What resolutions does Panasonic EX85 have

[TobyW]

The EX75 and EX85 claim to have full resolution (I presume 720x576) at LP (4 hour mode), same as for SP (2 hour mode). Does anybody know what the resolution is for 6-hour mode, is it 352x576 or is it 352x288 ?

[Hal_loe]

Originally Posted by TobyW

The EX75 and EX85 claim to have full resolution (I presume 720x576) at LP (4 hour mode), same as for SP (2 hour mode). Does anybody know what the resolution is for 6-hour mode, is it 352x576 or is it 352x288 ?

I don't know the EX85 but an older EH95.

It looks like you can no longer switch the Hybrid VBR to fixed yourself which is a pain because the resolution could switch mid recording which causes all sorts of issues for PCs.

I believe they are now using 720 horizontal resolutions.

So it could be switched from 720x576 to 352x576 or 352x288 (for PAL).

The only sure way would be to check a recording on a PC.

I expect the switching is changed from automatic to a fixed resolution with the 'Rec for High Speed Copy' switched 'ON', you just don't know about it anymore...

This page may interest you.

http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=251884

Hope that's of some help.

[billh]

Incidentally, the full resolution of the Panasonic EX75/85 is 704x576 not 720x576.

[Hal_loe]

Originally Posted by billh

Incidentally, the full resolution of the Panasonic EX75/85 is 704x576 not 720x576.

When I previously said Panasonic's use 704x576 I got told I was wrong and that the newer Panasonic DVD Recorder's use 720x576.

See this post HERE

Without a machine to check with I have no way of telling who is right...

[billh]

Apologies to all if my previous post about full resolution recording was incorrect. I was firmly under the belief that the EX76/85 full resolution was 704x576. After discussion it looks like I may well be wrong and that it may actually be 720x576.

Regards,

Bill.

[TobyW]

Thanks for those interesting links, folks. But can anybody answer my original question about the resolution for 6-hour mode?

[ChainsawDude]

The resolution for 6 hour mode is 352x288.

[TobyW]

Originally Posted by ChainsawDude

The resolution for 6 hour mode is 352x288.

Thanks ChainsawDude. I recently saw an el-cheapo machine that had a passable 352x576 6-hour mode, so I wondered whether the Panasonics might have caught up by now.

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by TobyW

so I wondered whether the Panasonics might have caught up by now.

Caught down you mean.

[Hal_loe]

Originally Posted by TobyW

Thanks ChainsawDude. I recently saw an el-cheapo machine that had a passable 352x576 6-hour mode, so I wondered whether the Panasonics might have caught up by now.

I expect the el-cheapo uses a lower bitrate instead, as that is the other trade off.

To be honest I have never used the EP modes on my Panasonic Recorder and only used LP for stuff I want to watch not keep.

I wouldn't expect quality when squeezing 6 hours onto a DVD and really 2 hours is the limit with quality.

[billh]

For the record, here are the results of my tests on EX75.

Recordings were made from FreeView directly onto DVD-RAM, and then played on PC using Nero ShowTime. The information displayed by ShowTime was as follows:

XP Mode 720x576 Audio 384k data rate about 8Mb/s
SP Mode 720x576 Audio 384k data rate about 4Mb/s
LP Mode 720x576 Audio 256k data rate about 2Mb/s
EP Mode (6hr) 352x288 Audio 256k data rate about 1Mb/s
EP Mode (8hr) 352x288 Audio 128k data rate about 1Mb/s

The data rates shown are presumably just the video data rates, not including audio. They do go up and down a lot as the video plays, indicating that they are using VBR.

Hope this answers the question!

Cheers,

Bill.

[Hal_loe]

Originally Posted by billh

For the record, here are the results of my tests on EX75.

Recordings were made from FreeView directly onto DVD-RAM, and then played on PC using Nero ShowTime. The information displayed by ShowTime was as follows:

XP Mode 720x576 Audio 384k data rate about 8Mb/s
SP Mode 720x576 Audio 384k data rate about 4Mb/s
LP Mode 720x576 Audio 256k data rate about 2Mb/s
EP Mode (6hr) 352x288 Audio 256k data rate about 1Mb/s
EP Mode (8hr) 352x288 Audio 128k data rate about 1Mb/s

The data rates shown are presumably just the video data rates, not including audio. They do go up and down a lot as the video plays, indicating that they are using VBR.

Hope this answers the question!

Cheers,

Bill.

Thanks Bill for the useful information.

[TobyW]

Thanks billh, that's the information I was looking for.

I suspected the el-cheapo had a high max/min VBR ratio, so although a brief clip looked good, perhaps it might have struggled with lengthy high-activity source material? Unfortunately the machine didn't work for long enough for me to find out! (It was a DG-Tech DVR160, probably not seen in the UK, but with Philips-like features.)

(Posted this twice, because my connection dropped out the first time)