Page 1 of Panasonic DMR-E85 Editing Question

Hi all,

I`m really keen to get a hold of the new Panasonic E85 DVD/HDD recorder but just wanted to ask a question re the editing functions.

Does a recorder such as this mean that you can do pretty comprehensive editing? I guess I`m only really interested in cutting out ads and trimming the beginning and end of the recording but I wanted to know if you could really be frame-specific (a la sony minidisc) when doing this.

Your opinions and comments would be really appreciated!

Also, I`ve heard about the E95 coming out soon which is apparently bigger (HDD wise) and better functions? Anyone know anything about this?

Cheers,
Scott.

All the HDD machines,from Pioneer and Panasonic,can perform frame specifiic editing,and very much more.You may find that the freedom these machines give when creating your own discs will lead you to enjoy doing much more than just topping and tailing.
The E85 is fairly recent and excellent value,the E95 will cost more,and you should rarely need more than 80Gb

On the E-85, on the standard SP setting (which is perfectly good enough for me), you can get 36 hours of stuff onto the HD. Plenty! :) If you`re keeping anything, dub it onto DVD - easy!

The editing is fine - if you want to get into frame specific editing, just pause the playback and shuffle along til you hit the right points where you want to edit. Fade out would be nice, that`s all I can think of that would be useful. That would be griping a bit though... :D

http://www.electromancer.com/artists/flip_martian

This item was edited on Sunday, 9th May 2004, 14:47

Remember Reading somewhere that E95 will be coming out in August 2004

Hi Scott,
Like you, I`m thinking of purchasing a Panasonic HD recorder. I note that the E-85 does not have i-link(Firewire) for dv input (egVideo camera) This may be important to you ??

Today, I`ve just found out some very useful info on the E-95, due to be released in UK in July. Log onto www.avland.co.uk/panasonic Apparently it will have internal 160GB HD
( too enormous ??) but will include the i-link input and have PCMCIA PC Card slot. Hope this input helps you. Likely price on the internet will be approx. 750 GBpounds

Can any other readers help me with the following query.....Panasonic advertise their HD recorders as being multi-regional. Does this mean just the dvd(regions 1-6 ) or is the analogue tuner also multi regional ? I live in Cyprus and our system here is PAL BG. I suspect that if I purchase such a machine ,whilst on leave in UK, it may come with a PAL I tuner ????

Cheers ,,,,,,John

Guys,

Thanks for all your responses. I`ve taken the plunge and ordered an E85 from Digital Point (£449 for a multi-region with RCE including delivery!). Can`t wait to start playing with it!

John, I use my PC for editing DV tapes so am not fussed about the iLink port or the PC card slot but, you`re right, they (along with the massive hard drive) seem to be the only benefits of the E95.

In terms of your question regarding Cyprus compatibility I don`t think the UK model will suffice. The link below is the Panasonic UK site and that clearly states PAL I only:

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/dvd-recorders/dmre85hebs/index.htm

If you look on the Panasonic Middle East site (which apparently covers Cyprus) they`re not currently listing the E85 as being available yet:

http://www.panasonic.ae/PMM/English/Products/ProductList.aspx?CatId=45

Hope this helps. Good luck anyway!

Scott.

Thanks for prompt reply, Scott. Very useful tips ! I may still bring an E 85 back from UK, as very nearly all my live material is recorded off satellite. The price here in Cyprus (machine available as from next week) is equivalent to nearly 800 GBPounds !!.......another important reason for a UK dabble !

Hope you have joy with your new toy. Do let me know how pleased you are with Digital Point and how speedy their service is, when you finally get your hands on the Panny.I may also be using their services soon !

Good Luck .........John

I used DP when I got my 85 last week. Ordered online Weds evening, delivered Friday morning with the price (at the time, £459) incl of delivery. Now they`ve dropped the price a bit more, its even more a bargain. So my experience of `em is very good, but then it worked perfectly out of the box. :)

Maybe the real test of a retailer is if it arrives faulty... I`d use them again though.

http://www.electromancer.com/artists/flip_martian

Scott.......Hi. Do you now have your hands on the E85 ? Good results? What about the service you received from DP? Would appreciate word when you have a moment. Thanks in anticipation
John, in Cyprus

John,

Ordered the E85 on Tuesday afternoon and received it Wednesday! Played around with it at the weekend and I seem to have caught the urge of suddenly wanting to record loads of programmes!

The machine is excellent - quite small and light and looks superb with its silver/chrome finish. The instructions, however, are a little poor and I feel would benefit from being more detailed. The best way of picking up everything (and I certainly have not covered everything yet) is just to try and do different things.

I don`t have a roof aerial so have connected my Telewest digital cable to the E85. You have to use the TV Out SCART from the cable box in order to get an RGB signal but, because the AV Out SCART from the E85 is RGB, you do not need to connect the cable box to the TV - even when the E85 is `off` the RGB signal still passes through fine.

The quality of the recordings in XP mode (1 hour per disc) is superb: I can notice no difference from the original broadcast. SP mode (2 hours) is fantastic with only very minor differences noticeable. LP mode (4 hours) is no where near as good but is certainly better than VHS. To be honest, though, if you`re looking to buy a DVD recorder I can`t understand why anyone would want to use this mode. Particularly as the 80GB hard drive can record 34 hours in SP mode.

Editing seems relatively straightforward whereby you create chapters of, say, the adverts, and then just delete those chapters. However, I hoped this would be a bit like mini-disc editing where you can see what your results would be before you confirm the edit. It probably just takes a bit of getting used to. I am certainly not at all concerned about not having RW disc compatibility, though, as the Hard Disk is superb.

Have only burnt one disc from material recorded on the hard drive and the quality seems as excellent on disc as on the machine. I haven`t quite worked out the high speed dubbing yet, though.

All in all I think it is a tremendous machine and I`m delighted I bought it. The price from DP was teriffic and the service equally so. Highly recommended. Let me know what you decide to do and how you get on.

All the best,
Scott.