Panasonic DMR-PWT550EB Blu-Ray Player and HDD Recorder with Freeview Play, Black

Product Information

After recording a selection of HD and SD shows onto the hard disk, the deck’s DR mode captures programmes without any drop in quality. At present you can stream programmes from BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub and All 4 – but not Demand 5, which is coming soon. When new Smart Blu-Ray Player products are launched, there may be also be a delay before certain Apps become available.

Having had the box for a couple of weeks where we put it to the test with more than 60 recordings, with a mixture of recording types, we found the PWT550 to be extremely solid with only one missed, and that was when we inadvertently disconnected the aerial lead, so no fault of the Panasonic. You can increase the HDD capacity with an external USB hard drive, or step up to the 1TB DMR-PWT655.The connectivity options are probably sufficient, for most, and consist of an HDMI port, a digital audio out, a pair of USB ports and an SD Card slot; of course, there’s also a Freeview HD aerial input too, as well as an RF out to take the signal to other devices, such as your TV.

The playback quality with the streaming Freeview Play has been surprisingly good certainly no complaints there. br>
Smart Networking
Connect to your home network via the built-in Wi-Fi or Ethernet and you can enjoy a wide range of Smart networking options. Compatible with Full HD 3D TVs, it can also convert 2D to 3D which makes it ideal for your active or passive 3D TV.Services such as the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5 are available without having to open specific applications, giving effortless scroll-back TV (requires broadband Internet connection with a minimum speed of 2Mbps). The Panasonic DMR-PWT550EB has plenty going for it as a disc player, Freeview PVR and video streaming device. As a Freeview PVR, the PWT550 is a perfectly capable twin tuner entry with all the usual features you would expect, including season records, simultaneous recordings and chase-play capability. The build quality is solid with a black metal chassis and tinted facia which conceals a tray-loading disc mechanism and houses a useful display panel. Using the colour-coded buttons, you can skip to a particular day and time, or jump to the current programme.