Panasonic DMR-ES45VS DVD Recorder / VCR Combo

Bought this unit as a gift. Loved the fact that it had the HDMI output. We had bought our son a new 42" LG HDTV. He loves the picture he gets through this Panasonic player especially with the HDMI.
Thank You for offering a great product at a great price.

I got stuck with two of these semi-nonfunctional units because of a fraudulent seller that ebay refuses to do anything about. All I can tell you about this Panasonic unit is that it is very slow to load, impossible to program, the manual is unreadable, and the "One Touch Recording" does not work. Aside from that, you will find that ONLY a Monster/Panasonic/Sony HDMI cable work with this unit.

Good luck if you bought this thing. My advice is DONT!

This machine that I bought for under $200.00, as recently as one year ago would have been between $1000 & $20000. If you want to easily transfer video to disc as well as record on to disc instead of tape, this is the machine for you.
It is a consumer's guide pick, so you can't go wrong especially at the price I paid.

i like the ability to transfer my vcr home movies to dvd. have transfered 40 plus tapes to dvd. The cost to have done through copy service sould be around $ 1,200.00. This unit has paid a return of six times what I paid.

I am still learning all the features of this unit.

I called the help number three times and they were able to help
solve issues in learning the program.

I have set up copy process and let it run while watching regular TV.

ITS WORK GOOD JUST FOR 3 WEEKS. NOW I HAVE TO TRAVEL ALMOST 2 HOURS TO GET SERVICE FOR THIS CRAP. ITS BETTER TO BUY NEW PRODUCTS!!

I've had this unit about a month and a half and the dvd portion of the unit quit working, I just contacted Panasonic about the problem and have not heard from them. I would not suggest you buy this product.

Very easy to use, transfer vhs to dvd and vice versa. I have a large quantity of vhs tapes to convert over and can do it fast. Taping from tv is not bad either and is very clear.

I have been a consumer and professional buyer and user of Panasonic video products for over 20 years, and I find their products to be well designed, good values, excellent performers, and reliable. The distinguishing feature of this model DMR-ES46VS (a "derivative model" of the DMR-ES45VS, for larger vendor retailers like Sam's Club, which includes the valuable addition of a HDMI cable) is that it outputs S-Video on both DVD and VHS on the "Priority DVD Output" S-Video connector. This has benefit of both quality and convenience, allowing one S-Video cable and input selection on your display device to provide a high quality picture from a projector or other display from both VHS and DVD. I will let others attest to its performance and other features, while I call attention to this unique capability that Panasonic does not highlight. JVC made a couple less expensive consumer model DVD player/VCR a couple years ago with this unified output, then discontinued them, and it is a shame that one must now pay for the DVD recording capability of minimal or zero usefulness as a classroom/institutional multimedia source unit, but if you want this feature, this is the most economical way to get it now.

to me thes is one of the best dvd/vhs recorder on the market i like evrything about it he have all the feture

So far, so good. The unit I received is actually designated the ES46, which the seller represented is the same unit as model 45 with an HDMI cable thrown in to the box. Set up was easy. The remote is intuative. The quality is great at the 4 hour speed. I have not tried the 8 hour or 16 hour speed, but I would expect a signifcant difference in quality. DVDs made and properly finalized on the unit work fine on other DVD players and computers. I can definitely recommend this to others.

We bought this recorder to transfer our numerous vhs home videos to dvd. It works very well for this purpose. The one touch record is very easy. What we've done is transfer to dvd rw then edit on the computer and then reburn a perfectly edited video. It is the easiest way to edit and transform we could find. It is much less expensive than taking the vhs somewhere to have them transfered in the long run and the end product is very satisfactory.

Some features are not intuitive. Plan on reading the manuals. But it WORKS. And after you read the manual, it all comes pretty easy. The DVDs have all played on other DVD players and worked great. This is the third DVD recorder we've purchased (brands other than Panasonic). The others were back at the store inside a week. They were basically useless and more than frustrating. This machine was wonderful. Nice to know that someone out there has the technology working.

The only con we have found is some of the commands could be reordered to make adding a title easier. The first option in Adding a Title to a clip is DELETE. It is not a feature used as often as Edit so we think Edit should be on the top so you don't have to scroll down. But not a big complaint. Over all, very happy with it.

I think this is an excellent product. I have had no problems with it. I like the how you can record on all DVD types. DVD ram is my favorite.

it plays all kinds of dvds it will also make the ones that wont play in other recorders to where you can play them in other players the price was really good too

Like how it works. Very simple operation. Decided to purchase it because I have lots of VHS tapes that need to be transferred to DVD. The only thing that I was disappointed about it was the product was a remanufactured unit. However it works and looks like new so I have no complaints at all.

Did a lot of research before deciding which DVD recorder to purchase. This is the one I wanted and I got it for an outstanding price.

I like that you can save those VHS movies into DVDs without having to pay a lot of money to someone else.

This machine is way to complicated to run. The directions are terrible. The Remote Control no longer works with the machine. I do not recommend anyone buy this machine. It does not work with the satelite system that I have.

I found the combo extremely easy to use. Easy to pop in a VHS tape and make a copy. Multitude of audio/video connection. Good quality DVD. Subtitles are a little tricky to use. Overall a good machine for an beginner like me.

I purchased the Panosonic ES46VS on saturday evening, received it the following friday afternoon, have it up and running in know time. Pulled out the 3 RCA jacks plugs(from old unit) ,disconnected the 2 cable wires (which I have marked), upluged the unit (oh'o and I DID do that 1st. !!!) Re-connected the wires as described in quick set-up leaf-let. Inserted power wire into unit pluged it in, followed all instructions Away I went.!! P.S.--When frist opening unit from box and cut open the platic bag that it was placed in, the odder was of burnt wire ? or of packageing plastic? . Don't know that answer. All I know is the unit works great as a new unit. I would buy another and I am going too. Warranty is pretty reasonable for the price. All though re-manufactured (Think about it!!! What ever was wrong with this unit, I would ASSUME that thats what they fixed) and tested before re-sale. I have purchased other (re-manufactured) vidio ,power tools and amps from an number of bussines I patron and have no problems . GERAT PRICE! GREAT UNIT! GREAT DEAL! AAA+

Easy to use and good quality. thank you panasonic. Why does this site require me to add at least 100 characters? Not needed guys.

Good features for a dvd vhs combo proudly the best but the best is not good enought, the hdmi dvd up conversion is Sad does not look like a Digital connection. at all. although their is a minor improvement in movies. Compared to my 360 elite up conversion the Panasonic looks like VHS. Just buy it if you need to turn old vhs to dvds or dont care about HD quality Image. if you have a 720P tv this is for you if you have a 1080P set through HDMI Don't DO it its not worth your time. Blacks look Horrible. they look all grayed out.

I originally bought a GoVideo DVD Recorder & VHS player and was happy with the unit until one day it stopped recognizing DVD's. Commercial DVD's, other finalized DVD's, even DVD's burned with the unit. Frustrated, I found this unit on cNet's product review website and liked the review enough to buy it. So far, I've been very happy with the unit. It's menu is a little different and it takes a little bit of getting used to. For example, finalizing a DVD takes you three levels deep in the menu. However, the ability to title both the chapters and DVD are awesome. Very flexible and gives you many more characters than other units. My main gripe, other than the buried finalization feature, is that there is no eject button on the remote. With so many buttons on the remote, you would think Panasonic could find a spot for an eject button? One other gripe is that there doesn't appear to be an auto chapter feature. Other than those items, I really like the ease of use. The buttons are clearly marked and there does not tend to be any mystery buttons. The hookup is pretty easy and the display is very simple. Sometimes a little too simple. You can't see the time on the display unless you turn it off. Weird ... but, overall the unit is functional. If you're looking for whiz bang features, go elsewhere. If you're interested in a sturdy, consistent, no frills DVD recording device, this unit is for you. Hope this helps!

Delivered with no problems would buy from them again, Shipped timely and product was as promised. Used the item a number of times worked perfectly.