I bought this from Best Buy not Amazon.

Things I like:
1) Scheduling for recording programs is pretty intuitive
2) Creating the DVD top menu is easy
3) Playback of DVDs with HDMI cable is very sharp with upconversion
4) XP (1hr) and SP (2hr) are very good...better than VCR quality
5) Has Flexible Recording mode (FR) which you assign the hours to record.
6) To my surprise, when I record a 16x9 broadcast on a +RW, it actually plays in 16x9 on my TV. It's not supposed to per the manual.
7) Although not advertised, it has a QAM tuner. Will deciper any HD/digital channels from my cable connection. The quality isn't as good as the built in QAM tuner on my TV though.
8) Remote layout is good and feels sturdy.
9) Can use TIVO like features if recording using a DVD-RAM.

Things I dislike:
1) LP (4hrs) mode is very pixeling when played back on my 56" widescreen. Way worst than VCR quality. I don't even use this... Read more

Finally, DVD recorders with ATSC tuners have arrived. For those of us who receive our TV over the air, and who want to (a) upgrade to digital (b) replace an old VCR and (c) reduce component count, they seem like the perfect solution. I bought the DMR-EZ27K with high hopes.

Well, I'm a bit disappointed. On the good side, the unit has an excellent digital/analog tuner that has no problem pulling in local stations via my rooftop antenna. It downscales digital broadcasts to 480i over the S-Video output. As I understand it, it also downscales digital broadcasts even when using the HDMI output, i.e. it doesn't pass the broadcast signal through unscathed. However if you are using the HDMI output, you probably have a TV with an ATSC tuner in it anyway, so this seems like a minor quibble.

Also on the good side, it plays just about every 5-inch silver disc format out there, including DivX. I tried the DivX functionality and it worked very well.

The unit... Read more

It being a Panasonic product, I had high expectations from this DVD recorder and waited few months for it to come to retail stores. I was expecting the digital tuner to be HD tuner, however it only display pictures in 480P (EDTV) format. If you want a really good HDTV tuner, then go for a dedicated external tuner like Samsung DTB-H260F.

Overall it has not meet my high expectations. Here are some of my findings:

1. Although the Digital tuner is rated as 480p (EDTV), picture quality is definitely not as good as commercial DVDs (also 480p). I would rate the picture quality of Digital channels (HD broadcasts), somewhere in between analog channels and DVD quality.

2. Quality of DVD recordings is pretty good and sharp. As I said earlier, not as good as DVD quality, but much better than a Analog broadcast.

3. I have a Canon MiniDV camcorder and could not record my miniDVs to DVD using built-in firewire interface. Recordings would stop... Read more