dmr-bw200
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Panasonic displays DMR-BW200 and BR100 Blu-ray recorders
For the technically-inclined Japanese household looking to back up HD episodes of Desire and Fashion House (or their Japanese equivalents) the Panasonic DMR-BW200 and DMR-BR100 Blu-ray recorders may just fit the bill, and are due out November 15th. With 500GB and 200GB HDDs respectively you've got plenty of space to save important telenovelas prior to burning them to 25GB or 50GB BD-R/REs at 4x speed. Tuners for terrestrial, BS, 110-degree CS digital broadcasts and analog TV are included, as well as all the usual ins and outs like 1080p HDMI. The high-end BW200 adds dual tuners for digital broadcasts, an i.Link port for D-VHS dubbing and Ethernet connectivity. Both have Panasonic's Viera Link technology and HD Optimizer for cleaning up noise in digital broadcasts and upconverting SD content. As our friends at Engadget point out, unlike the Sony Blu-ray recorder these have a release date, specs and price -- ¥300,000 (about $2,550) for the BW200 and ¥200,000 (about $1,700) for the BR100 -- and their slim design seems to carry less pet-crushing risk than the Toshiba RD-A1.[Via Engadget]
Panasonic's DMR-BW200 and BR100 Blu-ray and hard disk recorders
We peeped a mock-up Sony Blu-ray Disc and Hard Disk recorder just the other day which may or may not see the light of the rising sun. Now Panny brings it for realz with their new DIGA DMR-BW200 (pictured up top) and BR100 Blu-ray Disc and fatty hard drive recorders. Both drives support DL BD-R/BD-RE (50GB) at 4x speeds and healthy dose of the ol' in and outs including 1080p-capable HDMI. The BW200 is the high-ender and brings a 2x digital (terrestrial and satellite) and 1x terrestrial analog TV tuners, 500GB disk, Firewire to bring an external hard drive to the show or to connect your video cam, and Ethernet for easy EPG G-Guide access. The lower-end BR100 is limited to 1x digital (terrestrial and satellite) and 1x terrestrial analog TV tuners and 200GB of disk. Both should pop for retail on November 15th in Japan with an expected price of about ¥300,000 (about $2,550) for the BW200 and ¥200,000 (about $1,700) for the BR100. Sure, neither measure up to the HD DVD recorder with 1TB disk from Toshiba, but then again, you don't have to worry about 'em tipping over and crushing the pet either.[Thanks, ccthoo]
