Details

Specifications

SoSo what
else do we find
inside the
DMR-EZ49V? In terms
of multimedia
playback, it?s
fairly obliging,
although the lack of
WMA support might be
problematic for
some. You can play
DivX, MP3 and JPEG
from drives
connected to the
front-mounted USB
port, or the same
file types from CDs
and DVDs. As for
DVD recording and
editing, this deck
offers all the
tricks found on the
DMR-EX83. DVD-RAM
discs offer the
greatest flexibility
? with one of these
in the tray you can
create playlists of
various chapters and
titles; delete
combine and create
chapters; divide a
title; delete part
of a recording by
entering start and
stop points and
watch a recording
from the start
before it?s
finished. Other disc
types offer more
basic editing
features, but one
useful feature
common to all
formats is Auto
Chapter Creation,
which inserts
markers when there?s
a lengthy gap in the
audio ? we tried it
a few times with
various commercial
channels and it
found the beginning
and end of the ad
breaks every time.
Also pleasing is
that the deck starts
recording almost
instantly after
pressing record,
almost as quickly as
hard-disk recording
on the DMR-EX83, and
you can get some
very accurate edits
by pressing pause on
the remote while
recording. Using the
Partial Delete
function, the edit
points are clean as
a whistle, with no
picture noise or
audio problems.
There?s a myriad
other DVD features
to explore, but on
the VCR side you get
automatic indexing,
S-VHS Quasi Playback
(SQPB) and Jet
Rewind. On the
outside, the
DMR-EZ49V is just a
thick hunk of black
plastic with only a
large, easy-to-read
information panel to
brighten up the
front. Along the
bottom are the
auxiliary inputs ?
S-video, composite
and analogue stereo
? as well as a
cluster of playback
buttons and the USB
port for digital
media playback.
There?s a circle
containing two
buttons for
convenient one-touch
copying between DVD
and VHS and vice
versa. On the
back, the deck
offers everything
you need. The HDMI
port fires Freeview,
DVD, VHS and
anything else to
your TV in
upconverted 1080p,
1080i or 720p, while
the SCART output
offers RGB and
composite video.
When recording from
external sources,
the SCART input
supports RGB,
S-video and
composite as well as
the EXT Link
feature, which
starts the deck
recording when a
signal is detected
from a connected
digibox. The line-up
is completed by
composite, analogue
stereo and optical
digital audio
outputs. The
onscreen menus are
identical to the
DMR-EX83, and as a
result share the
same level of
simplicity. It?s all
very bright and
colourful, making it
a blessing for
digital recorder
newcomers, and the
structure is
generally logical.
The Direct Navigator
is particularly
good, showing each
recording with a
moving thumbnail
when highlighted,
and for Freeview
programmes it
displays the name
too. But there?s
a few things we
don?t like about the
DMR-EZ49V?s onscreen
design. The Guide
Plus EPG is a garish
mess, with a large
grey advertisement
block taking up much
of the space and
making the programme
grid look
unnecessarily
squashed. The rest
of the space is
taken up by
colour-coded options
and instructions,
which makes it very
cluttered. The
placement of the
setup menu is
another slight
niggle ? it?s hidden
away in a submenu
when it should have
been prominently
placed in the main
Functions menu. It?s
also a shame that
you can?t browse the
entire digital TV
schedule menus using
the onscreen banner,
but it only contains
now and next
information. The
remote is terrific.
Large, responsive
buttons, clear
labelling and an
intuitive layout
make navigation a
swift and
hassle-free
experience.

ThThe
DMR-EZ49V is an
excellent performer
across the board.
With the upscaling
set to 1080p, DVD
movie playback is
crisp and
artefact-free, and
live Freeview
pictures are very
strong. We watched a
lot of fast-moving
events from the
Winter Olympics on
the BBC, such as ice
hockey, skiing and
bobsled, and were
impressed by how
smoothly the
competitors move and
how sharply their
edges are defined
when set against
crisp white
backdrops. Fine
detail, like the
puffs of snow as
skiers come to a
stop, are rendered
with pleasing
clarity and colours
are deep and rich
but always
convincing. Superb.
Select XP and
recordings are
preserved on DVD-RAM
in exactly the same
quality. It?s only
when you start
recording stuff in
LP that you start to
notice artefacts
like mosquito and
block noise, and in
EP images are
excessively soft and
juddery ? use
sparingly. When
dubbing VHS to DVD,
don?t expect
miracles ? the
results are only as
good as the source
tape. But in our
tests, a ropey old
tape of TV shows
stepped superbly
into the digital
domain using the
two-hour SP mode,
with well-judged
colours, robust
blacks and minimal
audio hiss. It?s
noisy but watchable.
And copying in any
direction is simple
thanks to the easy
to follow,
step-by-step
screens. You can set
the amount of time
to be copied or just
record the entire
tape in one go.
Using the same
screen you can move
pictures from USB to
DVD-RAM. There are
no problems with USB
playback of video,
music or photos, and
the deck displays
the latter in crisp
high-definition,
which is a real
bonus. On a more
negative note,
digital text is
surprisingly
sluggish and CD
playback is merely
average, but this
was never a deck
designed to satisfy
audiophile tastes.
r> Verdict ItIt?s
still hard to
believe that VHS is
still going strong
in 2010, but the
mere existence of
this combi is proof
that there?s a
lingering demand for
it. And the
DMR-EZ49V is a great
example of how to
integrate ageing
tape tech with
modern digital
recording, thanks to
its bulging feature
list and an
abundance of slick
recording/editing
features, even
without a built-in
hard-disk. It?s
simple to copy
cassettes to DVD and
the results are
impressive, provided
your tapes are in
good nick. What?s
more, the operating
system is infused
with the company?s
usual
user-friendliness,
plus DVD and
Freeview picture
quality is
top-notch,
especially when you
employ the 1080p
upscaling.