Panasonic DMR-BS750 and 850 review

Panasonic has released the world’s first Blu-ray video recorders: the DMR-BS750 and 850.

Both models have dual FreeSat TV tuners. We tested the cheaper 750, which has a 250GB disk, but an extra £100 gets you the otherwise identical 850, with its 500GB disk. Either way you get a stylish device that’s almost silent unless you’re burning a disc.

We’ve previously seen a FreeSat PVR, the Humax Foxsat-HDR, so the ability to record programmes from BBC’s and ITV’s HD services is nothing new. However, the DMR-BS750 and 850 let you archive HD recordings to writable Blu-ray discs. There are some issues with copy protection, though. BBC HD recordings can only be copied to disc once, while ITV content can’t currently be copied at all, though Panasonic has stated that it’s hopeful this will change in the near future. The 250GB hard disk will hold around 38 hours of HD or 105 hours of standard definition (SD) programming, with the 500GB disk obviously doubling those figures.

You can copy recordings to both write-once and rewritable Blu-ray media. Discs aren’t cheap: a 25GB BD-R costs £4, a 50GB BD-R is £11 and a 25GB BD-RE is £8. The interface for copying discs could be streamlined, though it’s never confusing thanks to clear onscreen directions. You have to use the separate Copy menu, rather than copying straight from Recordings, and you have to format the disc in the Blu-ray Management menu first. A one-hour HD programme took 15 minutes to burn to a 2x BD-RE disc and just under seven minutes to a 6x BD-R disc.

We had no trouble playing finalised BD-R discs on our PlayStation 3, but our Samsung BD-P1500 player, like many, doesn’t support rewritable discs. Disappointingly, BD-RE discs can’t be finalised, and so won’t play in any other players. In addition, HD content can’t be burned to DVD media.

You can re-encode HD content to fit more on a disc. A 25GB disc will hold around three-and-a-half hours of programming from BBC HD. Switching to the second-best HX setting increased this to six hours, but only affected image quality in the most hectic of scenes. You can burn and re-encode simultaneously, but it must be done in real time. You can also re-encode HD content as SD MPEG2, with no copy limitations and impressive-looking results.

Dual in the crown

To use both FreeSat tuners you’ll need a dish with twin low-noise block converters (LNBs); luckily, Sky’s MiniDish has just such outputs.

The Panasonic recorders may have dual tuners, unlike many DVD recorders, but they aren’t as well designed as many dedicated PVRs. The tuner in use doesn’t constantly buffer what you’re watching, so you can’t skip back if you miss something. To timeshift you have to press the Pause button to activate that mode. Once in timeshifting mode, there’s no timeline bar to tell you where you are in the programme, and you can’t access other menus or the electronic programme guide (EPG). The FreeSat-branded timeline EPG is easy to navigate and supports series link recording, but there’s no video window or audio, so you can’t keep an eye on your programme while browsing the schedules.

Archiving HD programmes may sound appealing, but there still isn’t much HD content on FreeSat. Thankfully, the DMR-BS recorders have plenty of other attractive features. You can capture HD footage from an AVCHD camcorder to the hard disk or directly to Blu-ray. There are video and audio inputs for analogue capture, plus FireWire for archiving digtial video straight to disc.

The SDHC memory card reader or USB port enable you to load music and photos on the hard disk or burn them to writable media. The DMR-BS recorders use the GraceNote online service, which helps you organise your MP3 collection, providing track names, album art and playlist suggestions. Photo browsing is speedy, aided by 12 onscreen thumbnails at a time, and there’s a basic slideshow.

Blu velvet

You can, of course, watch Blu-ray movies too, with disc load times being fairly typical. There’s also impressive DVD upscaling. All the video and audio outputs you’d expect are included, and support for 1080p 24fps output, along with all the latest surround-sound standards.

The menu system is clearly presented and does a good job of presenting the myriad of options available. However, it can feel a little sluggish, with an entirely black screen appearing every time you switch between menus. There’s no media streaming, but you do get Panasonic’s Viera Cast internet service. However, at present this consists only of YouTube and Picasa Web Albums.

A Foxsat-HDR and a Blu-ray player won’t cost much more than £400, so you’re paying a significant chunk of extra cash for the Blu-ray archiving and other functions. With FreeSat HD support in the upcoming Windows 7, you should be able build a cheaper Media Center PC that’s capable of the same tasks, although Blu-ray archiving would require using authoring software, too. The two DMR-BS recorders are easier to use than a media centre PC, but have limited file format support and no proper internet access.

The DMR-BS recorders are great for enjoying and archiving a wide range of media, particuarly AVCHD footage from a HD camcorder. However, the high price of media and the complex compatibility and copy-protection issues will put off many potential users.