Panasonic unveils Freesat Blu-ray recorders, brings next-gen Neo-PDP plasmas to the UK

Panasonic is the latest AV superpower to introduce TVs with internet functionality, and will be the first to bring Freesat-equipped Blu-ray recorders to the market. Its upcoming Viera Cast 'Net-on-TV' models have made their European debut at a press event in Amsterdam.

The Viera Cast service is already active in the US, allowing users to access internet widgets for news and weather as well as content from websites such as YouTube, Eurosport, Google and Bloomberg, via an Ethernet connection.

Viera Cast TVs, including the Z1, V10 and G15 series, will start to appear in the UK in late Spring. The sets will also support DLNA networking, DivX playback and H.264 HD media.

The Z1 plasma range is a super-slim design with wireless HD transmission and comes with THX certification. The V10 series has similar networking and Viera Link features to the Z1, and ships in 32- and 37-inch sizes for LCD, and 42- and 50-inch for plasma. These so-called Neo-PDP plasma screens claim a super high contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1. The G15 range will come in 42- and 46-inch sizes for plasma, and 37-inch for LCD.

The ranges include new Freesat-equipped sets, and also feature models with Panasonic's 600Hz Sub-field Drive Intelligent Frame Creation Pro, designed to smoothen motion on 1080p material.

Panasonic also has a working LED LCD TV prototype, but remains uncommitted to when the product might be coming to market. 'Not this year, possibly 2010' said one representative, 'The technology exists, but we still have to work out how to balance the number of LEDs we want to use with the cost'.

Freesat Blu-ray recorders due to appear this summer - at a price
Panasonic has finally taken the wraps off its first Freesat-equipped Blu-ray recorders. As predicted by HCC last year, the DMR-BS850 and DMR-BS750 models are both profile 2.0 and sport, an SD card slot and USB input, plus twin Freesat tuners.

The higher-end model has a 500GB drive, while the entry-level model offers 250GB. The BS850 is expected to sell for 'around £1000' when the decks launch this Summer.

Both recorders are currently undergoing testing in the UK, and a spokesperson for the company confirmed that they are able to record Red Button ITV HD content, stating 'When you go to the EPG to record something, it will automatically detect any HD sub-stream and ask you which version of the content you wish to record'. There still remains some questions regarding copyright issues when burning to Blu-ray though. All Freesat content contains flags set by the broadcasters that allow burning from the HDD to a Blu-ray disc to be unlimited, limited to a single recording or be made unavailable altogether. As this is implemented by the broadcaster, there is the chance of this causing confusion amongst users who find that they are unable to archive particular content to BD - something Panasonic hopes to get around with the inclusion of onscreen graphics that will inform users of how many times (if ever) particular content can be burnt to Blu-ray.

The manufacturer has also upgraded its Blu-ray player line-up. The new DMP-BD80 and BD60 models, plus the two recorders, are all compliant with the brand's Viera Cast internet TV platform. Expected to retail for around £400 and £350 respectively, the two new players are both Profile 2.0 models, with the slightly higher-end BD80 featuring audiophile-grade capacitors, the ability to turn off the analogue video output to reduce interference with the audio and a detailed on-screen Playback Information Window. This latter tool will allow more tech-savvy users to view details regarding the video format, resolution, audio format, number of audio channels and even frame rate during playback. The company also dropped a hint that it is currently considering the idea of introducing a true high-end Blu-ray player to the market 'soon' but refused to pressed for more details and whether this could mean as early as the second part of 2009. The BD players will be joined by the DMP-B15, the world's first dedicated portable player.

If Freesat is more your thing than Blu-ray, the company has also announced the DMR-XS350, a DVD recorder with integrated standard definition Freesat tuner. In addition, the deck incorporates a 250GB hard drive and can function as a music jukebox, with Gracenote sleeve artwork updating.

Finally, the company has confirmed a trio of Blu-ray all-in-one systems, the SC-BTX70, SC-BT205 and the SC-BT200. All are profile 2.0 and support Viera Cast.