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 enlarge | Brand: Panasonic
Category: CE
List Price: $299.99
Buy Used: $126.99
You Save: $173.00 (58%)
New (43)
Avg. Customer Rating:  39 reviews
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 11.7
Dimensions (in): 13.6 x 17 x 3.3
nv:Device Type: DVD-RAM
Device Type: MP3 Player
Device Type: DVD Player
Device Type: DVD Recorder
Device Type: DVD Player / Recorder
Device Type: DVR
Device Type: CD Writer
Device Type: DVD-RAM Recorder
Device Type: HDMI DVD Recorder
Device Type: DVD Recorder / VCR
Device Type: MP3 Player / MP4 Player
Device Type: MP4 Watch
Device Type: CD Player
Device Type: DVD Home Theater System
Compatible Format: JPEG
Compatible Format: MP3
Compatible Format: Divx
Playback Format: NTSC (*See FCC Notice Below)
MPN: DMR-EZ485VK
Model: DMR-EZ485VK
UPC: 037988256631
EAN: 0037988256631
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: This open box item has passed our inspection and testing. It is cosmetically perfect and complete in its original packaging.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Lunchbag letdown - returned it. May 11, 2008
27 out of 28 found this review helpful
Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder with Built In Tuner
I was looking for a VHS/DVD combo unit to replace an older Sanyo combo unit.
After searching around, discovered the Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK. It was a toss-up between it and a Sony RDR-VXD655. The Panasonic was a little less
expensive and more readily available in my area - Detroit.
The DMR-EZ48VK seemed to have all the bells & whistles required: VHS & DVD recording, dubbing, USB port, SD card port, NTSC & ATSC tuning.
I recall other reviewers noting the instructions were difficult, but wasn't dissuaded. They were right, however. It was even worse for my wife and two kids who were totally frustrated with the machine.
I managed to work through all the various functionalities, but there were
some annoying issues that came up.
1. The only way to view the current time on the display was when the unit was turned off.
2. During DVD playback, a DVD icon box kept appearing in the upper right area of the TV screen every couple of minutes.
3. Every once in awhile the tuner would go screwy. After entering the desired channel on the remote, more of the same digits entered would appear on the display. In order to get to the actual channel I wanted, I
had to shut the unit down and try again.
4. Forget about channel surfing. There is too much of a lag between pushing the + channel key and the channel actually appearing. If you press the + key three times in a row for example, to go up three channels, the unit seemed to get 'confused' and stop at the 2nd channel up. This seems to me like a software/firmware issue.
5. If a channel was selected by the numeric keys, the channel icon box
would appear showing the channel selected, but then show another channel,
then go back to the original channel selected. Again, seems like a software/firmware issue.
When the unit was working reasonably, the sound was good and picture quality was very good.
After three weeks, I gave up on the unit and returned it to Target.
It seems the combo units with digital tuners are a bit too new to be buying right now. Perhaps in another 6 months, before the Feb 2009 digital station deadline, will be the time to look for other units on the market.
While well intentioned, I think Panasonic jumped the gun in order to put
something in the market, rather than putting through rigid testing and
quality controls.
 As DVD/VHS combo recorders go, this is one of the best. July 25, 2008
26 out of 27 found this review helpful
Pansonic introduced this DVD recorder a year after its predecessor, the EZ47VK. The EZ47VK had almost the same feature set, but suffered from overheating problems. So Panasnic added a cooling fan with the EZ48VK.
I bought this recorder to transfer VHS tapes to DVD and to record programs off cable TV. In both these respects this player works just perfect, with one flaw which I will touch on below.
The auto-tune feature tuned all the standard (non-pay and non-premium) channels from my cable company and even set the clock time based on the local PBS station. The ATSC tuner picks up over-the-air HDTV and DTV programs. I am using this player with an Antennas Direct DB2 Multi Directional HDTV Antenna. It picked up local HD channels and some from as far as 40 miles away. A minor annoyance is that when you switch between antenna and cable (I use an external A/B switch) you need to auto tune the channels all over again.
Transferring VHS to DVD is a cinch. The resulting DVD is often better than the source VHS tape due to the noise reduction. I've also had excellent results recording my favorite TV programs (particularly movies from AMC and TCM). In the two months I've had this player, I've recorded just over 40 movies for personal use.
As others have suggested, DVD-RAM disks are a must-have for this player, particularly for recording TV programs you want to later delete. DVD-RAM disks give you a Tivo-like experience, and you can pause and rewind the program while the rest of the program is being recorded. And DVD-RAM disks allow you record over and over thousands of times.
Caution about dual-layer DVD+R disks:
The only problem I had with this player is with dual-layer DVD+R disks. When recording multiple programs in sequence, the player can get "confused" with the layer change in the dual layer disk. It corrupted two disks, making them unreadable. And it required me to power off and power on in order to eject the corrupted disks.
Anyway, I found that that recording dual layer DVD+R disks works perfectly when I recorded a single long program that spans both layers.
Overall, I have high praise for this player!
Review of DMR-EZ47V - VERY HARD to USE! March 9, 2008
23 out of 48 found this review helpful
I spent more money than I could have to buy the Panasonic DMR-EZ47V but have gotten little use out of it because it is REALLY difficult to operate. I used to be an early adopter of new electronics, can edit my system registry in Windows, and have a doctoral degree, but I have to spend time reading and re-reading the manual when trying to accomplish (what should be) simple tasks. Maybe Panasonic made things easier for the new model (48VK)--I would advise not buying it until others have reviewed the unit and its ease of use.
 Not worth the money or hassle. August 19, 2008
23 out of 25 found this review helpful
I've got a great new 1080p HD TV, a decent surround stereo set-up, and an HD cable box with DVR. But the DVR was running out of space, and I wanted to save some of the shows and movies I recorded. So, basically I wanted a unit that could record from my cable box/DVR, but I also wanted a unit that could upconvert DVDs to 1080p to take advantage of the new TV -- and convert old VCR tapes to DVD. After a lot of reading and research, I bought this one.
First, the unit has an HDMI out, which is great. However, for some reason, Panasonic recommends that if you connect the unit to a TV (or stereo) using the HDMI, you also connect component cables, which sort of defeats the point of getting rid of cable clutter. Well, you don't need to; the playback works as supposed to without it. (And contrary to what the first tech rep told me, the VCR WILL playback over the HDMI cable if that's your only output.)
Depending on your stereo, you may find the lack of a digital coax audio out a bit frustrating; since my stereo has only digital coax for DVD input, and the unit has only digital optical, I need to run the audio through the HDMI to the TV, then run a digital cable from the TV to the stereo, so there's a slight time lag between sound and picture. If you output sound through the TV speakers this won't be a problem. (You could also hook up the digital optical to another input you're not using, like TAPE input, but then you don't get full audio features, at least on my stereo.)
A much bigger problem is the video input. There is no component input (let alone HDMI input). So, if you have Tivo'ed or DVR'ed an HD show, the best you can do is send it via S-video to the Panasonic recorder (then you need separate L/R analog audio cables as well). (If you don't have s-video, you can use the composite or RF, which is what..1970s technology?) I know DVD recorders can't record HD, but still, there's no reason to make us downgrade the signal that much. (I recorded to DVD+RW; they're cheaper then VCR tapes and much better, so why record to VCR?!)
That brings me to the DVD recording. Once you figure out the menus and system, it's pretty easy. BUT, after 1/2 hour on the phone with Panasonic tech support, even they couldn't explain why it was converting full-screen recordings (on my DVR) to letterbox format on the DVD. Turns out it just does this with HD channels; if you're recording digital (non-HD) then it doesn't do the letterbox trick. But that annoyance is making me look for a new unit.
That being said, it records double layer (DL) DVDs, which buys a lot of extra recording time without sacrificing quality. And the (nearly) one-touch VCR-DVD dubbing is nice (though I think all brands now have this). Unfortunately, so far the EZ48 does a lousy job of upconverting pre-recorded DVDs. It's 1080p upconversion of DVDs does not approach the quality or resolution of similar programming on native HD channels (in lower resolutions of 720p and 1080i).
I tried dubbing one VHS tape to DVD. It produced a horrible scratching sound, not present when I play the tape in my old Sony VHS machine. If you're going to buy a unit to convert VHS to DVD, it should play VHS tapes in better quality (the Sonys have 4-head units).
Finally, when I went to turn the unit off, it did -- then turned right back on. After 5 minutes of turning it off, watching it say "BYE" then watching it turn on again, I just unplugged the damn thing. Happened again today. Tech support was not particularly helpful with this one. (Then again, tech support also insisted the first time I called that the 4:3 TV settings were important, even though I have my unit outputting via HDMI to a 16:9 TV. At least today's tech support acknoweldged the woman yesterday was wrong.)
This unit definitely has some problems. So far, I haven't seen that it's worth the money to do what its competitors can do (most for less money) -- although few others can record to DL DVDs. So, looks like I'm biding time until someone comes out with a Blue-ray that records DVDs, has HDMI input for Tivos and DVRs and both digital optical and coax outputs, and turns off and stays off....
Nighrmare, don't do it! April 9, 2008
20 out of 28 found this review helpful
While the tuner is good, the product utterly defective. I have spent 3 weeks on the phone with tech support, initially being told that they KNOW has issues with scientific america cable box, but that disk will FIX all. No. Locks up, unbelievably slow to respond even when it does. I cannot believe how bad. Went online, found others, same issues. yet they offer to REPAIR my brand new recorder? How can you REPAIR a manufacturing problem? Returning for full refund. Sadly last year's model, highest ratings, not available.
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