Where is the familiar ease of use?

In all of these devices was a key on the remote control called Clock / Counter.
It allowed convenient switch from time to maturity and vice versa, on the display of the device.
Also an open / close button to open the DVD / CD loading was always on all remote controls available.

In the DVD equipment, there was always a zoom function.

And with all devices I could at admission, always check whether the right program is recorded, as I briefly switched to AV1.

All this is perhaps, nothing earth-shattering, not what would be particularly important, but it counts for me to ease, indeed almost the usual Selbsverständlichkeit.
Alls which does not have the DMR-EX98 unfortunately!
Why because you wonder if you should pay 700 euros for such a device according to the list price and it also still is of Panasonic, Panasonic is committed actually.
What the developers have thought of these "little things", lacking any notion to me!

He has everything else, but to the "little things" was saved, or they have been forgotten?

Depending on whether one makes a recording manually on rec, or programming or how to program, you can see on the device display either the time, the duration or the channel, everything is immutable. Even when I can watch movies on the HDD, DVD or VHS does not display the time.
Very questionable.