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

Product Information

No settings required] No complicated signal settings are required, just insert two AAA batteries and you can use it immediately. From children to the elderly, all operations such as turning on / off the LCD TV, adjusting the volume, switching the input, and changing the channel can be easily accessed. * Batteries are not included. Display of interlaced content always provide more of a challenge to players and it’s here that we often see what a video processing engine is made of. Setting the player to 1080i and loading up both edge and source adaptive deinterlacing tests from the Spears and Munsil and the HQV discs revealed the Panasonic DMR-BWT850 was a more than capable performer. The player fared very well in edge adaptive deinterlacing where fine details were largely retained under movement with just the merest hint of jaggies. Of course a lot of that is academic if you have a 1080p display and set the BWT850 to output accordingly. As you'd expect from Panasonic, the DMRPWT550EB offers a detailed and natural picture quality. 3D compatibility lets you view 3D Blu-rays on your 3D TV, plus there's 2D-3D conversion. 2D-3D conversion allows you to watch any 2D material up-converted to glorious 3D.

Since it has two tuners, the PWT-550 can record two different programmes at once. So there’s no need to worry about missing anything when two programmes overlap. 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. There are some operational limitations such as not being able to access the settings while recordings are taking place, the inability to view the guide effectively while watching a recording and some general sluggishness in loading the guide and pausing action but definitely no showstoppers and the PWT550 is very reliable.The supplied remote is hardly chic but it’s designed with functionality in mind and delivers by way of a well-planned layout and some really useful dedicated buttons. Those include dedicated options for Netflix and the Freeview Play suite of catch-up players – iPlayer, ITV Hub & All 4 – and a couple that are invaluably useful for skipping through recordings with ease. More manuals of Blu-ray Players Frequently Asked Questions about Panasonic DMR-PWT550EB Blu-ray Player By registering TV programmes such as dramas with the TV Series Recording function, they can be automatically recorded and stored each time they are broadcast. This eliminates the possibility of forgetting to record each programme, and lets you watch the programmes at any preferred time. There have been improvements in the 2016 Panasonic PVRs over handling timer clashes – i.e. where you’ve set more than two recordings in overlapping time-frames – so, upon doing that, you will be taken to an options menu where you can alter or delete one or more of the timers; the other option is to leave them be and have a recording truncated but we’re not sure why anyone would do that unless it was a matter of a few minutes. We would like to see Panasonic take the idea a step further, as some other PVRs do, by notifying the user when there’s a HD version available where they’ve set a standard def broadcast to record; there is a little box at the top of the EPG showing you the text ‘SD>HD’ but it’s not very obvious. The BWT850EB is better able to deal with timer clashes than pre-2016 Panasonic PVRs. Now, if you attempt to schedule more than two concurrent events, you will be flashed a warning screen giving you the opportunity to alter or delete one of the overlapping timers. It’s not got to the point where the software will offer you alternative broadcasts of the same show – like some PVRs do – but at least the warnings are in place. It also would be good if the software would warn you when you’ve set up a standard definition recording and an HD alternative exists, although the information is displayed at the top of the programme guide by the text ‘SD>HD’, that's not especially clear and certainly not fool-proof.

The Freeview service and channels are subject to coverage and may be changed from time to time. Aerial upgrade and/or receiver may be required. Visit freeview.co.uk/availability. For the BWT850, PWT655, PWT550, HWT250, HWT150: Minimum broadband speed of 2mbps required for catch up and on demand services.Watching on demand and catch up programmes will count towards any monthly broadband data allowance. The DMR-PWT655 will treat your old standard definition material with a good degree of reverence. Scaling is excellent and the player is fully able to detect the necessary film cadences and is equally fine at deinterlacing any video material you send its way. There is no apparent detail suppression or nasty ringing artefacts and when the source is good – particularly with high quality animated titles – the output of the PWT655 is about as good as you could hope for without getting a costly outboard video processor involved. Since it has two tuners, the PWT-550 can record two different programmes at once. So there's no need to worry about missing anything when two programmes overlap.With the newly supported Freeview Play function you will be able to watch TV programmed from the last seven days, that you missed while you were away from home, without even having to record them. They're ready for you to watch in your free time With the newly supported Freeview Play function you will be able to watch TV programmes from the last seven days. You can watch drama, news, sports and other programmes that you missed while you were away from home, without even having to record them. They're ready for you to watch when you're ready to watch. The new generation of Panasonic’s are better at dealing with timer clashes than the older PVRs. In the event you try and schedule more than two concurrent events, you will be transported to a screen where you have the opportunity to alter or delete one of the overlapping timers, or even just keep it as is, and have one curtailed before it has ended. In an ideal world, as with at least some of the Samsung PVRs, you would be offered alternative times but at least you will be given adequate warning by the PWT655. As per YouView, and possibly others, we would also like to see the Panasonic recognise when a standard definition recording has been scheduled and offer up an HD alternative, should one exist. There is a little box at the top of the EPG that shows you the text ‘SD>HD’ but it’s hard to see and a pop-up message would be much better. A Freeview Play button has been added to the remote control.This gives you one-touch access to the popular Freeview Play catch-up service. Take control of recording, even when you're hundreds of miles from home with Remote Recording. Provided your device is connected to Broadband Internet, you'll be able to set recording functions remotely via your Smartphone or tablet. With Panasonic's TV Anywhere you can also stream recordings and live TV directly to your Smartphone or tablet (excludes BBC content). Now there's no excuse on missing out on your favourite programme.

As we said when discussing the remote control, the DMR-BWT850 has some nice ‘time slip’ features. You get minus 10 second and plus 60 second buttons and a dedicated TIME SLIP button, allowing you to enter user defined segments of time to move around, in increments of one minute up to the total duration of the programme; for instance, you might have recorded a music festival but know that the band you want to watch didn’t start for an hour in to the programme, so just press the TIME SLIP button and enter 60 to jump straight to it. A Freeview Play button has been added to the remote control. This gives you one-touch access to the popular Freeview Play catch-up service. Requires broadband internet. * May not work over unstable networks or with some content. * Only works on one device at a time outside the home.

This is an issue that isn’t going to go away, but as we’re being pushed into streaming here in the UK, both for live linear TV viewing and catch-up, the mess is only going to get worse. A TV, for a lot of people, is a serious investment, and when they buy nowadays, it’s a given that the device will be ‘smart’. But when an app. is discontinued or is updated such that the new version no longer runs, manufacturers hide behind the fact that the apps. are nothing to do with them. That may be so, but they’re quite happy to sell their products emphasising ‘smartness’. With the newly supported Freeview Play function you will be able to watch TV programmes from the last seven days. You can watch drama, news, sports and other programmes that you missed while you were away from home, without even having to record them. They''re ready for you to watch in your free time. ITVX coverage certainly isn’t universal. There’s no native app. on my 2022 Sony Android TV, but there is on my 2019 LG. It’s also there on my 2019 Panasonic TV. The DMR-PWT550EB benefits from Panasonic’s fine heritage as makers of video processing electronics and scales standard definition content in a very accomplished way. The Panasonic also has no problems in detecting a variety of film cadences and, very crucially for the Freeview side of things, it’s deinterlacing capabilities are also very strong so motion holds up well. The PWT550 produces no unpleasant ringing artefacts and given a half decent source, manages to output very watchable pictures. There’s not a lot that can be done with the substandard, bit-starved, channels that proliferate Freeview but that’s not any fault of this player. Easy to operate] large buttons that are easy to operate are used, and characters are distributed on the buttons in an easy-to-understand manner, reducing the strain on the eyes and realizing comfortable operation. It has a sense of stability that makes it easy to push even when it is placed, and you can operate it by pinching it, grasping it, and operating it while it is placed. * Some functions may not be available depending on the model.