review from another forum:
Apologies for all spelling and grammar mistakes! Hope all info given is correct - don`t blame me if not!
I have only owned the DR-M1 for a couple of days and ideally I would take a little longer to use the recorder day on day out before giving my final/conclusive review, but thought I`d share my initial thoughts anyway as there seems to be so little about this recorder on the net.
I already own a Panasonic DMR-E30, but was looking for another DVD recorder to replace it and then move the E30 to another room (finally I could ditch the VHS :-)). Disc compatibility was an issue for me, so I started looking at the newer Panasonic models. I waited patiently for the E100 to come out, but after demoing this I was disappointed that Panasonic had made no effort to speed up the editing facilities and despite the convenience of the HDD I couldn`t justify the cost of the E100. For me I decided it was better to keep everything on RAM discs and I could then watch whatever I wanted in either room (or take to PC for some editing). I had visions of something recorded to HDD on the E100 which I wanted to watch on the E30 and then had to wait 15 mins (for 1hr recording in SP mode) to transfer to a RAM disc. There is of course the argument that what I want to watch could be on another disc than the one I am recording on, but I can either watch in the other room or I might buy a S35/S75/F65 to work round this. Of course I considered the E50 and E60, but in many ways this seemed like buying what I already had and I felt like a change, plus the ability to record on DVD-RW is useful when recording stuff for friends.
My system consists of a Panasonic TH42PW5B plasma with RGB sources fed through a J.S.Technology RGB2VGA. RGB sources are switched with a Keene Scart Commander. Sources consist of Grundig Sky box, Netgem I-player and now the DR-M1 (that leave one spare channel for the S35/S75/F65). I have an Arcam DV88+ straight into the plasma`s component input.
And finally (if you`re not asleep by this time) after all that rambling, here`s the review...
Looks/aesthetics:
Generally the DR-M1 is a nice looking machine. I`m not 100% sure about the way it narrows towards the base as this doesn`t make it look odd when compared with all my other kit. It is fractionally lower than the E30, but be warned this machine is very deep - it`s a good 2-3 inches deeper than any other DVD player (or VHS video) that I own. Under the disc tray there`s a blue LED (well one on either side) which is very distracting. You can turn this off by dimming the LCD display, but it would be nice if you could leave the LCD bright and just switch of the horrible LED`s. I can foresee a hardware modification coming on! On the pull down flap on the right there was a "JVC progressive world" sticker which I thought looked horrible, but this came off without problems. The remote is okay, but nothing special. I can control most manufacturers TV`s and also some Sat receivers, but not a Sky box nor any Freeview boxes as far as I could see :-( So far I am unable to determine if an discrete IR codes (on/off) are available for my Pronto.
Connectivity:
Compared with the E30 connectivity is poor with only two rear inputs (both scarts), neither of which can accept an RGB signal. One of the scarts can output RGB, but the input on this scart is then limited to composite. The other scart does not output a signal and can accept either a composite or s-video input. There`s an additional s-video (and phono`s for audio) socket output at the rear. The front AV input can accept a composite or s-video input. There`s a DV/iLink input for connection to a camcorder - although I do own one I don`t have the correct cable as all mine are 4 pin at one end and 6 pin at the other - for this you need a 4 pin to 4 pin - I will get one soon to try. This finally leave one more video output at the rear - component. The component output can output either an interlaced or progressive (both PAL and NTSC) signal - more on this later. When outputting a progressive signal the other outputs are disabled. Also at the rear are both coax and optical audio outputs for connection to amp/receiver.
Sat control:
The recorder come with an IR transmitter which I can be use to control (change channel) a Sat receiver. Unfortunately this doesn`t seem to support a Sky Digital box! Although there were some Grundig`s listed these didn`t work and instead I tried code 92 (which was suitable for Pace, Amstrad and Panasonic - all of whom make Sky boxes), but sadly this didn`t work either. I can`t believe they`d sell this in the UK and not make it compatible with Sky boxes??
Update: Using code 92 with the remote control I have found that I can control my Sky box - however still not via the IR transmitter. I spoke with JVC customer support today who advise me they can`t get it to work either and they don`t know why...!?
Functionality:
Generally very similar to the E30. You can do all the usual RAM tricks (simultaneous play/record etc), but there`s no way to divide a recording on the DR-M1 - something I use quite a lot on the E30. Also when watching what you are recording the playback has to be minimum of 30 secs behind the recording which can make it difficult to catch up with real time (by skipping ads). One feature I have found useful is the ability to view what`s being recorded whilst you are watching something - however it`s a shame that you cannot then stop recording without stopping playback first (this is the same on the E30). One thing I did notice is that the time taken to recognise a RAM disc on the DR-M1 is much quicker than the E30).
Recording quality/compatibility:
So far I can`t say I can distinguish from the E30, I wouldn`t like to say which is better. The RAM discs seem to be totally interchangeable between the JVC and Panasonic, although the JVC does seem to be more sensitive to cheaper discs (which work fine on the Panasonic). I haven`t tried DVD-R, but did record something to a DVD-RW (video mode) and this played back fine on my cheapo supermarket DVD player (Dansai DVD852).
Progressive scan:
Using the component outputs, the DR-M1 can output both PAL and NTSC progressive signals into a suitable display (plasma, projector etc). I wasn`t able to test NTSC sources as my DR-M1 is locked region 2 and all my NTSC DVD`s are region 1. PAL progressive into my plasma looked good, although I did notice some pixels "glitch" as I changed menu items etc (I don`t get these problems with the DV88+). If I didn`t own the DV88+ then I`d be very happy with the output from this player, but when comparing them side by side I could see the difference. To be honest this is a relief to me :-) Despite the odd pixel problem (it`s not really a problem, just me being picky) the progressive scan output from a commercial DVD is certainly better than when in interlaced mode.
Not only will the DR-M1 output a progressive signal from a DVD, but also from any live source fed into an input. As this unit cannot accept an RGB input, I used the RGB output from my Sky box into a J.S.Technology RGB2SVIDEO box and fed this into scart L2. To make the comparison fair with the RGB output (via J.S.Technology RGB2VGA) I normally use, I had to reduce the contrast and sharpness of the component input as I have this much higher when using the DV88+). With the contrast and sharpness turned up the pixelation of Sky was very noticeable in both interlaced and progressive modes. With the settings turned down as I would normally have them I`d say the progressive output was "just" better than my normal interlaced RGB/VGA feed but not enough in it for my likings. Maybe on a bigger and/or higher res display there would be more of a difference. Personally I preferred the interlaced RGB/VGA look over the interlaced component ouput (remember this has been converted RGB-SVideo-Component). When viewing the Sky guide I noticed a few pixels wandering back and forth when progressive was enabled - no doubt like the menu "glitch" this is a side effect of the de-interlacing process.
What I haven`t tried:
The iLink input (see above), JPEG`s, MP3`s or any audio CD`s.
Conclusions:
Am I happy - yes. For little over £300 it`s a good buy, but not for £400+, especially when the E50 can be had for as little as £230. As always there`s things I`d change if I could, but there doesn`t yet seem to be a recorder out there that has it all. I`m not sure if I`ll keep the DR-M1 as my main recorder, I might switch it with the E30. I really need to use it for a couple of weeks and then decide. Having owned the E30 for about a year you do become a little attached :-)
AND A LITTLE MORE INFO
I have now tried the MP3 and JPEG functions and these work fine, although the JPEG viewing does seem very slow. I don`t think this player is alone in this respect though - I`ve had similar experiences with a Toshiba DVD player.
The DV input works well and it`s nice being able to control the camcorder from the DR-M1`s remote, but I`m not impressed with the PQ. I noticed some jagged diagonal lines on a recording made via the DV input. As a comparison I tried the s-video input on the DR-M1, the s-video on the E30 and also encoded the same clip using a 3 pass VBR encode (CCE) on the PC - no jaggeds on either of these. The PC encode was the best of the lot, followed by the s-video encodes (can`t say which was better) and finally the DV input. For a quick and easy way of putting something on a DVD (to give to a relative for example) I`ll probably use the DV input, but for all DVD`s for myself I`ll stick with encoding on the PC.
Recording from my Sony VTXD800U Freeview box (via compostite) I can`t say which I prefer. Having now watched a few things I`d say the E30 gives a sharper record, but the DR-M1 recording looks cleaner.
Incidently the syncro record/external link (using the Sony`s timers) works great with the DR-M1. For some reason I could not get the Sony Freeview box to work properly with the E30. I tired both external link options, but no joy...
I definately can`t use my Mirror DVD-RAM`s (lots of errors). I bought some more Panasonics and they are fine.
Something else I didn`t mention in my first review. This recorder only has an RF pass through and does not have a modulator, so no piping the DVD recorder around the house :-(
Rob
This item was edited on Wednesday, 22nd October 2003, 21:14
