OK I got rid of my Tosh XS34... Now what?

[ABP]

I hated the slow start speed .and the fan noise was just too much
I also got it in the neck from the wife and kids as they found it very difficult to use... so did i to start with... Clunky would be an understatement.

I Need a good size HD 160G min and it MUST be QUIET and easy to use.
I would like a DV input as i did connect my camcorder but i am unsure if i would chose this option if it meant sacrificing the others.

I would like Freeview tuner although i mainly used the XS34 for backing up and editing both old VHS and more often films from Sky+

I assume all HD DVD recorders can edit out the adverts to a play list and re record them to the HD like the Tosh can?

I found this vey usefull function and often recorded at max bitrate and then edited and saved back to HD at best quality to fit onto a DVD.

Any advice will be usefull i dont want to make the same mistake again.

I have been looking at the Panasonic 60 and the sony 710

 

[HelenS]

I hated the slow start speed .and the fan noise was just too much
I also got it in the neck from the wife and kids as they found it very difficult to use... so did i to start with... Clunky would be an understatement.

I Need a good size HD 160G min and it MUST be QUIET and easy to use.
I would like a DV input as i did connect my camcorder but i am unsure if i would chose this option if it meant sacrificing the others.

I would like Freeview tuner although i mainly used the XS34 for backing up and editing both old VHS and more often films from Sky+

I assume all HD DVD recorders can edit out the adverts to a play list and re record them to the HD like the Tosh can?

I found this vey usefull function and often recorded at max bitrate and then edited and saved back to HD at best quality to fit onto a DVD.

Any advice will be usefull i dont want to make the same mistake again.

I have been looking at the Panasonic 60 and the sony 710

Well as you probably already know, the Panasonic EH60D you have been looking at has pretty much everything you mention, and yes it is quiet and has a much simpler interface than the Toshibas too. It has a DV input, Freeview AND analogue (not in a twin tuner way - the tuner is single but able to receive both types without fiddling with menus or settings) and the partial erase feature, though manual, is dead easy to use. FR (flexible record) when used in transferring from HDD to DVD picks the bitrate required to exactly fit a single recording onto a DVD at the best quality it can. With DVD-RAMs, everything is done exactly the same as the HDD (all the same features), just at a smaller capacity and they can support about 100x more rerecording than DVD-RW and +RW, so they say [oops, sorry - with a Toshiba, you know about DVD-RAM already, I just remembered!].

I haven't used or seen a Sony in action, so can't comment on that one, though it seems very well thought of by its owners.

 

[ABP]

I have not seen DV input on the Panasonic and it is not listed on the spec sheet.
I thought DVI was only for the European non Freeview version?

Can you confrm that i can link my camcorder to the EH60D with a DV cable and is this connection on the front?

 

[ABP]

can you tell me if you have sky do you loop it through the DVDR to thee TV to get RGB in and if so can you watch sky if the Panasonic is in standby or set to timer record. I did like the SAT MON function on the Tosh and wounder if the Pana can perform a similar trick?

 

[HelenS]

can you tell me if you have sky do you loop it through the DVDR to thee TV to get RGB in and if so can you watch sky if the Panasonic is in standby or set to timer record. I did like the SAT MON function on the Tosh and wounder if the Pana can perform a similar trick?

I'm afraid I don't have Sky or similar, so can't answer that one, sorry.

 

[HelenS]

I have not seen DV input on the Panasonic and it is not listed on the spec sheet.
I thought DVI was only for the European non Freeview version?

Can you confrm that i can link my camcorder to the EH60D with a DV cable and is this connection on the front?

Yes, there's a DV connector on the front under the fold-down flap. Panasonic call it iLink - I recall somebody describing it on a forum as "4 pin Firewire". It is definitely for digital camcorders connected with a DV cable. I don't have a camcorder so haven't tried it. The typical red/white/yellow older style sockets are also under this flap, and an S video in socket.

 

[yabadaba]

can you tell me if you have sky do you loop it through the DVDR to thee TV to get RGB in and if so can you watch sky if the Panasonic is in standby or set to timer record. I did like the SAT MON function on the Tosh and wounder if the Pana can perform a similar trick?

I've got the Panasonic DMR-ES20D, which I believe is essentially the same as the ES60 without the hard disk and DV input. My Sky+ box is looped-through the ES20 and this is all handled very well, with the RGB signal remaining clean. Sky can be viewed with the ES20 in standby mode or when it is powered on with the relevant scart input selected. However, if you record anything other than Sky (i.e select freeview or an external input) then you are unable to view the Sky input at the same time.....well I haven't been able to do that, anyway!