Help, tips for Panasonic DMR-EH50S (1 Viewer)

[Chris:P]

First, my apologies if this has been covered elsewhere. I tried some searches but didn't manage to turn anything up.

I bought an EH50S yesterday, and I spent a couple of hours last night getting it set up and reading through the manual. I haven't tried recording anything yet, but the tuner is working and it should be downloading the TV Guide guide.

Anyway, I've read some good reports on this recorder, but as I read through the manual, I started to feel like I had bought something from a JPL yard sale. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually, but this thing is a lot more complex than a VCR, and the manual is pretty dense. Is there somewhere I can find simpler "get started" directions, and are there any tips that Panasonic doesn't mention?

Also, one thing has me scratching my head. The manual says that if you record a 16:9 program onto a
DVD-R/-RW/+R, it will come out as 4:3, and apparently squashed in from the sides. I don't know that I'll be recording such a program anytime soon, but in the event that I do, is there any way to play back the program so that it looks right?

Thanks!

 

[Steve...O]

I have this unit and learned to use it pretty much by playing with it and trial and error.

The manual is horrible.

The good thing is that most of the operations are intuitive and if you're comfortable with playing around the machine it won't take long to get the hang of it.

I believe the 16x9 warning has to with HD broadcasts. If you record a letterbox movie from TCM it should come out ok.

Final advice: be very patient with the TV guide downloading process. It took my unit 2 days to start downloading and then it managed to lose everything several days later. Fortunately it reloaded quickly.

 

[Chris:P]

Thanks, Steve. I was kind of impatient when I got home on Friday and just dived in. You're right about the ease of use; I had to refer to the manual a couple of times, but for the most part it was easy to figure out. I got very good results dubbing parts of an old VHS tape, and I set it to record the Arrested Development marathon on Friday, which I think came off without a hitch (I haven't had a chance to look at it yet). I haven't tried editing or burning a disk yet, but one thing at a time.

The TV Guide download actually worked pretty well. And thanks for the 16x9 show info. I don't have HD right now so it's not a problem, but do you have any idea why it works this way? Is it a copy protection thing, or just a coding problem they haven't worked around yet?

Thanks again for your help. Manual aside, I think I made a good choice.

 

[cliff p]

letterboxes will appear on the top and bottom of your screen when recording hd broadcasts. the color quality is a little softer than normal but overall not bad.

 

[Chris:P]

Thanks for the info, Cliff. The manual gives the impression that the system squashes the picture in from the sides to make it 4:3, so it's good to know that the picture keeps its proportions.