Panasonic DMR-HS2 (40 GB) DVD Recorder

Pros: Features, hard drive recording, recording quality
Cons: Haven't found a DVD player yet that will play DVDs recorded on the HS2.

I had high hopes for the HS2. I planned to move old VHS tapes of family, vacations, school events, etc... to DVD and be able to share them with family. While the recording quality is excellent, the resulting DVD can only be viewed on the HS-2. I have...

Pros: DVD-R/Ram and Hard Drive recording, backward compatible with previous models
Cons: Cartridge discs can get stuck, occasional (but avoidable) software glitch, re-encodes some recordings

I purchased the HS2 at Best Buy for about $900. This is the second of my three Panasonic recorders and was bought as an upgrade to the E20. What I like: Since this unit has a hard drive it's possible to edit programs before saving them to disc -- ...

Pros: Flexible and fun - has tons of features
Cons: Lot to learn, takes awhile to sink in

I just bought the Panasonic DMR-HS2 and my VCR will soon see the dumpster. If you aren’t up to speed on DVD-RAM technology and recordable DVD, then you should get to an electronics store and test drive the HS2. First of all, since these units are...

Pros: Slim size, Cute looks
Cons: WAY TOO COMPLICATED, TOO MANY LIMITATIONS, WON'T BURN AUDIO CD's

Got mine a few days ago...I am a techies techie...BUT THIS THING is WAY overcomplicated.
First of all, IT WILL NOT burn AUDIO CD's, So you can't make disks that will play on a standard CD player.
Second, you can't copy dvd rams to the hard...

Pros: Better than VHS anyday and tons of features
Cons: Need to learn the features, but well worth the investment

For those of you out there still using VHS to record reruns of MARRIED WITH CHILDREN or use tape based camcorders to shoot your movies, you really need to catch up on home entertainment. I just bought the Panasonic DMR-HS2 and now I am officially...

Pros: Worked well for about a year.
Cons: what can I say about this unit! total waste of money.

I thought it was just be my unit but, after reading a few reviews here I am not alone. My unit has a manufacturing date of Feb' 2003 with the serial # reading
KW3BA001503. Very disappointed in Panasonic! Bought a Sony recorder instead much better quality so far!!

Pros: Records onto hard drive and, if you are lucky and it lasts, onto DVD-R!
Cons: The pro above is not enough to waste your money on this product.

I have to keep this review to 199 words, so bare with me.

The quality of the recording is nowhere near DVD quality, especially if recording down from the Hard Disc drive onto DVD-R. Quality decreases considerably depending on recording mode.

The issue I am encountering at the moment is that the recorder will not record onto disc at all. It displays an error message, says BYE and shuts down. This machine barely made it to one year!


UPDATE: After much ado, Panasonic says they will repair the unit at no cost to me. It makes me wonder, since the warranty expired two months ago, the reason behind this. Although I am obviously thrilled, I wonder if they are having other issues with this model. I will make a last update when the machine is back in my hands and functioning well.

Pros: functionality usability
Cons: - quality - durability - sensitivity towards different brand DVD-Rs - play function

Like many other reviewers I bought the product in May 2003 due to its unique functionality combining a hard drive and a dvd recorder. The product was easy to install and to use, however for products in this price range, the overall quality and durability of the device is inadequate. The remote control is ackward to use and not very durable, leading to a failure of certain keys after less than 1/2 year of usage. The device is very sensitive towards different even brand name DVD-Rs and crashes frequently in case of certain brands. Furthermore, the device should not be used for playing, but only for recording DVDs, since even after finalising a burnt DVD, playing them on the DMR-HS2 resulted in poor quality, while playing the same burnt DVD on a low budget dvd player only looked much better. Last but not least, last week the hard drive failed, so that I'm now waiting for a repair after only 9 months of usage.

Conclusion: Nice idea and right functionality, but for the price being asked the quality and durability of the device is UNACCEPTABLE.

Purch. after having MANY problems with Philips DVDR985. As far as not being able to view in other players, I wondered if the comments were from people who either did not "finalize" DVD-R discs, or who tried to play DVD-RAM discs in units that weren't compatible w/DVD-RAM. As far as disc cost goes, check out meritline.com for the ACCU DVD-R discs. Price as low as .75 each, when bought in bulk. Cant beat that. Meritline verifys the ACCU is compatible with the DMR-HS2. So... giving this unit it's first try-out today. I can verify the hard-drive feature is awsome. Will record to disc as soon as they come in from Meritline - made several disc purch. from this dealer. Quality & service is good.

First of all, since these units are digital and have hard drives (same as your PC), you can record video or TV shows to the hard drive (40GB) and then burn a DVD-R copy for your friend who has a DVD player. So that’s something that single-cassette VHS machines couldn’t do at all. Also, I can plug my digital still or video camera SD card into the HS2 and edit my pictures into a video that I just shot. RAM DISKS can also be re-recorded I think like a 100,000 times or something. But the advantage of the RAM disc is that it allows you to store video, audio and photos. Then with the hard drive you can back all that stuff up onto the drive and edit your own videos, since this thing also has great editing features. And like TIVO (which I love, but see that with machines like TIVO won’t be around much longer) you can record TV shows to the hard drive using VCR Plus codes or by setting the schedule yourself, even a month in advance.

Are you using VHS videotape to record old reruns of MARRIED WITH CHILDREN? Are you still using a VHS or 8mm camcorder to shoot your kid’s first tap-dancing show or touchdown? Brother, you really need to catch up on where home entertainment is – really!! Enter the Panasonic DMR-HS2. Now I once used a VHS machine to record TV shows that I would miss and then watch them the next day or years later, but the quality deteriorated over time and VHS is bulky and mechanical. Also, have you had this dilemma? You want to give a friend a copy of a TV show - in order to copy you had to rig 2 VHS machines together with the original tape and a new tape and UUGGGHHH! Thanks to DVD/RAM technology, that’s a thing of the past. Now this is cool - I can also plug-in a memory card that has pictures from my digital camera and incorporate the pictures into a video that I just shot, by using the unit’s editing features – while I’m editing the video. Throw out your VHS and run and get an HS2!

This unit lives up to its claims. Picture quality at XP and SP is superior to TIVO. Recording from auxiliary sources improves picture quality a fair amount. Maxell and TDK dvd-r disks and Imation and Panasonic DVD-RAM disk work well. My only disappointment is that DVD-R's do not look very good played on my (fairly new) Toshiba 4800 and 4yr old Sony DVD players. The dvd-r's are wonderful when played back on the DMR-HS2. On the other players, contrast and brightness are way too high and colors are blah and somewhat yellowish, requiring adjusting tv conrols a lot to make them watchable-not what I expected. Timer recording of multiple channel programs is possible from Satellite/DirecTv, but requires you to program the satellite reciever and DMR-HS2 separately to synchronize when they are to come on, change channel and go off. Overall, I am pleased with the unit. But, I wish that the DVD-R's looked as good on other DVD players. At least, they will play without problems.

DVD player/recorder VCR TIVO Photo Viewer! This is great for anyone who wants to edit their own vacation, family fun or "life" videos, record high-quality video as well as archive photos! The HS2 gives you the ability to edit right on the RAM disc or hard drive, and then make a DVD-R to share with your friends! One particular feature I really like about the unit is "time slip" recording which allows simultaneous recording and playback of the same program at the same time: for instance, you can watch the beginning of a TV show while the end is still recording, which I think is very cool. Now contrary to some misconceptions, you CAN record onto popular DVD-R discs that WILL play on your buddy's DVD player! If you really get to know the HS2, you can title your programs, choose a menu color, skip commercials - all while recording high quality video. I highly recommend Panasonic’s DMR-HS2!

This DVD Recorder/Player is the best item so far to do just that... playing and recording. Very easy to use and to work with. Even a kid can work it... It has mucho flexibility and items that are not available anywhere else especially not in the Phillip's line.

Unit is a little small and it had some troubles with many discs. It constantly went into the "recover" mode and twice ruined blank discs. HDD worked perfectly with good quality image. 1 and 2 hour video modes also offer excellent picture although the color is a bit bleeched out. 4 hour mode is about VHS quality and 6 mode is a waste of disc, and looks worst than old VCDs. The problem I cannot get around and this applies to all Panasonic recorders, compatibility with stand alone DVD players is next to none. I have tried 45 players and none will play discs smoothly recorded in SP mode. After an hour or so picture jumps and freezes.