Panasonic DMR-EA38VK Tunerless 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13.6 x 17 x 3.3 inches ; 11.7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 16 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0014FDA2U
• Item model number: DMR-EA38VK
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #36,189 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

  #51 in

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

• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2003

Product Description

Product Description

NEW! Progressive Scan DVD Recorder with VHS VCR, 1080p Up-Conversion, HDMI Simple Connection, VIERALink(TM), SD Memory Card Slot, USB Terminal and Super Multi-Format Recording & Playback

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice unit, but not much improved over older model, May 20, 2008

By	K. Anderson (Goleta, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-EA38VK Tunerless 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder (Electronics)

I purchased this product because my older model Panasonic just bit the dust. I was reluctant to purchase another Panasonic because the other model lasted just over a year. But Consumer Reports rated some other Panasonic models very highly so I thought maybe it was just a fluke that my older model died so soon.
Aother reason that I bought another Panasonic was because I didn't want to have to learn an entire new system for recording. I record a LOT of movies on DVD so I wanted to replace my broken model post haste.
That being said, I have a few comments about the "new and improved" model.
My older model Panasonic was the DMR-ES45V, this new model is almost identical with the exception of the HDMI interface. Here are some functions the older model had, that was NOT carried over to the new model:
Title Name Save - On the older model you could enter a title name and save it to memory on the unit. This feature was very handy if you burned several episodes of a program of the same name OR if you wanted the title name and the DVD name to be the same. It saved having to re-type the same title over again.
Title Name PReview - You used to be able to preview the title name as you typed so you could see how it would look in the title window on the finalized disc. This was a cool feature because if you just type the title in, it can (and usually does) cut words off half way through and continue on the next line. Not having this feature makes the title harder to read, and it looks cheesy.
Some new features include:
Cable box control - This feature will allow the DVD/VHS recorder to control the cable box by changing it to the appropriate channel for a scheduled recording.
Chapter preview - On the older model the chapters were not organized until AFTER the disc was recorded and finalized. Now you can preview the chapters beforehand.
Quick start - This feature allows you the option of turning the unit on faster by remaining in kind of a "stand by" mode, OR saving power with slower start up
Faster disc finalization.
No need to pre-format a disc before recording.
I know there are some other new features, but I have not had a chance to explore all of them.

FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS: Overall this unit is not very difficult to use. I know I was recording soon after scanning the instructions, and learned the advanced features after using the unit for a few days. It is VERY easy to use for straight forward recording to DVD from VHS, Camcorder, cable box, etc. Setup is VERY easy.
The remote is supposed to control your TV and cable box, but this is a worthless feature. To controll the TV you have to press the RETURN key while holding down the TV Power key. To switch to the controlling the cable box you need to press the RETURN key while holding down the channel UP key. Sounds simple, but switching between the two either turns the TV/cable box on/off or changes the the channel on the TV/cable box unexpectedly. And after all this the only TV/cable box functions offered on the remote are channel change and volume control! So plan on using seperate remotes.
Other than that I like the unit, just hope that this one last longer than the last one did!
Ken

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great machine, November 2, 2008

By	L. Scott "Watchmaker" (VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-EA38VK Tunerless 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder (Electronics)

I bought this recorder for the purpose of transferring all of my old family VHS tapes to DVD. Since I got it, I have used it practically around the clock with no problems whatsoever. I primarily use -R and -R/W, but I've used all formats in DVD's and only one +R had a problem with a different brand player and I believe that was a fault of the other machine. I have used about every feature on this unit and all work as specified in the user manual. It is very easy to set up and use, just as you would expect from Panasonic. My only suggestion would be to read the manual first, perform the easy setup, and enjoy!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DMR-EA38VK Great Picture but..., September 16, 2008

By	J. Babcock (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-EA38VK Tunerless 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder (Electronics)

I bought this model (DMR-EA38VK) about a month ago. It has a beautiful picture on a CRT type television. (Don't know about flat panels 'cuz I don't have one). I've burned DVD+R DL discs, DVD-R & DVD-RW. All work great in my other DVD player. I have one issue though. The DVD+R DL won't play on Windows Media Player or Media Center. I can see the menu but when I click play nothing happens. The -R & -RW discs work fine. I tried it using several other computer media players & they all work fine (Nero Showtime, Power DVD & GOM Player). I did a search on the web for this issue, but it seems like so far there is nothing.

Still over-all I'm pretty happy with my DMR-EA38VK & give it 4 1/2 stars (outta 5)