Product Description
Philips HDMI DVD Player - This home DVD player is a great way to get the most out of your current DVD movies. It features video upscaling, which boosts the video quality of your movies for high-definition displays. This higher definition signal can be passed digitally to your HDTV via the HDMI port. HDMI also offers you audio transmission via the same cable, giving you an easy one-cable connection to your TV or receiver. Picture CD Playback - with JPEG pictures Picture Enhancement - flip photos, rotate, zoom, slideshow with MP3 playback NTSC & PAL Playback (PAL playback requires a TV that also supports the PAL format) Aspect Ratio - 4 - 3, 16 - 9 Dolby Digital USB Port Ports - RCA Composite Out, HDMI Out, Digital Coaxial Out, Component Video Out Parental Control & Child Lock
Customer Reviews:
good deal.......2007-12-25
this product works well, DivX movies look good, but not as good as a normal dvd. I like the USB port, but it won't read a NTFS formated drive, only Fat 32 I think.
Upscaling doesn't work with component output.......2007-12-25
It's unclear in the description, but this DVD player *only* supports HD-upscaling using HDMI, not component cables (which many HDTVs depend on for HD signals). Just FYI.
Other than that, it seems to be good. I barely noticed any difference between 1080i (upscaled) and 480p (normal), but the quality's good either way.
DivX also works just fine, but there's definitely no post-processing (image enhancement); it's all "as is".
DVD Player review - not so great.......2007-12-24
There's a red line that goes through the screen when using this DVD player - it is pretty bad, and I wouldn't recommend getting it.
Its difficult to pay attention to the movies when you see this red line going through the screen...
Yet To See.......2007-12-21
This is perhaps the 11th or 12th DVD players that I have purchased. Each player lasts an average of about 2 years. This is the first Philips player I bought because I had good experience on other Philips brand electronics.
The player operates very quietly and offers good output quality. Its durability is yet to be proved by time.
However, this unit surely lacks of certain useful functions:
(1) It does not have play resumption. Once the "stop" button is pressed, the player returns to the beginning of the disk;
(2) The unit has no fast forward;
(3) I have players in three different rooms and I have a habit to turn off the player completely for energy conservation, even though it means very little. This unit only allows "play" and "standby" unless it is unplugged.
For the price and the easiness of setting to all region operation, it is a worthy buy!
ok for the price.......2007-12-17
I have been using it for one month. Does the job. The quality of the unit exterior seems very flimsy.
Product Description
The DMR-EZ47 offers high image quality in both recording and playback, easy operation, and improved networking capabilities. It comes equipped with the HDMI terminal, which allows easy, single-cable connection to compatible equipment. The DMR-EZ47 also offers Panasonic's proprietary VIERA Link functions for linked operation of other AV devices, and these functions are now even more convenient. It is now possible to control an optional DIGA recorder, when connected to a Panasonic VIERA TV, using VIERA's remote control unit. This provides convenient control over frequently used functions by using only VIERA's remote. By pressing the VIERA Link button on the remote, a DIGA menu screen can be accessed directly from the VIERA Link menu screen, to make recording settings or play a DVD. By combining intelligent i/p Conversion and 1080p Up-Conversion technologies, DIGA's 1080p technology renders high-resolution 1080p images from DVD movies and TV broadcasts to compatible TVs. The Accutune high-precision analog/digital tuner achieves stable signal reception even under poor signal conditions, such as when signals are reflected by surrounding buildings. The Accutune Digital Tuner is a high-performance hybrid tuner capable of receiving both digital and analog broadcasts. It uses a signal processor to effectively control noise and distortion, and its proprietary matching circuits allow it to transform and separate digital broadcasts into the appropriate digital or analog signals. With the built-in Digital Tuner, this will also allow you to record one digital broadcast program while watching a second program. The Tape input signal is automatically detected and optimized using Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) to provide an easy way to even more beautiful digital recordings from VHS tapes. Super Multi-Format Recording & Playback Digital Broadcast Capable - Built-in ATSC Tuner Automatic Program Information Acquisition Long Time
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Choice.......2007-12-18
Panasonic DMR-EZ47VK Up-Converting 1080p DVD-Recorder/VCR Combo with Built In Tuner
This product met all my expectations. Easy to use. I'm a 70 year old
female and I can understand the directions, which is no small feat. I
have copied some of my VHS tapes to DVD and they came out perfect.
Great for transferring home movies to DVD.......2007-12-17
My only reason for purchasing a DVD recorder was to transfer 8mm and VHS home movies to DVD and after reading various reviews on DVD recorders, I decided to purchase the Panasonic DMR-EZ47VK. This recorder is simple to to set up, simple to operate and the DVDs come out great. I have had the unit for about a month and transferred several VHS tapes to DVD +R media with terrific results.
So Many Problems--Where Do I Start?.......2007-12-17
Although this unit has a great set of features & capabilities, it has so many fundamental problems that it's given me nothing but headaches. I even bought a second unit to compare & found that it had *the same problems*! This is not a case of me getting unlucky & buying the 1 bad manufactured unit--these are flaws in the software & programming itself!
Many calls to Panasonic customer service (after looong waits & painful menu navigation & customer service reps who were not very helpful) resulted in 2 firmware upgrade discs being mailed to me in 8/07 & 11/07. They didn't fix the problems.
My unit is now at the local Panasonic authorized repair center, awaiting new parts, which will leave me without my player for about 3-4 weeks in total, if I get it back when they claim it will be done.
In no particular order, here are the problems:
1 - The unit freezes up frequently. I'll walk by, look at the clock, see that it's way off, press every single button on the unit & the remote to try to turn it on or get it to respond, but nothing happens. I have to unplug it & plug it back in to be able to use it again. It has missed recording so many scheduled TV shows because it froze up. The period of time between freezes ranges from a day to a month--totally random & inconsistent.
2 - While watchng DVDs, the big status window in the top right of my screen pops up occasionally, reminding me that I'm in DVD mode. Duh. This is very annoying. Sometimes it pops up every few minutes. Sometimes I can watch hours of movies with no pop up. Again, random.
3 - The SD card playback is sooooo slow that it's useless. I'm using a 4.0MP camera, with 2MB file size, and the time required to flip from picture to picture on the card makes a slideshow utterly impossible.
4 - The one-touch dubbing from VHS to DVD has given me huge headaches. First, it will abort the dubbing if you have a segment of static snow on your VHS in between the items on your tape. I'm trying to copy tapes of personal videos to DVD for archiving & easy access & sharing, but I have to babysit the machine to keep restarting the dubbing process.
5 - After dubbing a tape to DVD & following the directions carefully, I am unable to make the chapter manipulation menu appear. So, I'm stuck with chapter breaks every 8 minutes and cannot add/remove chapters, so I'm unable to make an easily-navigated DVD menu.
6 - After I figured out that I can manually stop my dubbing after each segment on my VHS tape, I had many hours invested & was on my way to making a DVD that had all the breaks in the correct locations to be able to generate a proper top menu. But then I came across one portion of my VHS tape where the machine refused to dub properly. 3.5 minutes into this section of tape (which is just like all the other sections, recorded on the same VCR), the unit stops recording, tells me that it's dividing the recording, rewinds the tape a bit, then starts recording a new DVD segment. This puts an illogical & unpleasant break in what is supposed to be continuous footage, and it adds an unnecessary chapter to the top menu. I tried this twice, with the same result. The manual shows that this should not happen.
7 - Unfortunately, unlike every other DVD player I've seen, the menu button on the remote pulls up a menu that lets you go to the DVD top menu. Usually the menu button on the remote just sends you to the disc's menu. Silly.
This product has given me so many headaches & made me *very* frustrated. When I get it back from the repair shop, I hope that Panasonic will give me some sort of refund, because I don't see how swapping out a circuit board will be able to fix what appears to be poor design & programming...but that's all the repair shop could recommend as a fix...
Just what I needed!!.......2007-12-17
After suffering through several months of poor quality videotapes (and occasional jamming when trying to eject tapes!), I decided to take the plunge with the Panasonic DVD/VCR combo unit. As others have noted, the instruction manual is nearly 100 pages ... but it doesn't matter, as this unit performs as well or better than I expected! DVD-RAM recording allows for chasing feedback of live programming, and one touch recording allows me to slowly convert my VHS library into a 21st century DVD library! Plus, I can easily burn DVD's directly from my Mini-DV tape palmcorder - fantastic!
good dvd/vcr combo.......2007-12-17
I like the way this dvd recorder copy my old vhs tapes. The outcome were clear. I connected the optical audio cable to my receiver and the sound was superb. The only con that I can say is that I have to use the av receiver every time I use it to get a sound. I tried several times not to use the receiver and it failed to give the audio. I also use the HDMI and the video is outstanding.
cannot get sound unless hooked up to an external device like av receiver.
Product Description
The DMR-EZ27 offers high image quality in both recording and playback, easy operation, and improved networking capabilities. It comes equipped with the HDMI terminal, which allows easy, single-cable connection to compatible equipment. The DMR-EZ27 also offers Panasonic's proprietary VIERA Link functions for linked operation of other AV devices, and these functions are now even more convenient. It is now possible to control an optional DIGA recorder, when connected to a Panasonic VIERA TV, using VIERA's remote control unit. This provides convenient control over frequently used functions by using only VIERA's remote. By pressing the VIERA Link button on the remote, a DIGA menu screen can be accessed directly from the VIERA Link menu screen, to make recording settings or play a DVD. By combining intelligent i/p Conversion and 1080p Up-Conversion technologies, DIGA's 1080p technology renders high-resolution 1080p images from DVD movies and TV broadcasts to compatible TVs. The Accutune high-precision analog/digital tuner achieves stable signal reception even under poor signal conditions, such as when signals are reflected by surrounding buildings. The Accutune Digital Tuner is a high-performance hybrid tuner capable of receiving both digital and analog broadcasts. It uses a signal processor to effectively control noise and distortion, and its proprietary matching circuits allow it to transform and separate digital broadcasts into the appropriate digital or analog signals. With the built-in Digital Tuner, this will also allow you to record one digital broadcast program while watching a second program. Super Multi-Format Recording & Playback Digital Broadcast Capable - Built-in ATSC Tuner Automatic Program Information Acquisition Long Time Recording with High Picture Quality Real-Time Variable Bit Rate Control DivX Playback JPEG View with SD Slot DV Auto Recording Auto DVD Disc Finalizing Direct Navigat
Customer Reviews:
Not Too Bad For What I Need.......2007-12-21
This DVD Recorder could get a little complicated if you start getting into the extra features. But for what I bought it for it works great. The only complaint that I have is that it takes forever to turn on. I guess that's what the quick start is for. I havent really had a chance to go through all of the features. The manual is pretty big, meaning there are lots of instructions for all of those features (I'll give Panasonic props for that). I was expecting the manual to be divided up into different languages but it's not. It's all in English. So, I guess whenever I have extra time after the holidays to read up on all the extra stuff I will come back to update my review. But for now if all you want to do is record programs onto DVD's to clear space on your Tivo, this is the product to go with. I have found that Panasonic usually puts out excellent products.
Not all its cracked up to be........2007-12-15
When I called panasonic to find out the unit's capabilities, a Panasonic sales rep said that still pictures could be recorded and played on CD's, DVD's, and DVD RAM's. This unit cannot play DVD's of still pictures. With CD's the unit will not play back recorded still pictures in the order recorded.
Very Disappointing..........2007-12-11
My old DMR-ES10 broke so I decided to buy an EZ27K. I do not need to rehash many of the complaints previously listed. The review by Calvin mirrors many of my experiences with this unit. I want to add that Panasonic has inexplicably removed some conveniences that users of previous models will miss.
Top of the list is the removal of the text preview window in the title naming area. You no longer have a window that shows what the title of your chapters look like on a finalized disc. If you have a title that is longer than one line you will not be able to see where your word splits and runs into the second or third line. This may seem small until you see the jumbled mess that your finalized disc titles look like. Additionally, they removed the convenient feature of memorizing titles to recall for future use. I had a list of frequently used words in my old recorder and now I have to type them every time. Not such a big thing but it is frustrating to lose a convenient feature like that unnecessarily. My third convenience complaint is the front display. The front display is very poor compared to previous models. At a minimum the display should, at all times, show the type of dvd in the unit, the record mode selected, the dvd time counter, and the state of the dvd (play, rec, stop, etc.). The display on the EZ27 only shows one of these things at a time with no feature for toggling through the others. If you want the information not shown on the front display, you have to press the "status" button on the remote and view it on your TV. Panasonic went from having one of the most informative front displays to the worst I have ever used. I looked at the manuals for all of their current models because I would have exchanged my EZ27 for one of the others if it had these features, but all of the current Panasonic models are this way.
I thought I could put up with some of the quirks that other reviewers have listed, but the things I just listed were the final straw for me. I don't have an HDMI TV so an older model works well for me. I returned my EZ27 to the store and bought a brand new DMR-ES15 on eBay for $70.
Glitchy Performance.......2007-11-30
I'm still a little nervous about this purchase. I have 'scheduled' about 6 programs to record. Only 3 of the 6 have actually recorded the program. I watched it closely the last time it failed. The set blinks as if it is starting to record, but the timer never starts ticking off the time, like it does when it records successfully. Hmmmm ... anyone's guess as to whether it will record that future program. When it does record, the picture is very good. I have a 1080 37" LCD television, and I had previously read that the upconversion is over-rated. I disagree. I have watched the same DVD on this new Panasonic with a HDMI connection, and it is a noticeable improvement over the same picture from my old Sony DVD player with the standard connection (no upconversion). However, if I had to do it over, I would probably wait for better technology. Or look into recording those occasional HD programs on the computer.
Great Recorder.......2007-11-16
My experience so far with this dvd recorder has been great. The interface is extremely easy to use and setup recordings. This is my 3rd unit of the later generation Panasonic recorders and all 3 have been great. The first one I got a couple of years ago was not good even after doing firmware updates. Even took it in for warranty repair where they replaced the drive but didn't solve the problems. But again, the last 3, even one that has the vcr combo have all been great and I would highly recommend these units now.
Average customer rating:
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Go Video Go Video DVD with HDmi
Manufacturer: GoVideo
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics
All
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DVD Players & Recorders
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Audio & Video
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Categories
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Electronics
Product Features:
- 2 Channel High Def Conversion DVD Player
- Plays DVD/DVD Plus/Minus R/RW CD/CD Minus R/RW JPEG Discs
- Up Converts to 720p/1080i Resolutions
- Progressive Scan Output Gives You Non Interlaced Video
- Multi Audio Stream Subtitle Angle Language On Screen Display, Slow Miton Play
ASIN: B000P70990
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Product Description
GoVideo YGD2917 HD DVD Player - DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD-RW - DVD Video, JPEG, Video CD Playback - Progressive Scan
Product Description
Plays DVD - DVD+-R/RW - CD - CDR - CDRW + MP3-CD and JPEG-CD / Progressive Scan Compatible / Component and Composite Video Out / BLACK
Customer Reviews:
pLEASTANTLY SUPRISED.......2007-12-15
FYI For anyone who wished to turn this player into a region free player. Start it up..open the tray......leave it unlaod and then click on the 0 button on remote 2-4 times and u will get a dispaly message that player is coded for region 1.just puch the 0 button on remote then hit pause/exit button on remote and u have urself a region free player.i have plyed dvds from region 2,4,5, and 1 without any problems.was very happy to discover this whne i was fiddling around with the player.this feature is not included in the product description and you will not find any refenece to it in your product manual.but it does work.
Great dvd player excellent quality best picture .......2007-12-01
I bought this unit from vann s electronics, fast shipping and good packaging, but the unit works flawlessly best picture for the price, fast loading easy to use, just one gripe display on front could of been brighter or a little bigger but this unit has excellent features and good sound, and picture quality ive always had good luck with JVC they just seem to keep getting better try this player it will work with any setup from basic to HD
< I have one unit and im buying another for my bedroom this unit i would recommend to anyone this unit is well built and i just cannot say enough about this dvd player but I love it try it its well worth your money 5 stars from me
A Lemon.......2007-11-26
I bought this dvd player at frys about two months ago. Big mistake. It regularly will jutter and hang and freeze when playing a movie. If I eject the disk and reinsert it, sometimes it will play better. When I play burned discs, the player will constantly hang, no matter what I do (and my computer plays the discs just fine). I would have returned the player but the problems were not noticeable at first (I though maybe it was just me not being used to the player, but now it is obviously that the player stinks).
Another problem that I have recently noticed is that the player momentarily hangs or seems as it drops a few frames at each and every chapter change.
I love to watch movies and I did some serious research into my next DVD player, since my toshiba 5-disc changer had died after a respectable 5 year run. My girlfriend had found that consumer reports raved about this model, and that the amazon reviews were through the roof. Well, that may all be true, but the unit that is sitting on my shelf is a big, fat piece of junk.
I cannot recommend this unit to anybody since there is at least one more review for this unit that seems to demonstrate similar problems.
So, I would probably rate a working unit four or five stars, but since mine is basically a lemon (and it's past the 30 days to return it), I'm stuck with this POS and I give it one star (zero if I could).
I am waiting to hear back from JVC about this issue but from my research there were no firmware updates that could fix this problems (in fact, none at all). And upon googling these issues, I found that there is at least another JVC dvd player that has the "chapter change" problem and that JVC had issued a firmware upgrade that worked for some and not for others (check the amazon reviews for yourself of that player).
So in closing, take my review with a grain of salt as I'm clearly a disgruntled consumer (wouldn't you be?). You may be one of the lucky ones, but your unit could end up being just like mine too.
Bad Experience!.......2007-11-22
I visited Amazon and saw that this DVD player had such wonderful reviews. All five people who reviewed this DVD player before me gave it 5 stars. Well, it looks like people bought this player, played one DVD and automatically assumed it was a wonderful player. Well, it's not. I had this DVD player for ONLY 5 days and I have experienced a number of problems.
Day 1, this player played fine. I played a few DVDs and was very happy with the picture and the performance. Day 2 was a bad day. I played a few DivX videos and it kept on skipping. So, I ejected and put the disk back in and it played fine. So, I was like, ok, just one problem, no biggie. A few hours later, I play a DVD. Then when I'm finished with the DVD player and turned off the machine. Well, it didn't shut off. The darn thing froze. So, I had to unplug and plug the DVD player back in. So, the DVD player went back to normal after I plugged it back in. Day 3, there weren't any problems so I was starting to feel happy again. Day 4, I play a DVD and when I tried ejecting the disk, the tray wouldn't come out. So, I tried playing around with all the buttons and it finally came out. Day 5, I played a DVD and it was skipping. And in case you're wondering, the DVD is SCRATCH-FREE and it played flawlessly on my other players. So, I ejected and put the disk back in and it played fine. This is similar to my DivX situation. Apparently, this DVD player gets jinxed very easily. So, now I've had it and I'm off to the store to return this item for a full refund.
I'm annoyed not because of these problems, but because everybody before me, wrote such a wonderful review about a product that isn't so wonderful after all. I'll be sticking to Sony DVD players as I've never had problems with those. I've had an old Sony player for 9 years and NOT ONE problem occured with that. I just wanted to upgrade to a new DVD player that is progressive scan and can play DivX and MP3. Oh well, I guess I won't be upgrading anytime soon.
UPDATE (December 5, 2007)- I bought a Sony DVP-NS77H a week ago and it is a much better player. I highly recommend that player over this one. The picture is way better and most importantly, it doesn't fail. One downfall is that it's not DivX compatible, but since it doesn't break down, I'm willing to make the sacrifice. Sony never fails me, but JVC does.
Bruce likes JVC so also XVN650B DVD Video Player.......2007-11-09
I now have a stack of four black JVC products
and a black television on top.
Receiver, tape deck, CD recorder and now DVD player.
I can listen to sound through TV to a/v receiver
using HDMI cable while watching a DVD "movie"
or have the sound through normal phono cables
for a different equalization using DVD MULTI input that I use for music.
Playing MP3 files is quieter now cuz i don't have the computer on.
Imagine having a CD with 26 hours of music.
The unit is slim so it only lifts my new 26" television up about an inch.
Average customer rating:
- So far no issues
- Solid & pretty straight-forward
- It serves its purpose well
- So-so
- After the ATSC/NTSC tuner, it is not much of a Recorder for a JVC system.
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JVC DRMV99B DVD Video Recorder & VHS Combo with Built-In ATSC Tuner
Manufacturer: JVC
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics
All
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DVD Players & Recorders
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Audio & Video
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Categories
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Electronics
DVD Recorders
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DVD Players & Recorders
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Audio & Video
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Categories
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Electronics
Home Office Electronics
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Electronics
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Categories
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Target
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2 Meter HDMI M/M Cable
Accessories:
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3-Year Extended Service Plan - Covers Electronic Items $201-$500 - Repair
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Tripp Lite 8-Outlet Surge Protector (TLP810NET)
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Digital Video Essentials HD (HD DVD + DVD Combo Disc)
Product Features:
- Playable Formats: VHS Hi-Fi, DVD-Video, DVD-RW, DVD-R, +RW, +R, +R (Dual), CD, SVCD/VCD, CD-R/RW, WMA/MP3/JPEG Digital Still/DivX(R) (CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, +R/+RW)
- Recordable Formats: VHS Hi-Fi, DVD-RW, DVD-R, +RW, +R
- ATSC (Digital) Tuner: 8 VSB (2-69), Clear QAM (1-135)
- HDMI Output with 1080i/720p Up-Conversion (DVD/VHS)
- Progressive Scan Output
ASIN: B000O9T2RY
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Product Description
Has ATSC Digital and NTSC Analog TV Tuners / Component Video for DVD only / Plays DVD - DiVX - CD Formats / BLACK Component Video Output DVD
VHS Dubbing Up to 12-Hour DVD Recording on Double-Sided DL Disc Playlist-based Editing (DVD) 1.5x Quick Playback with Sound (DVD) High-Resolution GUI (English/French/Spanish/Portuguese) Stylish, Slim Design ? Only 3-1/8 (78.5mm) High
Customer Reviews:
So far no issues.......2007-11-29
Had it just over a month now and so far no issues. DVD and VCR quality is excellent. Have not tried recording yet so no comment on that.
Solid & pretty straight-forward.......2007-11-06
So far, I've only exercised the VHS playback, DVD recording, TV tuner, and HDMI output functions of this device.
From what I could tell, VHS playback looked pretty good (though I didn't find any options for controlling noise reduction settings, etc.) as did DVD recording quality (I only tried 2-hour mode).
DVD recording was pretty straight forward, if you have some idea what you're doing. My only gripe was that the manual didn't accurately describe the location of the "Finalize" menu. My recollection is that you must navigate to the disc menu via the main settings/setup menu of the device.
I didn't notice any deinterlacing problems, at 480p. When using the integrated TV tuner, I did see some slight upscaling problems, in 720p and 1080i modes (as viewed on a 720p LCD TV). However, I couldn't tell what format the broadcast signal used (the device would only tell me it was in "HD"), so I don't have a very good sense of where things may have been going wrong. I would recommend leaving the HDMI output mode to 480p (which looked fine), and letting your TV do any scaling necessary.
It serves its purpose well.......2007-07-31
I don't love it, but I do like this recorder. I think if you bear in mind the purpose of a combination DVD/VCR, it's close to as good as one can expect.
I bought the combo recorder because there are times I still need VCR recordings from TV signal, and don't want to pollute my AV system with set-top boxes and added connections that degrade signals. The ATSC/QAM tuner solved that issue. While there's no way to make a VHS tape look great, at least I am now recording digital broadcsts and maximizing the benefit with upconversion (to Samsung LN-T4661F). There clearly is a significant improvement. Original VHS recordings are noticeably better. I think upscaling is best when I set the recorder's output to 720p and let my TV upscale from there. I'm not sure if it's because of the JVC's upscaling, or if it's a basic limitation of the unit, which simply isn't meant to be 'high end'. Live HDTV viewed via the JVC tuner isn't quite on a par with HDTV viewed directly through my TV tuner. It's good; it's close; but not quite as sharp for HD broadcasts. DVD recordings of HD broadcasts are also a bit less crisp than the live, but it's not an HD recorder. Store-bought DVDs look great.
It's user-freindly - simple, intuitive menus; options to make the most of a combo recorder. Other than changing the output (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i), everything is accessible from the remote. You can watch a disc while recording to the VCR, and vice versa. Timer recording and labeling is a breeze. There is no EPG, but I have no problem with that. More and more recorders are eliminating it due to compatibility issues with various cable and satellite services. Discs, tapes and TV can be output at 4:3 or 16:9. DVDs can be formatted for VR or DVD-Video. It has all the choices of both analog and digital inputs and outputs needed to connect to any home theater system, old or new.
On the downside, it doesn't record to DL discs. This isn't an issue for me; I will leave that to my computer when needed. Also, there is no code currently available for universal remotes. According to JVC, all the manufacturers update and share their new codes annually, so in theory there will be a code available shortly after January '08. I hope so.
So-so.......2007-06-27
When I purchased this JVC combo DVD/VHS recorder it was a very new product, there were no reviews available on the web, the manufacturer's info was a little ambiguous, and a call to JVC customer support to ask a few questions turned out to be a waste because the support people knew nothing about it and actually put me on hold while they rummaged up a manual to read to me over the phone. Some of the info they gave me turned out to be wrong, as I found out after I purchased the unit. Hopefully I can help some folks out with what I have learned.
I've been upgrading all of my TV and related equipment. Among other toys, I recently got a Pioneer Elite PRO-1140HD 50" plasma (awesome) and the latest and greatest Toshiba HD-XA2 DVD player (also awesome). After seeing what the Toshiba XA2 did for my old DVDs (it upscales them so amazingly to HD you think you are watching the real thing) I longed for a similar product for my old VHS tapes (I have hundreds, many of which are out of print). All of the upscaling VHS/DVD combos (you pretty much have to get a combo now days to get a VCR) only upscale the DVD and not the VHS. In fact, most require two connections to the TV: one for the upscaled DVD digital image and one for the analogue SD VHS signal.
This JVC unit actually upscales both the DVD and VHS signals. In the process it converts the VHS signal to digital and, if you have an HDMI cable, it will output both signals in digital format to your TV via the HDMI cable. You can choose to output in 480i, 480p, 720p, or 1080i. That's the good news. If you do not use an HDMI cable you can still output both signals on the same connection to your TV via coax, s-video, component video, or RCA plugs. So far so good.
OK, here's the bad news: the VHS upscaling was useless, and the DVD upscaling was not a whole lot better.
I got by far the best VHS picture by sending 480p to the TV set and letting the Pioneer plasma upscale the picture itself. When I set the JVC to output 720p or 1080i the picture quality actually degraded in every case. On even my best VHS tapes I also got a horizontal silver line dancing on the top or bottom of my TV. Some of my crummier tapes that always displayed the silver line had the silver line turn into about a one inch silver noise bar. Ugh! Also, any noise on the VHS tapes seemed to be blown up by the letting the JVC upscale the image. For every tape I tried (and I tried quite a few) I got the best image every time by sending 480p to the TV. If your TV does not upscale on its own there might be a trade-off in your case where you might, say, get a better image with 720p (i.e. the improvement in resolution might outweigh the artifacts created or noise blowing up). I would be skeptical, however.
I did a side by side comparison with the same VHS tape on this JVC unit at 480p and my old Sony VHS unit. I had to swap the tape back and forth a few times before I could call a winner. This JVC unit produced a SLIGHTLY better picture, but I have a suspicion this is because the JVC was connected to my TV via a 25' HDMI cable whereas my Sony was connected with 25' double shielded gold-plated RCA cables, which although top quality for RCA cables, still results in some signal loss from the Sony.
So, the VHS side of the unit was largely a disappointment.
As expected the DVD upscaling was better. When I first started testing my old DVDs in the unit I was fairly impressed. They did not display quite as nice as with the Toshiba HD-XA2 (no surprise there as the Toshiba HD-XA2 is generally regarded as the best upscaler on the planet). Then I noticed that the JVC unit was still outputting at 480p. So I bumped that up to 1080i expecting to see some really nice stuff. I was amazed to see very little, if any, improvement. Once again the TV upscaled the image just as good or better than the JVC in most cases. The Toshiba HD-XA2 upscaling was clearly superior.
Of course the Toshiba HD-XA2 is just a player and not a recorder, but given the miniscule value of the JVC's other features, I think I would have been just about as well off by keeping my old Sony VHS and getting an HD DVD recorder at my local Sam's Club or wherever.
I may be missing something, but every time I power the unit on, whether I play a DVD or a VHS tape the unit goes back to 480p output. I have read the manual from start to finish and I see no way to permanently set the output format (if anyone discovers how please post). Furthermore, the remote has no button for this function either. So, every time I play something, if I want to change the output format I have to get up and walk to the unit and press the output status button (which as I have already mentioned for VHS tapes, is NOT desired).
In summary, it was a really cool concept to upscale both the VHS and DVD signals and be able to transmit both digitally via HDMI to a TV. In practice, however, it turned out to be an expensive, marginally useful device. I don't feel it was worth the high cost. If you really want this functionality you may want to wait awhile for the price to plummet. I think this will happen as people realize the limitations of this device and competition creeps in.
After the ATSC/NTSC tuner, it is not much of a Recorder for a JVC system........2007-05-17
I bought this item because I wanted to have an ATSC/NTSC tuner and it has both a VHS and DVD recorders. After that, it lacks alot. Because I have a JVC system and this is such a new product, I assumed that it would have a compulink cable, so I could control it with my system. It does not, this dropped my rating 1 star. The other problem is that all the connections are very loose, so if you move the DVD player, your optical cable will come out and your electrical cable will come out. This dropped my rating another star. It does have an HDMI cable which is what I want for my Panasonic Plasma TV and this is nice. But the IR Blaster cable I have from my Panasonic, does not have a code for the JVC DVD Recorder that works. When I called Panasonic, they said if it is not in their list of codes, they do not have it. This is frustrating me with Panasonic for not having a way to update their TV, but I will check with JVC to find out what the code should be. This allows me to run the TV guide from my Plasma TV so it will turn on the DVD or VCR Recorder. Fortunately, I can just have the VCR or DVD record by using the Timer function. It would be easier with my TV Guide.
One last hing that is just slightly irritating. When you go through the channels, it first goes through your ATSC channels, then through your NTSC channels. Unlike my Plasma TV that can go through them in order. So on the Panasonic, I go to 4-1, 6-1, 10-1, 28-1, 51-0, 51-1, 53-0, 53-1. On the JVC, I go to 4-1, 61-, 10-1, 28-1, 51-1, 53-1, 51-0, 53-0. I just have to get used to it.
Product Description
Plays multiformat DVD and CD Discs / HDMI / Progressive Scan / Component Video / 480i and 480p / Upconversion mode / NTSC
Product Description
DVD, DVDR/RW, CD, MP3, JPEG, and MPEG4 playbackUp-converts your DVD resolution to 720p and 1080iProgressive scan output for superior image quality16 7/8" W x 1 1/2" H x 8 5/8" D
Product Description
DVD, DVD±R/RW, CD, MP3, JPEG, and MPEG4 playback
Up-converts your DVD resolution to 720p, 1080i and 1080p
Progressive scan output for superior image quality
16 7/8" W x 1 1/2" H x 8 5/8" D
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