Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder with Built In Tuner

Other products by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13.6 x 17 x 3.3 inches ; 11.7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 16 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0014F9U6U
• Item model number: DMR-EZ485VK
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,314 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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  Electronics > Televisions & Video > Disc Players & Recorders > DVD Recorders

• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 21, 2008

Product Description

Product Description
The Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK DVD recorder is capable of receiving both digital and analog broadcasts. Even when digital signals drop out because of interference with direct signal access, which makes the picture either disappear or become filled with block noise, the Digital Tuner still produces a beautiful picture. Just slip the SD card into the slot or use the cable to connect the camera to the USB terminal, and you're ready to enjoy a spectacular big-screen slideshow with family and friends. You can even listen to music recorded onto a USB device while viewing your photos. Connect your Panasonic DVD recorder to a flat-panel HDTV via an HDMI cable and the TV channel setting information is automatically downloaded to the recorder. Once the Auto Preset Download is complete, the DVD recorder will keep whichever TV channel you're watching as its receiving channel. This means you can record the program you're watching by just pressing the Record button on the VIERA remote. With VIERALink, you don't have to worry about setting the recorder to the right channel every time you want to record something. Frequently used buttons, such as Power and Open/Close, are located at the top of the main unit (this makes them easier to see when the unit is placed in a rack, where you need to look down when operating it). SD Image File Format - JPEG conforming DCF Image File Number of Pixels - 34 x 34 to 6,144 x 4096 Inputs and Outputs - 2x LINE (pin jack) Analog Audio (2 Ch) Input, 2x Line (pin jack) Video In, DV Input Terminal, 2x S Connector S-Video In, Built-in SD Card Slot, 1x LINE (pin jack) 2ch Audio Out, Component Video Out (Y, PB, PR) 1080i/720p/480p/480i, 1x S Connector S-Video Outputs, and Optical Digital Audio Out (Dolby Digital, DTS, and PCM), 2x LINE (pin jack) Video Out Dimensions - Height 3-5/16 x Width 16-15/16 x Depth 13-5/8 Weight - 11.90 pounds

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

170 of 173 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME MACHINE!, March 27, 2008

By	Barry (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

The auto scan flawlessly found all the analog and unscrambled digital channels offered by Comcast in my area. It does not have an HD tuner but does capture the widescreen 16:9 signals. If you record on DVD-RAM (not -R, -RW, +R, or +RW) it will record the widescreen picture. Three added bonuses for using DVD-RAM are "Chasing Playback," which allows you to watch a program from the beginning while the machine continues to record the remainder of it; more editing options; and the ability to selectively erase individual programs from the disc and then record new shows in the deleted space. You can find 10-packs of Panasonic DVD-RAMs online (item #LM-AF120LU10) for about $19; Amazon has a 5-pack (LM-AF120LU5) for about $10. The discs are rated for 100,000 re-recording cycles, versus about 1,000 for R/RW! Don't expect to find them in stores (which baffles me).

I found the menus and remote control to be quite intuitive. This is also the quietest DVD recorder I have used. The machine is loaded with features, including upconversion all the way to 1080p if you use the HDMI connection. One of its best capabilities is that Panasonic engineered the 4-hour LP recording speed of the DVD drive to provide the same playback quality as the 2-hour SP speed! No, the VHS recorder does not record digital broadcasts, but who cares with the great playback quality of the DVD drive? I'm using the VHS to dub my old tapes over to DVD.

We interrupt this review for a helpful note...a couple years ago I learned from personal experience (and a Comcast technician) that digital signals are more "fragile" than analog ones. My first lesson occurred when I was connecting my new Panasonic HDTV. Some of the digital channels were very unstable and would cycle between displaying and going to black, or showed significant digital artifacts. That problem was caused by my brand new high end surge suppressor, which included f-jacks for cable protection. The suppressor's internal cable protection circuitry altered the signal slightly, causing the problem. The tech connected the TV directly to the cable wall outlet, bypassing the suppressor, and the signal was perfect. (Note: always plug your AC power cords into a surge suppressor!) I had to recall my second lesson when hooking up my DMR-EZ48V. At first, a couple of the digital sub-channels in my area (21.1, 33.3) could not be received. I remembered that I had used an existing push-on type coax for my cable connection from the wall outlet to the machine. My bad. I replaced it with one of the cables the Comcast tech had made for me for future use, with screw on f-connectors, and all reception was perfect! We return now to my review of the DMR-EZ48V...

I have not seen any digital artifacts during playback on my Panasonic HDTV. The instruction manual gives you details for tweaking the machine and fixing many possible problems (I had none) by using the large array of accessible menu options. This machine may not be right for a technophobic individual, but for an enthusiast it is great!

101 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a DVD recorder that actually works, April 6, 2008

By	Kinetic "Kinetic" (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

Finally a DVD recorder that actually works and is pretty easy to operate. Thus far I have tried recording from VHS to DVD several times with out any problems. One just can not beat the two button recording sequence. You press the specified VHS->DVD record button located on the front of the unit then you either press the record button to play until the DVD is maxed out and finalize the recording automatically or the play button that will allow you to stop the recording, finalize at a later time, add VHS content from another VHS tape, etc. My pops that is not tech savvy at all has managed to work the unit. He is smiling that he can now convert his 20 year old VHS tapes to DVD

A must have is DVD-RAM discs. Allows one to tape broadcast content to view at a later time then delete and record again. I am still trying to find a PC program that will allow me to take DVD-RAM content and edit it on a PC. I have tried Adobe Premiere without any results (does not recognize the file format. If anyone knows please advise.

Update 11/21/2008 After many months of use I can say that the unit has worked very well for the purpose that we purchased it: Transferring homemade VHS tapes to DVD. First the footage is transferred to a DVD-RAM disc. (I purchased a pack of 5 and have only used 2 that still work). I have used with great success the authoring software called: TMPGEnc Authoring Works. It allowed me to take the raw unedited footage that was transfered from the VHS to the DVD-RAM disc then using TMPGEnc Authoring Works to edit footage and then burn it on a regular DVD.

It is also a decent VHS and DVD player.

188 of 196 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Be Wary If Transferring VHS, May 12, 2008

By	Careful Reviewer - See all my reviews

I purchased this mainly to transfer home movies. Unfortunately, Panasonic has decided that it knows better than you do. They have programmed the machine to divide recordings whenever a break in the video occurs. This means that your two-hour home video is going to be automatically divided into about 16 parts and there is no option to disable it. Each division causes a loss in the beginning of the next part.

You will have to plug a separate VCR into the unit to be certain of uninterrupted recording. Of course, you might as well buy any DVD recorder if you are going to do that and pay much less. The DVD recording quality is good - as good as just about any other recorder.

Too bad: Panasonic built a good concept, but they forgot to give the consumer the freedom to decide how to record.