Continuing in my crusade to buy every neat thing in the world that plugs into the wall, I purchased as my second DVD recorder, the Panasonic DMR-E80H. No, you don't really need two of them but if I go more than about a month without buying some expensive high-tech toy, I develop facial tics and my gums hurt. The Panasonic does some things that my Pioneer DVR-810H doesn't do and vice-versa. In both cases, you record shows to the machine's hard disk, either off-the-air or inputting from a VCR or camera. Then you can burn them to DVD-R disks, which are DVDs that play in most (not all) DVD players. The Panasonic also allows you to burn directly to a DVD-R but I don't see the advantage of being able to do this.
What the Pioneer can do that the Panasonic can't: When you're recording off cable or satellite, the Pioneer is about eight zillion times (conservative estimate) easier because it can change channels on your cable box or satellite receiver. The Panasonic can't. With the Pioneer, which has a built-in TiVo, you just select the shows you want to record from its on-screen lists of upcoming programming and forget about it. If you want to do that with the Panasonic, you consult your TV Guide to select a show, then you enter its start and stop time or VCR Plus code. Then you have to make sure the cable box or receiver is on and set to the right station at the right time…which means you can only program one show at a time unless they're both on the same channel. Messy.
What the Panasonic can do that the Pioneer can't: On the other hand, the Pioneer has no editing capabilities. If when you record your show, you get a lot of black or the end of some other show on the start or end of the recording, that stuff will wind up on your DVD. The Panasonic lets you trim it off. You can also rearrange scenes in ways I have not yet attempted. I am mostly transferring my old tapes to DVD and the Panasonic saves me a lot of headache in figuring out where to start and stop the tapes. I can just transfer them over and then trim off the heads and tails with great precision. Here are some other observations…
- I tried comparing the video quality of the DVDs made by each machine and to my eye, they look very close. If there's a difference, the Panasonic seems to be a teensy bit better, but I'm not prepared to say there's a difference.
- This one might matter to some people. Both machines have four speeds and you have to step down in hours. That is, if you're making a DVD of a show that is 60 minutes or less, you record it on the highest speed and you get the best quality image. If it's 61 minutes to 120, you put it on the second speed which, of course, has a bit less image quality. You can also use even slower speeds but then you really start to see pixelation and grain in your image. With the Pioneer, you set the speed when you record the show and it stays that speed forever…so if you record it at the top speed, you have to make the DVD at that speed. With the Panasonic, you can change. You could record two one-hour shows onto the hard disk at the top speed and then fit them both on one DVD at the second speed or record them to individual DVDs at the top speed.
- The Pioneer has a much better user manual. The Panasonic manual is in desperate need of a rewrite by one of those folks who do the …for Dummies books. Matter of fact, I misunderstood the Panasonic manual (its fault, I think) and wiped out the first thing I recorded on the machine.
- Both machines make little on-screen DVD menus. The Pioneer menus are much more attractive. Also, when you make a DVD on the Pioneer, it automatically "finalizes" that DVD, meaning that you copy everything you're going to copy onto the DVD at once and then it's done. With the Panasonic, you dub shows onto the DVD whenever you want and then when you've put all the material you want on (or can fit) on the DVD, then you finalize it as a separate action. This may or may not be preferable. It gives you more flexibility in filling your DVDs but it takes an extra step so you can't just punch "copy," walk away and then come back to a finished DVD.
And I'm sure I'll find other pros and cons of both machines as I play with them. Right now, my main concern is copying all my old tapes, some of which are in pretty ghastly condition. At this moment, I'm dubbing a Love Boat that I co-wrote in 1976. My then-partner Dennis Palumbo (a fine human being and author of this fine book and co-author of this fine movie) and I were hired to write one long before the show went on the air, before any of the final cast members were even selected. At the time, the idea was to do a series of racy TV-movies for late Saturday nights that would be more adult and risqué than anything then being done for network television. In fact, the production company was talking about shooting extra footage with naughtier dialogue and nude scenes so that they could release the films overseas as theatricals. Anyway, we wrote our episode with that in mind. (The cruise director was tentatively named Sandy because they were then thinking of getting Sandy Duncan — or someone who presented an equally wholesome image — for the role. The idea was that everyone on the Love Boat was having sex with everyone else on the Love Boat, and the constantly-shocked cruise director was always running around, trying to organize shuffleboard tournaments instead.) Eventually, the premise turned into a much more conventional series that aired earlier in the evening. Some luckless story editor had to rewrite our script, which was all about sex and one-night stands, to something that was about romance between a guy and a girl who'd known each other for years and, after making love, would immediately discuss getting married. I think the story editor's name was Ashcroft…
When the show aired, I recorded it onto a 3/4" videotape — this was before Betamax or VHS — and I don't think I've run the tape since that night. I'm not sure I'll even run the DVD I'll be making of it as soon as I finish posting this, but if only for the old commercials, I want to salvage it. And of course, it'll be nice to not have shelves full of bulky 3/4" videocassettes.