Panasonic DMREX773EB

Andrew Alex

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We bought this Panasonic Recorder in September, from Comet. We bought this one because we have had positive experience of Panasonic before and because the salesman said it was easy to set up and operate:rolleyes:It has been neither. We had to call in one of my son's friends who (literally) has a degree in electrical engineering, to set it up, and even after he spent an hour on this, it has still been somewhat less than satisfactory:

1. It is a nightmare to operate. For the simple task of formatting a DVD I have to reach for my annotated instruction book: there are no helpful prompts at all.
Even showing a DVD needed the instruction manual, except on those occasions when it started working when you just popped the DVD in!

2. During the really complicated installation process we lost the ability to watch TV without going through the Virgin Box. This would not really matter except this obliges us to watch the channel we are recording. Surely this defeats part of the purpose of having a recorder in the first place.

3. Tonight was the final straw. Having managed to record a film last night, onto the hard drive, we found it would only record onto DVD in "real-time" and we had to watch it on the TV at the same time. At this point I removed the unit from the TV shelf, found the receipt and all the other junk and I intend to return it to Curry's tomorrow and recover as much of my £269.99 as possible!:lesson:

ADVICE: Unless you like your tech complicated, don't buy Panasonic!!

AA
 
ADVICE: Unless you like your tech complicated, don't buy Panasonic!!

Welcome to the forum.


Advice. - You should have come here sooner to get some useful guidance.
 
I have to say I completely disagree with your assessment of said unit.:D

Ever since I plumbed it into my system it's been nothing but a joy to use. Dubbing to dvd after the ads have been erased is a cinch. The reason why it dubs in real time is because the film is longer than 2h 4m and you're using single layer blanks. Dubbing at super quick speed is noisy I grant you, that's why I use the lesser of both evils. Takes about 15 minutes and that includes the auto finalise.

I agree that if you're not tech savvy, then it would seem daunting. Perseverance will reward you with a great machine.

And no, I don't work for 'em either.:D
 
I am glad you are getting on with it better than me. If I can't get my money back I will be back for plumbing-in advice.

Since you are tech savvy (that could be a good name for a super-hero's side-kick!) do you have any idea why we suddenly lost the capacity to watch tv apart from through the Virgin Box? Until we installed this recorder we could watch the tv through the Virgin Box, or not (not that it made the programmes any less rubbish!) but as soon as we installed it, that capacity went, compelling us to watch the programme we wanted to record. Even having removed the recorder, we still haven't got that capacity back.

AA
 
I have to say I completely disagree with your assessment of said unit.:D
I have the earlier model and it is virtually flawless, the only tiny fault is that at times it seems slightly slow when navigating some menus.
Just because it is not a H**** does not make it rubbish..
on the contrary this manufacturer does seem to make more reliable machines even if they are a bit less tecchie than some other brands.
Cant really fault Panasonic at all.:)
I think your problems are how you are wiring all your boxes together and you are looking too deep really.
 
I am glad you are getting on with it better than me. If I can't get my money back I will be back for plumbing-in advice.

Since you are tech savvy (that could be a good name for a super-hero's side-kick!) do you have any idea why we suddenly lost the capacity to watch tv apart from through the Virgin Box? Until we installed this recorder we could watch the tv through the Virgin Box, or not (not that it made the programmes any less rubbish!) but as soon as we installed it, that capacity went, compelling us to watch the programme we wanted to record. Even having removed the recorder, we still haven't got that capacity back.

AA

We would know the answers to these questions - but it cannot be properly addressed without knowing a few things about your installation - TV used , method of connection of each device [ scart or HDMI] etc.

Your frustrations with the machines are obvious but it can scarcely be the fault of the '773 that you cannot watch the programme you want to watch.

It is a real pity you did not come sooner to the forum.

Of this class of machine, these are actually the easiest to use of all that are on the market.


There are a few basic things it would be useful for you to know.

You are never 'forced to watch' something. These automatic screen switchings are there for your convenience but they can all be over-ridden.

You need to become acquainted with the use of the 'Source' button on your TV [ or whatever it may be named ]
This button chooses what gets displayed on your screen: Either the output of the TV's tuner, or the picture from any or the variety of sources you may have connected to your TV.
If you give me your TV's make and model number I may be able to direct you to this button and its use.

Secondly, if you could only watch what you were recording, this implies that you were recording manually ... because it means that the unit was switched on... which means you have not been recording in the most advantageous way - which is to timer record, programmed via the EPG... in which case the unit does not have to be switched on at all and will take care of itself.
 

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