Early Adopters Pick: July 2003. This DVD recorder features the industry's largest included hard drive--120 GB.
The Panasonic DMR-E100HS not only records DVDs and holds more than 100 hours of audio/video programming in its built-in memory--it also boasts a built-in SD card slot for reading and writing MPEG2 and MPEG4 video. Now you can copy TV shows or archived video footage to portable media that will play in a laptop, camera, or other device. And guess what? This technological wonder is also a progressive-scan DVD player that's equipped to handle DVDs, CDs, and MP3-encoded discs.
The DMR-E100HS's 120 GB hard drive (HDD) provides up to 150 hours of recording time, plus you can write up to 6 hours of programming to removable 4.7 GB DVD-RAM discs (in Extended Play mode in each case), thanks to Panasonic's original Hybrid VBR (variable bit rate) technology. This puppy would seem to have written the book on flexibility, letting you play back recorded programs--from DVD-RAM or HDD--while watching another program on DVD-RAM or HDD (when, for instance, you wish to view and archive footage to tape at the same time), and you can play files from the hard drive while recording to another part of it (even at high bit rates). You get high-speed transfers (22 Mbps) to and from HDD to DVD-RAM, and a quick-record function that rapidly locates a blank section of disc to begin writing to.
In addition to recording new video content, the DMR-E100HS lets you transfer favorite VHS recordings to durable, space-saving discs. Personal movie libraries and family videos can be archived, preserved, and easily cataloged and accessed. Picture-enhancing technologies include 3D noise reduction, block noise reduction, and mosquito noise reduction. You can even perform simple non-linear video editing, such as rearranging the order of scenes, skipping over unwanted scenes, and creating custom playlists of favorite scenes on a disc.
DVD-RAM is perfect for instant chapter access and for multiple rerecordings, while DVD-R is widely regarded as the most widely compatible of the many DVD formats (great for sharing camcorder footage with loved ones). When recording to a DVD-RAM or DVD-R disc, a feature called relief recording automatically checks to see if there's enough remaining disc space to complete the recording. If there isn't, the unit will store the program on the hard disk (provided there's sufficient space there).
Inputs consist of one DV, three composite-video, three S-video, one RF input, and the SD card slot. The IEEE 1394 DV input lets you connect a compatible digital camcorder (via IEEE 1394 cable) and transfer home movies onto either the hard disk or to a DVD-RAM/DVD-R. To simplify navigation through the resulting recordings, a DV Auto Record feature generates a playlist for these transfers by creating a new chapter for every instance of "stop" or "pause" used in the original recording. Once the playlist has been created, it's easy to change the order and duration of the chapters, create new ones, and delete the ones you don't want using the on-screen menu.
For HDD recordings, the Direct Navigator lets you access recorded material from an onscreen menu that lists recording dates, times, channels, and titles. Finding and viewing recorded material is simple because there's no need to search, fast-forward, or rewind.
The PC card slot is compatible with standard PC card, SD memory card, CompactFlash card, MultiMediaCard, Smart Media card, and Memory Stick. Other features include two-channel Dolby Digital audio recording, bilingual recording, commercial skip, Advanced Surround (simulated surround sound from two speakers), Cinema Mode, and a built-in time-base corrector that delivers highly stable, natural images.
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