Rating: 
Summary: Looking to replace that old VCR
Review: If you are looking for a DVD Recorder to replace that old VCR and want up to 8 hours of continious recording time then this is the unit to get until Blue Lasers hit the market in a couple of years. With the 9.4 GHz RAM disks (rewriteable) you can record up to 16 hours (double sided) or 8 hours per side. Once I got past the AUTO SETUP problem I was able to set up the unit with very little trouble. After setting the basic setup functions (timer and channels) I was able to figure out the recording features within a couple of minutes. Once you view the recorded program you can erase it in a matter of seconds. The timer program featrure also allows you to program upto 16 programs, not like the usually 8 with a VCR. The only drawback to this unit and others on the market today is not being able to add more than one of these to my system and control multiple units with just one remote as I was able to do with three Sony VCRs.
Rating:
Summary: One often overlooked feature
Review: Several reviews discuss the reduction in quality in going from a 2 hour recording to a four hour recording. One very cool feature on this machine is Flexible Recording, where it will set the recording time and quality to exactly the time you need.
So if you need to record a movie that's 2 hours and 10 minutes, insead of using the 4 hour setting and having the large reduction in quality just to fit in the extra 10 minutes, use Flexible Record mode, set it for 2 hrs 10 mins, and get almost the same quality as the 2 hour mode.
This feature makes a huge difference in the recording quality of the many movies that run just over 2 hours.
Rating:
Summary: Great product
Review: This is a great product. I have made 2 dvds so far and they've turned out great. I've used tdk dvd-r disks. The only thing I don't like is the quality of the dvd disks if you record past the 2 hour mode. I've recorded in the 4 hour mode and the picture is really grainy. If you record a movie that's less than 4 hours but longer than 2 hours I suggest using 2 disks and just record in the 2 hour mode. There is a difference between dvd ram disks and dvd-r disks. Dvd Ram allows you to record for a longer period of time and it allows you to record copyrighted material from the television but only once. You can't do that with a dvd-r disk.
I've recorded from a directv dvr box and I've recorded from a cable dvr box and they both work fine.
You can erase what you have on your dvd disk as many times as you like as long as you don't finalize the disk. The manual doesn't tell you how to finalize a disk. I think you press the functions button on your remote control and then go on from there.
Rating:
Summary: Best of breed
Review: Unlike some lesser brandnames, this Panasonic DVD recorder actually works. I've heard that with some other brands, you can get failed burning sessions, which would waste your blank DVD media. Also, since this Panasonic uses the DVD-R ("dash" or "minus" format) instead of DVD+R ("plus" format), the discs you burn are compatible with *more* DVD players. For my money, I'd stick with DVD-R all the way. Also, be sure to get high-quality blank discs for better recording quality and longer shelf lives.(Ignore the DVD-RAM format. No DVD player I know of except some Panasonic models can read DVD-RAM.) I'm really happy with the great build quality and great price I got with this model. I didn't need one of those Panasonic models with a built-in hard drive, so I saved money. But if you want TiVo-like capabilities, check out those HD-equipped models. The best virtue of this Panasonic is it does a great job at what it's supposed to do. I'm sure better models are already in the channel, so I'd say if you can wait a bit longer, wait a bit longer. Otherwise, the Panasonic is your best bet for value, quality, and durability.
Rating:
Summary: Great machine for the money!
Review: We have owned this DVD recorder for about a month, ever since our 20-year-old VCR died. We were considering getting another VCR but then decided to make the leap to DVD, even though it was a less familiar technology to us. We were very pleased with how easy this machine was to set up and learn to use--it only took us half an hour to unpack, set up, record a test, and play back! We use a DVD-RAM disk--we got a 3-pack on Amazon.com for a lot less than $17 per disk. We've been recording at the EP speed, which gives you 8 hours per DVD-RAM disk. The playback at this speed is a bit grainy, but if you're just catching up on a favorite show and don't care that much about the picture quality, it's fine. We haven't tried the other recording speeds yet because EP is good enough for our purposes and we'd rather have the extra space on the disk. We've also played DVDs from the library, and the picture quality on those has been great--unlike what another reviewer said, we definitely feel you can use this machine just fine as a DVD player, though it doesn't have all the bells and whistles our JVC DVD player has (but that's fine with us--in fact, we're thinking of selling the JVC player and replacing it with a second one of these Panasonic recorders). So, so far we haven't had any problems, though we do have two questions. First, is it possible to stop the disk in a particular place, turn off the machine, then resume playing in that place later on? So far we haven't been able to do this. We can do it when we don't turn off the machine, but once we do, the disk goes back to the beginning, which means that to get to the same place you were, you have to remember how far along the disk was (e.g., 14:40) and fast-forward to that spot. The second thing that's puzzling us is that there doesn't seem to be an a.m. or p.m. switch when you're setting up a program (the long way) to record. So, say it's 10:30 a.m. and you want to record a program that starts at 1:00 p.m.--the only way we've found to do this is to first get the display to 11:59 a.m., then use the arrow key to go up 1 minute to 12:00 p.m., then enter in 1:00 p.m. A bit cumbersome--it's hard to believe there isn't a way around this, but we haven't found anything in the manual.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for the price
Review: Yes, there are better DVD recorders out there - ones that support more diversity in the media they will play and ones that have slightly easier connection options. However for the price this one is selling at, I have to say I like it. I've had mine for about a week now and have burned about 20 DVD-Rs from movies I had saved up on a cable DVR box. Each one at varying lengths - so I've had a chance to play around with speeds and recording quality. Recording at 2hour or using flex recording a recording at 3hour gives you good quality pictures when played back on a digital/hd tv or on an analog tv. Remember the quality of the picture is never better than the original - so when you record from VHS tapes don't expect amazing results. But it's not bad - and maybe even slightly better - as long as you chose a recording speed equal to or less than the one the original recording was made in (i.e. I cut out a lot of useless stuff from home videos and shortened the recording time).
Some of the bells and whistles, such as watching one program while recording another, etc. are not possible with a cable box, but then they weren't on a vcr either - so while I'm disappointed, I'm not surprised. I think it's up to the cable companies to address that one!
The body of the machine is a little thicker than my regular dvd player but not by much and looks attractive (I have the silver one). The mechanism which takes disc in and out does have the potential to fall apart - if any part of the machine is flimsy that's it. But if you're setting this up in an environment that it'll be used carefully I imagine it'll hold up - at least until the next new gadget comes out!
Overall I'd say you'll like the machine.
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