Panasonic are to release it’s Freesat+ recorders this spring in 3 variants. All will come with twin hi definition tuners as standard, capable of recording two programmes at the same time, and optical drives.
At the budget end, though it wont be cheap, will be the DMR-XS350 sporting a 250GB hard drive which comes equipped with a recordable DVD drive built in. The DMR-BS750 will also come with a 250GB hard drive but with a recordable blu-ray drive. The DMR-BS850 will also come equipped with the recordable blu-ray drive but with a large 500GB hard drive. Archiving hi-def programmes to blu-ray will be encoded in AVCHD, however this facility will no doubt be subject to high definition programmes that have not been flagged as ‘protected’ from copying off the PVR by a broadcaster.
A non-recording blue-ray ‘player’ without the hard drive, the DMP-BD80, will be released around the same time for about £350. This will include 7.1 analogue sound, ‘High Clarity Sound’ technology and Viera Cast (see below).
We’ve had a chance to see the physical A/V connections on the rear of the DMR-BS850 today, which sport twin scart sockets for RGB and S-video in and out, one set of composite sound and video ‘in’ connections and one set for ‘out’; an SVideo in connector and and SVideo out connector, HDMI and component connections. Digital audio out are via coaxial and optical connectors. Connections for twin satellite cable feeds, USB and Ethernet make up the rest.
On the recording side, seeing as these Panasonic twin tuner PVRs are Freesat+ certified, you’ll be getting a well thought out EPG (electronic programme guide) to make it easy to set up and manage recording schedules/timers. Features include ’series record’ and ‘accurate recording’ – a feature where the recorder tracks the programmes’ running time so it doesn’t miss any of the recording should the schedule slip.
The SD card slot, USB and Firewire on the front will enable camera/camcorder picture and video enjoyed on the big screen or recorded to Blu-ray, while media player capabilities are boosted by the support of Divx and the inclusion of Gracenote, formally CDDB (Compact Disc Data Base) which automatically identifies music and displays information about songs, artists, and albums.
The Ethernet port will enable the PVR to access BBC iplayer content over your broadband connection; a feature that should be enabled from autumn 2009. Utilising the Ethernet port, Panasonic will also be pushing Viera Cast, as long as you have internet connectivity. With Viera Cast, the PVR can access the latest news and weather from websites, and content from YouTube, Picasa, Bloomberg and some broadcasters like Eurosport. Viera Cast promises DNLA compatibility, meaning content from your own devices in the house can be streamed.
The estimated retail price of these devices have not been released. If we take into account the markets around the world where these machines are already available; you could be looking at around as much as £700 for the DVD recorder twin tuner PVR, and over £1000 for the blu-ray versions. We are sure the demand is there for a more integrated device. Indeed a twin tuner DVD recorder seems to be one of the most wanted recording devices over the last few years. It will be interesting to see what UK price points Panasonic set for these machines.
The DMR-BS850, DMR-BS750 and DMR-XS350 are planned for release in the second quarter of 2009.
Related: Panasonic Freesat+ PVR Planned
Related: June Release for Panasonic Freesat+ recoder: £1000 Price Tag
