Panasonic DMR-EZ25 MULTI FORMAT DVD Recorder, Built in Digital Freeview, HDMI OTPUT, SD CARD INPUT SLOT

the reason i have not opend it is we have just got the room decrated and every thing as got boxed up so its makes it east to put the new carpet down pluss all the wires i have? and still can not open it once we have got the carpet down as we are having a new stand for the new tv and all the wires have got to be un done I DO HOPE YOU HAVE PUT THE MANUAL IN SIDE THE BOX FOR ME? THANK YIOU CAN NOT WAIT TO OPEN THE BOX

Good

Have owned one of these for 18 months, is still working well with regular use -- mainly for recording a few Sky programs per week via SCART and watching DVDs.Average DVB tuner (the one on my Philips LCD suffers less break-up), good picture, reasonable analogue sound.Fan often comes on when recording and noise can be a bit distracting. Occasionally get disc noise on playback.1hr and 2hr recording modes via SCART are good, 4hr is a little poor for my liking. Recorded DVB picture often seemed a bit poorer than the live picture was (more blocking, especially with smoke or large areas of same colour).OK otherwise.

Although another reviewer suggested this was ideal for technophobes, I haven't found life with this unit very gratifying. Apart from niggles like the fact that if you set it to record it will tell you that you have an unformatted disc, but taking 4 or 5 re-insertions of the disc before bothering to offer you the opportunity of formatting it.I had not realized before buying it that you cannot watch one channel while recording another. This makes it almost totally useless for me. I'm 40, ergo I don't want to record loads of junk while I'm out getting legless, I want to record things I can't watch because TV companies invariably schedule programmes against one another for the same audience - tonight I wanted to watch Dalziel & Pascoe and record House - it is not to be. I am incredibly fed up with this heap of junk.

Panasonic's use of DVD-RAM standards puts their recorders ahead of the competition for versatility and ease-of-use. The EZ25 also comes with built-in digital tuner (for Freeview), a variety of other inputs - including ability to download from a digital camcorder - and an HDMI connection.I'd been very happy with my Panasonic DMR-E55 and bought the EZ25 as an upgrade. It does what is says it will but has two problems. First, it suffers from feature-itis. By cramming so many features in, all basic operations become just a little more fiddly and the remote is more crowded than on earlier models.Much more serious is that the DVD drive has a high-pitched whine during recording and playback. You don't notice the latter noise during action movies but it is intrusive during quieter moments and dialogue. I did a temporary swap for an EZ45 (one with built-in VCR) but the same problem was there. Two is a small sample size but it seems quite possible this is a range-wide issue. As a result the quiet and efficient E55 retains pride of place in our household and the EZ25 is relegated to back-room secondary use only.

Just received this in exchange for my previous Panasonic Recorder (DMR-ES20D) which was my 3rd in under a year. Made in Japan, err no, Slovakia. I have a Panasonic Plasma too (made in Czech Republic). Had to have 3 of those before I got one that worked (like you'd expect for £2k).So, back to the EZ25. Nice bit of kit, actually doesn't have any of the faults that the previous model did so well done Panasonic. However, they must be getting lessons off Microsoft since with the EZ25 we're now treated to a couple of new bugs in the EPG system (current s/w version 1.08). But if they hurry up and reply to my letter then fix these bugs I may not have to finish this review and could up my rating to say, a 4 :-)The idea behind the prog info bar part of the EPG data, bottom of screen (page 24 of the user guide), is while channel surfing, is supposed to tell you what's showing on other channels (now and next). Problem is that this new model, unlike the previous ones I had, is not automatically updating the prog title info. The only way to update it is to actually select the channel which kind of defeats the object really. Not to upset people, but I urge anyone on here who has just bought one of these to look again at this feature and decide for themselves whether the channel info function is accurate or behaving in a sensible logical way.Simple way to tell is if you see the word 'unknown' quite often, particularly in the first few minutes after the unit is turned on. As you actually step through and select channesl then the info starts to get updated but only if you select the channel. The previous model always had accurate up to date info when using this feature, with no need to select the channel you wanted to find out about.One other cut back on this unit compared to the previous model is the removal of the RF modulated video output. In my last player, both the DVB tuner and DVD video output signal were piped via the UHF coax output which allowed you to send both DVB broadcast and DVD picture around the house via a standard coax cable. Now all you get with the EZ25 model is just your analogue thru RF (standard UHF chan 21-69 but with no DVB or DVD signal added). The only output for these is now via the two 21 pin SCART sockets, so only for viewing on the TV associated with the player in the same room.I can't understand why such simple useful things like this has been removed. So, because of the faults with now all 4 of my Panasonic players, loss of useful features and lack of response and customer support from Panasonic UK (or Slovakia or wherever) I'm sending mine back to the shop (not Amazon thankfully) for a refund or a SONY (or anything other than this junk). Perhaps I'll try something made in Japan this time.

A most usful piece of kit.

I think this may well be a very good machine. However, I've had this kit for 6 months now and have not got around to doing anything other than play pre recorded disks (which it does very well). The reason for this lack of functionality is the rubbish manual which is the usual poor translation into Englishese. Even when I contacted Panasonic they agreed that it was poor but held out no hope of an english rewrite. The manual is fine if you just want to record the programmed tv channel. But try to fathom out how to say, record stored Sky+ programmes to archive them onto DVD. I did get a few clips onto a disk but gave up trying to edit them into a comprehensive programme. In short, the brochure promises marvellous features but the manual does not explain how to achieve any of these wonders.