They are the same deck re-branded AFAIK. JVC and Panny are owned by the same "people." I have the JVC and I'm very happy with it. It doesn't record DVCAM (it plays it,) but it does have RS-422, as Michael said. That's the big draw. They also have simple audio level meters, and mine seems a bit quicker than the DSR-11s for FF/RW, etc. I think they are an underrated low-end DV option personally.
The only difference I know of is the color, silver vs. black. They
might support slightly different RS-422 protocols, but that's just a guess.
- Justin Barham -