Panasonic drops Freesat recorders, adds DigaPlayer streaming app
Panasonic's 2012 Blu-ray and HDD recorder line-up will no longer include Freesat models, but the Freeview HD products are boosted by an innovative DigaPlayer iPad/iPhone streaming app plus enhanced USB capabilities.
Users of the 2012 and existing Panasonic PVRs will also be pleased with the news that the irritating adverts are disappearing from the electronic-programme-guide (EPG).
Model numbers and exact specifications are still being finalised for the 2012 recorder line-up, which is due to launch in the UK in April.
At present, the DMR-BWT420 and DMR-BWT520 are 3D Blu-ray players with integrated, twin-tuner Freeview HD PVRs - 500GB and 1TB capacitiy respectively.
The DMR-BWT620 (not coming to the UK) and DMR-BWT720 add Blu-ray recording to 3D playback and twin-tuner Freeview HD recording. They also offer 500GB and 1TB capacity respectively, though 2TB was also mentioned as a possiblity for the flagship '720.
What's certain is that Freesat won't make an appearance, one suspects due to poor sales of earlier Freesat models in Panasonic's PVR range.
Use your iPad as a second TV
What the flagship Blu-ray recorders gain this year is Panasonic's new DigaPlayer app, which will allow users to stream live TV and recorded content to an Apple iPhone and iPad (Android app to follow).
As a Panasonic rep is ably demonstrating above, you can keep watching TV via one of your recorder's twin tuners while streaming live TV from the other over your home wi-fi network. You can also browse your recordings and any other multimedia content on your recorder's hard drive - even content on connected USB drives (of which more shortly).
The DigaPlayer system even supports streaming of HD content to your iPad, though we're guessing this would require you to have robust bandwidth on your home network. We'll test it out when we get review samples of the recorder and app.
Back up your recordings via USB
Enhanced USB connectivity also features in the new Panasonic recorder line-up, including the ability to back up the contents of your hard drive to an external USB drive, plus copy selected recordings on to a USB drive to watch elsewhere.
There are some copyright restrictions - for example you can register a maximum of eight USB devices with each recorder, and if you copy the entire content of your drive to a USB device then you'll only be able to playback from that unit.
We'll bring you confirmed model numbers and specifications - plus UK pricing - as soon as they become available ahead of that April launch.
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Comments
Hi there,
Do we have any idea as to when Panasonic are going to announce these new recorders (as opposed to release them)? I'm hoping that if they're going to announce them in April as the story states, they would have told the industry the date by now.
Many thanks
Thank you Clare.
It would have been nice if Freesat could have told me that it has a 'legal commitment' to exist when I contacted them yesterday. But they didn't, just stuck to the standard political speak answer.
They also couldn't tell me why, after years of existence, they are still not up to the 200+ channels promised for launch.
Nice to see that truth and accuracy are alive and well in this magnificent country of ours.
Thanks again.
Freesat isn't going anywhere: there is legal commitment for it to exist for people that can't get digital reception of key channels via aerial.
Panasonic is still featuring Freesat tuners in four of its TV ranges this year, by the way. But PVRs are much more niche market - I suspect Panasonic is happy to leave the Freesat PVR market to smaller specialist firms.
So is this the beginning of the end for Freesat?
It will be rubbish if it ends up that way particularly for people in 'Freeview-lite' areas where so many channels are missing from Freeview.
Trouble with Freesat is that even now we do not have the 200+ channels that were promised at launch and HD channels are very few and far between. Just look at the HD versions of 'terestrial channels' on Sky, why are some of these not available on Freesat?