Page 1 of Is it worth buying Panasonic DMR HS2 DVD Recorder ? READ ON

I have been looking at this model in various shops , but 1 thing that is always apparent is that these models are not powered up , so I have the following questions I would like to ask owners of the above DVD Recorder

1. Is the reason they are not powered is because the external fan is to noisy, which could scare off a possible customer`s ?

2 Is the fan on all of the time , if so how loud is it ie same level as normal PC, Is it noticeable when playing a DVD

3 Why does the HD require a fan , is because its old technology and is prone to overheating.

4 Can you turn the fan off ?

This item was edited on Wednesday, 4th December 2002, 19:17

After a bit more research I have seen the DMRE30 DVD recorder working and I am please to say that the fan cannot be heard , but with regard to the DMR HS2 DVD Recorder I am yet to see one of these working, however I did speak to panasonic and they say the only noise that will be heard is the HD but this should be low or this could indicate a fault, so to the owners out there . Is the Hard Drive excessively noisy ? Please email back.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 4th December 2002, 19:18

Seeing as nobody seems interested in joining this thread, I will continue to add more info. Well today I brought a DMR HS2 DVD Recorder luckily on a 16-day money back deal. So what I can report is that it is a fantastic machine and records perfectly apart from EP which I would only use as last resort, however the whine of the Hard Drive will drive you mad, it is noticeable even when playing normal DVD`s, maybe I got a bad one, however I told Panasonic, they said they were aware of the problem but cannot offer any help. So DVD goes back to shop tomorrow and I get my money back and start looking for another DVD Recorder.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 4th December 2002, 19:18

So the story continues I returned the DMR HS2 & got a full refund I then purchased a DMRE30 DVD recorder and got discount on this. So far I have set it up without any problems and it records perfectly but remember the picture is only as good as the signal received, as I now have this model on a 16 day money back I will be putting it through its paces & will update later.

well, i think this thread is very interesting and shall continue to observe your voyage...........

Well here is my opinion I think other people will not agree with me but here goes, the DMR E30 records live TV perfectly in XP mode with no loss what so ever but this means 2 hrs max recording on Double sided 9.4GB DVD-RAM all other modes i.e. SP LP EP will result in less data being saved to disc this result is noticeable when played back and can result in an unfocused grainy picture, I was buying a record-able DVD to replace my VHS, but unless the 9.4GB disc`s can quad in size forget it I was disappointed with the results when I expected so much, but I don`t think we have quite reached the correct technical level to replace the VHS just yet, Please ask questions I will answer them honestly.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 10th December 2002, 00:07

Are recording Digital TV? An RGB feed? It may make a difference.

The reviews I have read said the XP and SP modes were very good, way better than VHS.

What TV are you watching on? Model? Size?

TV is Hitachi 28 inch NICAM Digital Stereo connectivity is SCART & SVHS my signal is analogue, I tried copying direct from TV as I said before in XP the picture was perfect also the same via SCART & SVHS from my video which is top of range Ferguson Digital NICAM Stereo, but if you use SP, LP the DVD recorder reduces the signal via the megabits so that less data is stored on the DVD-RAM, which in turns gives a reduced quality of picture, I am not trying to put people off but just providing the facts as I see them , I believe some time in the future there will be a greater capacity DVD-RAM to hold XP, then I will reconsider buying again.