Blu-ray archiving DVRs have been a staple in Japan since the format was still in protective cartridges, and now we have
more details on the new Panasonic HD Everything lineup launching in the UK. All three boxes can convert recorded programs into h.264 to save disc space, and beyond their
FreeSat+ twin tuner DVR capability, support Panasonic's
VIERA Cast internet hookups to pull in video and pictures from YouTube and Picasa. The DMR-BS850 and DMR-BS750 support BD-Live enabled Blu-ray playback and recording in HD, while the DMR-XS350 serves as an HD DVR on its hard drive, but falls back to SD for disc archiving on old school DVDs. No word on a price, but while the British ponder Panasonic vs.
Humax we're already willing to trade in
proposed tru2way boxes to have a
shot at these.
[Via
TechDigest.tv]
Update:
TrustedReviews came through with some better pics, specs, and most importantly, prices for these joints - The DMR-BS850 has a 500GB HDD for £999, the DMR-BS750 has a 250GB HDD for £899 and the DMR-XS350 clocks in with a 200GB HDD for £699.
posted Apr 16th 2009 8:11AM
You have a better chance of seeing Howard Stern and Imus doing a telethon together than to EVER see this product for sale in the US.
get a 2 card cablecard tru2way version to USA!!!
hell, even just get us a basic one first. just give us a blu-ray burning HD machine. damn why the collusion to prevent this from entering usa????
pretty frustrating
I think this product will have a tough time selling. What Hi-Fi has a more in-depth price list and the prices run anywhere from £599 to £999 depending on storage and choice of DVD or Blu. Even the cheapest model is £200 than the Humax Foxsat HDR which isn't exactly that cheap to start with. DVD / BD recording is nice but such a device has to be competitive with devices already out there. On top of that, there is the issue of how do you record HD content to Blu Ray / DVD. Can you even do it, when HD content is apparently protected by content control bits?
I own the Humax device and its pretty decent although it could do with a usability makeover to fix navigational complexity and non-obvious behaviour. Competition would be nice too but I don't think Pansonic's offerings are going to give it unless they have a few cheaper models to fill out the lower ends of the scale. The Humax allows users to copy unprotected content to an external USB so in theory you could burn your own stuff if it was just an occasional thing you had to do.
I have two D-VHS decks that recorded encrypted HDTV MPEG2 TS to VHS tape. The tapes could be placed in different machines too... they weren't device-locked. Of course, the tape decks sucked and both mine are dead now, but that's a different, blood-boiling story.
Anywho, the technology to record HD has been there for ages. And since Blu-ray is an encrypted format, all they have to do is apply AACS encryption and it meets the 5C license and will be playable in all BD players.
-Pie
Recession Antidote? Please?
I really want Elliot Spitzer to figure out why these products are not making it to US shores. I know he is out of work now and could use the Private Eye job.
This is just what I have been waiting for but the price is excessive. However Blu Ray player and recorder with freesat HD. I have a Humax but it does not always record to USB, and then transferring to disc is not at all easy. I would happily sell my Humax Freesat HDR and PS3 (still keep my xbox 360) and buy this.