Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DMR-EZ47 - DVD Recorder & VCR Combination - With 1080P Up-Conversion & Freeview - Black

Superb service from Amazon once again. paid extra to arrive next day and my mum is absolutely thrilled (early Xmas pressie). The DVD recorder is a nice black colour and was so easy to set up compared to many others we have had. I literally connected it up to mums digital LCD using a scart and one RF lead and it automatically installed straight away. Amazing! no tuning required. picture quality from recorded items is superb. I would recommend this unit for anyone, but my mum is so used to using a VCR that it was perfect for her. has all the bells and whistles for digital TV, but she can still use her old Video tapes (as well as DVD when she gets round to it). Perfect combination of old and new!

When you take receipt of this item you will find enclosed quite a large Instruction Manual. I am definately a Non Techie person but followed the set up instructions and had no problem connecting to my TV Via a Digital TV box. Be patient when software downloads this is a lengthy process but well worth the wait, and it worked well alongside my Top Up TV receiver.
I then played with the remote - without the rule book - and soon got a handle on the basic operations.
Now I am in the process of finding out about all the things that this DMR-EZ47VEB. I have to say it is mind blowing and as yet cannot comment on the advanced options.
It is an excellent peice of equipment - just dont be put off by the manual.

Unpacked, plugged in - it does tuning and the clock automatically - great.
Then took hours to work out why Sky wouldn't work through the unit. Cos the instructions weren't quite right is why!!
My advice is by one of those new single cables, and chuck the scarts out.
Anyway, after sorting that, the thing goes like a train and I love it!!
Recorded my first dvd last night. :-) My first Panasonic buy, and it's great!

I'm always pleasantly amused by negative comments regarding this recorder, even from pro critics. This is a DVD and VHS recorder (with built in freeview), simple. It preserves your existing collection of standard DVDs and VHS cassettes, with connections to view camcorders. It upscales your EXISTING standard library to HD if you ave the right TV and HDMI leads, so you don't have to re-buy your collection again in BluRay. So why do some reviewers (admittedly in the US) complain that it doesn't record in HD, that's what a Blu Ray recorder is for!!

I also read negative comments like "I can't copy original VHS films onto DVD", so it gets another negative comment; so why would Panasonic produce a machine that could copy copyright material!!! It's for playback and so means you can still play your old tapes, not necessarily copy them. Of course home made tapes are easily copied at the press of one button.

I read "there's no HDD", so why buy this DVD/VHS recorder then? Buy a higher spec system that costs £100-200 more (if you want DVD, VHS AND HDD)!

You'll also find people saying that the DVD recording from old VHS is as bad as the original VHS, a classic mistake people make when also buying Hi-Fi equipment, a bad signal in means a bad signal out. DVD recording doesn't enhance a poor input signal, it records what it sees.

In summary, I can only agree with all the positive comments, and smile at some of the negative ones. However, I must agree that there might be some picture quality issues, as even my old Panasonic VHS recorder has a better signal amplifier which brightened the picture more than the DMR EZ47. So I'll need to adjust the TV settings. But, that said, the old VHS had to be left on permanently in order for the signal amplifier to do the job, unlike the DMREZ47.

The signal from my Sky box does suffer from a slightly less sharp picture, but it is going via a scart lead, then into the DMR EZ47, and then through a scart splitter and then another budget scart lead into the TV (with 640x480 pixel resolution). Perhaps there's so much going on in the box with all the gizmoes that there is signal interference in the machine itself, or I connected everything up badly when I swapped the machines over. But, I cannot truly judge the picture quality unless I am sure my connections are flawless.

Pictures direct from the DVD and VHS are very good however, and as good as any standalone product. If you get jumpy pictures using old VHS, Panasonic suggest you use a manual tracking adjustment which is on the remote control, especially if auto tracking doesn't work immediately.

Also, yes there is some motor noise, but it's like comparing a diesel with petrol, all players make a noise, some noises are just smoother than others. This noise is just less smooth than my Pioneer DVD player which just whines at a higher pitch and is more acceptable in my opinion.

Nevertheless, the machine does the job as described and the instructions are surprisingly simple. The remote is a tad cluttered, so perhaps that is the only gripe, but the layout is in a typical Panasonic style so previous Panasonic owners will get to grips easily. My 5-year old is able to teach herself the art of playing a DVD, so that's a pretty good endorsement. Just remember to FINALISE every DVD you record, otherwise like some reviewers, the DVD doesn't playback in other machines, oops. Also, VHS still has its merits as the fastest possible means of taping programmes, especially as most DVDs straight out of the cellophane seem to require formatting on the first record, and if your programme is about to start, formatting can take 1-2 minutes, so hats off to VHS in this regard.

Either way, I bought this for the same price as a standalone DVD recorder with Freeview, so the extra VHS is a welcome bonus. I'm very pleased, and at less than £200, it's one of the best on the market.

Good
* The Freeview digital tuner images are great (no analogue tuner at all - unlike the earlier EZ45 model I bought for my Mum).
* Electronic Program Guide (EPG) can be configured to remember programs for quick start-up (unlike my Humax).
* Video and DVD images are crisp.
* DVD records and plays every option imaginable (+R, -R, +RW, -RW, DL & RAM - RAM is most flexible).
* It's great for copying home video into DVD, either from VHS or direct from your camcorder via a DV socket.

Bad
* Most commercial video is Macrovision encoded and this device deliberately stops you copying them to DVD - even from an external source.
* Menu and Titling options on home burnt DVDs are not as flexible as I'd like.
* No SD Card input which the earlier EZ45 model had.
* Remote control crowded and hard to find all the options.