Rating: 
Summary: Saves high quality of digital camcorder recordings to DVD
Review: After purchasing the recorder/player at Best Buy for $999.99 plus 7% tax, I hooked it up easily and was able to figure out the functions fairly easily. I am technically inclined, though.I bought the recorder to transfer video from my digital camcorder via DV cable, also called FireWire or IEEE 1394. The transfer from my Sony DCR-TRV130 is flawless. I transferred video from my camcorder to the hard disk. I edited the video, divided it into programs, and recorded it to a DVD-Video disk, which can play on any DVD player. I've had positive comments from people who've tried it on different systems. The quality is great! A bonus with the system is recording a satellite signal (or any incoming TV signal, for that matter). I use a gold-plated S-video cable to get the best transmission from satellite receiver to the recorder. I have another s-video cable from the recorder to my TV. I'm ecstatic about the quality and the ability to record and play at the same time. In that way, it's similar to TIVO. For me, there's plenty of space to record on the hard drive. Over 8 hours is plenty for me for 'working storage', and reused space for recording all programs nightly. I am considering the 3 year 'warranty' provided through Panasonic. That's above and beyond the 1 year standard warranty. I'm not Mr. Big Bucks, and losing $1,000 plus tax if it fails after the one year standard warranty would be heartbreaking, even though Panasonic does have a good overall reputation in terms of reliability. There are improvements that could be made, but for my needs, it is an excellent fit. There are not component video inputs. I don't have component video out on my satellite receiver, so I could care less. It dubs to DVD-video at real time, which to some people could be seen as too slow. I don't mind. I'm not churning out DVD's by the hundreds. It *does* have component video out, which is great for people who want to take advantage of that feature on the great new televisions coming out. The menus it creates when you create DVD-video are limited, but they are sufficient for any amateur. Your friends will be thrilled to receive a DVD from your which you created on this machine. It is pricy, but it's like TIVO without the ridiculous monthly fee. It doesn't do some features of TIVO, like choosing what programs to record for you based on what you like. Big deal. I can choose for myself. I like lots of controls and freedom to choose explicitly. It's fine for that.
Rating:
Summary: Saves high quality of digital camcorder recordings to DVD
Review: After purchasing the recorder/player at Best Buy for $999.99 plus 7% tax, I hooked it up easily and was able to figure out the functions fairly easily. I am technically inclined, though. I bought the recorder to transfer video from my digital camcorder via DV cable, also called FireWire or IEEE 1394. The transfer from my Sony DCR-TRV130 is flawless. I transferred video from my camcorder to the hard disk. I edited the video, divided it into programs, and recorded it to a DVD-Video disk, which can play on any DVD player. I've had positive comments from people who've tried it on different systems. The quality is great! A bonus with the system is recording a satellite signal (or any incoming TV signal, for that matter). I use a gold-plated S-video cable to get the best transmission from satellite receiver to the recorder. I have another s-video cable from the recorder to my TV. I'm ecstatic about the quality and the ability to record and play at the same time. In that way, it's similar to TIVO. For me, there's plenty of space to record on the hard drive. Over 8 hours is plenty for me for 'working storage', and reused space for recording all programs nightly. I am considering the 3 year 'warranty' provided through Panasonic. That's above and beyond the 1 year standard warranty. I'm not Mr. Big Bucks, and losing $1,000 plus tax if it fails after the one year standard warranty would be heartbreaking, even though Panasonic does have a good overall reputation in terms of reliability. There are improvements that could be made, but for my needs, it is an excellent fit. There are not component video inputs. I don't have component video out on my satellite receiver, so I could care less. It dubs to DVD-video at real time, which to some people could be seen as too slow. I don't mind. I'm not churning out DVD's by the hundreds. It *does* have component video out, which is great for people who want to take advantage of that feature on the great new televisions coming out. The menus it creates when you create DVD-video are limited, but they are sufficient for any amateur. Your friends will be thrilled to receive a DVD from your which you created on this machine. It is pricy, but it's like TIVO without the ridiculous monthly fee. It doesn't do some features of TIVO, like choosing what programs to record for you based on what you like. Big deal. I can choose for myself. I like lots of controls and freedom to choose explicitly. It's fine for that.
Rating: 
Summary: new technology is shaky but well worth it, better than VHS
Review: Although I'm ashamed to say, I did buy this purely on impulse and at time of purchase knew absolutely nothing about DVD-R/DVD-RAM/HDD recording. All I knew was that I HATED VHS quality and I wanted to transfer my VHS to DVD, record shows from my digital cable to DVD, and transfer DVs from my camcorder to DVD. Ok, I love technology (I burn CDs, have an stellar entertainment system, etc) but this tested my patience. After painstakingly reading the manual time and again, I realized that DVD recording is still in it's infancy yet my goals were possible except there were going to be drawbacks. First and foremost, even after you finalize a DVD-R for playback, the DVD-Rs you make using this unit WILL NOT PLAY BACK IN EVERY dvd player...it's too new. DVD-RAM discs will only play back in your unit. The hard drive (known as HDD) allows you to record from TV/cable/VHS/camcorder, store your shows there inside the unit (like a computer) until you want to watch them (as many times as you want), burn them to DVD-R or DVD-RAM, or erase them. There is a limit of recording hours depending on the kind of quality you want (just like VHS) XP is the best quality mode for the hard drive (HDD) and allows 8.5 hours. Then SP (17 hrs), LP (34 hrs), and EP (52 hrs)
With DVD-Rs and DVD-RAM, XP only allows 1 hr and a max of 6 hrs. EP mode is AWFUL!! I only record on XP and I'm still not 100% satisfied with the dvd-r quality but I think that'll improve vas the companies perfect making them (like CD-Rs) Also, once you make a DVD-R, you cannot dub it to make another DVD-R. If you already erased the program from the HDD, you have to go through this long frustrating process involving DVD-RAM to make another copy and quality suffers. Plus, in most cases, you have to play the show/movie/vhs tape/whatever when recording onto HDD & DVD-R...no quick copy except for when I record from my camcorder and occasionally when I use RAM. It doesn't sound like a problem but believe me, it is. You can't use DVD+R or DVD+RW with this unit. I believe those are used with the Philips Recorder. Be careful, it's an easy mistake to make. Also, when recording from VHS (you need your own VCR), I expected the picture to somehow improve once in DVD format but it really didn't. I still love this beautiful machine, though. It's definitely the future of recording, no question. With a little practice, you can easily title your programs, choose a menu color, FF & rewind up to 100X, shorten segments (skip commercials), divide programs, and retain decent clarity unlike VHS. I was able to toss out all those clunky VHS tapes, buy standard DVD cases & even make DVD labels on my computer so that my new DVD-Rs blend in my DVD collection. Right now as of 11/02, DVD-Rs go for about (Money) a piece.
Rating:
Summary: RAM let's you do it all.....
Review: Coolest thing about this product is what RAM lets me do, and I did some research into RAM when purchasing this product and found out that both Hollywood filmmakers and now the military even rely on this stuff. But for personal use, let's say you need to just edit home video that you just shot, you can actually edit the video right on the RAM disc. Whether you actually shot on the disc or dump it from your camcorder, you can edit right there at your TV. It's cool stuff - what happens is that the RAM just 'connects the dots' to the actual segments you want - whether a still photo, video, titles, etc. You just drag and drop them around and put the scenes in the order you like. So this means that you can shoot a movie in your camcorder and then take the RAM disc - if you have a DVD camcorder - or use firewire connection to the HS2 and edit the video. When your done editing, you've never copied or deleted anything - all you have done is tell the machine where to find each one of the scenes on the disk - so all of your raw footage and the 'edited version' are still there! Then if you want you can dump the finished video onto the HS2 hard drive to make millions of copies to cheap DVD-R disc to give to your friends.
And like TIVO (which I love, but see that with machines like this - 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. So check one of these out; there great fun and you'll be happy you broke-up with your VCR...
Rating:
Summary: Sweet!
Review: Easy to use and awesome features. My home movies copied to Hard Drive then to Disk. Awesome. Love it!
Rating: 
Summary: not as slick as you might think
Review: First of all, read the other reviews for the DMR-HS2 - They are pretty informative, and there is no point in listing redundant details.
However, you might also be interested to know why I returned the unit I bought after playing with it for about two weeks. My reason was basically that it will only record onto DVD-R and DVD-RAM discs. If you don't know the difference between DVD-R and DVD+R, I suggest you find out before you plop down the hefty bucks for this machine. From what I have been able to gather, there is no logical reason for it other than to frusrtate and financially milk the consumer. The electronics companies are making the - and + formats to placate the entertainment industry. The - and + discs are not interchangable on most dvd players. If you just want to record VHS and TV onto DVD-R or DVD-RAM discs and ONLY play them on this very particular machine, you might enjoy the HDD feature and be pretty happy with it. If, however, you want to burn DVDs on your computer and play them on the DMR-HS2, you probably won't have much luck - most pc dvd burners use DVD+R. If you want to record tv programs or VHS, and then give copies to friends or play them on a different dvd player, BEWARE - there is a good chance they won't work. The only way around this problem is to have two DVD players hooked up to your TV (one - and one +). I, for one, think that it is a pretty lousy thing to ask consumers to do. Plus, it still won't help your friends out with only one player. I can't help but think there is a conspiracy going on between the electronics and entertainment industries. I was so thrilled to buy the DMR-HS2 since it is the first of it's genre to hit the market, but I urge you to do plenty of research, avoid buying on-line, and put off purchasing something like this until someone offers a more integrated, universal system.
Rating:
Summary: Technical info
Review: First, the DVD-R format is the format most widely supported by DVD players. If you want your discs to be compatible with home DVD players, this is the format of choice. DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM are not compatible with the majority of units meant for home video applications.
Second, there is no "black level bug" with this unit. The manual clearly states that the black level setup for the DMRHS2 is +7.5IRE. Many products have a black level of 0IRE. If the IRE setup of your DVD player and TV are not the same (+7.5IRE for DVD & +7.5IRE for TV, OR 0IRE for dvd & 0IRE for TV, you will have inaccuracies in playback of black and gray shadings. This is not a "bug". It is the result of not having one standard that all manufacturers follow when establishing black level reference points.
Rating:
Summary: At Last!!!! A Hard Disk DVR for everyone, everywhere
Review: For years I had been writing ReplayTV and Tivo about how they could make their DVR units work outside of the USA, just like a regular VCR without the need for schedule service to set the programs. They didn't move on the opportunity but now at last Panasonic has step up to meet the needs of customers who just wanted a VCR without the need for tapes. I have been finding every bit of info that I can find on the HS2 to learn about its features. The HS2 has replaced VHS tape with DVD-R/RAM disc with varying recording capacities from 2 - 12 hours. Great! For backup and permanent storage this is convenient must. However even more powerful is the ability to record to a hard disk for up to 52 hours on a 40 GB disk. The great feature of the HS2 is that it allows users the freedom from have to use or pay for a schedule service for what is just a simply function. I want to record a show every Saturday at 7 PM on channel 16 and store it to hard disk for later viewing. Just what I wanted. The digital manipulation features are nice to have allowing for simple editing for burning to DVD. No way you can go back to VHS. I have a ton of VHS tapes that my wife would just love to see out of the house. Now with the help of the HS2 I can transfer these to DVD and get rid of all those bulky tapes. My only recommendations here are that;
1. The HS2 should be able to play MP3 CDs and should be able to store MP3 music on the hard disk. The playback of MP3s should have an on screen display that give the MP3 file details (artist, song, album art image etc) 2. Panasonic should offer a larger hard disk like 80, 120, 160 or 200 GB upgrades. With even larger disk drives coming easy upgrades should be possible, in fact necessary. Just imagine having hours of TV on tap for each and every member of the family. No.. wait.... that sounds like two units. :) Even with these items outstanding the HS2 is a tremendous advance for the home video recordist. Because the HS2 can be used anywhere in the world where there is a NTSC TV signal it will far exceed the limited competing DVRs. It is a great advance My Christmas list is settled. Thank you Panasonic!
Rating:
Summary: HDD enhances the DVD recorders
Review: I am pleased that I bought this DVD recorder with the HDD (40GB hard drive). The second recording device allows for editing the video prior to finalizing. I suspect that recorders without the hard drive would make it difficult or impossible to edit. The higher price for this unit is worth this feature. I wish that Panasonic would have allowed dubbing from DVD-R or DVD video to the HDD for non-copy-protected programming/video. I am must retain some of my VHS library as back-up in order to make additional copies in the future. Also, the unit does not support high speed dubbing from HDD to DVD-R. This would be a desirable feature.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome machine, if you know how to hook it up
Review: I bought this unit in November. It broke down after one day, when it locked up reading a disc. It took three weeks to get the replacement. It worked (brilliantly) for three weeks. It locked up again after inserting a disc. This time I had to take it to a "factory authorized" service center, which has had it for five weeks. Panasonic apparently has no repair manuals written yet for this unit and are not easily able to supply replacement parts. Calling Panasonic is hopeless -- I got three days worth of busy signals before I got through. Once I got through, they were vague, evasive, and unhelpful. As of today, it sits in repair shop limbo, with no sign of being repaired, replaced, or returned. Recommendation? Buy this only if you have money to burn and do not have the patience to wait until the bugs are worked out!
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