Panasonic DMR-ES20S DVD Recorder Silver

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 3.5 x 16.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000ASBKJ2
• Item model number: DMR-ES20S
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,784 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #30 in Electronics > Televisions & Video > DVD Players & Recorders > DVD Recorders
  • #67 in Electronics > Televisions & Video > DVD Players & Recorders > DVD Players

Product Description

Color: Silver

Amazon.com Product Description

Record your home movies and your favorite TV programs easily to DVD disc with the Panasonic DMR-ES20 progressive scan recorder/player, which can record to write-once DVD+R and DVD-R media or rewritable DVD-RW and DVD-RAM discs (the latter being a great choice for temporary storage of recorded material as it can be rewritten more than DVD-RW). It's easy to record TV programming with the built-in analog TV tuner with RF pass-through and seven-day electronic programming guide (EPG). In addition to standard DVD movie and CD audio discs and its compatible recordable formats, the DMR-ES20 can play back DVD+RW, CD-R/RW, VCD, JPEG, and MP3.

Panasonic's Time Slip function consists of two features designed to give you added flexibility and control when making DVD recordings: Chasing Playback and Simultaneous Record & Play. With Chasing Playback, you don't have to wait for an entire program to be recorded before watching it from beginning to end. This feature allows you to watch a program that's currently being recorded from any point that's already been recorded--while continuing to record the live program in progress. Simultaneous Record & Play allows you to record a program onto a disc while simultaneously watching any other program that's previously been recorded on the same disc.

You can set your recorder to one of five different recording speeds, each varying in recording quality and length. EP mode yields the most recording time, LP & SP modes provide less recording time with higher quality recording, and XP mode gives you the highest quality recording. There's also the FR (Flexible Recording) mode that lets you record with the best picture quality possible for the recording time and remaining space on the disc.

The Direct Navigator feature makes it easy to find a previously recorded program on a disc. A list of recording dates, times, channels and (user-entered) titles are shown on screen. With the Playlist Playback function, you can perform simple non-linear video editing using, such as rearranging the order of scenes, skipping over unwanted scenes, or copying selections

Jump directly to any spot on a disc and begin playback or recording right away with the Rapid Random Access function. Even if there is no sequential area of empty space available, this DVD recorder can record data on available space throughout the rest of the disc. You will also avoid searching for a blank spot to start recording, or accidentally recording over desired material.

It offers an optical digital audio output for Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound and a Firewire (also known as IEEE1394 or i.Link) for direct connection to a digital video camcorder. This recorder/player also offers the following connection options:

• Composite video Input: 2 (1 front)
• Composite audio (L/R) Input: 2 pair (1 front)
• S-Video Input: 2 (1 front)
• RF Input: 1

What's in the Box
DVD recorder/player, remote control (with batteries), AV cable, RF cable, power cord, printed operating instructions

Product Description

Watch your favorite TV shows or save your precious home movies on compact on durable DVD discs. This recorder is easy to use with User-friendly features that make it even easier to use with superior picture quality and playback. You can record to a permanent, write-once DVD-R disc or erasable, rewriteable DVD-RW disc. Use DVD-Rs for programs you want to keep forever, like a favorite TV series. DVD-RAMs are perfect for shows you want to watch once or twice and then erase. You can do all that while watching the start of the program while recording. 4x Natural Gradation 2x LP Horizontal Resolution (500 Lines) 1 Second Quick Start for Recording Plays pre-recorded DVD's & CD's Chasing playback allows you to watch the start of a program while recording Non-linear editing MP3 Playback 2 CH DVD-Audio Playback Records on DVD-RAM & lower cost DVD-R Will make discs that will play in most existing DVD players Simultaneous playback while recording is possible Uses the single layer 4.7GB DVD-R system and DVD-RAM 4.7GB systems Records in real-time using MPEG2 compression, Up to 8 hours per disc Quick recording function automatically finds the blank part of the disc Variable Data rate settings Flexible recording mode for optimized bitrate Built-in time base corrector that delivers highly stable, natural images Front A/V input Full RGB in and out IEEE1394 Firewire Port Flexible recording mode allows you to manually a time for recording and the player will set the best possible bit rate NTSC Progressive Scan Output Region R1 Compatible Playable Formats - DVD-RAM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD Video, VCD CD-R, VCD CD-RW, MP3 CD Recording Formats - DVD-RAM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R Video & Audio Recording system - MPEG2 (Hybrid-VBR) & Dolby Digital 2ch Power consumption - 23W Dimensions - Width 430mm x Height 63mm x Depth 337mm Weight - 3.5 kg

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great recorder for use with Tivo, October 15, 2005

By 

Electronic Gadgetphile (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-ES20S DVD Recorder Silver (Electronics)

I needed something to offload my Tivo recordings onto and searched the various reviews for a good quality unit that would record and play in multiple formats. Rather quickly I narrowed it down to Panasonic (Sony had some attractive offerings but I am concerned about their obsessive digital rights management and so they were taken off my list) focusing on their ES10S model but found that it had been replaced by the ES20S. Some Googling revealed that the most significant differences appeared to be in fewer outputs on the newer model plus the addition of a cooling fan. Since I was planning on rather limited applications this was not an issue so I popped for the ES20S. After having used it for 3 weeks I must say that I am impressed overall with recording of DVD-R and DVD-RW discs. I also found that I did need to read the instructions to obtain the results I desired - most specifically finalizing the disc after recording so that you can play it in most any other player. I now prefer recording with the DVD-RW in the 4 hour format and can usually get 2 Tivo movies on one disc that play well on my laptop. The remote is very good and can be coded to operate with my Sony XBR WEGA TV. I would have given it five stars if the user interface had been a bit more intuitive but overall I am very pleased and would purchase the same recorder today if I had to do it all over again.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works like a charm!, January 17, 2006

By 

herman17 (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-ES20K DVD Recorder Black (Electronics)

I bought this unit to save programs from TIVO - my Onkyo 6DVD Changer is about the most sensitive / intolerant units to burned CDs/DVDs there is - so I was really concerned, if the burned DVDs would work. The answer is: THEY DO! Reading some of the other reviews, the feeling I get is "forgot to finalize". There is a "Finalize" menu function (I admit it's somewhat burried in the manual), which closes out the DVD and makes it ready to be played on other devices. Used Memorex DVD+R disk, saved two shows of "24" from TIVO to disk, finalized: works like a charm on the Onkyo, works great on my PC, great picture quality.... what else do you need?!!!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's fast and fun. Go get one., December 31, 2005

By 

tomanystraydogs "please spay and neuter" (LoCal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-ES20S DVD Recorder Silver (Electronics)

This is my first DVD recorder. I have used VCR's for the past 20 years so that's what I am used to.

My current over worked 5 year old VCR started to act up, so I started looking for a replacement and decided to go with the Panasonic DMR-ES20. The price was right, $180 at Circuit City.

I needed 3 things; to replace my aging VCR, to dub old VCR tapes I made before they deteriorate (some 20 years old) and to archive video shot from my digital video camera on an almost daily basis.

I won't talk much about the quality of recordings because my source (Adelphia cable) is so bad. Thankfully Time-Warner is supposed to take over early in '06.

My equipment and hookup: Panasonic DMR-ES20 DVD Recorder, Panasonic 27" standard TV, Panasonic PV-V4540 VCR , Panasonic DVD-RV27 DVD Player, Adelphia basic cable (no box). The ES20 will replace the VCR and DVD Player. I split the cable, one directly to the TV, the other to the ES20. S-Video from the ES20 to the TV since that's the best hookup this TV has.

Tuner. Yes, it has one. I think it's a bit weaker than the TV's tuner which is weaker than the tuner in the VCR. Probably won't matter if you have a good signal.

I have read reviews that state you cannot change channels using the numbers on the remote. Yes you can but you have to hit the 'Enter' key if you only enter 2 digits and it's a long reach from the numbers for my thumb. Also, the TV and VCR change channels instantly when surfing using the up/down buttons. The ES20 has a delay. It's not as slow as satellite though.

Playing. I popped in Spider-Man 2. Looked great to me, black level really good. My current player, the Panasonic DVD-RV27, has some features this recorder does not, the most notable instant replay and position memory. The position memory allows me to hit a button, then the next time I play that DVD it starts at that spot. This recorder does have a nice 1.3x speed playback. The benefit is that the audio is still understandable. It also has a 1 minute skip feature, good for passing over commercials instantly.

Recording. Let the fun begin. You can use DVD-RAM or the other non-ram formats it supports. I will be using both depending on what I am doing.

I plan on using non-ram for archiving from my camcorder and for dubbing old vcr tapes. I will be using the -R format as I will not need to write over them. They are permanent and that's what I need. They should also be very compatible with most other players.

Recording starts within 1 second of hitting the record button. It will not record over anything currently on the disk, it automatically finds empty space, instantly. No need to worry about recording over something.

I bought some Philips DVD-R disks for about $1 a piece. I dubbed a couple of classics (Near Dark and The Hidden) I taped off of Cinemax 18 years ago onto 1 disk using LP mode. When you start to record a new title is created. You can change the title, change the thumbnail, and add a disk name. I saw no way to add chapters. However, when I finalized the disk (it took 4 minutes) chapters were created automatically at 5 minute intervals. CNET's claim in it's review that you cannot create chapters is a bit misleading. You cannot do it, but the recorder does it automatically when the disc is finalized. I then tried playing this disk in a memorex player and a symphonic player. Worked just fine.

Using DVD-RAM gives the most options. The disks are about $2 a piece, not bad considering the claim you can record over them thousands of times. You can add chapters after you record. While playing you can hit the 'create chapter' button on the remote and it instantly creates a chapter. While playing you can hit the 'erase' button on the remote and it instantly erases (it asks for confirmation) that title. You can combine adjacent chapters. You can delete chapters. So, you could make a commercial break a chapter, then delete it. No more commercial.

Coming from the world of VCR's, a DVD-RAM recorder definitely has some benefits. I no longer have to find a spot on the tape to record a tv show on, the DVD-RAM does it automatically and instantly. Just hit the record button, it does the rest. It tells you how much time if left based on your recording mode. LP mode gives you 4 hours and is fine for cable / sat recording.

I have always had vcr's that had indexing. The difference now is instead of waiting for the tape to move forward or backward, it's instant.

You can view 6 titles or 12 chapters of a title at a time using the Navigator. Which ever title or chapter you have selected in the Navigator plays while the others are static. You can also easily erase these using the erase button on the remote (it asks for confirmation) without diving into a sub menu.

The time slip and chasing playback are really interesting and easy to use. You can watch something you already recorded while you are currently recording something else. I know, sounds odd, but it's handy. I was recording an episode of Boston Legal at night and while that was happening I was able to watch the episodes of ER I had recorded earlier. If I choose to I could stop watching the ER episodes and start watching the Boston Legal episode while it was recording, from any spot in the episode. Very nice.

Now, for some things I don't like or am not used to.

It does not display record, play, pause, FF, etc.. on the TV screen like a vcr does. I hit record but have to look at the ES10 or hit the status button to see if it's actually recording.

Can't add chapters while recording, have to wait until it's done.

There is a 10 second delay adding chapters. It adds them instantly when while you are playing, but when you hit stop there is a 10 second delay. I only notice this after I have added a chapter so I assume that's what it is.

The remote is a bit cumbersome. To change channels using the numbers you have to hit the 'enter' button and it's not near the numbers. The erase and create chapter buttons are next to each other and feel the same. The record button feels the same as the buttons around it. I like to work the remote by feel without looking at it or having to turn on a light.

To flip between title and chapter views you have to go into a sub menu.

Summary. I really like it. Last year I paid $125 for my dvd player, now I paid just $55 more for a recorder. Unlike a unit with just a hard drive, I can pop these disks out and save them forever if I choose. Camcorder plugs in easily with the front DV input. It's easy to use just like a vcr but with many more benefits. It's fast and fun. Go get one.

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