As the title suggests, I'm looking for some ideas .
We've over the last 5 months had to replace all three of our TV's.
Not a bad thing, as we've been looking at HD LCD's for a while.
So, after upgrading our cable to HD, we are now looking at DVD/
VHS recorders. We still have a fairly large VHS library, along with
a growing DVD library (no B R discs) and would like to still be able
to watch them, but need the ability to upconvert them. I've looked
around on the Net a bit and am interested in Panasonic's DMR-EZ485V.
Reviews seem to be favorable. The unit seems to want to use DVD RAM
discs for recording. I did a little searching for these discs locally, and came
up emptyhanded. Looking around on the net I found some available in
single layer (4.7 gb) and dual layer (9.4 gb) discs. Most were Panasonic
branded.

Does anyone here have any experience with this machine? If so can you
comment on these DVD RAM discs, and what the deal is with them?

Anyone have some thoughts about other machines that I should or shouldn't
have a look at?

Thanks in advance,

You don't need to use DVD-RAM with that unit unless you want to record HD channels in widescreen from its internal tuner.

As the title suggests, I'm looking for some ideas .
We've over the last 5 months had to replace all three of our TV's.
Not a bad thing, as we've been looking at HD LCD's for a while.
So, after upgrading our cable to HD, we are now looking at DVD/
VHS recorders. We still have a fairly large VHS library, along with
a growing DVD library (no B R discs) and would like to still be able
to watch them, but need the ability to upconvert them. I've looked
around on the Net a bit and am interested in Panasonic's DMR-EZ485V.
Reviews seem to be favorable. The unit seems to want to use DVD RAM
discs for recording. I did a little searching for these discs locally, and came
up emptyhanded.


DVDRAM is for large data backup. It was designed to withstand large files that will be overwritten many times. However, you can directly apply that to consumer video without issue.

But, you'll be fine using just DVD+R or RW (rewritable). It's also cheaper than using DVD RAM.

As for a VCR that upscales, there are a few out there. I've never used one so I can't tell you whether they are reliable or not. I know JVC and Sony also have some on the market. Food for thought.

Looking around on the net I found some available in
single layer (4.7 mb) and dual layer (9.4 mb) discs. Most were Panasonic
branded.

You mean GB, not MB. Gigabytes. I've had great luck with Verbatim, of the many brands I've used, it's the only brand that hasn't yielded any coasters. :yes:

Just curious have you connected your current VCR to your TV's and checked out the picture? I ask because scalers are getting better all the time in televisions and the picture may not be that bad. If your VCR has s-video out make sure you use that versus the composite or RF connection.
Tiga

I have one of the Panasonic VHS/DVD-R recorders, model EZ475V. I will recommend it, but with caveats:

It records fine on DVD-R, RW discs, but it no longer wants to record on DVD-RAM discs (no biggie for me, I use DVD-RWs anyway.)

Its "brain" is a bit sluggish; the processor takes its time reading a disc for recording when you turn it on, and in general, it doesn't like many commands in a row. So it's a little 'slow' mentally, but it gets there.

VHS to DVD dubbing is very simple: insert tape and disc, cue VHS to a little before you want to dub, and press the round control on the machine. VHS goes into pause, DVD recorder gets ready, and you're off.

In addition to the various regular connections, it has HDMI through which both the VHS and DVDs pass, with good results. I highly recommend you go with a model with HDMI since you are upgrading your TVs.

The Panasonics are probably among the better DVD recorders you can get; I have seen horrible reviews of JVC, Philips and others, but it is still a cheaply built machine, with everything that that implies. It works, but could be better designed.
I don't want/need a subscription Tivo or similar, so for me, this one works ok.

Hope this helps.
C.