering if anyone knows a way to disable IN2 - i.e. so it can't be selected as source when creating a scheduled recording event? After inadvertantly selecting IN2 instead of IN1 and recording 2 1/2 hours of blank content, I'd like to prevent that from happening again!
 
#548 ·
No way to disable either L input and for your second question I will refer to my ES-30 combo and explain how I would do this on that machine, not positive if the EZ would be the same though.

On my ES machine say if I was recording a event to DVD from L1 I'd select L1 for the input for the DVD side. I'd start that recording and then select the VHS side (on the remote) and on the VHS side I'd select the tuner for it's input. That way I could watch the tuner through the VHS while the DVD recorded the L1 signal.

Note the one problem would be if you're using a output that will not directly display the VHS side. On the ES-30 that would be the component output. On your EZ machine I'd also expect the HDMI output to be DVD only(unless the VHS is watched through the DVD side). In this case you'd not be able to do my above suggestion.

I hope I didn't confuse you and would think your EZ combo would be similar in operation to my ES machine, but I can't guarantee it.

Note you could use a common output if your TV has unused inputs and use that input in the rare case you wanted to do the above. Then for normal watching you could use your HDMI or Component outputs. Just another thought.
 
#549 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jjeff /forum/post/14606713


On my ES machine say if I was recording a event to DVD from L1 I'd select L1 for the input for the DVD side. I'd start that recording and then select the VHS side (on the remote) and on the VHS side I'd select the tuner for it's input. That way I could watch the tuner through the VHS while the DVD recorded the L1 signal.

Thanks for the suggestion. What you outlined was what I thought should work, sort of. What I'm trying to do is record from IN1 (satellite) to VHS then using the Drive Select button on the remote, switch to the DVD drive and change its input from IN1 to TV (Panny's tuner). Unfortunately, the Input Select key is disabled in this scenario. I'll try the reverse later -- record to DVD, change to VHS drive -- and see if Input Select will work in that mode.


BTW - My setup is pretty simple. S-Video from satellite tuner to Panasonic. Panasonic is then connected to standard def TV two ways: via S-Video and via common composite. (The second connection is for the rare times that I want to watch video while recording to DVD)
 
#550 ·
I'm glad you followed my thought. It seemed like a hard process to convey in words. Your scenario would work on my ES-30 combo but I've never had a EZ combo and besides only one display (my ES-30 has 2) their may be other differences with your EZ unit.

On my ES-30 the only combination I cannot do is to record from 2 different channels, using its built in tuner. I can, and have actually recorded from 2 different channels using a CECB feeding one of the line inputs, but that's another story.
 
#551 ·
My DMR-EZ47V is 1 year and 1 week old. No extended warranty or anything. Was recording the 2 hour season premier of Heroes Monday night for time shifting purposes. Just as it was finishing up it made a few funny noises and went to U99. I've read through this entire topic (over the course of 3 sittings), and although I've come across a number of references to U99 and being a problem, I don't recall seeing any actual definition or any possible solutions. Am I just screwed, or is there anything I can do?


This coming just 3 days after I got my Panny DMR-EH50 back on it's feet with a capacitor replacement.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...y#post14710725
 
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