| | |  | Portable Speaker Systems | Home » » » » » » Panasonic DMR-E85HS Progressive-Scan DVD Video Recorder w/ 120 GB Hard Disk | | | | | | | 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. | | | Features: | |
• DVD-RAM/DVD-R recorder with built-in 120 GB hard drive and TV Guide On Screen electronic program guide
• Time Slip lets you watch from the beginning of a program whose recording is still in progress
• Plays DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, VCD, music CDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and MP3 CDs
• 32x high-speed recording from hard drive to DVD-R; 24x high-speed recording from hard disk to RAM
• Progressive-scan video output for filmlike images on high-definition and HD-ready TVs
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 10.87 inches | | Product Width:
| 16.94 inches | | Product Height:
| 3.13 inches | | Product Weight:
| 11.0 pounds | | Package Length:
| 19.7 inches | | Package Width:
| 13.4 inches | | Package Height:
| 7.4 inches | | Package Weight:
| 11.9 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 85 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Worked well enough. Burned out. Got a second life.Jul 23, 2009
I cannot emphasize how much I loved this machine when I first purchased it. I didn't think that it was by any means perfect but, at the time, it's capabilities far outweighed it's shortcomings. I used it to save television programs I wanted to watch later. I transfered old home movies to DVD's. I watched many a rented DVD on it.
So when I turned it on last week the display flashed it's usual "PLEASE WAIT". Which I, as I had in the past, did. And I waited. And waited. Nothing happened.
Now I've already purchased a Blu-ray player, but as many people who own the DMR-E85H know, this machine still does stuff that newer Blu-ray and DVD players can't. Not to mention that I had a lot of saved programming that I wanted to keep. I did some searching and found out that this is a common problem. The DMR-E85H's problem is it's power supply and, more specifically, two 680uF 16V electrolytic capacitors on the board. Apparently, Panasonic will remedy this problem, but it will set you back $130. Based on said searches, it was also apparent that many people had successfully fixed this issue with some ingenuity and some parts from Radio Shack. Mind you, I'm not tool savvy at all. In fact, I'd never used a soldering iron prior to this. But much to my surprise, after following a couple involved steps, I plugged in my player and it booted up as if it was just removed from the factory box. All of my recording were still there as well.
All I'm saying is, before you toss your machine, create more e-waste, and if it's worth it to you, you might consider taking a couple hours, and spending a couple dollars, to fix it. I wouldn't buy a new DRM-E85H by any means, but just so you know, it might be possible for you to fix the one you have... I guess a review of the DMR-E85H could best be summed up by the actual display of the DMR-E85H: "PLEASE WAIT"
Are you unhappy with E85H?May 12, 2009
Panasonic DMRE85HS Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder with 120 GB Hard Drive Recording
If you are unhappy with your Panasonic DMR-E85H, email me. I might buy it from you. dennis2000@centurytel.net
I have had reasonable success with this item. I have had it for over a year and no problems so far. I really like it. But because of the reviews like those I see here, I'm in fear that it will fail me.
I would like to have a "backup" DMR-E85H so that when mine fails, it won't be as painful, just switch units. But due to finances, it is difficult to part with the money these are selling for.
As I see people posting that they have "tossed it out today", I want to contact them and say I will pay you something and take a chance I can fix it. Since there is no way to contact the persons purchasing on Amazon about their recorders, I decided to write my own review. Hopefully they won't throw this out.
To repeat, I like the one I own. Mine has worked well so far. I have become familiar with it and don't want to learn the idiosyncrasies of a new machine. That happens as you get older like me. (ha ha)
So, email me before you throw one out. Thanks! dennis2000@centurytel.net
 Nice machine....when it workedMay 10, 2009
We bought this dvd/dvr recorder E85H about 3 years ago. I would call it a lemon basically.
At one point we had to reformat the hard drive (losing all our recordings), as it was stuck. Sometimes you'd hit play or open on the dvd tray and it would not comply. It took long to boot up also. I liked it when it worked overall however - I stress when.
The final straws came when two capacitors failed and the machine was stuck on "Please Wait". I researched and found that others had this problem too. We bought a solder gun and replacement capacitors and managed to fix this problem thanks to internet info on a fix others posted on this issue. Then a month later, the machine fails to turn on at all - no power. We replaced another capacitor that was corroding and hoped that would fix it, but it did not. The more I read it seemed others also had this issue, that it was a power supply board gone bad. We gave up at that point on the machine and tossed it out today having paid over $300 for it just a few years ago.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM!!!Aug 09, 2008
I purchased this product in Dec 2004. Hard to operate. The TV guide feature did not work. Slow to startup. It locked up in March of this year. The display showed "PLEASE WAIT", and the machine did not respond to any buttons on the box or remote. Resetting the box did not work. Leaving it unplugged for days and plugging it back in again did not work.
I finally called Panasonic because I had about 50 hrs of programs recorded on the hard drive that I wanted to retain. This included Superbowls, bowl games, concerts, boxing, Survivor TV show finales, '06 Olympics, etc. which I had no way of replacing. They wanted $130 to repair the machine. I told them on the phone that under no circumstances were they to erase the material on the hard drive because the only reason I wanted it fixed was to be able to retrieve the stuff I had previously recorded.
I got the unit back on 8/6/08 after about 3 weeks at their repair center. The hard drive had been erased and all my programs were gone. I was infuriated by this and called the repair center the next day and demanded an answer as to how this happened. They blew it off as did the Panasonic customer service people. I then disputed the charge on my cc and have refused to pay them.
I WOULD NEVER BUY THIS ITEM NOR ANY OTHER PANASONIC PRODUCT. THEIR SUPPORT PEOPLE ARE USELESS AND SO IS THIS PRODUCT. I beat this DVR to pieces with a hammer yesterday and would do the same to the idiot who erased the hard drive if I knew who he was.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent choiceMay 07, 2008
I bought my unit over 3 years ago when my vcr died. Did some research and liked what I read about this unit.
The DMR E85H is not as difficult to learn to use as some reviews state, and it's not as troublesome either. Mine has operated nearly flawlessly the entire 3 years I owned it. Earlier this year, I bought a second dvr,and went with the Phillips DVDR 3575H, since more Panasonic DMR E85s were not available at that time. The Phillips is a fine unit, but I definitely like the Panasonic MUCH better.
Last week, the Panasonic went completely dead.... a simple internet search took me to this page: http://vassfamily.net/projects/DMRE85H/dmre85h.html I followed the information on that page, and found the same 3 capacitors leaking on my unit. Easily replaced them myself, and got it back in operation, for less than $10!
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