Panasonic DMR-ES20

This is my third panasonic and i have the same problem with all 3 of them Disk error faults, Nothing on disk, Can't finalize. Keep your money in your pocket or do as someone else mentioned Go buy a DVD Recorder with a Hard drive built into it. Just Say no to Panasonic DVD Recorders.

Almost a piece of junk. When it works it's great, but firmware "glitches" continually make it frustrating and unreliable - hangs up frequently, unable to finalize, multiple Err messages, doesn't read blanks discs

spend a little more and get a DVR with a hard drive and DVD recorder

In my opinion, the Panasonic DMR-ES20 was a bad buy for the non-technically minded as they would be faced with the fault mentioned above. I purchased no less than 3 later models (identical) from a well known high street catalogue company (yes them!) and these all had a frame jitter problem with all BBC transmissions. I informed them of this problem and which transponders were affected and they simply replied "we believe this only happens on the BBC channels and are attempting to resolve the problem". Two years ago I bought a DMR-77EX which I would definitely recommend, but the early model I purchased had no facility for repeat recording, even though it was described in the manual. That might explain why I got it for £100 less than RRP but I happy.... not one for Corry or Eastenders.

The Panasonic DMR-ES20 was very easy to use (for a novice) DVD Recorder that provides exceptional copies with a very low percentage of failures in the finalizing stage. Most of those failures were attributed to low quality DVD's. Using Verbatim or Staples DVD's helps to eliminate failures. I personally copied over 800 movies in a three year period, as well as a number of VHS tape recordings onto DVD. No complaints, until it finally failed (probably from being overworked).

Not worth the money, Spoke to repair centre who now will not stock Panasonic DVD Recorders.

I have owned this unit for just over a year now, and to be honest, I was rather pleased with it at first. It was one of the few recorders on the market that had Freeview built in and played most DVD formats. However, over time I feel like I have been sold a lemon. There are loads of niggles with the menu system, the remote is frankly bargain basement, and the damn thing just keeps going wrong. Plus, you can record MP3s onto CD and play them, but not DVDs. The ES-25 apparently plays DVD MP3s, and it also has HDMI, and came out nearly straight after the ES20. What's with that?

At first, the DVD drive packed up over Christmas, while the unit was still in warranty. It took the Authorised Repair Centre EIGHT WEEKS to repair the player, and it was ME that diagnosed the fault and told them what was wrong, and ME that called Panasonic directly to find out if they had a DVD drive in stock for it, asking them to dispatch it to the repair centre. The service was shockingly bad. OK, so they aren't technically Panasonic, but they act on behalf of Panasonic, which to a consumer is the same thing. I complained to Panasonic, and they gave me 6 months extra warranty, which was a nice gesture. However, four months later the DVB-T tuner keeps thinking it needs updates, loses channels at random, and for some unknown reason records the wrong channels now and again. An example of this is that I set the timer using the programme guide to record the highlights of the Isle of Man TT and it recorded Graham Norton. Does it have a sense of humour or something? It's done this more than once, and is incredibly annoying because I work shifts. The extra warranty is no good to me, frankly because once bitten, twice shy. I won't be taking the unit to be repaired, and I certainly won't be giving Panasonic any of my hard earned money in future.

The Panasonic DMR-ES20 is an excellent recorder. Provides good recordings and play back.

Disappointed that it has broken down after 14 months. Freeview works but recording and automatic recording does not.

I am probably reviewing the Panasonic DMR-ES20 DVD recorder too early, but I so want to like it, having had bad experiences with LG and Sony in the last month.

Having watched a DVD and after recording something, I don't have many complaints yet. It is easy to use, easy to set up with the opportunity to record from Freeview directly are all bonuses.

The curvy design appears at odds with most DVD designs on the market, but this machine appears to have a wealth of features, and the recording quality would be hard to fault.

No open/close button on the remote, but in all honesty you have to physically put the DVD in the tray any way, so this is hardly a hardship.

Definitely an improvement on my recent experiences, although it doesn't like DVD RW+ discs at all. For me that is not a problem, as I now record most television programmes onto the hard disc of my Digifusion box and then record to permanent DVD. It might be a problem for some though.

Surround sound system connections by analog lead or optical connection. No co-axial socket.

A promising buy.

I am a pretty tough customer when it comes to all the aspects of electronics gear, but Panasonic has built a high quality and well thought out design with the DMR-ES20 DVD Recorder. I use DVD-R blanks (4x-8x) and pause the recording during commercials, and I love the instant transitions when playing back my favorite program or music video. I scheduled a 5 hour recording using the FR mode, which maximizes the quality for the given time period you want to record. I love it!