Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD Recorder

141 reviews

Apr, 2024

Positive
usability (51)
price (38)
image quality (12)
size (11)
design (7)

Negative
reliability (16)

General overview
Price comparison

alaTest has collected and analyzed 141 reviews of Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD Recorder. The average rating for this product is 3.6/5, compared to an average rating of 3.8/5 for other DVD Players for all reviews. Reviewers are impressed by the design and size. The price and usability also get good opinions. Many are critical about the reliability. There are some mixed opinions about the image quality.

usability, price, size, design

reliability

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other DVD Players the Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD Recorder is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 75/100 = Good quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 141 reviews)

Expert Reviews

User Reviews

Review Ratings

(33% of reviews)
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Features

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price
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reliability
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Showing 88 review(s)

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Showing 1 - 62 of 88 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (53)

Consumer review (amazon.co.uk)

Amazon.co.uk review summary for Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD Recorder

alaTest has collected and analyzed 52 user reviews of Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD Recorder from Amazon.co.uk. The average user rating for this product is 3.7/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.0/5 for other DVD Players on Amazon.co.uk. Reviewers are impressed by the design and size. The price and usability also get good views, whereas there are some less positive reviews about the reliability and image quality.

usability, price, size, design

image quality, reliability

77% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

Apr, 2024

Expert review by : David Katzmaier (cnet.com)

Performance

Panasonic DMR-E55

Relatively inexpensive; excellent recording quality in XP and SP modes; simultaneous recording and playback with DVD-RAM; Flexible Recording mode.

Somewhat difficult to use; no IR blaster for cable box control; soft recording quality in EP mode; no FireWire input.

Panasonic's least-expensive DVD recorder is a good choice for basic TV and video archiving.

Aug, 2004

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Expert review by : SoundStage! (hometheatersound.com)

Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD Recorder

I've used only one other home DVD recorder, Panasonic's DMR-E60S ($550). The DMR-E55, for $250 less, ties or beats the DMR-E60S in every category: setup is simpler, the GUI is more intuitive and better looking, the remote is easier to use, and the...

Mar, 2006

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Expert review by : David Katzmaier (cnet.com.au)

Panasonic DMR-E55

Panasonic's least-expensive DVD recorder is a good choice for basic TV and video archiving.

Relatively inexpensive ; Excellent recording quality in XP and SP modes ; Simultaneous recording and playback with DVD-RAM ; Flexible Recording mode

Somewhat difficult to use ; No IR blaster for cable box control ; Soft recording quality in EP mode ; No FireWire input

After recording, we checked out a finalised DVD-R disc and noted that it played in eight newer players and one older one in our test facility but not on another old player. The DMR-E55 itself played back most of the test discs in our compatibility...

Feb, 2005

Partner Source

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Consumer review (epinions.com)

A PIECE OF JUNK THAT CANNOT BE FIXED

IT WORKED FINE FOR ABOUT 10 MONTHS.

SAVE YOUR MONEY,THE RISK OF A CRITICAL FAILURE IS TOO HIGH.

Feb, 2007

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Consumer review (epinions.com)

Fantastic for 2 years then big trouble!

I bought this machine because of the reviews,the price and I like to buy from quality manufacturers. It has been fantastic, the whole family have found it easy to use and love its features. After VHS I think we all find DVD recording life...

Wonderful while it lasted

The technology used in these DVD recorders is too short -lived.

Jan, 2007

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Consumer review (epinions.com)

DMR-E55___Good, but could be better.

I know others have already went over the features of this DVD recorder, so I'll discuss the performance & functions of the DMR-E55. The 1st thing you'll notice is the loading tray opens very slow. The loading tray design is so you can only pickup the ...

Built solid, easy to use.

Very poor design & function

Sep, 2006

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Consumer review (epinions.com)

Good unit with some hang-ups

Inexpensive. Records easily. Good quality of recording.

Instruction manual isn't complete. Quirky with some disks.

Jul, 2006

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Consumer review (epinions.com)

Good unit with some hang-ups

UPDATE: 6/2006 I wrote a review on AMAZON.com on this item and how to overcome Failed Finalization. Since I discovered this technique, I've not lost a single recording. The address: ...

Inexpensive. Records easily. Good quality of recording.

Instruction manual isn't complete. Quirky with some disks.

Jul, 2006

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Consumer review (epinions.com)

Worst appliance in the house

If it records a program (rarely), it provides better picture quality than VHS tape.

Extremely poor reliability.Slow startupPoor user interface

Apr, 2006

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Consumer review (epinions.com)

I enjoyed this recorder for eleven months then it went haywire.

I was very pleased with the E55 for 11 months, then it started rejecting my RAM discs. It seems that the erase function was wiping out all of the data on the disk including what is necessary to have it read as recordable. If I used it as a recorder and...

Easy to use with some fine features

DVD-RAM discs are not cheap, rendering them unusable is not a positive feature.

Dec, 2005

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