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CES 2012: HDTV and connected devices round-up

Richard Lawler — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:46:00 EST

The Consumer Electronics Show is always a big deal for HDTVs and the devices that plug into them, and the 2012 edition was no different. With the majority of households already owning an HDTV, manufacturers are pressed to convince you to upgrade, and are pulling out all the stops. We've got new display technologies like OLED, 4K and Super Hi-Vision, plus more 3D and internet connected features than ever. DVRs and media streamers haven't slowed down either, so while some services focused on eliminating the set-top box, those that remained either shrunk (Roku) or added features (Boxee, TiVo, Ceton -- pictured above). The pace of the announcements made it nearly impossible to keep up with everything going on last week, so we've wrapped everything up in one neat summary available after the break.

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CES 2012: HDTV and connected devices round-up originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic HDTVs show off Time Warner Cable IPTV app with live streaming channels, DVR access

Richard Lawler — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:39:00 EST

Time Warner launched the TWCable TV live streaming app for iPad last year (Android streaming coming soon), and now at CES Panasonic is showing off a version for TVs. While it's still streaming TV channels from the internet just like the tablet version, the one Panasonic is demonstrating also has DLNA streaming access to anything stored in DVRs on the same home network. We're told the app should work on 2012 and 2011 Panasonic HDTVs, and while there was no word of a release date, the app appeared pretty polished. It's not clear if the cable company is making the jump fully to IPTV yet (or anytime soon), but if it's going to straddle the midpoint then Panasonic's sets are ready for a set-top boxless future. From what we hear, this could launch on multiple platforms later this year. Check out a few more screenshots in the gallery below, we'll let you know about any more details as they become available.

Gallery: Panasonic TWC TV app for HDTVs

Panasonic HDTVs show off Time Warner Cable IPTV app with live streaming channels, DVR access originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic's DMR-BF200 stuffs hard drive and Blu-ray burner into one tiny, magical box

Darren Murph — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:32:00 EST

And this, friends, is why Japan is a marvelous place. Panasonic has just removed the wraps from its new DIGA DMR-BF200, which is being hailed as the planet's smallest Blu-ray recorder. For all intents and purposes, this is simply an external hard drive with a slot-loading Blu-ray burner baked in, but there's plenty more on the inside to pay attention to. It'll stream DLNA content, interface with your other VIERA Link equipment, output content via HDMI and even access acTVila (a Japanese video-on-demand service). Users can also toss in an SD card for watching flicks stored on more portable media, and most anything housed on the 320GB internal hard drive can be toasted on BD-R/RE for playback elsewhere. It should be noted, however, that neither BDXL nor Blu-ray 3D are supported, but those still keenly interested can find it on November 15th for ¥70,000 ($861) in black or white.

Panasonic's DMR-BF200 stuffs hard drive and Blu-ray burner into one tiny, magical box originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic launches six new BDXL-compatible DVRs, the media you'll need to feed them

Tim Stevens — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:46:00 EST

The BDXL format offers 100GB on a single-sided disc, and while that sounds great for archiving content, we're a little leery about Hollywood adopting it to stuff even more deleted scenes on our discs. Why? Because no current Blu-ray players can read the things, and we can't say we're keen to buy another. We're getting a little closer to that kind of support with Panasonic's new Diga-series recorders. There are six in total, all shipping on September 15 and each offering dual tuners used to stuff HDDs ranging from 500GB up to 2TB. From there, content can be dumped onto BDXL discs, so Panny is also announcing availability of its first 100GB, single-sided, write-once media. Naturally BDXLs can also be played back on the things and, in all but the smallest two models, can even be played in 3D. We're still warming up to 3D, Panasonic, don't push too much change too fast.

Panasonic launches six new BDXL-compatible DVRs, the media you'll need to feed them originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comcast files for DVR2Go trademark, is the portable DVR on the way?

Richard Lawler — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:47:00 EST

A trademark filing certainly doesn't have to lead to a product, but here's hoping Comcast's request for "DVR2Go" means something new is in the works. Light Reading reports the request was made on March 29, and should be registered soon unless someone else challenges it. The company showed off a sweet Panasonic-built portable DVR at CES a couple of years ago that we'd like to see offered, but other potential products like a mobile video serve (streaming from our home DVR? we're into that) are tantalizing as well. Check after the break for a demo from 2008 courtesy of Veronica Belmont, we'll be posted outside the USPTO for the duration.

Continue reading Comcast files for DVR2Go trademark, is the portable DVR on the way?

Comcast files for DVR2Go trademark, is the portable DVR on the way? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic's DMR-BW970 Blu-ray DVR squirrels away 2TB of your video

Steven Kim — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:57:00 EST

In parts of the world where Blu-ray DVRs are available, there's not a lot to be done in the way of new features or radical improvement. They've already got a lot of the convergence features ironed out, but one thing every media-saturated home can use is more storage. Enter Panasonic's new DMR-BW970 Blu-ray DVR with a capacious 2TB of hard drive storage, which means that by the time you sift through its hundreds of hours of recordings, new content will be popping up in the library. Seriously, if you can't find something worth watching with that much of a back-catalog, you should just pull away from the TV, get outside and try real life for a while -- it's fascinating and one-in-five people find it to be almost as good as HD.

Filed under: Blu-ray, DVRs, Panasonic

Panasonic's DMR-BW970 Blu-ray DVR squirrels away 2TB of your video originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic DMR-BS850 Blu-ray DVR gets reviewed

Richard Lawler — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:13:00 EST

Infuriatingly restrictive DRM aside, Panasonic's FreeSat+ Blu-ray burning DVR brings some new capabilities to the UK, apparently enough to impress Home Cinema Choice. A few downsides, like ITV marking its HD broadcasts Copy Never preventing any disc backups, and an inability to connect to other devices on the network didn't take away its DVR features, h.264 compression capabilities and solid Blu-ray playback. Of course the entry price for the DMR-BS850 is high, but take a look at the rest of their notes before deciding whether or not all those arrows and padlocks are worth the trouble.

Filed under: Blu-ray, DVRs, Set-top boxes, Panasonic

Panasonic DMR-BS850 Blu-ray DVR gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 14:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic's biggest plasma HDTVs get a fall makeover

Richard Lawler — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:49:00 EST

Panasonic's finally shipping the larger editions of its latest plasmas, from the updated and suddenly more famous 103-inch model to the 65- and 58-inch PZ800 series that have been leaking into U.S. stores recently. Japan also gets the top of the line PZR900 series that takes the YouTube access available in the latest PZ850 series and throws in a 1 TB DVR to go along with the 30,000:1 contrast ratio and acTVila HD video on-demand support, packed into 42-, 50-, and 58-inch panels. Of course, for those with 5.1 million yen ($48,314 U.S.) laying around and a large amount of wall space, the king sized TH-103PZ800 is nearly entry-level priced compared to its $70,000 predecessor, so why not treat yourself? You deserve it.

Read - TH-103PZ800
Read - TH-65PZ800, TH-58PZ800
Read - TH-50PZR900, TH-46PZR900, TH-42PZR900

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Panasonic's biggest plasma HDTVs get a fall makeover originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic's biggest plasma HDTVs get a fall makeover

Richard Lawler — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:49:00 EST

Filed under: Displays, Panasonic, Plasma

Panasonic's biggest plasma HDTVs get a fall makeover originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic announces five new Japanese DVRs

Erik Hanson — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:21:00 EST

Panasonic has announced five new high definition digital video recorder units for the Japanese market, with all models sporting hard drives from 250 GB (DMR-XP11 and DMR-XP21V) to 500 GB (DMR-XW31 and DMR-XW41V) to 1 TB (DMR-XW51) and DVD drives for burning archives or placeshifting content. Two of them (the V-series) also include VHS recorders for converting that old pile of Miami Vice episodes you've got lying around. The largest of the models has the one terabyte drive, which should get you, what, at least half of American Idol this season? Each of the five recorders has HDMI output, with the DMR-XW51 model using progressive scan 1080p, and all include S-Video and composite inputs for recording other sources. We'd imagine this makes them upscaling DVD players as well, but that isn't mentioned in the release. Most include an ethernet jack for getting program guides and downloading track data from the online Gracenote music database when recording CD audio onto the drives. They utilize a quick-start power-saving mode that allows them to begin recording in three seconds from standby. Because these are Japan-specific recorders, they include BS/110 CS digital or analog tuners, with the VHS-less models freeing up room for two tuners instead of one. They will be released in April and May with prices ranging from ¥80k to ¥200k ($669 to $1,688).

Filed under: HDTV

Panasonic announces five new Japanese DVRs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic announces five new Japanese DVRs

Erik Hanson — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:21:00 EST

Filed under: DVRs, Other hardware, Set-top boxes, Panasonic

Panasonic announces five new Japanese DVRs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CES: Comcast announces deals with Panasonic, Samsung on HDTV DVR's

Richard Lawler — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 14:35:00 EST

As Engadget reported during the press conference, Panasonic and Comcast announced a partnership to distribute Panasonic set top boxes. No real information on how these will differ functionally from the Motorola & Scientific Atlanta boxes already in use in many Comcast areas, but the focus of the partnership appears to be using one remote to control a variety of devices, we'll see how that works out.

Also, Comcast has announced a deal with Samsung to distribute their set top boxes, these will apparently feature the ability to connect digital music players and digital camera to the boxes. It will be interesting to see how all this works, plus we should be seeing the first Comcast boxes with Tivo software on them in 2006.

Filed under: Panasonic, Samsung, Cable

CES: Comcast announces deals with Panasonic, Samsung on HDTV DVR's originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jan 2006 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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