Loading ...Jun 09 2009
Panasonic’s range of 3 Freesat+ PVR receivers have been given a launch date of 26th June 2009. Panasonic usually stick to their launch dates and have the products in-store prior to this, so if anyone is looking forward to the release, you only have a few weeks to wait. Panasonic have a page specifically counting down to launch.
If you don’t know much about these new receivers, have a look here, here and here.
June 9th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Does anyone know if these can be pre-orderrd anywhere yet? I haven’t seen them advertsed yet.
June 9th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Not seen any of the major retailers taking orders yet, but information is still limited, the trade price hasn’t been released yet as far as I’m aware.
http://www.satbuyer.co.uk/panasonic-dmr-bs850-freesat+-blu-ray-box-p54.html
June 9th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Hmm, Play have them for pre-order but with a release date of the end of July!
M
June 9th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
So we’ve got:
HD Freesat+ which is worth ~£250
Profile 2.0 Blu Ray player worth ~£150
Blu ray writer worth ~£600…
Ah yes, I can see its well worth the money.
Personally, I’d buy separate HD Freesat+, Profile 2.0 Blu Ray player and ~40 1080P Blu Ray films rather than want to archive 1080i recordings…
if I had a spare grand kicking about.
I must admit that I’ve tried to imagine who Panasonic believe will buy this product (at this price) but I’m coming up empty. Perhaps people who will buy this product could explain its appeal and give an indication of the amount and type of material they will archive, whether they already own a freesat product or a blu ray player player etc?
June 10th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
John_M
I intend purchasing one of these Panasonic boxes by the end of the year, I don’t know if I am the target market that Panasonic is aiming for. I am in my Fifties, I do not buy technology very often but when I do it generally has to last and is usually at the cutting edge.
I do not currently have any of the following devices:- BluRay DVD player, PVR, DVD Recorder, iPod, Music Server or Image server. I see this Panasonic box providing all of the above functionality in one box that will become the hub of my entertainment world for the next 5 years.
I will obviously have to add on some additional storage at some point but that is generally very affordable. I also live in France so I do not have access to all the (on-demand) services and choices that you have in the UK such as BBC iPlayer, BT Vision (IPTV). As my IP address does not emanate from within the UK these services are blocked to me. I will therefore make considerable use of both SD and hopefully HD achieving.
For me and my rather ageing family, having all these functions in one box is a real benefit especially as we already have a Panasonic Full HD TV which hopefully will mean my wife will only have one remote to contend with. We might be paying a couple of hundred quid over the top for the convenience of all our technology in one box, but personally it’s worth it.
Robin,
June 11th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I have to agree with some of the above comments, though i agree whole heartedly with the way the market seems to be FINALLY steering in terms of Freesat+ and am encouraged by the independent review comments in such publications as ‘what hi fi and sound’, Panasonic seem to have produced just the type of machine i’ve been waiting for ( everything in one tidy box).However i feel the launch price is just too prohibitive, certainly for me to invest just yet. I suspect the majority of the target market will probably feel the same. Give it 6 months to a year and hopefully competition like Sony will be jumping on board and with a bit of luck maybe we’ll not only see improved spec’d machines being produced but the price tags significantly dropping too! So come on Sony, start producing those Blue Ray recorders you’ve already launched for the Japanese market, bung a couple ( at least ) of Freesat tuners in them and churn similar out here please.
June 12th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
@Mike,
Fully agree with your comments on this. Would add one thing though, to be complete such aproduct should include freeview as well as freeesat tuners.
There are programmes available on freeview on freeview only and it begins to look as though there might be more HD programmes available on terrestrial ?
I have a Sony Hard disk / DVD recorder and it has performed excellently. The equivalent freesat product / blueray would get my vote.
June 28th, 2009 at 9:29 am
I have had a quick look at the manual, and this device does not have an LNB out socket, so if you want to watch one programme while recording another, then you need 2 feeds. In fact the manual suggests 3 feeds, to get the most out of the recorder. I wonder how many homes have this facility? I have a new build home with the cable built in, and connected in the loft space. While I do have a quad LNB dish, there is no simple way to get a second lead down, and that would reduce the feeds available in other rooms in any case. Even the Humax PVR has an LNB out, and all VCRs had an aerial out socket. This seems to me an fatal omission in such a high end-high cost product.
June 28th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Further to my earlier, and with apologies to Panasonic. I am still learning the mysteries of satellite broadcasting, and even an LNB-out socket would not allow full flexibility, because of the problems of polarization etc. It looks as if there is no real alternative to using a second feed from the quad LNB to achieve what I need – record one channel while watching another without restriction.