Panasonic DMR-PWT420EB 500GB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012)

 Brand Panasonic | Model: DMR-PWT420EB

Price
Check Price

Panasonic DMR-PWT420EB 500GB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012)

5.0 out of 5 stars HD recorder with more, 6 Feb 2013

By 

tony - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-PWT520EB 1TB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012) (Electronics)

Now I know why it took me so long to track one down at the price I paid it is worth twice that amount it does the lot and more all bells and whistles

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb gadget, 1 Feb 2013

By 

PW - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-PWT520EB 1TB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012) (Electronics)

Easy set up, full of great functions. Only issue I had was that it doesn't allow certain functions at the same time such as playing movie files from external drive whilst recording. But this is only a minor issue overall great value for money.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent product, 29 Jan 2013

By 

A.Francis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-PWT520EB 1TB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012) (Electronics)

Very easy to set up, the wireless connection didn't require any special dongles, it was plug and play. Considering we have one of the lowest broadband speeds in the UK, watching iplayer over wireless seemed like watching live tv. The set up for recording a series is straightforward and keeps up with time changes unlike my previous player and it lists how many of a series you still have left to watch. Yes it is a bit slow when you press the tv guide button or the button to see what has been recorded but that is not an issue once you get used to it. Also when you choose to record something on BBC1 etc it gives you the choice to record normal or HD which is nice. The button to skip adverts is also useful. Overall very pleased.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great HD quality, 27 Jan 2013

By 

gbeesley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-PWT520EB 1TB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012) (Electronics)

Easy to use and very easy to set up. An excellent product with great HD quality, giving access to Iplayer. Could be better if other on demand TV services were included.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, 26 Jan 2013

By 

moo31 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-PWT520EB 1TB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012) (Electronics)

Bought it to go with a Panasonic TV we'd just bought. One or two senior moments while setting it up but once I got past this all was well. It's an incredible piece of gear at a brilliant price.

5.0 out of 5 stars Does exactly what it says on the tin - and quite well, 20 Jan 2013

By 

Roger Dickinson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-PWT520EB 1TB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012) (Electronics)

I looked long and hard to find a replacement for my 4 year old Sony DVD recorder/player, I new it wasn't going to be easy because a) there is so much choice out there now and b) the Sony navigation system was so simple and sweet to use.
Anyway I bit the bullet and looked at the 4 main contenders, Sony, LG, Samsung and Panasonic, there isn't much to choose between them technically and specification wise, so it really comes down to personal ratings from people who have purchased them over the last 6 months. Now normally I am a big Sony or Samsung fan, as I have always believed that Sony deliver quality at a slightly elevated price and Samsung deliver almost as good in the quality department at a more realistic price, but having read all the reviews by recent purchasers I was suprised to find that overall the Panasonic came out just ahead of the other three.
So now I have the Panasonic DMR-PWT520EB, setting it up was quick and really straightforward, recording onto hard drive is simple, as is getting on to the internet (BBC i player etc.), Bluray disc player quality is good but does not recognise some of the home recorded DVD's, playback again is uncomplicated but I'm a little disappointed that the navigation through all the menus is not quite as simple as my old Sony, but in time I will get used to that.
The only disappointment I have is that when watching programs which have been recorded on the HDD in HD, the picture quality is just slightly inferior to the standard HD picture on my Samsung TV, other than that I can safely say that up to now it ticks all the boxes.

4.0 out of 5 stars Does almost all I want, 16 Jan 2013

By 

Trevor Vaughan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-PWT520EB 1TB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012) (Electronics)

Easy to set up and use, does most things well, but short of itv player etc on the internet apps.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, 16 Jan 2013

By 

Marine Blue (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-PWT420EB 500GB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012) (Electronics)

Firstly, Panasonic have always been my go-to brand for consumer electronics. I have always found them to be well-made and long-lasting, and in the case of e.g. plasma TV, far superior to the competition.

As we were limited to Freesat for the last few years, we had a Humax box, which was OK but now looks decidedly clever next to the Panasonic 420 we've got now we've returned to Freeview land.

In short, it's clunky, limited and irritating in equal measure.

Where to begin?

The first big disappointment was our first 3D Saturday film night: nah, we had a Freeview recording scheduled mid-evening. On playing the 3D disc, we were reminded of this and told that we could have 3D playback until the recording began, then it would revert to 2D. I mean come on, I understand 3D playback needs some horsepower but the reasonable person would expect to occasionally need both functions simultaneously. I note other reviewers have reported that many internet functions (Youtube, iPlayer etc) are unavailable during Freeview recording too.

The EPG: column width too narrow so "Channel 4+1" looks like "Channel 4.."

Info during timeslip non-existent, just a counter and the time, no programme info at all.

EPG not available at all during time-slip, need to stop time-slip completely, and acknowledge this through a series of Yes/No options.

Despite disabling all child-lock features, it still wants a PIN to playback a "G-rated" recording (most everything after the watershed)...we don't have kids, and don't need a nanny. Massively infuriating.

After about a month, it stopped recognising 3D discs completely. 2D discs were fine, but 3D ones would not launch at all. Factory reset required...

Remote control sometimes seems to "sleep" requiring multiple presses to activate.

Menu system clunky, slow and not well laid out.

DLNA capability poor, using my Synology box. Panasonic TV handles it much better, which is a bit weird considering they probably share a similar profile.

Picture quality excellent!

In short, Panasonic need to up their game a bit. The hobbled features and shonky menus are what I'd expect from a £49 box and not a £249 one.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent experience, with one caveat, 9 Jan 2013

By 

gph - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-PWT420EB 500GB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012) (Electronics)

I share all the positive opinions listed in the reviews here, this simply worked straight out of the box - and the picture quality from the BBC iPlayer app is astounding when compared to that from iPlayer on the PC (even when using the same TV as a monitor). It's far superior, despite it using the self-same internet connection at only 2-3Mbps, just a shame the other channels' catch-up services are not similarly available. The Netflix app is also well worth the price of admission - so long as you can find a listing of what films and TV programmes are available.

The caveat is that Amazon lists this as available in either 500GB or 1TB versions. What is not clear is that the 1TB version includes WiFi, whereas on the 500GB version you have to buy a WiFi adapter if you do not have wired Ethernet. The cost of the WiFi adapter is greater than the price difference between the 500GB and 1TB versions!

Couldn't buy this from Amazon as it was out of stock.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very pleased overall, 2 Jan 2013

By 

RICHARD SIMPSON - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DMR-PWT520EB 1TB HDD Recorder with Twin Freeview+ HD Tuners and 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (New for 2012) (Electronics)

The recorder is easy to use and works seamlessly with my Samsung TV. Operation is straightforward, but the instruction manual unfortunately makes me lose the will to live! Why is it so difficult to write something that is easy to read and understand?

The main criticism is that the internet access is very restrictive. BBC Iplayer, Netflix and Youtube are the only useful websites. Nothing to allow you to catch up on any ITV programmes. Also, the recorder wants to retune all of the channels each time you switch it on for some reason.

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

• 1.5METER PRO GOLD RED (1.4a Version, 3D, 15.2Gbps) HDMI TO HDMI CABLE WITH ETHERNET,COMPATIBLE WITH 1.3c,1.3b,1.3,1080P%2160p,PS3,XBOX 360,SKYHD,VIRGIN BOX,FULL HD LCD,PLASMA & LED TV's AND ALSO SUPPORTS 3D TVS.
• 1 METER PRO GOLD RED (1.4a Version, 3D) HDMI TO HDMI CABLE WITH ETHERNET,COMPATIBLE WITH 1.4,1.3c,1.3b,1.3,1080P,PS3,XBOX 360,SKYHD,FREESAT,VIRGIN BOX,FULL HD LCD,PLASMA & LED TV's AND ALSO SUPPORTS 3D TVS.(1m/3.2ft)
• Panasonic 1.5m HDMI Cable with Ethernet - Black
• DYWL5EK WiFi Dongle for DMPBDT120 / DMPBD77 Blu-Ray Players
• Neet® Black Line - 1m - HDMI to HDMI Cable - HIGH-SPEED with Ethernet and Audio Return Channel - v1.4 - HEAC - 3D - 15.2Gbps - ADVANCED HDMI 1.4 LEAD