Panasonic DMR-EZ17 DVD Recorder with FireWire and Digital/Analog Tuner Records HDTV Programming

As DVD recorders are getting cheaper and cheaper, the functionality they provide also grows. The new Panasonic DMR-EZ17 costs less than $180, which is less than what I paid for my first Panasonic DVD player several years ago and much less than what my first VCR cost me! And this new model has some exciting new features, including a hybrid digital/analog ACCUTUNE tuner that lets you record off-the-air HDTV (albeit in downconverted 'standard' resolution).

The DV input (FireWire) that lets you record your camcorder footage in digital format is also available. The recorder is available in either silver or black color as EZ17S or EZ17K model respectively.

Features

Just as its predecessors, the DMR-EZ17 can record on DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and even dual-layer DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL. It also plays all formats. You get the most flexibility if you use DVD-RAM discs, which work faster and let you use more of the recorder's features.

In addition to all recordable DVD formats, the recorder can play store-bought movies on DVD-Video as well as Video CD, Audio CD, Audio CD-R, Audio CD-RW, MP3 CD-R and MP3 CD-RW as well as CDs with JPEG pictures.

The EZ17 features progressive 480p (if you have and HDTV or EDTV television) and "standard" (interlaced) 480i playback (progressive scan available through its component video out). Just as most VCRs, this recorder has a built-in TV tuner, timer recording and manual recording.

One exciting new feature is the hybrid analog/digital tuner which lets you receive not only analog programs but digital off the air broadcasts (including high-definition) and record them (although downconverted to standard definition).

This means that you get better picture quality than if you used analog tuner with less noise, widescreen image, better sound and 480p playback (provided your TV supports 480p).

The recorder has more speeds/modes than the VCR however, and much better picture quality in top quality modes. The available modes are: XP, SP, LP, EP-6H, EP-8H and flexible recording mode.

The digital FireWire (DV Video) input is available on the front panel. As a DVD/CD player, the EZ17 does what other DVD payers do and has things like parental control, angle select, soundtrack select, subtitle select, still, slow and fast motion, resume, virtual surround sound, zoom, etc. It also has dialogue enhancer and dynamic range compression for night viewing, black level control, slide show for JPEG images, zoom and rotation of images.

The supplied remote control that can also control different brands of TVs.

Connectivity

The recorder has one set of A/V outs (optical digital audio out, composite video out, component video out, S-Video out and an analog stereo out). The component video out can be switched between interlaced and progressive scan mode. There is also an RF input and an RF out for antenna or cable.

There are two sets of A/V inputs, one of which is on the front panel (composite video, analog stereo audio and S-Video). The front inputs are located in the lower center of the front panel and are covered by a lid that also covers some of the buttons. The DV input (FireWire) is also located under this lid.

The recorder uses a power cord is of the kind that can be disconnected and replaced if necessary, which I like. The recorder has an optical digital audio out, which I use for DVD playback. There is also a fan on the back panel so make sure you leave enough space in the back of the unit for it to operate properly.

Recording Modes

The recorder has several recording modes/speeds. The XP mode lets you fit about 1 hour on one single-sided disc at standard DVD resolution of about 540x480. The SP fits 2 hours with very similar image quality (more on this later). The LP fits 4 hours and, unlike most other DVD recorders, it preserves the horizontal resolution of over 500 lines (about 540x480). The tradeoff is encoding artifacts, especially in scenes with a lot of motion.

The recorder also has EP modes: EP-6H and EP-8H that fit 6 and 8 hours respectively and feature reduced resolution of 260x240 (as they do in other DVD recorders). The sound quality is about the same in all modes (Panasonic claims slightly worse sound in 8H mode comparing with 6H mode, but I could not perceive much difference). The audio is recorded in 2-channel (stereo) Dolby Digital AC-3.

The recorder also has flexible recording more that adjusts the recording parameters (bit rate) so that the program fits on the disc at the best possible quality. Obviously, the longer the program that fits on the disc, the worse the quality gets. The quality is pretty good up to about 3 hours per disc.

The times above are for single-sided single-layer disc. Double-sided discs double the recording times and dual-layer ones increase it to almost double.

First Impressions

Just as the previous generation of DVD recorders, the EZ17 impresses with its size and heft. At least comparing to the recent DVD players, which are light and compact. The recorder looks and feels solid and substantial, which gives you an impression of good durability and build quality.

The remote control looks stylish and nice. Both the remote and the recorder look well assembled. The buttons have excellent tactile feel, much better than on the remote of my, now defunct, Panasonic S35 DVD player.

The recorder has a disc tray in the left part of the front panel, which accepts caddy-encased or caddy-less (regular) DVDs. Overall, the recorder and its remote seem to have better build quality and ergonomics than you average DVD player.

In Operation

As always, this Panasonic DVD recorder impressed me with its responsive operation (both recording and playback). It responds to commands much faster than a VCR, even disregarding the fact that you do not need to rewind the tape or search for the segment you need.

Having used the previous models, I did not have to open the manual at all. If you are coming from the VCR world, you have to remember that you use the [Input Select] button located just below the power button on the remote to switch between inputs (unlike most VCRs, where you use channel up/down buttons).

Be advised that the DVD recorder is a little more difficult to use that a VCR, mostly because of its added functionality, but I find it not excessively difficult to use. And I find Panasonic DVD recorders much easier to use than some other brands.

An example of the added functionality, previously unavailable in a VCR: you can start recording a program onto a DVD-RAM disc by pressing the [Rec] button and then later start watching the same program from the beginning while still recording the rest of it by pressing [Play]. In order to stop the playback of the program you press [Stop] and if you want to stop recording this program, you can press [Stop] again, 2 or more seconds after you pressed the [Stop] button the first time to stop the playback.

Keep in mind that DVD-R/RW/+R discs have to be finalized before you can play them in other/standard DVD players. DVD-RAM discs do not have to be finalized but can only be played in DVD players that support them: mostly relatively recent Panasonic DVD players. But the power DVD-RAM format is its flexibility when used for re-recording. They work faster and Panasonic claims high durability in re-recording.

This is a claim I have no time or desire to evaluate as I am not going to try to re-record the same disc a thousand times, but DVD-RAM discs seem to work well and provide features that other formats cannot provide (e.g. chasing playback). I have used variety of media, including Panasonic DVD-RAM, Verbatim DVD+R, Imation DVD+RW and 2.4x Philips DVD+R made by CMC Magnetics - a company not known for making the best DVD media. Even the CMC disc worked well.

The manual recording is easy. You select the recording mode (XP, SP, LP or EP) and hit [Rec]. You can pause and restart recording at any time by hitting [Pause]. You stop the recording by hitting [Stop]. With DVD-RAM, there is no waiting after the recording is stopped. With other discs, you might have to wait while the recorder finishes the recording of the current segment, which lasts several seconds - not too bad.

The recorder is very responsive reacting to commands (record, pause, stop, etc.). When you record several programs on one disc, it creates titles for each one (T1, T2, etc.) automatically, so there is no need to look for empty space. You can specify different recording modes/speeds for different titles by pressing the [Rec Mode] button. If you change the recording mode while in Rec/Pause state, a new title will be created automatically.

The [Rec Mode] button cycles through XP, SP, LP and EP mode. EP mode can be selected between 6-hour and 8-hour mode in the setup menu ([Function] button). At any time you can see the remaining free space in hours and minutes for the currently selected recording mode by pressing the [Status] button twice. You can combine several programs recorded in LP and SP mode on once disc with no problems.

At any time (while not recording) you can hit [Direct Navigator] button to get to the screen which lists thumbnails (video) and descriptions of the titles recorded. From there, you can select a title and play it or select it and edit title or other information by hitting the [Submenu] button.

The title editing is slightly cumbersome as you have to select letters, digits and numbers from the onscreen selection. But it can be expected as the recorder has no keyboard or keypad to enter letters.

Non-erasable formats can have commercials removed if you watch the program while recording and use the [Pause] button to stop and restart the recording. The re-recordable formats let you erase commercials after the recording.

Non-DVD-RAM discs have to be finalized before you can play them in a standard DVD player. The process is accessed through the [Function] button and going to the Disc Management menu. You can specify if playback will start from the first title or from the menu/list of titles.

The disc finalization takes less than 3 minutes and discs played fine in my DVD players. The menu with thumbnails and descriptions of the programs appears and I can select the program I want to see. Overall, the recorder is pretty easy to use.

One new feature is called Quick Start and lets you start recording of the program in 1 second after powering the unit on (using DVD-RAM media). Be advised that if you turn this mode on, the recorder consumes 14W of power in standby mode (as opposed to 1-2W), which is bad for the environment.

ACCUTUNE Tuner

The ACCUTUNE digital/analog tuner works well, provided the antenna and signal strength are adequate. I live pretty close to the broadcasting station and got excellent off the air digital reception, albeit made worse by the relatively low bit rate used by the station.

Picture Quality

The best source for recording is, obviously, digital off the air programming. The picture quality in the XP mode is outstanding and is virtually indistinguishable from the original. The edges of objects are sharp, there is no video noise and there are no problems with fast moving objects. Since only 1 hour fits on the disc in the XP mode, I mostly used SP mode for high-quality recordings. In the SP mode, the picture quality is almost as good as in the XP mode. In fact, I could notice no difference.

The more economical LP and EP modes are decent. The EP modes are mostly suitable for either video programs with mostly static content or programs where sound matters more than the video (concerts, etc.) The EP-6H mode is preferred over the EP-8H in terms of sound quality.

The LP mode has the same resolution as the SP/XP, but its lower bit rate makes for encoding artifacts, especially in scenes with a lot of motion.

The EP modes have lower resolution and artifacts. If you look closely, the LP mode adds some artifacts/digital noise at the edges of objects whereas the EP makes the picture less detailed, softer overall and features some artifacts even on solid surfaces. I do not use EP modes and use LP when necessary. I use SP most of the time, especially for digital camcorder footage. And XP is a viable option when I want to make sure the best possible quality is preserved (I have a bunch of rewritable DVD discs that make it easy not to worry about running out of media).

Bottom Line

The DMR-EZ17 is a very impressive DVD recorder. Its low price, excellent performance, features, format versatility and connectivity make it a great choice. It even has a digital camcorder input (DV) and a digital/analog tuner that lets you record HDTV programming (although at SDTV resolution).

If you need a recorder with a hard drive, you might want to look elsewhere. And if you want an SD card slot and an HDMI out, the slightly more expensive Panasonic EZ27 is a good choice. But otherwise, the EZ17 is a great choice.