My 2nd Panasonic - DEAD in 2-yrs
I originally had a Toshiba DVD Recorder. That died, out of warranty. Went to a different retailer, bought a Panasonic, that died, would not play or Record DVD's. This time I had an extended warranty and they just swapped it out with another similar priced device (Same Manufacturer). This one died 2-yrs later. I had it replaced in 9/2006 and it died in 9/2008. "No Read" errors. Won't play pre-burned DVD's, or purchased DVD's from the store. It makes 2-clanking noises, as-if it is attempting to spin the disc, then a 3rd heavier clanking noise (note: It NEVER made clanking noises until today). Then it comes back with error. I tried to find reset, tried firmware upgrade, tried blowing it out, Unplugging or resetting device, leaving it unplugged even for hours -with no power, same noises and "No Read" error. Even when there is NO DVD in the tray, it says there is one in the device, per the display. I was in the middle of recording and it stopped, came back with an error and I tried following the directions, allowing the device to reset itself and it attempted a check-system on it's own, same result. I tried even changing Types of DVD formats, same. I barely used it and now it's toast. Not sure I would continue with another Panasonic device, as this is my 2nd Panasonic that died within 1-2 yrs each. They don't last that long before the lazer or drive dies. It produces so much heat on its own and it's just strange that their manual even states not to place it on top of other devices. It shouldn't be with any other devices, it may catch fire on it's own. It would need it's own built-in cooler. But that's DVD lazers for you!!

PANASONIC AT ITS BEST
Overall, this is an A-/B+ player and recorder. First and foremost, it will play some burned dvds that my Sony players can't. And where there are glitches (freeze-ups) when watching some burned dvds on my Sony dvd players, there are none when played back on the Panasonic. There are only two minor negatives for this model. There isn't an eject button on the remote. And the fact that it takes approximately 30 seconds (from the time you turn on the power) to read and play a dvd-r. It takes approximately 48 seconds to read and play a dual layer dvd+r. Note that these read/play times were conducted with the disc already in the dvd recorder before turning the power on. I will never stray from Panasonic when purchasing my next dvd recorder. There is no reason to. They have the technology down and they produce reliable dvd recorders. At least, this is my experience with Panasonic model DMR-ES25.

my review
This product is a laff and a farce....... I would not recommend this product to my worst enemy!!!

poor man's DVR: chasing playback is cool
I call this DVD recorder a poor man's DVR (Digital Video Recorder) because of its cool "chasing playback" which allows you to record and play simultaneously. You can play the same or a different video while it is recording. This DVD recorder has enough bandwidth to handle it. But it is limited to DVD-RAM only (the recorder comes with 1 DVD-RAM disc). The chasing playback does not work with my DVD+RW. You can also fast forward/backward a video clip while you are recording. But you can not delete video A while you are recording video B. Please read the product description for details. DVD-RAM is more expensive than other DVDs though (about $2/disc from Amzaon.com plus tax and shipping).

My old APEX DVD player has a open/eject button for the disc tray on the remote controller. This Panasonic DVD recorder does not have it though. The Panasonic DVD recorder also does not allow me to zoom in the video, which my old APEX DVD player does. I am still using an old analog TV. So, the zoom-in feature is nice to have.

Overall, I am happy with it. The quality is apparently better than my old VCR. I bought it for $99.99 (plus shipping and tax, if I remember correctly) and think it is a good value.

Good Recorder, Spotty Reliability
Have had unit over one year. Performance is good. However one month before the one year warranty expired the main circuit board went out. It would have cost more than what I paid for unit to repair it. It also took some 10 weeks for the service center to get the replacement part from Japan. Panasonic's extended warranty offered to me after the warranty repair also cost more than what I spent originally for the unit.