Panasonic DMR-EX78 - Good but really rather annoying?

admin_exported

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Based on the excellent reviews of this DVD/HDD recorder and its predecessor in WHFSV I bought one to replace an older Sony one a few weeks back. The recorder is excellent in many ways: recording quality, TV picture, Upscaling etc but it has a number of really annoying features that are making me regret my purchase in some ways. I thought I should report these to warn potential buyers and also so that if I am simply being silly and there is a way around any of them, hopefully someone can help me out.

Firstly, the TV guide is sponsored and so half of the space where the guide could be is taken up with adverts for magazines and other products I don't want. I appreciate that someone probably has to pay for the guide info but my freeview telly manages to display an EPG without adverts so why can't this player.

Next up, if the unit is recording a programme you cannot delete any previously recorded programmes, access the EPG or set the timer to record something else. Very annoying if you are recording something and realise there is something on later that you want recorded as well.

Probably most annoying is the way it searches for and adds new digital channels. It seems to scan each night and check if any new channels are available. If there are then next time you turn the unit on a message is displayed telling you that new channels are available and asks if you want to re-scan to add them. This is fine except that if you click OK, when it rescans it deletes all of the timer recordings that are set-up to record and also deletes all of the channels that you have selected as favorites (to be fair it does warn you that this will happen). If you don't click OK then you obviously don't get the new channel and the message continues to appear every single time you turn the machine on. As new channels seem to appear fairly regularly this is very annoying (especially since it doesn't even tell you what the new channels are up-front). Again, my telly is perfectly capable of adding channels itself without resetting everything else so why can't this unit?

If you are half-way through watching a recording and stop to watch something else, you cannot easily get back to where you were up to unless you remember to manually create a chapter in the recording. It will simply play from the start of the recording next time. My old player would remember where you had got to with all recordings so that you could watch things bit-by-bit without faffing around.

It also takes an age to turn on if in power-saving mode (~20-30 seconds). Again you can turn this off and it is much quicker but even so this seems a long time.

All in all a very good recorder in some ways but a nightmare from a usability perspective. My old Sony, though not digital was simplicity in itself and did nothing to annoy in the three years that I had it (excepting the fact it died taking a number of recordings with it!).

Am I doing something wrong? Does anyone else have a different experience with this player?
 
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Anonymous

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Yep I've got the same Pana DVD recorder and get exactly the same issues you mention above.

I have turned the environmentally power save function off since it takes long to turn on anyway! I find ejecting discs to be a slow process too.

Ah well at least the picture and sound are great.

jules.
 
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Anonymous

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Re-capped, albeit not in a very concise way. Also assumed formatting was as per forums so have html markers in text as a result. Feel free to edit both for formatting and conciseness.
 
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Anonymous

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JamesBernal:

If you are half-way through watching a recording and stop to watch something else, you cannot easily get back to where you were up to unless you remember to manually create a chapter in the recording. It will simply play from the start of the recording next time. My old player would remember where you had got to with all recordings so that you could watch things bit-by-bit without faffing around.

Actually I was watching a recording of Jools Holland the other night and when I went back to continue watching the day after it HAD remembered the position of my last viewing.

jules.
 

Gort1951

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The new Panasonic tvs also have the guide+ interface.

I got the Sony 970 dvd recorder as I don't want adverts taking up a hugh chunk on my tv screen every time I look at the tv guide.

They should reduce the price of the Panasonic since they are subsidised by adverts.
 

Sliced Bread

Well-known member
JamesBernal:
Firstly, the TV guide is sponsored and so half of the space where the guide could be is taken up with adverts for magazines and other products I don't want.

That would annoy the hell out of me.
 

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