Can edit out comercials on Hdd or DVD RAM, and copy dvd ram to hdd, then record from hdd to dvd-r. can watch a program recorded on hdd, while recording. records XP-1hr, sp-2hr, lp-4hr, and flex record (fit to disk if less than full recording than 1hr, 2hr, or 4hr. Well recommend Panasonic DMR-E80H.

I bought the Panasonic DMR-E80H for $550 in 2004. I had it in the repair shop three times under warranty. The hard drive has been replaced, as well as the transport system. Now, after it warms up, everything freezes. This is a piece of junk. I've had a lot of systems and this one is at the bottom of the barrel. It's going in the trash. I just ordered the Pioneer DVR-640H-S, which has more features and has everyone raving in the reviews. Stay away from Panasonic...

Does any one know how to connect the Panasonic DMT-E80H DVD recorder to a VHR so that you can record? I have just decided to put all of my VHS tapes on disk and completely get rid of them and the VHS unit. I have connected it so that I can view them, but they won't record any information. Any help would be appreciated. Please could you leave a comment if you can help? Thanks.

The Panasonic DMR-E80H Hard Drive recorder is very easy to use and wonderfully versatile after a VCR. The time slip function is indispensable as are many of the other features.

I would agree that this Panasonic DVD recorder is quite buggy out-of-box. HOWEVER, since I updated the device's firmware, available off of Panasonic's web site, I have been extremely pleased with my purchase of this *refurbished* DVD recorder.
Although I consider myself fairly savvy using the PC, I value the convenience this machine has to offer when it comes to recording shows and dumping them to DVD. There were a couple of times I had to refer to the manual, but overall I have found the machine fairly easy to understand.
I love the ability to just select shows from the TV Guide menu that I want to record. But BEWARE - the TV Guide needs to update every couple of nights, and the only way to do this is to leave the machine off overnight.
The high speed dubbing is GREAT - I always record shows at the quality that I think I'll want them to be when I dump them to DVD. For instance, if I want to put four hour-long episodes on a DVD using LP quality, I make it a point to record the shows from the TV to the hard drive at LP.
TWO MORE BUYER-BEWARE POINTS
1. I do not own digital cable myself, but it is my understanding that, when hooking this machine up through a digital cable or satellite receiver, that many shows that are broadcast - such as HBO's line-up - are set to prevent you from the ability to copy the show to a DVD. Personally, I use the unit's built-in TV tuner and, when recording from classic cable as I do, there are no DVD-burning issues.
2. A DVD recorder like this one may not be suitable for high-definition programs. Even at the best picture quality, the unit only records at a 480-line resolution (low definition) - and I am not aware of a way to use all 480 lines of resolution when recording a wide-screen movie when I record a wide-screen program to the Panasonic.

I have owned the Panasonic DMR-E80H for a little over a year and have had nothing but problems with it. The hard drive quit working months ago and even reformatting it didn't help. So now it's basically just an in-line recorder to dub VHS tapes to DVDs and even that doesn't work well. Constant errors making the DVD-R's useless. Don't buy this product, horrible service and vastly over priced.

I have had the Panasonic DMR-E80H for a few weeks now and have already got to the point where I could not live with out it. I have had DVD players for a 4 or 5 years now, so all my movies are on disk. My VCR has been redundant for the last few years and I can't even remember the last time that I bought a tape. But this led to an expensive problem. When there was a show on TV that I really wnated to see or keep, I could never find a tape and as I was used to DVD quality figured there wasn't much point in keeping it on VHS anyway. SO I wouldn't bother watching it and would wait until its DVD release.

Sorry guys, those days are gone. On the current mode I am getting just under 40 hours recording time on the HDD. Picture and sound quality seem identical to that at broadcast level. Edit out all the bits you dont need (frame acurate) and burn to DVD-R. Finalise the disk and there you have the stuff to keep.

Already I have transered my Wedding video, the stuff of the kids parties and birthdays etc to dvd, just by plugging the camcorder into the front of the deck and hitting the record button. Again the quality matched the original and as I now have a digital copy that will not degenerate.

I had originally looked at picking up one of the cheap DVD-recorders for about £150, but figured it would be too much effort to record stuff to disk, rip it to a PC, edit it then burn it again. The extra money for the HDD is worth the investment. The TimeSlip featre is superb. Watching a program when the phone rings and you end up missing the rest of the show? Just hit record and as soon as you have finished the call you can carry on watchin from where you left off, even while the rest of the nights entertainment is being recorded.

As a dvd player the unit is great. It has played all the media that I have thrown at it, even some very cheap DVD+Rs that won't play on most of my other machines.

The only things that I wish Panasonic had included was a DV-in so I could transfer from my mini-DV camcorder in pure digital and some sort of EPG to give it a Sky+ simplicity to record from TV, but overall these are minor niggles.

The User Guide isn't the friendliest document I have ever seen, but the actual functions of the unit are fairly logical, so unless you are a complete technophobe, you should get to grips with this fairly quickly. At first look the remote control is also a little busy, and would have benefited from a little more design work, but it is functional and only takes a little getting used to.

In sort, while the idea of a DVD-Recorder is good the limitations of a regualr VCR are still there. In many cases, DVD-Recorders probably have more limitations with diferent formats, some machines unable to use re-Writable disks etc. If you're serious about going for a DVD-Recorder, go for the HDD - It will make your life so much easier!

I've been an owner of the DMR-E80H for seven months. As of the time of this writing, the deck is in the shop for the DVD drive portion. (DVDs don't 'track up'). The deck has been in the shop for over two weeks, waiting on a part.
The repair is evidentally under warranty, but I suspect Panasonic will not pay me for the hassle of getting the thing fixed.
Comments on the performance of the deck (while it was working):
The hard disk is a great feature. At a SP speed, one can record around 40 hours of programming. Unfortunately, the number of discrete recordings are limited to 250, so if one is normally taping a great number of short events to be used for editing, this limit can be rather frustrating.
The unit can also record DVD-R and DVD-RAM type of disks, both of which can take their material from the hard disk. This allows one to perform some rudimentary editing of video material
I have been able to successfully (when the DVD portion was working) 'finalize' a DVD and then use it on a standard DVD deck. NOTE: prior to finalizing, the DVD is readable only by the DMR-E80H.
In normal use, the latency between pressing a button on the remote and observing the concomitant response from the deck can be annoying, although this delay is not unique to the DMR-E80H (I have a Toshiba deck that also takes time to respond).
There is a feature that allows one to label recorded programs, but every time I use it I keep wishing I had a computer-style keyboard to type in the title, rather than the up and down arrows on the remote. While it might not be used by everyone, it seems to me that a connector that accomodated a PC-type keyboard would make for a much more efficient means of typing in a title. I bet that the software has some hidden support for such an application, but this is not available to the casual user (note to Panasonic marketing types).

My brother has owned a Panasonic DMR-E80H for 6 months, and he is a fussy guy, who always complains, about every item he purchases. He LOVES, litteraly this machine, and he gives it a 10, without any reservation.

I bought this Panasonic DMR-E80H DVD Recorder in good faith thinking the operation manual will take into consideration its uses as described (recorder). I've called Panasonic several times to ask if they could send me a diagram on how to set it up with my equiptment and they told me they couldn't help me!!! If anyone out there can help me please feel free to contact me by e-mail.
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