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Home > CE > Panasonic DMR-EA38VK Tunerless 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder

Panasonic DMR-EA38VK Tunerless 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder

Price: Too low to display
     
Editorial Reviews: 
The Panasonic DMR-EA38VK DVD recorder is equipped with an SD Memory Card slot and USB terminal, which makes it easy to view photos from your digital camera. By interpolating video data using proprietary algorithms, SD format data is up-converted to 1080x1920p HD format video data. This conversion increases the richness of the original data by almost six-fold, producing the highest possible image quality when viewing content on a large-screen HDTV. 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, 2x LINE (pin jack) 2ch Audio Out, Component Video Out (Y, PB, PR), 1x S Connector S-Video Outputs, Optical Digital Audio Out (Dolby Digital, DTS, and PCM), and 2x Line (pin jack) Video Out Dimensions - Height 3-5/16 x W


Custom Reviews: 
Copy Protection
2 out of 5 stars.
This product would be great if it were able to copy all VHS tapes. This product will record VHS tapes that do not have Macrovision VCR Tape Copy Protection. However, the tapes which do have Macrovision VCR Tape Copy Protection will not copy.

I was unaware of this issue when I purchased this product. To work around the Macrovision protection, you must purchase what is called a video stabilizer. This will remove the Macrovision copy protection signal from the video stream so that it can be recorded.

The setup I have arranged takes advantage of a VHS player connecting to the video stabilizer, which then connects to the recorder. However, with this setup, you must set the amount of time the VHS tape plays.

Here is how it is connected:

VHS Player Video cable (yellow cable) -> Video stabilizer -> Recorder
VHS Player Audio cables (red and white) -> Video stabilizer -> Recorder

Alternatively, you can use S-Video instead.
VHS Player S-Video cable -> Video stabilizer -> Recorder

There are probably better solutions for converting VHS tapes to DVDs, so I recommend you look elsewhere.

Pefect Picture
5 out of 5 stars.
Having used a Panasonic DVD recorder for 5 years, I wanted to upgrade to a DVD/VHS all in one recorder. I have had excellent use of my old DVD recorder so it was a no brainer to go with Panasonic again. Still easy to use and of course the picture and sound are tops. Watching old tapes & Dvd's recorded on my old machine come out even better then before. I spoke with Panasonic years ago when I got my first DVD recorder and they suggest not only their blank DVD's but also Sony and TDK. You can always get a good buy on the Sony blanks. If you want an excellent recorder/player without a tuner,this is the way to go especially if you get your TV reception through a DVR.

DMR-EA38VK Great Picture but...
4 out of 5 stars.
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)


Nice unit, but not much improved over older model
4 out of 5 stars.
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

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