Panasonic DMR-EX85EB-S
Product Rating   
Panasonic DMR-EX85EB-S ReviewRating:
Date: 15-03-2007
The Panasonic DMR-EX85EB-S is Panasonic's flagship DVD recorder, and despite being one of the most expensive DVD recorders on the market, is a top seller. We rate it 5 stars and it thoroughly deserves every one.
What makes the DMR-EX85EB-S so good? Simple - it does everything! There really isn't a single feature that is missing from this beauty. Let's start with the recording capability of the DMR-EX85EB-S. What formats can it record? Answer - every format! That's DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R and DVD+RW, including the new dual layer and 16x speed DVD-R disks. It also has a large capacity 250 Gbyte hard drive (HDD), with room for recording 55 hours of programmes at the highest quality setting, or up to a maximum of 443 hours at lower quality. The HDD feature enables you to pause and rewind live TV (just like Sky+). You can easily transfer programmes recorded on the HDD onto DVD disks for permanent storage.
The DMR-EX85EB-S can also play back DVD-Video, CD-Audio and VCD disks with support for MP3 format, but sadly no DivX support.
The recorder has an integrated digital Freeview tuner, with easy recording via an on-screen Electronic Programme Guide (EPG). A second analogue tuner is also incorporated.
Future-proofing is ensured with the HDMI connector, which enables the recorder to be connected to a HD Ready TV. Whilst the recorder does not support playback of high definition disks, the video signal is upscaled to high definition (1080i/720p) for improved video quality on a HD Ready television. In addition to the HDMI connection, the Panasonic supports every other imaginable type of connection: 2 SCART sockets, S-video, RGB and component video output, digital audio output (Dolby Digital & DTS compatible), DV input (for connecting a camcorder) and even an SD memory card slot (for transferring digital camera images onto disk).
Really, this is the most fully featured DVD recorder currently available, with a couple of features (DVD-RAM recording and SD memory card slot) that even the top-of-the-range Sony HDD recorders can't match. The closest rival is probably the RDR-HXD860 or Sony RDR-HXD1065. If you like the DMR-EX85EB-S but don't want to spend quite so much money, then the Panasonic DMR-EX75EB-S offers the same features but with a reduced capacity 160 Gbyte disk. We'll leave the final words on the Panasonic DMR-EX85EB-S to What Video & High-Definition TV, who concluded that, "...if you want a top-class digital recorder, you'll be hard pressed to find a better equipped machine."
Features of the Panasonic DMR-EX85EB-S include:
- 250GB Hard Drive
- DVB-T TUNER
- HDMI
- SD Card Slot
- Super Multi Format
Panasonic DMR-EX85EB-S Consumer Reviews
(5 reviews)
Write a review of the Panasonic DMR-EX85EB-S!
Please share your experiences to help other people choose the product that's best for
them. This is a review site, not a forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please
do not use swear words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!
Reviewed by Alb Smithies on 16/11/2007
"sadly no DivX support". This is only the case with the Uk model, not the European counterparts. Why is this? Is it some stupid UK anti piracy ploy or something? I was going to buy the Panasonic 32 inch lcd tv and this dvd recorder, but now im buying neither. Im going to Philips instead who sensibly DO provide Divx support on certain players/ recorders.
Rating:
Reviewed by MH on 30/10/2007
Just taken mine back to the shop, for the last time. Yes it has many features, but 2 annoying ones. It only has one digital tuner, which means if you have a non digital telly, you cant record and watch another programme. Also, as in many reviews, mine kept having the momentary freeze problem. So i'm now in the market for a replacement.
Rating:
Reviewed by lvh on 20/10/2007
I am very pleased with this machine. Freeview is good. no pausing at all. But reception strength is 100% which may have something to do with good freeview. The only issue I have is that I do not seem able to record from AV2 (satellite) while watching AV1 (freeview) so it seems you can not watch one Av while recording another. big drawback. so i will have to go in for some clever Scart cabeling :( Fortunately I do have a seperate freeview receiver. so somehow I guess I can make it work.
Rating:
Reviewed by Matt G on 21/06/2007
A very nice machine and does every thing it says on the box. However the problems with freeview keeps on pausing for a few seconds , makes this the worst possable machine ever. What was Panasonic thinking off , lots of other reviews else where back this up. Stay clear of Panasonic
Rating:
Reviewed by Martin and Cathy on 17/07/2006
Had this unit for 4 days. JVC before which was fantastic until after 10 months it stopped working, meaning we lossed everything we had saved. Now the Panasonic is quite a different machine, very easy to use out of the box with lots of surprises when you did deeper. The best thing is you only need to press the enter button twice to set a programme timer including the free view channels. The real annoying thing is the free view keeps freezing, just for a second every now and then, but by the time you have watched an hours programme it really starts to get on your nerves. We had free view before with no problems so it is not that we have a weak signal. Generally very very happy so far.
Rating:
|
 |
