Panasonic DMR-E20 -- what media?

[kelleym]

Anyone here own the DMR-E20? If so, what media can you use?

I notice there appears to be two distinct types -- one rated for DVD-R standard 1.9, the other for 2.0. It appears the 2.0 media is *much* more expensive: $20 versus about $6 for the 1.9. If I can use the cheaper media I'll buy this machine, but would appreciate anyone here who knows firsthand.

[Essex Man]

I have the DMR-E20 .....in the UK it has firewire. I have been using Verbatim which are V2

From Jim Taylor's excellent DVD FAQ
"1.9 drives appeared in limited quantities in May 1999
(about 6 months late) for $5,400. Version 2.0 drives became available in fall 2000. Version 1.9 drives can be upgraded to 2.0 via downloaded software. (This removes the 2,500 hour recording limit.) New 2.0 [4.7G] media (with newer copy protection features), can only be
written in 2.0 drives. 1.9 media (and old 1.0 [3.95G] media) can still be written in 2.0 drives."

That price does not sound correct. Are you sure that it is not a RAM disc? I thought a lot of guys were using Apple -R' s for a few dollars each, certainly much cheaper than we can get here.

[kelleym]

Thanks, Man from Essex (hmm, sounds like a spy novel). Over here the E20 doesn't have firewire :<( but at least it has three S-Video inputs and, more importantly for me, component output (long story -- but I can use it for video editing in my pro suite: with that approach, I can even copy protected DVDs, if I so desired).

The $20 price turns out to be the price for Pioneer or Panasonic branded media. I found lots of other, cheaper media available, and in the last week have run quite a few tests.

It looks like the unit definiately does *not* like the cheaper disks: I've tried three different ones all under $6.00 and they all fail ($2.98, 3.79 and $5 from various sources). OTOH, it *does* like a $6 media from CompUSA (obviously a US store :>) and anything which costs more (like my wife, it has somewhat expensive tastes, although will settle for middle of the road): Samsung, Imation and TDK.

It's good news and bad new: I really wanted to find $5 media that was reliable, but at least I can buy the $6 stuff locally, so I don't need to stock up in advance.

I haven't tried the Apple disks -- locally they are around $7 a piece, which doesn't make them a good alternative to the CompUSA stuff.

As I continue to try various media I'm going to develop a table and post it on my web site for the benefit of any others (and hopefully others will contribute).

https://www.kelleytown.com