Panasonic DMR-HS2

Matt F

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Anyone seen HCC's review of the Panasonic DMR-HS2? I was wondering how they rated it as a DVD player.

If it is a good/very good DVD player then it sounds like the ultimate machine to me; 40gb hard drive - record any TV programmes (up to 50 hrs worth) on to this then archive them on to DVD-R if you want to keep them for good. Copy anything you've got on video tape on to the hard drive then edit out the crap/adverts and copy it on to DVD-R. Copy movies from your digital camcorder on to the hard drive and, again, edit it and copy it on to DVD-R. It's even got a slot for digital camera memory cards!

I think I want one - the only sticking point is a lack of multi region compatibility.

Matt.
 
Id wait 6 months if you can.

I think most manufacturers will produce a HDD/DVD recorder very soon. Toshiba were first with RDX2000, followed closely by RDX1. Then came panasonics HS1. The HS2 is 2nd generation and Toshibas RDX2 will be third generation. Give it another 6 months and you should see offerings from JVC and maybe Sony.

I have just been given a £790 tax rebate just begging to be turned into a HS2 but I think patience will pay off, when I am given a choice of DVD format as well as market feedback from early adopters
 
Originally posted by nunew33
Id wait 6 months if you can.


You could argue this point about all PCs, hi-fi and pretty much anything.

6 months ago I spent £700 on the DMR-E20; now it's successor is £449, but has no DV inputs. No improvement there.
Had I waited, I could have got the HS2, but I've had a lot of fun over the last 6 months, transferring tapes and the like, and by getting a mutli-region RAM player on the side, can transfer RAM to dvd-r, and cope with non region 2 discs...

So, it's certainly true that's it's still an emerging technology, but when you do call it quits and stop waiting...?

There should indeed be more choice in 6 - 12 months, but by then Blue-Ray-tooth-maxi-capacity-giga-dvd-drives will be on the horizon and you'l still be wondering whether to wait another 6 months... (grin).
 
Originally posted by wellsi


You could argue this point about all PCs, hi-fi and pretty much anything.

6 months ago I spent £700 on the DMR-E20; now it's successor is £449, but has no DV inputs. No improvement there.
Had I waited, I could have got the HS2, but I've had a lot of fun over the last 6 months, transferring tapes and the like, and by getting a mutli-region RAM player on the side, can transfer RAM to dvd-r, and cope with non region 2 discs...

So, it's certainly true that's it's still an emerging technology, but when you do call it quits and stop waiting...?

There should indeed be more choice in 6 - 12 months, but by then Blue-Ray-tooth-maxi-capacity-giga-dvd-drives will be on the horizon and you'l still be wondering whether to wait another 6 months... (grin).

well said HS2 all the way!
 
Problem with Bluray is that it will be like trying to oust CD with minidisc. The DVD market is too well established.

Bluray offers 50G well so does a harddisc. So what else does it offer. SImply that you can archive to 50G but by the time the media is under a tenner DVDR will be sold in budles of 50 for a tenner. Itll be too late for the party andsimply be the choice of serious AV enthusiasts, especially as we wont het HDTV for at least 10 years and thats what Bluray is for.

Dont you think its best to wait until you have more than one manufacturer to choose from? Especially when the competition, toshiba, has more experience and makes Japans best selling DVD recorder the RDX1.

There is a difference between DVD recorders and PC/Hifi in that PCs and Hifi are mature technology and there is plenty of competition to ensure that all products are keenly priced. They have established technologies across teh price range from amature to enthusianst. PCs, on the whole, follow industry standards such as Motherboard formats, socketry, OS, etc. Hifis also use standard sockets and methods of connection.

DVD recorders on the other hand are an immature technology and with little competition first to market manufacturers deliberately milk the early adopters to recoup their R&D costs. So the comparison is unfair. Its well worth waiting 6 months to see:
1) if a dominant format emerges
2) which recorders will be regionless
3) which recorders offer best edit/menu features
4) wether early models have design flaws (eg pioneer PC DVD recorders have a fault that causes both disc and recorder to ignite!!!)
 
All fascinating stuff but going back to my original question:

Is the Panasonic DMR-HS2 any good as a DVD player?

Thanks,

Matt.
 
Looks like you'll have to wait till a) you buy the mag b)someone has one and gloats.
It doesn't do progressive scan, multiregion and has no firewire so not the ultimate machine as yet imo.
 
Ehh, The DMR-HS2 does have Firewire (i-link) DV input or as the Panasonic.co.uk site calls it DV Input Terminal.

Nice 3D View that you zoom in and out of the DMR-HS2 and see all the sockets (like firewire at the front left) on Panasonic Home Cinema site (you have to subscribe but here is the direct URL)

DMR-HS2 and Homepage

Scott
 
Changed my mind, more about blu-ray should be known next year...
 
Matt getting back to your original question, the multi region question. Its as I said, wait a couple of months and there will be a number of DVD recorder/HDD, one of them has to be regionless.
 
Nunew33 is certainly right in the respect that it's an emerging market, with little competition; Philips and Panasonic are the only 2 manufactures to have reasonable priced machines; the Panasonic easily has the best editing features by use of RAM, but whilst firmly established in higher end industrial and PC applications, RAM is still very much a new boy in the home dvd world, al be it one that is unlikely to go away now.

Matt,
There are better players out there than the HS2, given its lack of multi region etc; but if you want a player and recorder, my money would firmly be with the HS2 over and above all the others; (but that's because I love the time slip and editing features of RAM recording, whilst also love the fact that compatibility of dvd-r and that it's now under a £1 a disc. )

Ian's 2 pence...
 
Dont forget the DVD-R isnt as widely accepted as DVD+R and it needs to be finalised prior to other machines being able to read it.

Got an email from Toshiba today confirming a 3 mont delay in release of RDX2, I may be forced to get a HS2 through lack of choice. Boy did this tax rebate come at the right time!
 
Originally posted by nunew33
Dont forget the DVD-R isnt as widely accepted as DVD+R


?????

Hmm... shall we get into this amusing debate again...?
Perhaps not.
Suffice to say I've yet to come across a player that doesn't play the 79p dvd-rs I use... (grin)
 
I suppose statistically it isnt as widely accepted but I suppose you cpld assume that the majority of machines that it wont play on are early first generation DVD ROMs and players that most people wont own. So I will refrain from throwing in that chestnut.


Read on ZDnet this morning that far from aiming for a compromise the DVD alliance and forum are getting more competitive. SONY who are in both camps released a DVD+RW/-RW drive and was slated by both parties!!!!

And to top it all Toshiba are forming a breakaway group for Blue laser products. Its all very depressing
 
Hi wellsi, just bought an E30, what are the 79p DVD-r's your using and where are they from?

Cheers

Ian (not in london)
 
Originally posted by nunew33
Dont forget the DVD-R isnt as widely accepted as DVD+R and it needs to be finalised prior to other machines being able to read it.

Got an email from Toshiba today confirming a 3 mont delay in release of RDX2, I may be forced to get a HS2 through lack of choice. Boy did this tax rebate come at the right time!


DVD-r has been by the people, the most comon burner in the world is the pioneer a04.

lol betamax was better then VHS just like +R is better then -R but look who won that one.

:p

Im with Pioneer!
 
I think there truly is very little between +R and -R, apart form the plethora of -R disc manufacturers producing DVD-R discs for as low as 44p per disc, as oppposed to the couple of manufacturers producing DVD+R discs, and £2.80 is the cheapest I've seen them going for...

The compatibility issues are practically non-existent; both types clearly work in most players. The Plus sites' triumphant bragging about the advantages of the + format is actually very telling; nothing like trying to convince yourself before you take on the world (grin)!
Unfortunately, any dvd-R users reading through a +R site's list of advantages will quickly see how mischievous and selective they've been with the truth. (16 minutes to finalise a dvd-R? Perhaps not.)

What they can't compete with is the amazing functionality of RAM. If more RAM compatible players do indeed start coming out next year with the new DVD Multi format players, then the "war" will easily be won. However, as the actual RAM discs are the same dimensions as normal dvds, this is a format war that may well blow over by a bit of simple multi format drive capability.

Ian's daily 2 pence worth of thoughts...
 
One interesting thing I did read on the avsforum is that some HS2 users are reporting a drop in pq for -R discs to that of RAM; when transfering data from the HDD to disc, which is supposedly due to a further conversion process.
Dvd+R could get a shot in the arm from some Asian companies which are going to put out some cheaper boards for +R at the end of this year, but more so intended for Christmas next at a consumer point.
The way things are shaping for multi-standards in player inclusion, bluray may be the unifier threat to all - let's hope.
 
Toshiba are already forming a break away from the bluray standards. Bluray isnt backward compatable with current DVD technology. Toshiba wants it to be and is treading that path alone (sourced from ZDnet news)
 
Sony displayed a bluray unit at its Sony Dream World 2002 Sept 11th which WAS capable of playing current cd and dvds. I would envisage that manufacturers will incorporate bluray record and dvd playback but not record for both forms of media. It would make sense in sales terms big time. There has already been manu' talk of dual lasers for this purpose.
Another interesting product is the NEC writer which supports both dvd -r -rw and +r +rw media. So much for not crossing the streams there.

On the Toshiba front, I recalled reading something on that nunew and found this tucked in my favourites
http://www.xtremepccentral.com/modules.php?name=News&new_topic=1


Scroll down 4/5 for Toshiba-NEC article.:)
 

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