Entered CNET Catalog: 04/14/2004
SKU: DMR-E85H
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Manufacturer description
Panasonic DMR-E85HS is a progressive-scan DVD video recorder with built-in 120 GB hard disk and TV Guide On Screen. It records to DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs.User opinions
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User Rating: 
2/10
Overly complicated and perversely unreliable
Pros: Not Available
Cons: Not Available
Compounding those problems are the dense, unhelpful manual and the remote with its tiny, crowded, obscurely colored keys.
Today I bought a TiVo.
User Rating: 
7/10
This unit is not for amateurs. Although better than a VCR, it's a LOT more complicated!
Pros: Excellent video quality and nice editing features.
Cons: Required frequent hard resets and is currently being serviced after only 6 weeks in play.
My problems progressed from random failures of the Navigator, Functions and TV Guide screens to appear (requiring hard resets) to complete unrecoverable system failure. I believe Panasonic had the right ideas but failed to extensively test this unit as it appears others are having the same problems.
User Rating: 
9/10
An Amazing Machine
Pros: Tivo like system, editing capabilities, and easy to use.
Cons: Manual could use some work and editing capabilities could be improved a bit.
User Rating: 7/10
Rebirth of TV recording
Pros: 26 hrs of recording on xp mode; 52 hrs on SP; 213 hrs on EP. Easy to set up (I did ignore the TV Guide stuff) Easy to manually record (programming and one-touch) Simple editing. Easy to keep recordings on HDD Fast transfer rate to DVD-R
Cons: Manual only explains how to operate a feature, not why you would want to, or a brief overview of what that feature is.
User Rating: 
6/10
Best alternative to a Tivo box
Pros: Large HD, medium cost, functional. Much better than a VCR. Nice to record programs on DVD-R to take to another DVD player or to your computer to watch on the plane.
Cons: The EPG is something to be desired. I was happy to get a full 8 days of program guide (took 7 days to get once I plugged it in). Then in my second week some days do not update and get passed up. I was not sure if Tivo service would be around in one year a
User Rating: 
8/10
You gotta get one of these!
Pros: I will keep it short, this unit is a keeper. I have had it 60 days and use it constantly. Great quality of picture. Easy to use but you will need the reference manual. I prefer the TV Guide to Tivo and it actually works pretty well. I could not be more
Cons: Very few. TV guide takes a day or so to load and if you use it constantly the guide will expire until the unit is off for 24 hours. First unit was defective, returned it and no problem since. Would prefer DVD-RW because of its universal applications bu
User Rating: 
5/10
Great idea, features BAD execution!
Pros: This unit was meant to replace the DMR-E55 which I have already been using for a while and really like, but I wanted one with a hard drive. The fact that the E85 will control my cable box was also appealing. The video quality is great. I've read people's
Cons: I have some major gripes about this unit. 1) The first thing I noticed is it's response time. Often when hitting a button on the remote, the unit takes a second to react. 2) I wanted to reset the TV Guide setup, so I followed the reset instructions in the
User Rating: 5/10
Replete with features (if you survive the setup process)
Pros: Large 120Gb drive, so you can record your favorite show week after week without disk changes (if you're out walking the Appalachian Trail for three months). Controls the cable box using an "IR Blaster" that has to be positioned in front of the IR receive
Cons: However... If you run the setup program (and stick religiously to the procedure), and you aren't fortunate enough to have one of the built in Line-Ups (which had me surprised, since I'm in Atlanta -- not exactly in the boonies), then watch out... you're i
User Rating: 8/10
My VCR/DVD Replacement Dream
Pros: Replacing my VCR & DVD player with one unit was a must, to minimize space, and this unit does it. Great capacity and quality recording to the hard drive on XP (highest quality=26 hours) & SP (one notch down=52 hours) with two other modes I haven'
Cons: Expensive. Bought for $549 at Circuit City since I have a problem with impulse buying, but it can be found for $100 cheaper online from what I've seen. Read the freakin' manual Janet! Lots of stuff to become accustomed to including the channel line-up or
User Rating: 7/10
A good all-around recorder that still thinks it's a VCR
Pros: Huge capacity, excellent recording quality, ease of use and a lack of monthly fees make this product a winner in the dual-use category. If you're looking for a competitor to TiVO, this is probably not your best bet, but if you want to be able to store a
Cons: There is a definite learning curve and it's helpful to keep the manual handy for a few weeks. The main problem is that it's designed to function more as a VCR than a DVR, sacrificing a lot of the functionality of dedicated DVR's such as TiVO. Recording
