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4/10/05

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HEAD-TO-HEAD TEST>DVD recorder/Freeview tuner combis
Panasonic DMR-ES20 vs Goodmans
The price will no doubt sway some to look at the Goodmans recorder, but if its performance youre after, there is only one horse in this race

Panasonic DMR-ES20

Here we have two simple recorders with the added benefits of built-in Freeview receivers. One opts for the -RAM/-R camp, while the other goes for +R/+RW discs, so this should be an interesting tussle, especially when you consider that the Panasonic deck is handicapped by a price tag that is 110 in excess of the Goodmans.

RATINGS

STYLE FEATURES PICTURE SOUND VALUE OVERALL EASE OF USE ####$
When it comes to features Panasonic again steals the show thanks to the use of RAM discs, which allow Chasing Playback, letting you watch the beginning of a programme while the rest is still being recorded.

Time bandits

Time Slip lets you nip back a specified amount of time, while keeping an eye on the live TV signal with a neat picture-in-picture display. There is also a pause facility, frame advance/reverse, slow-motion playback and a 1.3x QuickView feature. Dynamic Range Control tames loud passages while retaining clarity of dialogue, Virtual Surround Sound gives extra impact from two speakers and there is a Dialog Enhancer, comb filter and Seamless Play for smoother edits. The Goodmans offering hits back with a 3x zoom, similar trick-play functions, downmixing of 5.1-channel material to two channels and Dynamic Range Compression. Both decks play MP3 and JPEG files, the Panasonic adding Tiff to the list. When it comes to sockets, neither deck offers a DV-input, but both offer S-video front panel inputs. The Panasonic has an RGB Scart input and output, plus component video output for progressive scan.

And theyre off!

The DMR-ES20 takes an early lead thanks to superior DVD-RAM editing. You get playlist editing, simultaneous record and playback and partial erasing of titles. For increased compatibility with other decks you can use DVD-R/RW and even +R discs instead, but you sacrifice edit functions, as -RW discs are only recordable in Video mode. There are five recording settings (good for 1hr, 2hr, 4hr, 6hr and 8hr), as well as a Flexible Record mode that fits a specified amount of programming on to a disc with the best possible picture quality. There is no satellite control, but the deck can recognise VideoPlus codes for satellite channels and there is a 16-event, one-month timer as well as easy recording via the Freeview TV Guide (leave in standby overnight to retrieve seven days Guide info). The Goodmans offering uses DVD+R/+RW discs, which limits edit options. You can erase or rename titles or discs and add chapters (the Auto Chapter mode adds chapters at 4, 10, 20 or 30 minute intervals). You can pause recordings in order to manually edit out unwanted material. Four recording modes offer 1hr, 2hr, 4hr and 6hr of recording and theres a seven-day EPG for easy timer settings.
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AT A GLANCE

FEATURES DVD-RAM/R/-RW (Video mode) recording Five record settings Freeview receiver Playlist editing Seven-day TV Guide CONNECTIONS S-video input Composite video input Stereo audio input Component video output 2 x Scart (RGB in/out) S-video in/out Composite video in/out Optical digital audio output Stereo audio in/out RF aerial in/out www.panasonic.co.uk 08705 357357

The Goodmans doesnt offer an RGB Scart input, but has both optical and electrical digital audio outputs, where the Panasonic has just an optical output. The Goodmans also has six-channel audio phonos for outputting 5.1-channel material. Both decks are good looking. The Goodmans has a pleasingly clean appearance, with square edges and sharp lines, while the Panasonic is a bit more rakish in its design. The Panasonic has a big edge in build quality, however, being far more sturdy. The Goodmans recorder feels rather plasticky, and has nasty, sharp protrusions on the bottom.
Connect your camcorder or games console here
Composite video in and outputs
Well laid out and responsive
Plays MP3, JPEG and Tiff files

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DVD recorder/Freeview tuner combis>HEAD-TO-HEAD TEST

GDVDR 305 DVBT

Compatible with JPEG and MP3

Goodmans GDVDR 305 DVBT

The Goodmans offers auto or manual channel search for its Freeview receiver and a simple onscreen display for setup. It also comes with a blank disc, which is a really nice touch. The Panasonic has a similar autotuning function and also has Q-Link for compatible TVs. Its TV Guide can be arranged into four user groupings to make it easier to navigate.
Panasonic uses the Disc Navigator system that it has perfected over the last few years. It is simple, elegant and straightforward. The remote is also well laid out and responsive.
STYLE FEATURES PICTURE SOUND VALUE OVERALL EASE OF USE ##$$$

Four recording modes

Things deteriorate noticeably in the 4hr setting, while 6hr or 8hr recordings are blurred, grainy and plagued by the strobe effect.

Showtime

The Goodmans recorder does its best with composite Scart signals, and records faithfully the rather soft images delivered in this way from a Sky+ digibox. Better results are obtained using an S-video hook-up, but you need to use the front AV inputs for this, which looks rather untidy. If youre not too bothered about Sky you will be happier with the recordings from the Freeview tuner, which are better, depending on how good your signal is. 1hr and 2hr modes are good, while there is a lot of blocking on 4hr recordings. This is joined by the strobe effect on 6hr recordings. Also widescreen recordings from Sky did not trigger our widescreen TV. The Panasonic recorder does a much better job, recording a pristine RGB signal in 1hr mode, and a very good one in 2hr mode.

Let us play

The DMR-ES20 has crisp progressive scan pictures, or sumptuous RGB images via Scart. Youll be pleased with either. Colour rendition and presentation of detail are both strong. The GDVDR305 froze on the first two test discs we offered it, then thought about it for a while and accepted The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy on the second offering. The picture is detailed and vibrant, but there is more artefacting than wed expect from an RGB signal. Skin tones looks pasty and colours are soft. This hasnt been a fair fight the Panasonic costs over 100 more and is clearly aimed at a different sector of the market. But it isnt expensive, and its performance simply blows away the Goodmans at every turn. The price of the GDVDR305 may be tempting, but even cheap doesnt equate to bargain if performance is as questionable as it is here I
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TEST SCENE

> >The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Keeping control

When it comes to comparing the remote controls, there is no contest. The Goodmans handset is awful and makes using the deck a nightmare. It is unresponsive in the extreme, with multiple presses of a button often required to get a response. This makes navigating through a DVD a real pain. Point the remote directly at the deck for best results, but even then requests often fall on deaf ears. The operating system is also a bit of a mish-mash, with buttons dotted all over the remote and sometimes even referred to in onscreen prompts by the wrong name.
Five recording modes on offer
THE DMR-ES20 DELIVERS A CRISP PROGRESSIVE SCAN PICTURE,
Some intricate detailing provides a surprisingly stern test, with the Panasonic doing better
FEATURES DVD+R/+RW recording Four record settings Freeview receiver Seven-day EPG 3x zoom CONNECTIONS S-video input composite video input stereo audio input 2 x Scart (RGB output only) S-video output Composite video output Optical digital audio output Electrical digital audio output Six-channel audio output RF aerial in/out www.goodmans.co.uk 0870 1689000
Inputs for a camcorder, but theres no DV-input Composite video, electrical and optical digital outputs An ultra unresponsive handset

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On test
I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H
Freeview DVD recorder G Approx price: 280

Panasonic

DMR-ES20D
As Freeview channels grow, so do recorders with digital tuners. Ian Calcutt looks at Panasonics latest combi
f you are going to replace a video cassette recorder with a DVD recorder there is a confusing array of options. If you want one that makes Freeview recording easy, however, the field narrows to a handful, including Panasonics DMRES20D. Basically its a stripped down version of the DMR-EH60D harddrive combi reviewed back in Issue 300.Without a built-in hard drive theres less that it can do, but for light users on a moderate budget you still get decent features and good picture quality.

looks & features

Like its Freeview-equipped EH60D counterpart, the ES20D saves you shelf space by having its digital tuner inside a slim frame no bigger
overlapping programmes.Therefore it makes sense to partner it with an integrated digital TV so you can watch one digital channel while recording another. As a multiformat recorder, one advantage is that you can choose between DVD-R or DVD+R for recordings you want to keep, or DVD-RW and DVD-RAM for reusable discs. DVD-RAM lets you watch another part of any current recording or something else on the same disc, giving you a sense of the features that hard drive recorders provide.You can significantly re-edit DVD-RAM recordings including erasing sections or dividing programmes but these discs are not normally viewable in other decks.The other recording formats

ease of use

The big benefit of having Freeview built-in is the accompanying electronic programme guide (EPG) that gives you free seven-day TV listings and simple timer setting. Your recordings are also labelled helpfully with the correct programme name. Like its DMREH60D sibling, however, the machine does not let you access editing features or the EPG while recording and there are no clever Sky+ or TiVo-style features that automatically record subsequent episodes of a series, though you can manually specify recurring recordings for a given timeslot. Its much easier than normal timer setting or VideoPlus although those are provided in case the Freeview route is not suitable. As this is not a hard-drive equipped model, there is no rolling buffer to pause or rewind live TV but the recorder is quick to react when you press Record if a DVDRAM is loaded in the disc tray.The other advantage of using RAM discs is that if you delete parts of a disc, all free space is made available for continuous new recordings. For

Details

FEATURES
Recording modes: 4 Max. recording time: 8hr (DVD), 16hr (2-sided DVD RAM) Non-linear editing: Yes (DVD-RAM) TV tuner: digital/analogue terrestrial Timer: 16-event/one month Freeview EPG: Yes Set-top box control: Ext link slave mode Dimensions: 430(w) x 63(h) x 351(d)mm; Weight: 3.5kg Other features: Quick-start EPG and DVD-RAM; PAL/NTSC recording prog scan playback; simultaneous play and record & playlist editing (DVD-RAM); flexible recording mode
Freeview recorders are still in their infancy but already this is one of the best
than other DVD recorders.There is an analogue tuner too, because some Freeview channels can vanish in fringe reception areas. Freeviews entertainment channel line-up is increasing with new arrivals such as ITV4, More4 and Sky 3.There is only one digital tuner, though, so this recorder cannot deal with can be more compatible but they have no editing options on the Panasonic and, without a hard drive, you are stuck with how the recording was at the time, with no possibility to edit out adverts.As a single-drive machine you also cant make any recordings while watching a movie on DVD or playing a CD.

DISC PLAYBACK

DVD, DVD-R/-RW (video/VR), CD-R/ -RW; DVD+R/+RW, DVD+R dual layer, CD, VCD, SVCD, MP3, JPEG, 2-channel DVD-A, Dual disc CD/DVD

SOCKETS

RF aerial in/out; 2 Scarts (RGB/Svideo/composite in/out); component video out (phonos); composite/ S-video out; 2 composite/S-video in; 2 analogue stereo audio in (phonos); optical digital audio out; analogue stereo audio out (phonos)

Key connections

Dual Scarts
RGB and S-video in and out

CONTACT

Component video out
For progressive scan playback on compatible displays

Digital audio output

Optical digital output for surround sound amps

www.panasonic.co.uk

TEST DATA data, For a full explanation of test

please see page 116

RECORDING Test Reading Chroma AM -66.3dB Chroma PM -58.5dB Frequency response XP @ 4MHz -0.8dB SP @ 4MHz -0.8dB LP @ 4MHz -0.9dB LP @ 2MHz -0.1dB EP @ 2MHZ -1.3dB Rating Excellent Very good Very good Very good Very good Very good Very good
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Also Consider >>

SONY RDR-GXD500 Classy DVD recorder with built-in Freeview, dual-format disc recording and component output but no HDMI. Reviewed: Jan 05
TOPFIELD TF5800 Though new, its already one of the best with its 160GB capacity and upgradeable software but no DVD drive though. Reviewed: Issue 298

Remote

Well laid-out and user-friendly though the scroll-wheel could me more solid
Looks ##### Layout ##### Labelling ##### example, if you delete two nonconsecutive half hour programmes you can make one new 60min recording of the same quality (or lower). Recording from external sources such as a Sky or cable box is also possible. One Scart input is switchable between S-video or higher quality RGB, but there is no i.Link connection for DV camcorders. Playback is well supported for the price, with a choice of S-video, RGB Scart or component video with or without progressive scan for plasma, LCD or projector owners.

performance

The combination of Freeview tuner and DVD recorder are a perfect

Fact file

I Digital and analogue terrestrial tuners I DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R compatible I Simultaneous play and record I PAL/NTSC progressive scan
match. Colours gleam with purity and brightness and details are rich and deep with little of the digital break-up or noise that sometimes afflicts digital TV recordings. Even though there may be natural grain as part of the picture, especially if a programme is shot on celluloid, its more of a part of the image than messy interference. Live studio material arrives looking pristine as theres no analogue conversion between the camera lens and the Panasonics receiver until you output to TV but sadly theres no HDMI digital video output to further improve this final stage. XP is the top-calibre mode for putting an hour of recordings on a standard DVD.This does not introduce any of its own noticeable digital compression side-effects for instance blocking in smooth contours or break-up with fast motion such as fire or running water.An hours capacity is not too handy, however the SP mode is perfectly suitable for general use, forming a decent balance between giving 2hr of running time with not much reduction in quality. The LP option jumps to 4hr, stepping down the recording quality as it does so but the overall performance is surprisingly good, particularly when recording directly from Freeview. The lowest mode, EP is , switchable between 6hr or 8hr

running times. Neither option is great for sharp pictures but they are acceptable for non-essential recordings.A flexible (FR) mode means you can specify more precise durations to fit programmes on disc at the best available quality. The progressive scan output for flat-screen TVs and projectors gives a slightly clearer image than RGB Scart, particularly with films, so your DVD collection should look respectable. High-resolution digital movies such as Sin City look especially impressive. Standard TV fares less well due to the machines rather lacklustre progressive scan conversion but the noise reduction mode helps somewhat. Digital audio playback is adequate but compared to more expensive models it has a rather dull edge that occasionally lapses into harshness with vocals.
Perfectly suited for the occasional user on a budget

conclusion

The DMR-ES20D is best suited for those that make occasional recordings and want access to Freeview and DVD playback without a pile of hardware under the TV.This model is a different proposition to sophisticated, largecapacity hard-drive combis for well-heeled TV addicts but given what it can do, its a fine recorder. Of course, there is always room for improvement. In the next generation we would like to see Panasonic add VR-mode support for DVD-RW, the ability to record on new dual-layered blanks and perhaps a subscription card slot for Top-Up TV, although as the free channels increase, this becomes less of an issue. Freeview-ready digital recorders are still in their infancy but already this is becoming one of the best of the more affordable choices

Ratings

WHATS GOOD
Built-in Freeview and EPG; multiformat disc recording; digital picture

WHATS BAD

One Freeview tuner; no editing or EPG when recording; editing on DVD-RAM only
Picture Sound Features Ease of use Value
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OVERALL VERDICT

A convenient way to play or record DVDs along with great picture quality from built-in Freeview tuner

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