The future of hi-def? We get hands-on with Panasonic's first Freesat HD Blu-ray recorders

Panasonic will introduce a trio of high-specification Freesat HD digital recorders to the UK on June 20. The £999 DMR-BS850 and £899 DMR-BS750 are both Blu-ray recorders, sporting 500GB and 250GB hard drives respectively. They’ll be joined by the DMR-XS350, a DVD recorder with Freesat HD and a 250GB hard drive. While hi-def broadcasts can be recorded to the hard drive, the DVD recorder in the XS350 will only archive in SD.

At an exclusive preview, I got some hands-on time with these new Blu-ray models and came away hugely impressed. They are, without doubt, the most sophisticated digital TV recorders to ever hit the UK.

Maximum-def
Unlike Panasonic’s regular DVD recorders, all three models have twin Freesat HD tuners, meaning two channels can be recorded simultaneously. The decks also record the digital transport stream, allowing you to record on the HDD exactly what was broadcast, including full subtitles and audio descriptions. In this so-called DR mode, 77 hours of hi-def can be recorded on a 500GB drive.

But to increase the capacity of the hard drive and blank BD media, as well as comply with the Blu-ray video format, the machines will compress DR recordings with an in-built H.264 encoder.

Four recording modes are available (HG, HX, HE, HL) which reduce the bit-rate incrementally.

Eager to see the effect of this compression, I compared a DR original recording with an HL dub (effectively dropping from a bitrate of 14Mbps to just 4Mbps). The result was surprisingly good. While minimal compression artifacts were visible in the image, the picture was still undeniably hi-def. Using this HL mode, it’s possible to get 24 hours of HD video onto a 50GB BD-R. High-speed dubbing is also pretty nippy. A one hour show recorded in HL format can be copied to disc in just 1.5 minutes.

Both Blu-ray recorders sport Ethernet connections and are Profile 2.0 compliant. They also can tap into Panasonic’s nascent Viera Cast internet network, allowing video clips from YouTube to be played (full-screen) and searched. Users can also browse Picassa photo albums and, come the summer launch, have access to Bloomberg news and clips.

Global BD leader
Takuya Sugita director of Panasonic’s video equipment group (pictured right), told me that the company aims to be the global leader in Blu-ray technology. ‘The introduction of Blu-ray recorders into the Japanese market has been a huge success. Format penetration jumped from 1 per cent to 60 per cent in just 15 months. And Panasonic now has 45 per cent of the market.’

While no one expects these high-priced models to replace DVD recorders quite so quickly, expectations remain high.

The BD playback potential of the flagship player is best compared to the brand’s BD60 standalone player. Both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA bitstream output is supported, and video processing is via the latest iteration of Panasonic’s UniPhier chipset.

According to marketing manager David Preece (pictured right), the new models are more than mere disc spinners, they’re home entertainment hubs: ‘The hard drive can be used as an audio jukebox. The recorders have an inbuilt Gracenote database of 350,000 albums. This can be updated via the recorder’s net connection when required.’

An SD card slot also allows playback of hi-res digital images and AVCHD files; there’s even a USB input for media playback.

One of the more surprising aspects of the Freesat HD implementation is a customized EPG, which makes recording easier than we’ve seen on the rival Humax Freesat HD PVR. When recording shows on ITV, which uses an awkward opt-in Red Button HD system, the EPG will automatically prompt you to record hi-def if an ITV show is being transmitted in the format; ditto simulcasts on BBC One and BBC HD. This is very useful for ITV, as you never really know when the commercial station will broadcast something in hi-def.

Copy Free or Copy Never?
Of course, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to record every HD show you fancy, or archive them to Blu-ray media. This is because broadcasters reserve the right to flag their transmissions as ‘Copy Free’, ‘Copy Once’ or ‘Copy Never.’

‘The BBC has informed us that once these recorders go on sale, they will move the majority of their broadcasts to Copy Free,’ promised Preece. ‘But if Hollywood, or a rights holder, specifically wants to restrict usage, a TV channel will broadcast ‘prohibit’ flags.’

Panasonic’s new Freesat HD recorders will make their public debut this weekend at The Gadget Show Live event, which runs at the NEC from 17-19th April. Look out for a full in-depth test of the new recorders in an upcoming issue of Home Cinema Choice.

Panasonic will also be embarking on a nationwide roadshow to show of the recorders and other new AV tech during June. Check it out when it comes to a town near you.

If you can't wait, you can also check out a review of the rival Humax Foxsat-HDR Freesat PVR here.