Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DMR-BS850EBK Twin Freesat Tuners 500GB HDD Blu-ray Recorder

These are first impressions - the 850 only arrived this morning! (See below for an update...)

First, compared with the Humax it's replacing, quality of picture and recording is as good or better; and - a vital difference! - unlike the Humax it's possible to edit HD (and other) recordings. Controls are an improved version of older Panasonic DVD recorders, which makes for easy operation. The two tuners work seamlessly, and Viera link turns on the TV when you start up the 850...

Second, downsides - apart from the cost! There doesn't seem to be any search option for the programme guide, something I'd found really useful on the Humax (although even then it wasn't as good as Tivo!) There also seems to be a subjectively lengthy gap between channel changes, meaning too much black screen. Otherwise, this appears to be a really fine piece of kit.

AFTER 10 DAYS of using the 850, a few more comments...

It's still a great machine - but - controls are far less responsive than they should be; there's always a noticeable delay before pretty well any action is carried out, which is not only annoying but, for example, can lead to leaving a second or two of frozen screen when editing out commercials. Recording works well, but grouping of recordings is arbitrary... basically, the Humax is undoubtedly far better for recording HD - AND it allows searching of the Guide!

Yes, you can pause live TV, but it's far from easy; and (infuriatingly) there's no buffer, so it isn't possible to rewind. Again, the Humax feels more responsive, and its controls are better.

Moving recordings to DVD - I haven't collected sufficent material for blu-ray yet! - was sadly inferior to my old Panasonic; not only slower, but, after spending two hours burning a DVD (and while this is going on you can do nothing else) it told me the disk 'might' not have recorded the last part...

(Incidentally, if you do plan to transfer a HD recording, remember ITV will NOT allow you to do so, while the Beeb will only allow a single recording)

Conclusions: sadly, unless you MUST transfer HD to blu-ray, currently I feel you'd be better off with a Humax.

UPDATE

After less than 3 months, it stopped working - timer recording failed.

Two weeks after it had been returned, the dealer - Let's GO digital - told me these machines must be returned to Panasonic for repair; they didn't tell me when they'd returned it, or when I'd get it back...

So, be cautious; and if timer recording gets flaky, don't wait and hope it'll get better - send it back!

This is my third Panasonic recorder and undoubtedly another big step forward, but I've found a couple of drawbacks. The first is maybe not Panasonic's fault. Freesat HD gives the broadcasters the option not to allow writing of Bluray discs from HD programmes and they are certainly making plenty of use of that option!
Another major gripe is support for HD camcorders. Panasonic models are the only ones definitely supported. It has a firewire socket, but if you switch to HDV mode the screen goes blank. That is something carefully avoided in the manual and advertising. It will only read AVCHD format on SD cards from Panasonic HD camcorders. It is uncertain what other brands will work as this a new and unclear standard. I know if you edit the SD card on a computer it will no longer read it.
Being early days for HD and Bluray, these are things that are bound to improve, but it's something to be aware of now.

Generally I like this unit. When it displays stuff on the screen, it looks really good - and bear in mind that is what you will spend the majority of your time doing.

Sadly, the software interface feels like it was programmed in the way the physical unit has probably been built - made up of different technologies bolted together. The interface is, indeed, clumsy and slow and could take a leaf out of the more intuitive TIVO or even the childishly simple SKY interface. It surprises me that large companies do so much work to get an amazing box of electronics to market and then spoil it by slapping on a really poor interface (and a very poor manual - which, by the way, you should download before you buy it to ensure it does what you think it should because as some of these reviews indicate it fails to do some things you would have thought were no brainers).

Setting up is really simple - well done to Panasonic for getting that bit right. I was really relieved to find out I could just unscrew my twin satellite feeds from that awful SKY box and screwed them into this unit. Be aware though that the box comes with no SCART nor HDMI leads. It also doesnt even have one free blank disc either so you should pre-order some of those too (I would add that Panasonic do offer you a couple of free discs but instead of putting them in the box, they get you to jump through hoops by sending off a large SAE in another large envelope with a photocopy of your receipt to a company who will send you them - I suspect this is in order to get your address and personal data so they can market to you later - poor, poor show Panasonic)

Lastly, I would mention a possible inherent fault that has meant be swapping my unit over only to find my new unit has the same problem. When I switch to Viera Cast (The Internet Module that allows certain widgets e.g. YouTube to access the net) I lose all sound so I can watch a YouTube Video but its silent. Although there are only three widgets available (excluding weather and share prices) - YouTube, Picasa and Tagesschau (a German Streaming News Channel), oddly I only get sound when I switch to Tagesschau but it switches off again as soon as I try and watch a YouTube video. This bug was denied by the Panasonic Helpline but acknowledged by Panasonic when my local dealer spoke to "their support". They have tried to blame my Virgin Media ISP but, as bad as Virgin Media is, I don't think they have a racist firewall that only lets through German IP traffic but not English. Also the system pings as you switch between menus are not dictated by IP traffic and they go silent as well. I will put up with this - but you may not want to - so beware!

So to sum up, great technology, great picture - crudely bolted together and rushed to market which might give you a few nasty surprises unless you checkit out thoroughly first.

The Panasonic DMR-BS850EB is a very impressive piece of kit, I must say!

With so many features and options this is one purchase I've made where I HAD to read the manual.

Basic operation is easy with only the more complex tasks making it a must to to delve into the comprehensive operating instructions.

Freesat is new to me but the unit found over 140 channels for me to view and record in just a couple of minutes. You simply enter your post code and it'll even find your regional channel, nice touch.

It also finds 'other' satellite channels if you so desire ... it found 1029 of these when I tried .. not all of these were free to air but interesting to say the least.

It records High-Definition programmes, too and you can save them to Blu-ray discs according to copyright settings on each programme. Standard definition programmes can be copied as many times as you please.

The picture is perfect, of course, as it's full HD quality.

It also recorded from my Sky+HD box with no problems.

It has two tuners for Freesat, so you can watch one channel while recording another or record two at once. The electronic programme guide is efficient but has no search facility yet, that'll come soon, I'm sure.

Changing channels is instantaneous for me but the aspect ratio on some channels won't fix on 16:9, rather, it changes to wide. I'll sort this out soon, I hope.

Sound quality is the best I've heard but this is down to my surround sound system, too.

I also have a Panasonic TV, so Viera link can be used to operate functions on both units.

The Panasonic DMR-BS850EB also supports SD cards with video, audio, MP3 etc. and can also be connected to the Internet for special Viera Cast broadcasts.

A USB socket is useful, too. Plug in your USB drive to transfer music or video onto the unit.

The remote control is easy to use but takes a little getting used to after using Sky for many years. I'm getting better at it each day, though.

I can copy from the built in hard drive to Blu-ray disc at high speed to save any programmes that I've recorded.

Connectivity is fantastic. Any modern piece of equipment will fit, no problem.

I've been using the player/recorder for about 5 days now and am still finding new features to play around with. While my wife just wants to watch TV and record, I prefer to experiment with the more technical features and options, proving that anyone can use this unit at their own level.

So if you want the very best quality recordings you can get or the flexibility of copying High-Definition or standard quality modes in order to share DVDs or Blu-ray content, then this unit is for you.

I always buy high quality kit and the Panasonic DMR-BS850EB doesn't disappoint.

Bad points? None really ... I could be fussy and say that I wish you could rewind live TV like with Sky+ but this WOULD be a little picky as you can pause live TV if only I would remember to press pause first when the 'phone rings (smile).

Picture quality is great.

But...

All function changes are slow leading to a lot of black screen during changes. Menus are not intuitive, you CANNOT rewind live TV (no buffer), you cannot set a reminder for a program only record.

Freesat need to improve both the TV guide and the program banner features.

Panasonic need to improve the speed between function changes and program changes and add the features that any satellite tv viewer user now takes for granted . I feel as if I have paid £900 to be a BETA tester. If I could get my money back I would if I take into account only the Freesat functions

Blu Ray picture is excellent and I am pleased with this.

Think carefully before buying this product at the current price with the current functionality. If these perceived problems where fixed via a software download I would not hesitate in recommending this product.