Panasonic DMR-EZ47V: DVD/VCR recorder with ATSC (digitl), QAM(digitl) & Analog Tuners - Page 19

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.

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.

I read somewhere that a digital recorder was coming out soon to replace the vcr in the digital age. Anyone heard about this?

TR-50 my friend.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=972197

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!

I know that it's possible to record one thing while watching another recorded item but I can't seem to figure out how to watch a digital channel tuned through the Panny's digital tuner while recording something else from satellite (IN1). Is there a way?

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.

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)

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.

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

The DMR-ES47V Operating Instructions (page 90) reads:

"U99 The unit fails to operate properly. Press POWER on the main
unit to switch the unit to standby. Press POWER on the main
unit again to turn the unit on."

The DMR-EZ47V Service Manual (page 16) clarifies the nature of the problem:

"U99 Hang-up Displayed when communication error has
occurred between Main microprocessor and
Timer microprocessor.
No display
Displayed is left until the
[POWER] key is pressed."

The main microprocessor and the timer microprossor are found on the Digital P.C.B.

In several posts Jjeff describes the U99 error as being fatal to his EZ series machines. But I seem to recall that another poster found a remedy and shared that information in another EZ thread. I don't remember the specifics of that remedy.

If the power off, wait a brief time, and then power on (procedure) doesn't clear the problem I suggest leaving your EZ47 unplugged for several hours and not reconnecting A.C power until after midnight local time.

OK, I'll bite: what does waiting until after midnight do?

I had a Panny DVD player that U99'd, and it was just D-E-D dead, no matter when I plugged it in and rebooted.

My reasoning:

When a "communication error has occurred between Main microprocessor and Timer microprocessor" this error may be related to the previously discussed "Midnight Bug" that affects some EZ series machines. The problem may be related to Schedule ("Timer") recordings set for the next day, i.e., after midnight. One of the workarounds for the "Midnight Bug" is to schedule a "dummy recording" from 11:59 p.m. to 12:01 a.m. as a bridge before and across midnight thus breaking the "Midnight Bug" where early a.m. recordings may be skipped in some circumstances in some EZ series machines. If A.C. power is withheld before and across midnight perhaps the machine will clear the U99 error when A.C. power is restored the next day, i.e., after midnight.

It's worth a try.

A few years back, a lot of Panny owners with TVGOS units kept getting the "U99" error code for awhile after they sent a huge update. It eventually righted itself.

If you search the archives here, you'll probably find it. It went on for quite awhile.

I get it. The U99 code may be a generic, general failure code. For the DVD player (RV-32 model, I believe), it usually meant the drive motor had taken a permanent and irretrievable dump. For a 2-1/2 year old appliance, that seemed a bit premature, but with an original outlay of $119, I wasn't devastated.

I have a recurring nightmare that I come in the living room one day and my DMR-E85 recorder has U99'd. I wake up in a cold sweat with a racing heartbeat and shallow respiration and can't calm down until I check my baby and see it's all right. OK, I just made all that up, but I had you going for a second, right?

Ramm~ Just another reason to shut down the TVGOS on my '85.

Yes, of course that was the first thing I tried.


I left it powered off for many hours, though I'm not sure it was over midnight. But there was no other scheduled recording. And the fact that it happened right as the scheduled recording was ending has me quite worried. If I do get it back I will disable the TVGOS, which I'm not even using. (and which offhand I'm not sure this machine has?)

It does not.

TVGOS??...the OP is asking about a Panasonic EZ47...

When I mentioned TVGOS I was just trying to point out that the "U99" error message was not always necessarily fatal, and the TVGOS case was an example of that. Didn't mean to get sidetracked into a TVGOS discussion, though.

I think some people used an update from the website or somewhere that got rid of it, but mine, and I know some others, cleared up all by itself eventually. So I guess the lesson there is check the Panny website for updates that might fix it, if you haven't already. Might not work, but if nothing else does, it might be worth a try if you can find anything that looks like it might be relevant to it.

My ez47 has been exhibiting a new 'mutant power' recently. With no timer recordings set, the unit will often not turn on when pressing the power button on the remote. I initially unplugged the thing to rest it, but that got tiring. I discovered that holding the power button down on the unit until the front panel lights up. Release the button, and then I can power on the recorder.

This is, to say the least, very annoying. Does this happen to anyone else, and is there a reason why it would do this?

I'm getting frustrated with the inaccuracy of the clock on my EZ47 and would like to understand the process better. There are two choices for clock setting: manual and automatic. With the manual setting, I have to check and reset daily because it loses more than half a minute per day.

With the automatic setting, I get odd results -- sometimes the time is several minutes fast, sometimes several minutes slow, sometimes almost right on (compared to a satellite clock) but the next day it could be several minutes fast or slow.

I should first mention that I have Dish Network on IN1 (Line In #1) and no cable. I get only a few OTA channels: CBS std and digital, NBC digital, ABC std only. How do I figure out whose time signal the Panny is picking up? I'd like to contact them and see what the story is with their signal. BTW Dish CSR claims they don't transmit a time signal that the DVD could pick up?!?

Any ideas?

Jjeff addresses a variation of this problem here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...4#post12842944

See my "Tired Electricity?" post just before Jjeff's response. In that post I describe my first experience of this problem, as quoted from a 1/6/08 post, where I asked "Is this a previously reported bug and fix?"

My post following Jjeff's gives a little more detail concerning the circumstances.

My EH75V picks up the time and some other info from my Dish tuner, too, so I just use the manual clock setting. Don't ask me how, but it also gets some of the local channel call letters.

My Panny doesn't lose a half-minute a day like that, so I really don't know what to tell you.

But I also have it set up (through the TVGOS menu) to start and stop recording automatically along with the timers I set through the Dish guide. I don't know if your model has that ability (check the manual), but if it does, use that and it may help (I thought I remembered a couple of people saying that their top of the line, EZ47 DVD/VHS model retained that feature - even though they don't have TVGOS anymore - I don't recall anyone ever saying it with the DVD-only models, though, or even the EZ48. It's just a signal the Dish tuner sends out, so I don't think you necessarily need TVGOS for it to operate, since you don't use the TVGOS guide in any way - you just went through the TVGOS setup to do it, and chose "Dish", as you would any other service - probably just figured it made it easier that way).

Since my machines were under warranty I never took the cover off them, but if their is a disc stuck in the machine(like their was in my case every time) I would try this. Remove the cover from the machine(unless you're lucky enough to have the slot on the underside of your unit to allow stuck discs to be removed without disassembling the machine). Next try and find the disc eject hole. After you've removed the disc try plugging it back in. On my machines when I got U99 it would pop up after turning the machine on and after a few seconds of trying to read the disc(-RW). Since the EZ machines need to read the disc before it ejects them, I was not able to get out of this loop. The ES machines allow a disc to be ejected without the reading part.

Another thing to try would be inserting a VHS tape at various times during the start up cycle. Theirs a nasty bug in the ES-30v series combos where the machine will not power up. Inserting a VHS tape clears this bug and allows the machine to power up. Maybe?? your combo might benefit from a tape inserted at the right time. Good luck

This post has photos of typical locations of the disc tray manual release:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6#post14709306

Just bought a refurbished DMR-EZ475VK and am getting to know it. Is there a way to display the current firmware version? I know there are firmware updates available, but I just wanted to know which version I've got by default. I don't see anything in the manual, but wondered if there might be a magic key sequence or something to display that information.

I've had my current EZ475V (Costco version of EZ47V) for about 10 months. The first one had to be replaced less than a month after purchase due to a bad S-Video output port on the Panasonic. You can read all about it at my previous post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=941960

Now, the replacement unit is starting to exhibit the same intermittent distortion/noise/interference bands in the picture (no sound distortion). The picture is fine if I switch over to viewing the Panasonic output that is all RCA composite (no S-video).

It's too late to return the unit. Costco said my only option is to try to get it repaired. I'm skeptical about this since it's an intermittent problem. It would probably just be a big hassle and not ever get fixed -- no repair person will watch long enough to see the probem occur.

Once when it was particularly bad, there seemed to be an error msg displayed in a box. It was distorted and blinked on and off quickly so I can't swear to what it said but it seemed to say something along the lines of "Application error...". It wasn't coming from my TV or satellite dish since I could switch to the other Panasonic output and not see the problem or the error msg.

Sorry for the rant. But with all the timer recording problems and now this, I'm completely fed up with the Panasonic and would never buy another unit.

Pat

You could arrange to send it to Panasonic's Service Center in Elk Grove Illinois. For a flat fee of $130 they will repair any put of warranty Panasonic recorder. Enter Panasonic's Service Center into the search box to locate the phone number and address plus details on what/how to send in.