Sum n substance:

Thumbs up: Brilliant image quality, free HD.

Thumbs down: Less HD channels, Expensive, ITV copy prevention.

Inside the trunk:
Price at launch :£900.00

Power Consumption (Operational): 57

No of Scart Connectors: 2

HD Ready :Yes

No of Tuners: 2

No of HDMI Connectors :1

LNB Inputs: 2

Weight (kg): 4.1

No of Composite Outputs :1

Playable Formats : DivX, JPEG, MP3, MPEG 2

No of Component Outputs: 1

Description :High definition recording and playback via Blu-ray or HDD

Dimensions :430 x 59 x 330

Features ;Records HD content to built-in hard drive or to Blu-ray disc

Connectivity: Coaxial SPDIF Output, Component Video Output, Composite Video Input, Composite Video Output, DV Input, Ethernet, HDMI Output, Optical SPDIF Digital Output, S-Video Output, Scart, SD card reader, USB 2.0

HDD Capacity (GB) :250

Power Consumption (Standby): 0.4

No of Composite Inputs: 2

Additional Information: Records to BD-R, -RE, -R DL, -RE DL/DVD-R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW, -RAM

THE WHIZ-KID SPEAKS:
This one from Panasonic could well be called as the heart of entertainment for U.K. Anyways all the stupid metaphors aside the DMR-BS750 truly brings you entertainment unlimited.

Some of the capabilities that this one includes are: DVD and hard disk recording; twin Freesat tuners, Profile 2.0 playback and compatibility with MP3s, JPEGs, DV, AVCHD, DivX files and audio CDs.

With the help of the Ethernet connection CD’s can be renamed by using Gracenote , it also enables BD Live playback and allows access to internet widgets such as Picasa and Youtube. But the feature that makes this one rock is it’s ability to record HD onto Blu-ray. Yes, its true this one can broadcast quality recordings onto optical discs. With the Video tape becoming extinct centuries ago and the DVD craze deteriorating this one comes in at a perfect time.

Though recording HD onto Blu Ray is just as simple as recording everything that is being broadcast on the HD, the case of a Blu Ray Recorder is obviously compelling.

I could easily convert an episode of  “How I met your mother” into hard disk in HD and down-convert to standard definition onto DVD and also easily dub the AVCHD camcorder recordings to Blu-ray. However, the Freesat takes a beating with only two HD channels being made available in comparision to the 30 channels on Sky.

While  this one definitely isn’t a piece of art or anything like that when it comes to the designing, it isn’t down right ugly too. There is a spattering of  composite and stereo audio inputs ,SD card slot plus USB, DV, S-video. There is a LCD display to display the channel number using large digits. At the the rear it’s got the HDMI and Ethernet connection ports but the multichannel analogue audio outputs and the built-in audio decoder are absent.

Coming to the user interface, Panasonic does deserve some kind of appreciation for the way the menu system has been designed. It is pretty much pleasing to the eyes and at the same time is easy to operate as well. The only problem in this case is that there is a slight delay which does occur at times when switching between the functions and this happens more often when the recording is taking place. Freesat recording is almost a breeze and it has automatic program tracking as well to ensure that the over-running shows are getting recorded properly. Loading of Blu ray discs is damn simple and movies can be watched 1080p 24fps.

The high definition recordings look just as stunning as you expect and retain their studio like quality. Blu ray recordings are also just as fantabulous and this was displayed with amazing quality during a recording of the 70’s show.

Each and every detail has been taken of properly and is properly preserved. However the catch in this case is that there is no guarantee that the resultant discs would work on any other deck.

Using the AV inputs one can easily record from external sources onto the DVD by making use of the XP, SP, EP and LP modes. Standard def recording using the DMR-BS750 is absolutely outstanding.

Blu Ray provides with high capacity for storage which is upto 5 times the DVD storage on a 25GB BD-R and around 10 times on a 50GB BD-R. Thanks to the Panasonic’s P4HD engine and PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus, BD images are brilliant. The dark colours are deep and the brightness levels blend in really well.

Talking about the audio quality of this one… just as I was expecting, its just as brilliant as the other features. The sounds levels are well balanced without any kind of distortion.

It can easily output DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD into bitstream or simple convert it into PCM. The sound quality can be enhanced by using a HDMI-equipped amplifier, but in this case again only one HDMI port can prove to be a bit too problematic at times.

Nitty-Gritty: This price tag of $900 and given the excellent features wont seem too bombastic,  But the uncertainty over copy restrictions of any future HD channels and lack of hi-def content on Freesat just goes to say that this one is built for a market which doesn’t actually exist as yet.

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