Panasonic's DMR-ES30VS lets you record television shows directly to DVDs or a VHS tape, plus you can dub video between a DVD and video tape or vice versa. Conveniently, when recording shows to a DVD-RAM disc, you can watch a program from the beginning while it's still recording in the background. You also can insert chapters into VHS video you dub to a DVD. This unit doesn't have a built-in hard drive or program guide feature, however.

With a sleek silver-and-gray finish, the unit should fit in well with your other home theater equipment. At 3.5 x 16.9 x 13.9 inches (HxWxD), the recorder is similar in size to other models I've tested. A door on the left hides A/V inputs, an S-Video connection, and fast-forward and reverse controls. At the back are S-Video, composite, component, audio, RF, and optical digital outputs. The recorder is missing a FireWire input for digital camcorders, and it can't play a VHS through the component video output.

The unit's remote was comfortable, easy to use, and has buttons to control dubbing of (non-commercial) VHS video to a DVD and vice versa. The buttons are something I haven't seen on many other remotes. The DMR-ES30VS' menus were pretty easy to navigate, and on-screen diagrams help with menu and remote functionality.

The unit can record to DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+R discs but not DVD+RW. It can play back MP3s and JPEGs and such formats as DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, DVD+RW, CD, VCD, and CD-R/RW. The DVD player also has Dolby Digital and DTS output.

Dubbing between VHS and DVD was simple using the unit's one-touch buttons and via the remote. I used a 10-year old home video and was impressed with the ease of the transfer to DVD. You must select among XP, SP, LP, and EP modes when dubbing, or there's a FR (Flexible Recording) mode, which automatically selects the best video quality while fitting the entire contents on one disc. The transferred video and audio quality was at least as good as the original, possibly a bit better.

The DMR-ES30VS offers some features that put it ahead of others in its class, including creating chapters for your video. A FireWire port would have been nice, but this is still a solid device.

by Jennifer Johnson

DMR-ES30VS
$299.95
Panasonic
(800) 405-0652
www.panasonic.com