Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DMR-EX77EB-K - 160GB Hard Drive DVD Recorder - With 1080P Up-Conversion & Freeview - Black

Bought this on the 20th December, arrived next day(paid for express delivery - well worth the extra cash) and am impressed with the ease of operating it. Have still to read the rest of the instructions but have connected my other set top box and can now record on the Panasonic and watch another digital channel through the set top box. Came with 3 free
dvd-ram discs.
Very pleased with the product and thanks to the other reviews for all the details about the product before I bought it.
Have now set up my vhs recorder so I can record the old films onto dvd - use a scart lead and I found the vhs recorder plays through AV2 on the Panasonic.

I bought this recorder shortly after I bought a Panasonic telly. I am very impressed. To start with I was able get rid of my old VCR, Digibox and DVD player as this recorder carries out all their tasks. Programming programmes to record is very easy with the on screen guide: Select the programme then press OK and OK again to confirm. I did worry whether 160GB would be big enough but. I am recording everything on SP at the moment and have only used 20 hours in 2 weeks, I have another 50 hours remaining but then could change to LP or EP which gives me up to 284 hours. In reality I'll probably move anything I want to keep onto disc.
It will record my old videos that I want to keep but not Disney whose videos are copy protected.
Buy some DVD's from amazon to add to your order because they are a lot more expensive in the shops. The different formats of DVD have different advantages and disadvantages. Overall I have heard +R or +RW are best but I'm not sure why.
If your trying to save a bit of money don't worry about the HDMI lead because the Recorder will do everthing with a scart (not included) and a aerial lead (included). But if you want to buy one, again get it from Amazon because it's a lot cheaper.
The remote control can also be programmed to perform basic functions on your telly (whatever the make) like channel and volume which is rather neat. Happy shopping.

What an amazing machine for the money! Excellent Freeview tuner, 160GB HDD, multi format playback with one off the best DVD images I have seen, all upscaled brilliantly to 720p! Also the DVD and DAB radio channels sound is superb, with CD playback putting in a very good performance for the money. Together with Amazons low price and exemplary customer service this is an unbeatable offer.

While searching for a Hard Drive DVD Recorder I have noted with interest the comments regarding watching a programme on TV while recording another on the Panasonic. Initial comments seemed to leave some room for doubt.
Have just bought this model and I can confirm that those with a TV with its own digital tuner can watch one digital freeview program on their TV while recording another different digital freeview program on the Hard Drive DVD recorder.Seems only sensible ! Do not have Sky etc so cannot comment on this aspect.

I hope this clarifies the position for future possible purchasers.

Great machine - does what it says on the box, and well.

I don't watch much general TV - but with Film4 now broadcasting for free I had been missing a whole lot of decent movies, plus not being able to stay up to watch the late night poker I decided to go for a DVD recorder.

Well, what can I say - it was this or the Sony, and this is SOOOOO good. As a CD player, music comes through it deep and clear, so much better than my dedicated Sony CD player; and it is very easy to use, and very well put together (as are most Panasonic products)

My only disappointment (unless someone knows better) is that it only upscales DVDs to HD on 1080P TVs. Mine is a Panasonic Viera 1080i so this is a little annoying and it was not stated clearly on the box - however, it's not really why I bought it and would definately recommend this product.