Review on Panasonic DMR-E30S DVD Recorder with Progressive Scan by Doug Hammett

With DVD recorders falling almost as fast as processors, almost every household will have their own. This is the next wave of home video recording. The only thing standing in the way of progress is the relatively high price of the recording medium. Panasonic was able to lower prices while leveling the playing field. Your E30S has a slimmer and more attractive profile compared to its predecessor. With its polished silver exterior, the E30S is a welcome addition to any home video setup. The only downside to the size is the fan assembly, which protrudes from the back, which poses a problem for our shallow entertainment center (the E30S is 12 inches deep). The E30S has all the necessary function buttons and connections (menu control, A/V and S-Video). ). Analog inputs include the same RF cable connections as a VCR, two sets of rear panel A/V and S-Video inputs and outputs, a digital optical output, and a component video output. The limitation of the E30S is that there is no coaxial or FireWire port for digitally connecting a digital video camera or computer. The included remote control is basic at best. If the buttons are positioned correctly, don't try to use them in the dark. Unlike many remotes, the E30S doesn't have backlit or glow-in-the-dark buttons. The functions are quite simple and will not confuse you after reading the manual for the first time. The annoying sliding door that hides the open/close and input select buttons is in an awkward position. Many second generation DVD recorders never offered a progressive scan output. Panasonic has overcome this limitation with the DMR-E30S. In addition, Panasonic has added other improvements while lowering the price. Thanks to the progressive scan function, the E30S can be used for HDTV. It did so well in store that I almost convinced my wife to buy an HDTV for it. The E30S played DVDs with minimal motion artifacts, crisp detail and fewer dancing pixels thanks to a newly integrated noise reduction circuit. As a result, the E30S has much better video quality than S-VHS or VHS. Less noise and absolutely no jitter. And the color is fantastic, much more accurate color in every shooting mode. In XP (one hour per disc) and SP (two hours) modes, this DVR measured a maximum resolution of 480 lines; in LP (four hours) and EP (six hours) modes, the resolution dropped by half, resulting in a much smoother image. As we only use this recorder for movies and TV, we have not tested the MP3 recording capability of this unit. With flexible recording, you can effectively use any DVD media for recording. With older models, the film had to be recorded for just over two hours in four-hour mode. This greatly reduces the quality of the recording. The flexible recording function of the E30S only requires entering the time and the disc is used for the best possible recording quality. I believe Panasonic created the E30S to outperform the VCR industry. Very similar to how the Sony Beta Max was crushed. The E30S has a VCR Plus for easy timer recording, a clock and most of the same features you would expect from older VCRs. The only thing missing is the tuner, except for the cable/satellite tuner controls. Although you don't have a real tuner, you can watch one program while burning another program to DVD-RAM. I would have liked more editing options. But I have a full-featured computer for that. The E30S offers some limited functionality in the form of playlist editing. However, audio and video tracks cannot be recorded separately. Also, the menu editing doesn't allow you to create thumbnails or other features for your homemade DVDs. You can also read the pizza menu. You can use DVD-RAM and DVD-R in the E30S. DVD-RAM (about $10 for 4.7GB) can be written and erased over and over again. Additionally, the E30S's playlist editing and timeshifting functions work well with DVD-RAM. Using a DVD-R costs less money (always in bulk), but the functionality is more limited. The advantage of DVD-R discs is that they can be set to play on any standard DVD player (DVD-RAM discs can only be played on drives that support DVD-RAM). The E30S is one of the most affordable DVD burners on the market. And as prices continue to fall, more expensive models will appear soon. I plan to put this device in the children's room while my mother and I wait for new models.