Panasonic DMR-EZ17K DVD Player/Recorder - Page 10

The only thing I have to do when playing back a 16x9 DVD-R on my HDTV is manually change the TV's display from Normal to Full. The RAM discs change this automatically.

I tried recording a couple of shows, 2:02 worth, to a DVD-RAM disc that only had 1:56 of room left. Until now, I had been recording all my shows in LP mode and been exceedingly pleased with the quality. I thought that the bit rate would only drop a tiny bit to squeeze in that extra 6 minutes, but during Law & Order last night, on my local NBC-HD, the blocking, tiling, pixelation, whatever you want to call it would crop up for a second or two every 5-7 minutes. If you're familiar with the L&O format, the show often cuts between scenes with a black screen and some information in a white font, "District Attorney's Office March 13th, 12:30pm," for example. Just at the point where the show would cut from a live action scene to this black static image there would be a second or two of disturbance and then it would clear.

During last week's recording of L&O, the center track was completely absent for the entire show, so I only watched bits and pieces of that recording to see if the audio ever returned(it didn't) so I can't be 100% positive that this pixelation problem didn't occur in regular LP mode like it did in FR mode last night.

I'd appreciate hearing your comments about FR and how good the picture seems to you when you're only squeezing in an additional few minutes.

I don't know the exact numbers but I do know that at some point above LP the machine drops off from full resolution to something much less. What I like about Panny's is that they wait until LP. Many other DVDR's switch to lesser resolution on anything above 2hrs!.
Maybe someone with a PC, or who remembers the exact numbers knows what speed above LP it switches, but maybe it's anything above LP, even as you found out LP + 4 min(in FR) will put it over the edge.
If you're like me the more you use Panny's the more you will be tempted to not record over FR3, or maybe a slightly bit more. I find if I try to stay under the magic 3hrs/disc I get much less problems with blocking, but I know it's sure nice to get more time/disc, and it seems to me recording off of a HD channel I can push that LP speed with still good results.

I have tried to not go any lower than true LP mode; even with FR moding a few extra minutes. But I did test record an syndicated episode of FRIENDS in EP 6hr mode once and the difference in quality is noticable. Now that I have switched my recorder from letterboxing recording to recording squished anamorphic widescreen, I see noticeable macroblocking in fast motion in LP mode even on my 25" analog set. It is not horrible and only occurs in fast motion (LP looks just as good as SP still in static scenes) but in an effort to "future-proof" my recordings, I have heeded the advice offered here and try to stick as close to SP mode as possible. With the cheap cost of media, I am even recording each episode of Sarah Connor Chronicles to it's own disc in XP mode; unbelievable quality.

You mentioned you had 1:56 room left & I'm presuming that was at the LP 4 hr mode. So if you allowed 2:02, that means you have exceeded the full resolution available in LP mode. From my understanding, once you go past LP mode the resolution drops in half. The Panny seems to be the only machine out there that maintains full rez up to 4 hrs. So whether you are at 4 hr 1 min or at 6 hrs, you are at half rez with the Panny. Again, that's my understanding. Others brands drop to half rez when they exceed 2 hrs.

As jjeff mentioned, I too get good results if not exceeding 3 hrs in FR mode. Or exceeding this by only a few minutes just to make sure I don't get the end of a program cut short. I have used 4 hr LP on occasion when I'm not around to swap discs. It usually holds up pretty good unless there is a lot of motion in the picture content.

My DMR-EZ17 has now had a single instance of recording a scheduled program of one hour and two minutes duration with a playing time of one minute and twenty five seconds.

With my DMR-EZ17 I record black and white episodes of Perry Mason from our local Fox digital/HD channel 12.1 (cable ready) through Comcast with a dated recording set to record from 11:59 a.m. to 1:01 p.m. at EP (six hour setting). On 13 February 2008 the DMR-EZ17 recorded that program from 11:59 a.m. to 1:01 p.m.

After finalizing the disc I access each title through Direct Navigator to review each title to obtain the episode titles. When I selected the 13 February 2008 program and pressed Play the recording immediately started playing at a very fast speed. I had the Status screens displayed so I may see the elapsed time. The whole episode, beginning before the opening credits and ending after the closing credits, was present but took only one minute and twenty five seconds to play from beginning to end. During this fast speed play I could pause this recording. If I pressed fast forward or skip the next (normal) title would appear. This fast speed recording is the fifth of seven recordings on the disc. I placed the disc in a DMR-ES30V with the very same results. All the other recordings on the disc appear normal.

And the bugs go on . . .

Weird......I sure hope the new EZ-x8's have some of the bugs worked out that are prevalent in the x7 series machines. Too bad with these EZ series machines, I had virtually no problems with my ES-30's, ES'15's and ES-25, which is more than I can say for the current lineup, and I cant put all the blame on the first gen digital tuners. Lots of the bugs seem to be more machine related, rather than tuner related.

A little over a month ago I gave a DMR-EZ17 to a relative for OTA use. I set it up and positioned their amplified Radio Shack antenna for optimal reception and scanned their analog and digital channels. Everything seemed fine--for a while.

I received several calls reporting various problems, mostly related to tuning. (They are located on the valley floor only 2.5 from 18 broadcast stations but partly obscured from line-of-sight of some of the transmission towers.) They once lost their clock setting. On the phone I walked them through a manual setting. They recorded just a few programs.

Early this week they called me, thanking me once again for the DMR-EZ17, but asked if I wanted it back as they didn't care to use it. Two days ago I went by to apartment sit for them as they had Comcast digital cable installed. I now have that DMR-EZ17 back.

Did they get the Comcast HD DVDR? Otherwise the EZ-17 should work ok for them for recording QAM digital channels in the clear. Maybe they would have better luck using the EZ-17 recording from a more stable cable signal, or else it should work good to back up there DVDR if they went that route.

My relative got a special Comcast digital but non-HD package (around $30 per month for one year) with one of the larger (older model) digital cable boxes for main viewing and cable ready in one bedroom. There was no DVR in their package.

I watched as the installer enabled or disabled various cable box settings through the standard Comcast remote. That is a very interesting process but I didn't see how these settings were accessed. I believe that the installer disabled various cable box outputs.

It was not my place to speak up as to various settings in their service package. By that time my relatives had arrived home so I didn't stay around to see what channel line-up they got.

They were so weary of their Panasonic experience that I didn't want to attempt to be too assertive with more technology than they could endure at that moment.

Perhaps I will find out what they may or may not be receiving in the near future and give them more advice at that time.

I use my first DMR-EZ17 cable ready so I do receive the HD channels in the clear and record them in SD. For the time being I may set up this second DMR-EZ17 and set aside an older machine for standby use.

Yes I think it takes a certain person to be able to put up with these EZ Panny's although I believe if you can, you'll be rewarded with about the best quality recordings possible in a SD machine.

This morning at 10:11 a.m. I noticed that my #2 DMR-EZ17 (the one that had gone to my relative and then came back after a few weeks) was showing the time as 11:57 a.m. I watched for several minutes. The other two Panasonics set up in the same stack both read 10:11 a.m. at the outset and continued to advance the time. These other Panasonics, my #1 DMR-EZ17 and a DMR-ES35V, are connected cable-ready to Comcast. The #2 DMR-EZ17 is set up OTA. The display time did not advance. The remote did not power on the unit and pressing the open/close tray or power on buttons on the unit did not work. I should add that there were no programs set in the SCHEDULE but there was a blank disc in the tray. I pressed the manual reset, the small recessed button at the right behind the door. That reset the machine and restored the correct time to the display.

and the bugs go on . . .

I noticed in your earlier post your relatives also had the problem with lost time....They wouldn't happen to be on the same OTA PBS station that you might be on?
Just hope you don't get the U99 error. It locked up my first 3 EZ's and I could never clear them. Just had to exchange them.

I am located at the crest of a foothill on the north side of Portland Oregon, around four miles from downtown Vancouver Washington. We are line of sight somewhat less than five miles from the main Portland Oregon TV broadcast towers along the Skyline ridge to the north and west of downtown Portland. My relatives are located on the southwest side of Portland on the other side of the Skyline ridge less than three miles from those broadcast towers. They are located on the valley floor with some hilltops partially obscuring line of sight from some of the towers. When I set up the DMR-EZ17 for them there was no problem with reception from any of those towers probably due to the short distance from the towers. We receive the same stations.

This DMR-EZ17 does not tune an anolog America One CA station in Camas Washington, line of sight about 16 miles distant. I am using a Philips SDV270/17 non-amplified antenna that has fully adjustable 43" VHF dipoles and a multi-position UHF loop and separate gain controls for these bands. The frustration is that with the VHF dipoles and UHF loop set for best analog and digital reception of the Portland stations in the one direction that the dipoles and loop are also pointing in the exact opposite direction that sould allow for reception of the Camas station in that other direction. In my bedroom I have the cheapest RCA antenna (ANT111) with the dipoles and loop aimed the same way as the more expensive Philips in my home office in the next room. My little RCA 13" CRT tunes the Camas station but there is a bit of snow in the picture. This tells me that the DMR-EZ17 analog tuner section is not as good as that found in a four year old bottom of the line RCA CRT TV. Of course, how many people would notice a weak analog tuner with a useful life (now) less than a year to go?

With my ez17 and Comcast, I can get the local HD channels and HD USA, History, Discovery and some others. Fios is now in my area, would I be able to get the local and other HD's with Fios and the ez17?

LeroyBrown,

I would assume that you would have to contact Fios for that informaton.

Well woke up this morning to my 4th dead EZ Panny. U99 error which would not clear.
The display just said u99 instead of the time. When I hit the power button it did it's startup thing which consists of about 30 seconds of 00000's advancing across the display(this is normal) then when it got to the part where it started reading the disc, it read it for about 15 seconds, followed by u99.
Note nothing clears this u99. Tried CH up/CH down but that only works if the machine is ON which it never quite gets to. Tried little reset button, which acted like power button button. It would get the 00000's and 30 seconds later u99. Tried STOP EJECT to get the disc out, but nothing.
IT'S TOAST!
I did get the 5yr extended warranty and bought it at a B&M store, but what a PIA. I have to disconnect everything, I'll loose my disc that's stuck in the machine, and I'll probably be without a digital machine for a month, not to mention I'll have to reprogram setup the replacement.
4 dead U99 error Panny's in less than a year, this last one lasted more than the 1 month that the previous 3 did, but I expect more than 5? months out of a $200 DVDR. IMO I cannot in good conscious recommend this machine anymore. It may be capable of some fantastic recordings off digital HD channels, but the reliability is @#$*.
Buyer beware.
Note I maybe have 150 hrs recording to -RW Maxell/Verbatium's and 50 hrs recording to misc. -R's. I have probably 10? total playback hours on this machine. Don't know why other people are getting more than 1-5 months out of there's, I think luck dropped out of the equation about 2 machines ago....

You appear to be the great Panasonic Slayer. I've not read anyone else having this kind of grief with a Panasonic.

Could bad media be the cause of this? Is there any way to get the disk out and try fresh media. I once had the experience with my E-85 where a "dirty" RAM disk locked up the unit in a never-ending cycle of trying to mount the disk and displaying error messages. I could not get the disk out by normal means, but when I finally did I could see the debris on the surface. After washing the disk clean, I could put it back in the E-85 and all was well. So, I am wondering if the problem is some bad media in the tray coupled with the EZ-17's inability to handle this particular error condition.

Jeff,

The only consolation is that you may open up the DVD drive (as if to clean it) to remove your disc.

If perhaps Kelson is correct about a bad disc it's worth it to remove the disc, replace the lid, close it up, and then power it back on to see if you might, just might, recover from this latest trouble.

I keep thinking that I'm going to turn one DMR-ES35V parts machine into a functional unit. That machine will initially respond to the front panel power button or the power button on a remote, but soon thereafter gives the U61 error, after which the machine refuses to respond to any front panel buttons or the remote. I have swapped a number of parts, including front panel circuit boards, a VHS mechanism that I rebuilt/realigned, and the right chassis motherboard from the other parts machine. The outcome is nearly always the same. My most recent assessment is that the there is some unknown problem with the left chassis motherboard (that carries the tuner, other I/O jacks, remote sensor and some of the "logic" components). At first the only screen this machine could display was pink but at some point I got it to display a blue screen--at that moment I thought this a great stride forward, LOL! The other DMR-ES35V parted (disassembled) machine has a defective tuner on the left chassis motherboard, also displaying a pink screen with fine dark blue/black lines running top to bottom, so a swap of that left chassis motherboard has not been undertaken. These displays were viewed from the RF output. Upon further reflection I can not remember if I attempted to view the display from the composite output. Perhaps that will be the next experiment. Of course these two parts machines have been picked clean of most of the best parts, including their funtional DVD drives that now reside in two DMR-ES15 models, one purchased with a bad DVD drive and the other with a DVD drive that sometimes (almost) works. The parts machine that I have been trying to bring back to functionality now has the almost working DVD drive. Why do I continue tinkering with this machine?

In reciting this history I am trying to say, in a small way, that I share your pain and frustration.

Thanks guys, "the great Panny slayer" eh? I kinda like the sound of that....
Truthfully don't believe it's media since I use the same -RW discs between all my other 5 Panny DVDR's and have never had this type of problem on any of the other ones. But I suppose it could be some type of incompatibility problem with the -RW's in general. This could explain why not everybody is having the same luck, or lack of it, that I'm having. This U99 has always happened with using -RW's, but only 1%? of the time. I'm also very careful about my discs and always have them in a sleeve when not in the machine.

Kelson I think you may be right that if I could get the disc out, the machine could possibly be ok. The problem is, without tearing the machine apart, it's not easy to get the disc out. There is no little hole on the bottom of the unit to remove stuck discs, like some players used to have. I also have my machine in a glass cabinet which is hard to get at and it's really not very convent to be pulling the machine out every month, or even every 4 months. I'd like Panasonic to really fix this problem. Maybe UE will get tired of me coming in every few months to get my unit repaired, and let me get a new EZ-28 when they come out. I hope???? the 28 will have all the bugs worked out that the EZ-17 and 27 have.

Note I don't believe heat is the issue either, since the room I have the unit in was ~55' last night, and the program I was recording was only 1hr long, so it would not have built heat up that fast. I've also felt the machine after 2hr recordings and it has never really been that warm.

I'll take it back to Ultimate Electronics today, and they will disassemble the machine to get the disc out. They do this free, Best Buy, where I bought my second EZ-17 was going to charge me $20 to get my disc out! I said for that you can keep the 50 cent -RW. I just returned that unit since it was only a few days past the 30 days and I they had since stopped carrying the EZ-17 in favor of the more expensive(bigger profit margin) EZ-27.

Maybe this time after they get the disc out I'll see if they want to re-insert the disc to see what happens. Note on the discs they had previously removed I was able to record and use them fine on my other Panny's, even on the new EZ-17 I had got. I just had to reformat the disc, and my recording was lost.

I think the bug with the EZ units is they must read the disc, before they can be ejected, and reading the disc locks up the unit. On my other ES Panny's I can eject the disc, without it first trying to read the disc.
I'll keep you posted.

Update-Took the dead EZ-17 into Ultimate Electronics. After the manager took apart the machine, which involved 3 screws to loosen the drive, then turn it over, there was a slot to put a screwdriver in, to eject a stuck disc.
Now why they didn't just have another slot in the bottom of the unit, so you wouldn't have to tear the machine apart......I know, makes too much sense.
After he put the machine back together he powered it up. This time it just kept trying to read the disc, which there was none inserted. After 30 seconds of this it went back to u99,
Note I tried the stuck disc in my ES-15, and other than having to reformat it, it recorded to just fine.

Note one last thing about warranties, don't but them! Even though this was my 3rd unit apparently all the previous exchanges were just that, exchanges. In order for the lemon policy to take effect the machine must have been sent for repair 3 times, not exchanged!!!! Plus when I told the manager that I really have no confidence in the EZ-17/27's he said they with the lemon policy they would just exchange the unit for the same type. When I asked what would happen next year when the EZ-17/27 was not made anymore would they exchange for a EZ-28 he said no, they would probably exchange it for a refurbished EZ-17!

This unit has been a $250 waste of money/time. Next time(yes I truly believe there will be a next time) it gets the U99 I will have all I can do to not go out in the garage and get my sledge hammer and let it meet it's maker. Basically chalk the whole thing up to experience gained and time and money lost. IMO Panasonic has truly produced a lemon, or lemons.

Man, that is messed up! Sorry to hear about your troubles with this model. I hope I haven't jinxed my own ez17 by posting here. It's been under fairly moderate to heavy use since November (about 5+ hrs of recording per day, 5 days a week, every week, mostly dvd+rw with the occasional dvd-ram). Additional to that, it is typically on at around 4-5 hours per day, not recording anything, but just passing-on the signal from one of its inputs or the hd tuner.

Were you doing any kind of chase-play operation during your time with it? I'm not saying that is a good reason for it to fail, at all, just that it could be a source of higher than normal duty load on the head actuator.

No actually the circumstances that led up to the U99 were as follows.
Had a 1hr SP event scheduled to record to a empty Verbatium -RW disc. The event was scheduled to record from 9-10pm(Lipstick Jungle, I know guilty pleasure). I was near the machine at 9pm and noticed it start to record. Since most of my missed schedules involve the machine never starting to record I like to watch it start the recording, if I'm around. Left the room and the next time I returned 6am this morning it had the U99 on the display. I tried clearing it with all the normal resets, but as has been the case on my U99's nothing clears the problem.
I don't know what to suggest to avoid this problem, this time the scheduled event was a one shot affair and was the only one in the schedule list. Not much on I record lately since most everything is repeats.
Note my last machine was a Sept build date, and the one they exchange for me was a store display with Jan '07 date. Maybe the older ones are better? Note I didn't note the build date on my previous units, since I wasn't using forums then and didn't realize maybe it make a difference. Good luck with yours, I'm envious. Note I think?? Homevideo guy is also using his with no problems last I heard, not sure what discs he uses. Maybe?? it's related to the -RW's in general, but this has never been an issue with any of my other Panny DVDR's.

I'd try +RW's but they do not visible search well at all. As I've reported before they have like a 4x and then jump to 5 seconds for a whole 1hr show(or some ridiculous thing). I'd use RAMS but I really prefer playing back my discs on my Sony DVD players. They have all the features I like in a player, and the Panny has basically none of the features I like. I just use it for a recorder.

If you're using 16x discs, stop - those things suck. Even the Verbatims.

I have lots of problems with them on all my burners - even my computer's.

Ramm, on my EZ machines I use -RW's almost exclusivley, and they are mostly 2x, with a few 4X Office Depot discs.
You guys are going to think I'm making this stuff up, no one can be so unlucky with a particular model as me, but I've got another problem.
I setup the new(OK floor model) EZ-17 I got last night. Did the normal setup, including channel scan, and what do you know, NO DIGITAL CHANNELS?? All the analog ones, but not a one digital.
I tried 4 rescans all to no avail, not a one digital. I tried all the normal things I would have someone else try(which I do remember a few people saying they got no digitals) all to no avail. I tried resetting the unit to factory defaults, unplugging, I even tried my firmware CD from Panasonic thinking since this unit was so old(Jan '07) maybe a firmware update would fix it, no luck.
I even tried changing the setup to CABLE(Even thought I'm OTA) and after 30!! minutes it came back with NO digital channels.
No I didn't get out the sledge hammer, I was in such shock I just boxed the unit back up, and will visit UE for the 5th!!!! time for a non working EZ-17/27.
When I left UE yesterday I told the manager(who I have seen all 4 times with my previous bad units) I have NO confidence the one he gave me will work more than a few months, I had no idea it wouldn't even work 1 minute......
How many other bugs can I find in these units.....stay tuned, and beware.

jjeff, If I understand correctly you have now had 5 bad EZ units all from the same retailer and replacements have been from his retail stock. Is that correct?

Dude, if it is you may want to use that sledge hammer on yourself. After #3 I wouldn't be suspecting Panasonic but wondering what kind of crap this guy is putting on the shelves. Sounds like a B&M version of an Ebay shyster.

Actually (#3 I think) was the EZ-27 from Best Buy, which I returned under the 30 day return period after it also got u99, and up until this last unit that was a floor model, they have been brand new in a sealed box. Also not sure if you are familiar with Ultimate Electronics (UE) but they are regarded around here as a more high end B&M retailer carrying more top of the line series, as well as value line like pretty much any DVDR manufactured currently. If I could just get my $250 back, or turn back time and never get the unit in the first place, I would in a New York minute. Other than some great burns, the whole fiasco has been something I may laugh at in 10 years....
If they sold any decent DVDR's w/digital tuner I might really push for exchanging it for another model/mfg. but for the most part I think every DVDR they carry/is currently made, is a sub standard POC. Nope they don't carry the 3575. If they did I'd gladly give them $50 to boot and they could keep the EZ-17.

They don't have anything else in the store you could use that they'd let you exchange it for, do they? Like a small LCD or something like that?

Are you sure you're not having any power fluctuations in your home that could be damaging the circuitry? They could even be so small you wouldn't even normally notice them otherwise.

Yes they have lots of stuff I would like, like I said they kind of tend to have higher end stuff(except in there measly DVDR section where there is nothing high end about anything currently made)problem is I'm not sure they would be willing to credit me at this point. My original receipt dates back to August? I think, and they have a 30 day money back policy. They seem happy to keep giving me a new, or in this last case a floor model replacement, thinking all will be well.
Well it's not. Like I told the manager this last time(2 days ago) I have ZERO confidence in this model lasting more that a few months, if that. I kind of feel trapped in this revolving door thing, and it it weren't for the $200 tied up in the unit + the $50 for the (4) year warranty I wouldn't feel so bad with just chucking the thing in the trash. If it was one of my $99 ES-15's I would have done that a few returns ago.
As far as the power, plugged into the same surge suppressor that I have the EZ-17 plugged I also have a ES-25, ES-30 and My Panasonic LCD, none of which has any problems. Oh, and that surge suppressor is plugged into a Triplite 1200w UPS. I don't believe it's power related. I believe it's just the EZ-17's and the one EZ-27 I had are VERY buggy and problematic if you use them for timer operation. I say the last caveat "timer operation" since every instance of a dead u99 was during a timer recording. I think? people that even use there DVDR's tend to mostly use them for backing up there DVR and probably not timer operation. I don't know, just a thought. I know timer operation is basically the only way I use mine, oh and again using -RW discs.
As most all of us know the current state of DVDR in the US is lacking, to say the least. Not a whole lot of choices, especially for someone like me that really wants a digital tuner, otherwise I'd go Canadian.

Jeff, I never would have bought/bid on my EZ17 if I had read about all your problems. Not to be sacrilegious, but it's as though you're Jesus taking on all the sins of ALL the EZ17s.

I'm using my EZ17 for timeshifting 99% of the time. Once the impact of the writer's strike has diminished, I should be using my recorder for 1-2 hours each night for 5-6 nights a week. I'm using DVD-RAM though. If my recorder lasts any length of time(only been a month so far), we should be able to rule out scheduled recordings as a cause. I have used a few tips I've learned here which may extend the life of my recorder and reduce the number of glitches. I have turned off the auto clock and auto DST. I have also turned off the quick start feature after reading about the leaking capacitor, but man do I miss that feature...the EZ17 takes longer to power up than it takes for me to get out of bed...and that's saying something at my age. So far I'm 30-plus recordings without a single misfire. Oh, not sure if this is a factor, but also almost all of my recordings are in LP mode. I have only used FR mode once or twice when an overly long "Lost" episode left me needing an extra minute or two. Why I didn't use the divide feature to "edit out" the commercials, I'll never figure out....so what if I can't recombine...as long as they are in order.