Panasonic: DMR-EX75

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Comments (16)

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Paul, Peterbourough on May 15th, 2009
Owned DMR-EX75 from new and bought one second hand from Ebay for my parents a year latter. Mine is fine but but the other one regularly suffered the U81 error message problem and locks up but that clears after turning off. Last Christmas while transfering HDD recording to DVD-R there was a drive error and unit now does not recocognise any discs. Sent it for repair evaluation. Repairer advised that the U81 problem is known about by Panasonic and only occurs when tuned to Multiplex carrying E4 Channel 4 etc and is intermittant/varaible dependant on transmitter used and signal stength but there is no known work around software fix yet. Other than that the DVD drive has failed and the part (which is only supplied along with the control board by Panasonic is £100 and plus labour would be £165. More than I paid for the unit! Verdict I live in fear that my other unit which works flawlessly (from Waltham Tx the other failed unit is in the Winter Hill Tx area) will suffer the same fate. I am not going to buy a Panasonic DVD/PVR again based on the comments on sloppy design of cooling system that blows dust into the optical drive. The only optical drive since the 1980s that I have ever had a failure on.

John. on February 22nd, 2009
Started getting the u080 and u081 errors on a recorder which is about 14months old. Recovers by switching on and off. Don't see point in sending for repair given other comments. Anyone know any ways to avoid getting these errors?

Chris Lang, Dorset UK on February 7th, 2009
Generally excellent - Except for U80 error code occurring which althought intermittent is now getting increasingly frequent after 2 years use. Returned to Panasonic service whilst still within warrenty with this problem but they said they could find nothing wrong! It's really time the found a fix for it!

Martin Neild, Darwen. on January 23rd, 2009
Owned my DVR-EX75 for just over 2 years. Great machine until now! While burning a DVD it stopped at 72% saying possible disc error. Now won't play any DVDs. Suspect my DVD drive is faulty. I've looked inside the box and it seems a simple job to replace the drive but can't get a spare!!

Alistair, Aberdeen on January 7th, 2009
Owned a DVR EX75 (160 Gb) for 3 years now. First unit failed within 3 months with the dreaded U80 error (indicates a RAM drive error), which was repaired under warranty. Failed again within 3 months, and a replacement unit was provided. This second unit has worked well since, but has recently halted with the U80 error (only now and again). Power off/on clears the problem, but obviously doesn't record any scheduled programs in the interim - a real pain. I now have a major failure of the removable DVD player/recorder. On power-on it beeps 4 times at a mid tone, then once on a low tone, as it appears to scan the drive. Sometimes it indicates that it cannot read the drive, despite no disc being inserted - looks like I'll have to take it in for repair/replacement of the device, so hope it's not too costly (might end up being cheaper to buy a replacement). Keith's note regarding a fan problem may be the cause here too, as it does appear to have a 'seek' problem. Altogether I've been happy with this unit, and it's capability. I do get a little ghosting when watching recorded programs, but some of the previous notes may help me in reducing the problem.

Keith, Norfolk on November 7th, 2008
Unit had only burned two or three dvd's in 12 months, next time it failed to burn and was taken to suppplier who said it was a common fault of this units fan to suck dust over the laser, this resulted in a bill for £236.00! as much as a replacement unit.

Paul Ainscough, Bolton on August 12th, 2008
owned my ex75 for about 16 months has been excellent up untill yesterday ejected a dvd it started clicking and came up hdderr

Dave, Durham on March 16th, 2008
I have owned the EX75 for over a year and, fortunately, I have never experienced the U81 error mentioned here. It's a fantastic recorder with fantastic picture quality when connected to an HD TV via its HDMI port.

MonsieurTechnical on September 2nd, 2007
I have had the EX85 which is a superb piece of kit. This and the 75 only differ with the hard drive capacity and it seems, U81 errors. Recordings are so good I only watch stuff I've recorded. The machine is massively versatile being able to record to all types of standard def DVD media, edit programs with down-to-the-frame precision plus more. The ability to record and playback at the same time is great. The SD card slot is great for showing photos. The U81 error code that most EX75 owners seem to have, are not present in the EX85 but I hope that Panasonic release a firmware update (with full instructions) that addresses this. Oh, also it looks so much better than the recently released ones.

Doug Stockton, London on August 2nd, 2007
I agree with others, it is a great gadget and is easy to use, I too get fault U81 from time to time, but by switching it off/on, it clears. But mine has a strange ticking noise when it is on which varies in volume... it stops when in sleep mode. Any clues?

CDS, Luton on July 21st, 2007
I used to have a JVC DRM1 DVD recorder. This recorder had an overheating problem in standby. Lucky that I had an extended warranty.

Ken, Manchester on June 13th, 2007
Great machine except for that U81 error code which keeps popping up. Best recorder on the market. Really needs that error code sorting. All Panasonic say is take it back to the shop. but all EX75 have the same fault.

Mike, Sheffield on June 12th, 2007
Excellent DVD recorder, nice and slim,picture and sound great,easy to use. Only drawback they keep showing Error code U81 when no fault is present. Panasonic say return to shop for repairs but they cannot find any faults.

Tony, Eccles on June 12th, 2007
Great recorder,but it has a fault it keeps showing error code U81 when there is no fault.otherwise picture and sound superb. second to none.

Bill,Warrington on June 11th, 2007
Excellent machine and superb picture quality, but all X75 have a fault, they keep showing fault U81. When you contact Panasonic they tell you to return to shop for exchange, but replacements still show this error. The shops will only exchange products so much.

Dave Gandy, Wirral on June 6th, 2007
I have owned the Panasonic for number of months now, I have found it to be an excellent device, the EPG is quick, the DVD will play all types of disks and as yet it has burnt to a wide verity of media makes and brands without any problems. My wife is a complete technophobe but has used most of the devices features without looking at the instructions! All in all I am extremely pleased with device.