The Panasonic DMR-E8OH breakthrough hard disk/DVD-R recorder lets you record video, edit precisely, set index points, and transfer to DVDR or tape without generation loss... what's not to like? Since my first tape recorder in the mid-1960s, I've wanted to accomplish three things: record TV shows without commercials; assemble compilations of clips of my favorite songs, movie scenes, news stories, etc.; and do simple editing of home productions. In the 1960s, you could do these things (audio only), by physically cutting and splicing the tape. It's taken 40 years and some 60-odd recorders later to produce a video recorder which can perform these tricks fluently, without editing generation loss.

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Most people are satisfied with any video recorder that works when they pop in a tape. The Panasonic DMR-E8OH is a machine for the rest of us. As a second-generation hard disk/DVD recorder, Panasonic has worked out many of the quirks of their earlier model (DMR-HS2), while building on the editing strengths of their DVD-RAM platform and the simple, high-quality recording offered by DVDR discs. Toshiba also makes a HD/DVD-R recorder, and Philips' DVD+RW format allows for some editing directly on the DVD (without using a hard disk), but the Panasonic DMRE8OH edits with accuracy and ease that the other machines don't match, and for a price that's hard to beat!

Like previous Panasonic DVD recorders, the DMR-E8OH allows you to record directly to DVD-R (or DVD-RAMs) one track at a time. DVD-Rs must be finalized before they can be played in a standard DVD player, but for more control over your recording, tracks can be recorded first to the hard disk, edited if necessary, and then dubbed in half the time to the DVD-R. Unlike Toshiba's technology, you transfer tracks one at a time (or several at a time), building up a DVD-R as you go. Unlike Panasonic's earlier HD/DVD-R offering, there's no loss of quality when making a high-speed transfer.

Unique Features
If you're already familiar with DVD-RAM editing on a Panasonic machine, learning the DMRE8OH is a snap. Editing on the hard disk works exactly like a giant DVD-RAM. The DMR-E8OH offers two kinds of editing: Shorten Segment and Playlist Editing.

"Shorten Segment" allows you to set the start and end points of the material to be deleted, select "OK", and it's gone. This is great for cutting out commercials, or trimming the beginning and end points of your track. The deleted space becomes available for future recording at the end of the disk. There's no undo feature so what's gone is gone forever.

"Playlist Editing" offers non-linear editing like you'd otherwise need a computer to perform. The DMR-E8OH lets you set the beginning and end points for each scene or clip, and then arrange the clips in any order for playback. You can fine-tune the start and end points, add clips, or reorder at any time. The clips can come from any number of tracks on the hard disk or DVD-RAM. You can make a duplicate playlist so you can edit more than one version of the same program.

The accuracy of editing is largely controlled by the DVD format. If you perform a high-speed dub after "Shorten Segment" editing, the edit points can be off by a few frames, resulting in a brief pause at the edit point. The DMR-E8OH always defaults to giving you a shorter clip, so you'll never see a commercial.

When doing real time dubbing, Panasonic offers two modes which can improve the edit quality. In "Seamless Play" mode, there is no pause at the edit point, but the sound is muted slightly before and after the edit, which may cause you to miss a word or two of dialog. If you turn "Seamless Play" off, there is a brief pause at the edit point, but precise dialog editing is possible. This feature also works with playlist editing. Toshiba and Philips machines always pause at an edit point and don't offer any feature for precise editing.

The DMR-E8OH also lets you set markers on the hard disk or DVD-RAM, which translate to index points (chapters) on the finalized DVDR. This adds a professional touch to your productions that wasn't possible with earlier Panasonic machines.

The DMR-E8OH can transfer tracks to and from DVD-RAM discs without quality loss, making it possible to save tracks outside the machine.

Each track on the hard disk or DVD-RAM can be given a title of up to 64 characters. The DMR-E8OH also records the time, date, and channel. All this information is passed along when a track is dubbed, and the title can be changed at any time before a disc is finalized.

Installation/Setup/Ease of Use
With three sets of S-VideoNideo/L/R inputs (one set on the front), and two sets of outputs, connecting this machine is limited only by your imagination. You'll probably want to make the DMR-E8OH your primary DVD player (as it plays DVD-Rs much better than a non-recording player), so connect the component video outputs to your primary monitor, and the optical audio output to your Dolby Digital decoder or receiver. The DMR-E8OH offers progressive-scan output and passes DTS audio. There are no miniDV (FireWire) input or memory card slots on this unit, but Panasonic's similar DMR-E100H model offers these features (along with a larger, 120GB hard disk), for $400 more.

Note that the RF output on Panasonic DVD recorders is merely a pass-through of the RF input; there's no internal channel 3/4 modulator to watch the output of the recorder on a TV's RF input. While it's unlikely you'd watch such a fine recorder on such a primitive set, you might find an RF output useful to send the picture to other rooms, or to a small black and white TV as a dedicated editing monitor. In either case, you'll have to make do with the video (baseband) outputs.

Be certain both ends of the power cord are plugged in firmly, as a power interruption while writing to the TOC area or finalizing a disc can be disastrous.

There's a lot of brouhaha on the Internet about the black level on this and other Panasonic DVD recorders. To correct for previous mistakes, Panasonic offers the ability to set both input and output levels to normal or darker. The default settings (input = darker, output = lighter) will produce correct black levels, so you should leave these settings alone and ignore the chatter about this issue.

One menu setting you should change immediately is "DVD-R Compatible Recording," which is found under "Disc" on the setup menu. Change this setting to On. This is necessary for bit-accurate, high-speed dubbing to be performed from the hard disk to DVD-Rs.

Most on-screen displays can be turned off for a cleaner output (see the "Display" menu). You'll probably want to leave these displays on while you're learning the machine, and you can turn them off at a later time. This allows you to play a clean start from paused video, something you can't currently do on any PVR.

Finally, you'll want to set the time and do a channel scan if you're connected to an antenna, or a cable system without a cable box.

There are no audio level adjustments or meters on the DMR-E8OH, which is particularly disappointing, given its application of assembling clips from different sources. If you want to assure a consistent audio level, you'll need to control and monitor audio with external equipment.

Playing (and Recording) with Your New Toy Because the DMR-E8OH records on its built- in hard disk, you don't even need to pop in a blank DVD to start recording. Panasonic makes selection of the HD or DVD quite easy: there's a button on the left for the hard disk, and a button on the right for the DVD. These buttons are duplicated on the remote control. On the machine, the button glows green for whichever side is selected. Above each button is a small LED which glows red when that side is recording and blinks when in record-pause.

Between these two drive select buttons is a full-featured fluorescent display, which includes a graphic showing record and playback status, channel/input, track number, and time. There's only one time display, which is a slight limitation, and it is difficult to read from a low angle. Above the track number is a display for recording speed: XP, SP, LP, or EP. SP glows in blue, while the others are orange, which provides an excellent warning if you step off the SP speed. The right side of the unit includes Stop, Play, and Record buttons, plus Channel (input select) up and down, but the main unit lacks enough buttons to do many necessary operations. For example, it's impossible to eject a DVD-R from the front panel after finalizing it! (You need the remote control to hit Cancel first.) There's also no Pause button on the machine, which is necessary to pause or restart any recording.

Playback at various speeds is greatly improved over previous models. Audio, at normal pitch, is provided at 1.3X and 3X speed (which Panasonic insists on calling 2X). The 3X speed is a bit fast to be intelligible while the 1.3X is barely faster than normal, but it does allow you to watch many programs in less time. The 3X playback is very smooth and can be recorded for special effects. Five scan speeds allow playback up to 100X forward or reverse, slow motion at various speeds, and frame advance and reverse, which are invaluable for precise editing. Separate Track Forward and Reverse buttons are provided on the remote.

You can play back a recording while it's being made (just press Play during recording), and you can also play back any other program--from either the hard disk or a disc in the DVD drive--while you're making a recording. Panasonic also offers a "Time Slip" feature which can show a PIP of what you're recording while you're playing back a different point. To switch from playing back to what you're recording, you press Stop, which is a bit confusing.

Timer recording works pretty much like any video recorder. VCR+ programming or "date/time/channel/input" programming are available, but there's no cable mouse for cable or satellite box control. This isn't a fatal flaw as most modem cable/satellite boxes can be set to change the channel by themselves when necessary, or if, like me, you record most things to TiVo first anyway. By design, this recorder eliminates the need for a TiVo, but, as its programming ability is far less sophisticated than a TiVo, you may want to continue to use your TiVo as a front-end unit, especially if it's a DirecTiVo (or DishPlayer) which doesn't cause any loss in picture quality. The DMR-E8OH does offer one special programming feature, which Panasonic calls "Renewal Recording," where each new episode of a show deletes the previous episode on the hard disk (or DVD-RAM).

You can punch in a title for the recording when setting the timer, then select recording to the hard disk or DVD. Be careful with this setting, as a slip of the finger can cause an unexpected recording on whatever half-finished DVD-R you've left in the DVD drive!