On test

DVD recorder/VCR combi Approx price: 300

Panasonic DMR-EZ45

David Smith looks at Panasonics latest VHS/DVD combi deck, and asks whether a recorder without a hard disk can cope with todays editing needs
he top model of Panasonics current range, the DMR-EX95, features a DVD recorder,VHS VCR and 250GB hard drive, making it an extremely exible and powerful machine for transferring a VHS collection to DVD. This model, however, is a scaled down offering and has to manage without the hard drive. While it remains a straightforward route for turning VHS
news for those who want to hook up a digibox. The EZ45 also features a built-in digital tuner its just a shame there is no provision for upgrading to Pay TV services. Recording can be undertaken on any of the DVD formats including dual-layered variations of both DVDR and DVD+R discs. DVD-RW discs can be recorded on to in VR mode, but most of the
Sadly, the VCR cannot handle SVHS tapes (well, it can, but only in standard VHS quality).
Everything from dubbing from VHS to DVD, to setting the timer is well explained
tapes into DVDs, it does not offer the same level of editing control as an HDD-equipped deck. This is important, because it is one of the main reasons why someone would invest in a combi deck like this. really useful editing functions are still reserved for DVD-RAM discs. These give very powerful editing features (including partial erase), which let you tidy up a recording, but the resulting discs are not widely compatible and they are more costly than simple DVD-R or +R types. A large capacity hard disk is preferable, of course, because you can dub a three-hour VHS tape at top picture quality, edit out the bits you dont want to save space and then dub on to a DVD. Recordings can be made in one-, two-, four-, six- and eight-hour modes and there is also a Flexible Recording setting for programmes that dont fall neatly into one of those categories. The VCR offers recording functions as well, but that really isnt something this combi is likely to be used for that much, given the picture quality of VHS.

ease of use

Panasonics operating system is a tried and tested design that is straightforward and consistent to follow. Everything, from dubbing from VHS to DVD, to setting the timer (a 16-event, one-month model) is well explained in the manual. The remote control is also familiar in design with larger buttons helping with ease of use. Editing is easy enough to get to grips with, but it really is time someone thought of offering a DVD recorder with a proper editing suite and a mouse that really would make things easier.
Another well put together remote from Panasonic

Looks Layout Labelling

Details

FEATURES

HDMI/DVI output: Prog scan output: DVD-A/SACD: VideoPlus: Timer: Recording modes: Set-top box control: Dimensions: Weight: Yes/No Yes 2-channel/No Yes 16-event Five No 430(w) x 84(h) x 351(d)mm 5.4kg

looks & features

Its difcult to make any deck with a VCR built-in look other than big and clunky. Panasonic has made a decent stab at the problem and this deck is okay to look at. The fascia is highlighted by the AV inputs, which include a DV socket for digital camcorders and an SD Memory Card slot. To the rear, the usual connections, have the welcome addition of an HDMI output and this is capable of upscaling regular DVDs to 720p and 1080i standard. The humble old Scart sockets are still there and can accept and deliver an RGB signal, which is great

performance

Pure DVD playback is impressive, with excellent levels of detail. The upscaling does not seem to add anything to the picture, except for perhaps a subtle extra hint of depth and a slightly more lmic feel. The regular 576p feed via HDMI is more than good enough, looking a touch cleaner than the standard RGB Scart picture. Recordings on to DVD are the usual Panasonic class act. The onehour mode is as good as the original
OTHER FEATURES: MP3/JPEG playback; one-touch recording; DVD-RW VR mode recording; EPG; exible recording; S-VHS Quasi Playback

WHAT IT PLAYS

DVD; DVD-Audio (2-channel only); Dual Disc (DVD side); MP3; JPEG; VCD; SVCD; DVD-R; DVD-RW (Video); DVD-RW (VR); DVD-RAM; DVD+R; DVD+R (DL); DVD+RW

HDMI output

Can upscale standarddenition material

Scart input & output

These ports offer RGB input and output

Component video

These outputs are progressive-scan capable

SOCKETS

Front: DVD input; S-video input; composite video input; stereo audio input; SD card slot Rear: HDMI out; component video out; S-video out; composite video out; optical digital audio out; stereo output

CONTACT

www.panasonic.co.uk
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Also Consider >>
DUAL DCRW5002 Does not have the digital tuner, but youll save a few pounds if you opt for this decent budget combi Reviewed: Issue 305
FUNAI DRV-B2737 Another budget alternative, but one that doesnt offer a digital tuner, and theres no RGB input Reviewed: Issue 299
A VHS-to-DVD solution is the rst step to digital recording
Multiformat DVD recording VHS VCR SD card slot Freeview tuner 720p/1080i upscaling broadcast and is ideal for archiving favourite programmes (and will certainly be of interest to digital camcorder owners). The two-hour mode, as well as boosting disc capacity to far more useful levels, retains almost all of the picture detail. The most demanding sporting action may exhibit mild artefacting in the form of mosquito haze around fast-moving objects, but this is extremely mild and unobtrusive. Any other sort of programming is absolutely ne. Recording from the built-in tuner pays a dividend in that it keeps the signal digital from start to nish, but excellent results were also obtained when we attached a Sky+ box via an RGB Scart connection. Editing results in smooth edit points, as weve come to expect on Panasonic recorders. There is a slight cross-fade as you go from one scene to the next, which is much better than the jarring jumps and pauses you often see. The VCR is, sadly, not so impressive. This is partly due to the age of the technology its very difcult for a regular VCR to raise a smile in this digital age. This isnt a great deck even by VHS standards, however. An old NTSC tape plays back well enough, but the picture is not as solid as on many other VCRs weve looked at over the years. The inclusion of an S-VHS deck would have made so much more sense, and would not have added much to the price. Dubs from VHS to DVD work well, and there is actually a slight improvement in picture quality, strange as that may seem. Some of the zz of VHS is eliminated, and there is less colour bleed on the nished article. Of course, if you dub at the boosted DVD capacities of three or four hours you will trade softness for artefacts, as the picture quality drops off at these points. The verdict must be that this combi is worth considering if you want simple dubbing from VHS to DVD, and you will be able to step up to making digital recordings with condence that you have a quality DVD recorder. If you want more sophisticated editing of your VHS programming, however, you really should look at a combi thats also equipped with a hard disk drive

Test Data

PLAYBACK TEST Video jitter: Audio jitter: S/N ratio: Chroma AM: Chroma PM: Crosstalk READING 6ns 153.8ps 60.4dB -69.1dB -67.5dB -51.7dB RATING Good Excellent Average Excellent Very good Average RECORDING (DVD) TEST READING RATING Good Good Chroma AM: -55.3dB Chroma PM: -54.9dB Frequency response XP @ 4MHz: 0dB SP @ 4MHz: 0dB LP @ 4MHz: -0.1dB EP @ 2MHz: -1.0dB VHS (SP) Video jitter: S/N ratio: Chroma AM: Chroma PM: F. Response 1227ns 40.3dB -43.3dB -42.4dB +0.6dB Average Average Very good Good Excellent
Frequency response @ 5.8MHz Composite: -0.2dB Excellent S-video: +0.1dB Excellent Component: +0.2dB Excellent
For a full explanation of test data, please see page 98
Excellent Excellent Excellent Good

Ratings

WHATS GOOD
DVD recordings; DVD playback

WHATS BAD

No hard disk; no upgrade for pay TV
Picture Sound Features Ease of use Value

VERDICT

Straightforward VHS-to-DVD dubbing is a plus, but an HDD would add editing power
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Panasonic DMR-EZ(approx) 357 www.panasonic.co.uk
Are you ready for VHS HD?
Mix together VHS, DVD recording and Freeview. Add a twist of 1080p, and youve got Panasonics preconception-busting DMR-EZ47. Martin Pipe tucks in

COMPATIBILITY

DVD-V DVD-A SACD CD MP3 WMA JPEG MPEG4 CD-R CD-RW Video CD SVCD DualDisc (CD) DualDisc (DVD) DiVX DVD+R DVD-R DVD+RW DVD-RW (Video) DVD-RW (VR) DVD-RAM
for yourself courtesy of Panasonics extraordinary DMR-EZ47, a 300 combi VHS/DVD recorder with tricks a plenty. A key clue to the units talents can be found on its back panel. Here youll spy an HDMI port, which will output anything from 480i/576i to 1080p. The deck will convert any standard-def to HD: Freeview, DVDs, external AV sources and VHS tapes! A component output is also present, and
ver wondered what your VHS tape collection would lool like in 1080p HD form? Now you can see
a collection of imported Laserdiscs that you would like in DVD form. Laserdiscs arent copy-protected, and there are still obscure movies on Laserdisc that havent yet made the transition to DVD. The EZ47s DVD recorder element is multiformat, and will write to a wide variety of media including DVD+RW, DVDRW and DVD-RAM. Also catered for are
DVD-R and DVD+R, in both their single and for double the media capacity dual-layer guises. The machine gives you four recording modes, yielding between 1 and 6 (or 8, depending on setting) hours per disc. With the exception of the bottom mode, all work at DVDs full resolution of 720 x 576 for maximum detail capture.

SPECIFICATIONS

ITEM Integrated HDD Digital TV tuner Video upscaling VHS recording Progressive scan Multiregion Composite video Phono stereo audio S-video HDMI/DVI Scart Component DV (i.Link) input Digital Audio SUPPORT DETAILS Serious archivists, look elsewhere Analogue forgotten! Via HDMI But no S-VHS support For compatible displays Region 2 out of the box Front panel in, rear-panel out and Scart in/out 1 output, plus front-panel input Rear-panel output, front-panel input and Scart in/out 480i/576i, 480p/576p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p 1 output, 1 input (both RGB/ composite/S-video) 1 output, progressive/interlaced For dubbing from digital camcorders to DVD Optical

Excellent

LAB REPORT
PLAYBACK Video jitter (5ns) Signal-to-noise ratio: Composite (65.3dB) S-video (69.8dB) Component (67.9dB) Chroma AM/PM AM (-59.5dB) PM (-56.4dB) Chroma crosstalk (N/A) Freq response @5.8 MHz Composite (-0.1dB) S-video (+0.1dB) Component Y (+0.2dB) Audio jitter (155.1ps) DVD RECORDING Chroma (SP) AM (-55.3dB) PM (-54.9dB) Freq response @4MHz 1hr (-0.7dB) 2hr (-0.8dB) Freq response @2MHz 6hr (-1.1dB) 8hr (-1.1dB)

Average

although this is progressive scan-capable, upscaling is not an option. Its probably worth noting that the EZ45 has no analogue tuner, and so you may need to consider an alternative product if you live in an area where digital terrestrial reception is unreliable.

Feature-packed fun

The EZ45s VCR section sports all of the features expected of the kind of budget hi- VHS model thats slowly disappearing from retailers. Its twin-speed, supports index-searching and has a quasi S-VHS replay facility, whereby S-VHS tapes are played back with VHS quality. This somewhat defeats the purpose of S-VHS,
and anyone with treasured S-VHS tapes to view/convert are probably best advised to look elsewhere. A button on the front panel facilitates simple copying to or from DVD. The machine will also support NTSC format dubs. This is particularly useful if you have
Dimensions: 430(w) x 84(h) x 345(d)mm; Weight: 5.4kg Also featuring Multiformat recording, multibrand TV remote, 4 preset recording modes plus flexible recording, HD upscaling, DTT EPG support, DTT soundtrack selection, easy copying between DVD and VHS, autochaptering, partial-delete (DVD-RAM only), timeshift (DVD-RAM only), playlist-editing (DVD-RAM only), jet rewind (VHS), JPEG slideshow, 5 DVD search speeds, 1.3x search with audio (DVD), 5 DVD slo-mo speeds, 30-sec skip, OTR, Q-link, HDMI control, title recordings/DVDs

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Tried&Tested. DVD/VHS Recorder
The only format that gives editing of any note is DVD-RAM. For the others, all you can do is rename or delete programmes. DVD-RAM recordings can be divided, great if youre dubbing an entire VHS tape in one go. Also offered is partial-delete, which allows you to get rid of adverts and unwanted portions of programmes. Another DVD-RAM only feature is playlist editing, whereby a number of different recordings (or parts thereof) can be played in a user-dened sequence. If youre recording to DVD-RAM, chase play is also possible, meaning you can start playing a recording thats currently in progress. Chapters are added automatically during recording; with rewritable media you can add and delete chapters. Recordings appear on disc as a list, but you can switch to a thumbnail mode. Disc nalisation is needed to make some kinds of recordable and rewritable media compatible with standard DVD players. DVD-RAM may have its editing advantages, but few nonPanasonic players can read the discs. denition. Even the worst-quality Freeview transmissions show VHS up when it comes to noise and reduction. A basic digital noise-reduction feature (Copy NR) can be engaged but it only works with external sources, and, bizarrely, not the internal VCR or DTT tuner. I recommend sticking with the two-hour (SP) mode when dubbing old tapes to DVD. The four-hour (LP) mode an obvious redeployed as lower compression rates. The top one-hour (XP) mode is great for digital camcorder dubs, and benets from an uncompressed audio option not that youll note any obvious difference from the default Dolby Digital. The economy mode (EP) is little better than VHS, and is best left to uncritical viewing or recording programmes during long holidays.

As a DVD player,

HD heartbreak
So what are the decks upscaling talents like? And will you want to see VHS material upscaled to 1080p? Well, possibly. The onboard processing does visibly improve VHS picture quality, but its never going to be able to call itself highchoice for an E240 doesnt take too kindly to VHS noise, and the result is unacceptable artefacting. It might be useful on future iterations if Panasonic offer a LP mode that halves the horizontal resolution, with the data saved being
the EZ47 is ne, especially if viewed via HDMI. Theres little to tell it apart from a good budget model, although you seldom encounter cheap units (or expensive ones, come to think of it) able to play DVD-RAMs! The EZ47 will also take in its stride JPEG stills, audio CDs and MP3 tracks with acceptable results, although theres no MPEG-4/DiVX playback. Upscaling is of a good standard, with no obvious deinterlacing artefacts like loss of detail or combing. If you want to see better, chances are youll need an external scaler (and the asking price of the cheapest home-cinema unit will buy you at least two EZ47s!)
The deck will convert any standarddef to HD: Freeview, DVDs, external AV sources and VHS tapes

Conclusion

Overall, this innovative combi works well with some nice touches and has good levels of integration. The lack of a hard drive may reduce its appeal, but if the idea of easy dubbing and upscaled VHS appeals, then this is a unique proposition!

RATINGS

Highs: Versatile recording, 1080p upscaling Lows: No true S-VHS support, no hard disk drive
Picture Sound Features The HDMI output will even carry VHS material to your HD Ready screen upscaled to 1080p! A retro-looking remote is perfect for a retro-teched machine OVERALL

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