The 'DMR-ES10' is a DVD recorder made by Panasonic.

As it's now a few years old, you can pick-up this model for an average price of around £40 on ebay. This represents good value for money considering the machine when new cost just under £200.

The DMR-ES10 supports DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM formats - it doesn't however work with DVD+RW discs.

There's a whole host of input / output options round the back of the unit including: A digital optical out (useful for when connecting to a 5.1 cinema system or amp), a Scart in and out, S-Video in and out, composite video in and out, and compononent outputs.

All in all then, the machine isn't lacking on the connectivity front.

The remote control is fairly easy to use, with all of the important function buttons located in accessible positions. There's also a Video+ option to make sheduled recording a little easier.

When recording, the DMR-ES10 offers four main options - Extended Play (8hrs), Long Play (4hrs), Short Play (2hrs), and XP (1hr).

Playback quality is acceptable at all quality levels, and although EP and LP have noticeable JPEG artifacts, they are still watchable.
SP and XP are pretty much true to the original broadcast, and I haven't noticed any quality loss issues with either.

Sound is good also. As I mentioned earlier, if you've got a Dolby Digital or DTS system, you can hook it up via the optical digital out, which makes this product an viable DVD player to watch your movies on.

There is, in my opinion, quite a large drawback with this model. It primarily relates to the overall speed of the unit. Turning it on seems to take an age, and when simply trying to watch a film, 'Reading Disc' is displayed for quite some time on the screen before you can access any of the functions.

Overall, for the price, you can't really complain about the Panasonic DMR-ES10. It supports a whole host of inputs, and delivers a great picture in both playback and record modes. A recommended buy for the price.