Hidden features on the Panasonic DMR-ES20D DVD Recorder
I purchased a Panasonic DMR-ES20D DVD recorder more than a year ago to replace an old video recorder that I was using. After purchasing it there were 3 main features that I would have liked it to have, and it turned out they were there all along just poorly documented.
- Recording analogue TV (as well as Freeview channels).
- Ability to watch recorded shows straight on the PC without having to finalise the disk (which previously meant possibly wasting upto 3hrs of unused space).
- Ability to effectively pause live TV (i.e. record and playback the same show).
I only discovered recording analogue TV was possible after it auto-tuned some in some analogue channels after popping up an onscreen message saying that there were new channels available.
Regarding watching shows without finalising the disk, and pausing live TV, I was using it with standard DVD+R write once disks, meaning these features just did no show up (you need to use special DVD-RAM disks).
