Panasonic DMR-E55S Progressive Scan DVD Recorder / Player , Silver

by Panasonic

Product Details

Product Manual [2.77mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 16.9 x 3.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001G0FFS
• Item model number: DMR-E55S
• Batteries: 2 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,840 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 4, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description Panasonic's DMR-E55S DVD player/recorder grants unprecedented recording time on double-sided 9.4 GB recordable DVDs--up to 16 hours, or 8 hours per side (and on standard 4.7 GB discs, in EP mode). The DMR-E55S's joint support of DVD-RAM and DVD-R media provides the best of both worlds: DVD-R for the highest compatibility (letting you share video recordings with virtually anyone with a DVD player) and DVD-RAM (for rewritability and benefits like TimeSlip, chasing playback, and simultaneous play and record). DVD-RAM offers the perfect method for recording and rerecording favorite programs--over 100,000 times on the same disc. Using DVD-RAM, you can also edit your videos on a multi-media computer with video editing/production software.

You can take DVD-RAM discs out of their protective cartridges and play them on PCs equipped with a 4.7 GB/9.4 GB DVD-RAM drive or DVD-ROM drive that's compatible with 4.7 GB/9.4 GB DVD-RAM. In addition to an attractive price tag, the feature-rich DMR-E55S offers the benefits of progressive scan video playback (for use with high-definition and HD-ready TVs), MP3 CD playback, enhanced time-shifting, and instant access times.

With instant recording onto a DVD disc, there's no need to have to find blank space, as with a VHS tape. Just press record and the unit will automatically find space on the disc, much like a computer's disk drive. Panasonic's Time Slip feature lets you replay a scene recorded earlier while a program is still in progress, without disrupting the recording process. And chasing playback lets you watch from the beginning a show whose recording is still in progress.

You can easily transfer your favorite VHS tape recordings to space-saving discs. Personal movie libraries and family videos can be archived, preserved, easily cataloged and accessed, and even edited right from the disc.

Input TBC (time base corrector) removes jitter from the input signal, while 3D Y/C separation circuitry precisely separates the luminance (Y) and chrominance (C) portions of the video signal to minimize dot crawl and color smearing caused by interference between the video signal's Y and C color subcomponents. These functions are particularly effective when recording from analog video sources such as a conventional VCR and camcorder. Combined with the 3D DNR applied during playback, the result can be a surprising restoration of image quality from old videocassettes.

About Progressive Scanning
As a player, the DMR-E55K offers a progressive-scan video output for optimum picture quality when viewing a DVD movie on a high-definition or HD-ready TV. With standard interlaced signals (480i), it takes two passes to build one frame of video: first the even scan lines, then the odd. Progressive scanning doubles the scan lines of an interlaced signal by scanning all 525 lines in 1/60 of a second for each full pass. The higher-density video signal creates film-like DVD images with rich detail, extraordinary depth of field, and precise color reproduction.

Connections include component-, composite-, and S-video outputs, multiple composite- and S-video inputs, an optical digital-audio output for surround-sound passthrough to a compatible (Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1) audio/video surround receiver, and RCA stereo analog audio inputs.

What's in the Box
DVD player/recorder, remote control, remote batteries, user's manual, and a stereo analog audio interconnect/composite-video cable.

Product Description

Disc capacity 1 Region playback Compatible only with discs coded for Region 1 and All Regions Progressive scan Yes Switchable 480p/480i Yes Playback formats DVD-Video (NTSC), DVD-RAM, DVD-R, VCD, red book CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 CD Recording formats DVD-RAM, DVD-R Recording capacity Up to 8 hours on a single-sided 4.7 GB DVD-RAM or DVD-R disc; up to 16 hours on a double-sided 9.4 GB DVD-RAM disc Data transfer rate 22.16 Mbps Record features Chasing playback, simultaneous recording/playback, and TimeSlip Aspect ratio control Yes Quick play Yes (QuickView) Multi-angle viewing Yes (with applicable discs) Black-level adjustment Yes Horizontal resolution More than 500 lines Audio DAC 96 kHz/24-bit Chapter preview Yes Frame advance Yes Still/freeze frame Yes Forward/reverse play Yes Multilingual support Yes (English, Spanish, French) Remote control Yes Parental controls Yes Picture zoom Yes Reverse-frame step Yes Slow motion Yes Audio outputs 1 stereo analog (left/right), 2 digital (1 optical, 1 coaxial) Audio inputs 3 stereo analog (left/right) Audio encoding Dolby Digital 2.0 compression (similar in quality to MP3) Bilingual recording Yes (DVD-RAM only; can record the main and sub-audio channels of multiplex broadcasting programs) Video outputs 3 (composite-, component-, and S-video) Video inputs 3 composite, 3 S-video Video encoding MPEG2 using Real-Time VBR (variable bit rate) technology CPRM recording ability Yes (programs coded for Content Protection for Recordable Media, or CPRM, permit the recording of first-generation copies only) Surround-sound output Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel passthrough Dynamic-range compression Yes (on playback with Dolby Digital soundtracks) Power input AC 120V, 60 Hz Power consumption Around 26 watts (3.2 watts in power save mode) Energy Star compliant Yes Item width 16.9 inches Item height 3.125 inches Item depth 11.2 inches

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High-quality DVD recorder, November 9, 2004

By 

Gadgester "No Time, No Money" (Mother Earth) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-E55S Progressive Scan DVD Recorder / Player , Silver (Electronics)

This Panasonic DVD-R recorder is the best way to get started on DVD recording. This is not to say this is a "basic" unit. It has lots of features like time slipping. But I'm the kind of VCR users who never went beyond basic playback, recording, and programmed recording. The Panasonic is very easy to use, esp. if you already know how to use a VCR. If you want to get sophisticated, the advanced featuers are there for you to play with.

What's important is the Panasonic works very well. I transfered my old VHS tapes to DVD-R, and all the discs burned without a hitch. I also record a couple TV shows on the machine, and it's never failed me. Panasonic was the first company to come out with DVD recorders and the maturity of this product means it's also reliable.

Yes, this model is identical internally to the black DMR-E55K model. I personally prefer silver.

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Consider the highly improved replacement, Panasonic DMR-ES10, March 19, 2005

By 

avoraciousreader (Somewhere in the Space Time Continuum) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-E55S Progressive Scan DVD Recorder / Player , Silver (Electronics)

The Panasonic DMR-E55 is highly rated, but with some limitations, and I was considering getting one. But Panasonic just came out with a replacement, the DMR-ES10, which not only fixes most of the problems/limitations of the E55 but is also a mind-bendingly reasonable $200 list price. It just hit the shelves a few days ago, and I was lucky enough to be there at the right time and ended up with a unit. I love it. See the review I'm writing under the ES10.

Even if you find a good deal on a used/refurbished/closeout E55, you might at least want to consider the ES10 for its improved functionality.

[I gave the E55 a 4* rating to avoid skewing the ratings. I've noticed that when people don't rate a product, that counts as 0 *'s]

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Recorder is VERY flaky, December 1, 2004

By 

E. Park - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-E55S Progressive Scan DVD Recorder / Player , Silver (Electronics)

I bought this DVD player over the summer in the hope of burning DVDs for programs that had been originally recorded on TiVo or VHS tapes.

I found the device for the most part to be relatively intuitive. The process of recording is straightforward. The recorder can record onto DVD-R (basically, record once) discs. I stayed away from using DVD-RAM discs because they are expensive and not widely used.

Recording onto a DVD-R disc is a 2-step process:
1. you record 1 or more tracks
2. at some point, you finalize the disc. When you finalize the disc, the disc is no longer writable, and you are able (theoretically) to play the finalized disc in any DVD-R compatible player

I was, initially, quite happy with the product, until we started to run into problems.

A huge issue is that the recorder occasionally craps out when you are recording tracks. Once it craps out, you can't finalize the disc, which means you either can only play it on this recorder or not at all.

Here are the specific problems I've run into:
1. For one disc (TDK), the recorder can play the disc but can't finalize it. So I am stuck with only being able to play it on this recorder. That's bad. The disc also skips in the same places during playback
2. Another disc (TDK) skips in the same places every time during playback. We were able to finalize the disc, but the skipping is annoying
3. For another disc (Memorex), the recorder crapped out while I was trying to set the thumbnail clip for a particular track. Now the recorder says the disc is empty. I can't even play the tracks I've already recorded on the recorder. The sad thing is I already deleted those tracks from TiVo (which is what I use to record TV programs), so now those tracks are lost.

I ran into problems #1 and #2 using TDK DVD-R discs. So I bought a different brand of disc (Memorex), but I ran into the problem #3 using a Memorex DVD-R disc. My strong impression now is that it is the recorder that is the problem, not the discs. Believe me, I wanted this recorder to not be the problem. It's affordable and like I said earlier, fairly user-friendly, and I don't like wasting time with the learning curve of a new device.

Once the recorder hoses the DVD-R disc, it seems extremely difficult to get the data back. I tried a bunch of Windows programs (e.g. Isobuster) with no luck. I even tried some command-line utilities on Linux.

If you purchase or own this device, my strong advice to you is to only record 1 or 2 programs before finalizing. And don't delete your original copies until after you've finalized the disc. Obviously, you shouldn't have to worry about not being able to finalize. You should be able to record as many tracks as you want until the disc is near full. But my experience is that you increase the likelihood of hosing the disc irreparably.

Do a search on "Panasonic can't finalize" and you'll see lots of other Panasonic recorder owners who have run into similar problems like I've described.

Problem #3 caused me to lose clips that I REALLY want to have. I am going to have to resort to paying a company to try to recover the data, which isn't cheap.

As a last piece of advice, if you can afford it, I recommend that you get a -RW or +RW recorder. Since researching the problems, I've read a lot of stuff on the Internet that say that the process of finalizing discs is fraught with issues, regardless of the recorder manufacturer.

I did call Panasonic customer service, and they were entirely unhelpful. They got value out of the call (by collecting marketing information about me: where I live, my name, when I bought it) but they were entirely unhelpful. The CSR said there is no way to recover the data. Their simple advice was: use only Panasonic DVD-R discs. That's garbage, and this whole experience was so frustrating I want to spare others my aggravation.