wheelz Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Is this a good price?http://catalogues.myer.com.au/portal/offer...rce=productlist If Myer have them in their catalogue for $1499, do you think I might be able to haggle an even better price from them or anybody else? Myer have always given me the best price so i'd try for $1299 if paying cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchmar Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 I too am looking at one of these, my sony bravia HD tuner has died. So i am after a new pvr as it will cost nearly $1000 to put new tuner in. My dilema is do i buy a good Hd PVR with twin tuners or do i buy a bluray pvr. as i already have a PS3 which is limited as to audio (can not bitstream) I am thinking this might be a good choice for me rather than spending money to get new tuner for bravia. If i can get the 250gig model for $1299 then i would consider. Its TIME TO START SHOPPING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapworth Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 I too am looking at one of these, my sony bravia HD tuner has died. So i am after a new pvr as it will cost nearly $1000 to put new tuner in. My dilema is do i buy a good Hd PVR with twin tuners or do i buy a bluray pvr. as i already have a PS3 which is limited as to audio (can not bitstream) I am thinking this might be a good choice for me rather than spending money to get new tuner for bravia. If i can get the 250gig model for $1299 then i would consider. Its TIME TO START SHOPPING. Got a BW750 today from Myer, the salesman said they would price match anybody elses quote, but even without quotes from anywhere else they went down to $1389 so I bit the bullet and got one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchmar Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Got a BW750 today from Myer, the salesman said they would price match anybody elses quote, but even without quotes from anywhere else they went down to $1389 so I bit the bullet and got one. Thanks it gives me a $ value to start haggling, let us know what you think of the unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapworth Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Thanks it gives me a $ value to start haggling, let us know what you think of the unit. It's only bee plugged in for an hour and a bit so far, recording Steven Fry while my wife watches Idol , I'll let you know how it goes after I've had a bit more of a play over the next few days/weeks/months. My sister and brother in law have had their XW450 for 1.5 months now and they love it, so hopefully this will be great too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchmar Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Got a BW750 today from Myer, the salesman said they would price match anybody elses quote, but even without quotes from anywhere else they went down to $1389 so I bit the bullet and got one. Went Harvey Normans today with a bit of haggling i was given a price to take away now off $1350 for the BW750. He said he could not give me the same price tomorrow, i laughed and said if i was to come back tomorrow you would sell me it for $1350. This gives me a price to take to JBHI tomorrow, but i think $1350 is what i will end up paying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapworth Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Went Harvey Normans today with a bit of haggling i was given a price to take away now off $1350 for the BW750. He said he could not give me the same price tomorrow, i laughed and said if i was to come back tomorrow you would sell me it for $1350. This gives me a price to take to JBHI tomorrow, but i think $1350 is what i will end up paying. Well it's been a couple of days now, first impressions: Lots of nice features, picture quality is great on both TV and the one Bluray movie I've watched so far, youtube and picasa access work Ok, easy enough to set up with a few little quirks but maybe it's just different enough from my other equipment that I've needed to use the manual more than I would like. Things like being able to use the DEL key to delete entries in some menus but having to use the blue key in others seems a little counter intuitive. The response to the remote is also a little slow but I'm getting used to it. I would like to be able to access my mp3's and avi's from my NAS rather than sticking them on a thumb drive or on a disc to watch them, but I guess you can't have everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 At this point, no one device does it all without some compromises. Because the unit can and does do/offer so much, it's expected in early days that you may occassionally need to refer to the manual - remember it's three devices in one, and this means that some of the GUI can be a little quirky...just like my beyonwiz But the good thing is it's a good piece of kit, and I'm sure you'll get used to the little quirks and never look back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapworth Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 At this point, no one device does it all without some compromises. Because the unit can and does do/offer so much, it's expected in early days that you may occassionally need to refer to the manual - remember it's three devices in one, and this means that some of the GUI can be a little quirky...just like my beyonwiz But the good thing is it's a good piece of kit, and I'm sure you'll get used to the little quirks and never look back! Yes but I'm still getting used to my Beyonwiz DP-P2 as well when my old LG DBRH197 started getting less reliable and I decided to upgrade it. These things are sent to try us . A third button to delete entries when changing the programme name in timer programs you have to press the pause key instead of the del key, surely it can't be that difficult to consistently use the del key to delete things in all menus? I still love it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingHilary Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Hello guys, I was looking at the BW500 at Dick Smith's Power house today. I brought in a SCHC memory card from my Canon Video camera to be sure that it would play, and it did. But the salesman said that I could not record from the card to the hard drive, that it was for playback only. He said that you would not be able to burn your HD camera recordings with this unit. Is that true? If so, can anyone confirm that the newer models do alow you to archive your memory card HD files to blu-ray disc. If it won't do this , then I won't be buying one. Thanks, King Hilary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 (edited) IIRC what you have been told is crap. I am pretty sure one of the advertised features is that you can shoot footage on your HD Camcorder/still camera and then burn to Bluray for archiving. EDIT: Just checked the BW500 manual, and it says the following on pg58 It is possible to copy the HD video (AVCHD format) or the SD video (MPEG 2 format) recorded on the Panasonic digital video camera to the HDDor disc. So unless there is something in the structure of the way Canon records footage onto their SDHC cards that makes them incompatible to copy from onto the Panasonic BW500s HDD, it should be doable. Edited September 5, 2009 by diesel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingHilary Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Thanks Diesel, I was very surprised by what that salesman said. I had brought in my memory card just to be doubly sure that the Canon AVCHD format would be recognised, which I was under the impression it would be. I had assumed that if the card could be read then the video on it could be recorded. I asked the guy twice, and he said "memory card slot is for playback only". cheers, KH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 SD DVD recorders would probably have this limitation, but seeing as the footage on the SDHC card would either be 1080/50i or 1080/25p, there's no reason for it not to be burnt onto bluray disc from the BW's HDD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix.. Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Where is Pioneer, Sony, Samsung and LG in this space? Panasonic has had a monopoly in this area for over a year now. Prices aren't going to drop until someone else comes out with some alternatives to the Panny models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 Prices have dropped slightly and Panasonic has also introduced a model with smaller HDD for a lower entry point. Pioneer and Sony (as well as Sharp and probably LG and Samsung) have similar models in Japan, buit they haven't made the transition to the broader global market yet. Why? I don't know...the real surprise to me is Sony who were the main backers of Bluray. You would think now that they have won the HD format battle they would be trying to sell as many units as possible and recoup some of the investment they made in the battle - which would have cost them a bomb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil1503559642 Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Where is Pioneer, Sony, Samsung and LG in this space? Panasonic has had a monopoly in this area for over a year now. Prices aren't going to drop until someone else comes out with some alternatives to the Panny models. Sony have a BD Rec.in the pipeline,it was supposed to be released earlier this Year in Oz. but obviously there's been a hiccup. It must be extremely difficult to engineer out a reliable twin tuner HD Rec.,it took Topfield nearly 4 Years to get the 7000 to market, so add BD playback and Rec. to that and you see the potential for a mess. Its amazing that Panny. got the 500 stable from the word go but i expect a rush of HD/BD Rec. to hit the market over the next 12 Months now that Panny. have solved bandwidth/compatibility (etc) problems associated with twin tuner HD Rec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted September 7, 2009 Author Share Posted September 7, 2009 It's amazing that Panny. got the 500 stable from the word go but i expect a rush of HD/BD Rec. to hit the market over the next 12 Months now that Panny. have solved bandwidth/compatibility (etc) problems associated with twin tuner HD Rec. I thought that the others would have responded by now too. They have all had 2-3 generations of twin tuner BDRs in Japan. Some were even quad tuner units IIRC, but not sure what format they use for FTA in Japan (Mpeg-2 or Mpeg-4). Not sure that bandwidth difficulties are the issue...maybe the market is too small here to make the necessary changes to cope with our standard? Just glad that Panasonic have delivered now instead of waiting another 2-3 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil1503559642 Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 (edited) Not sure that bandwidth difficulties are the issue...maybe the market is too small here to make the necessary changes to cope with our standard? Not sure myself Mick but when the 500 first was released i rang Panny. Customer support regarding a few issues and they got an "Engineer" to ring back,very helpful guy(for a change) and spent about 20 minutes on the phone,reason for no PIP was "stability issue related to processing" and the reason why twin tuners PVR's/DVD Rec. were so difficult to engineer was related to bandwidth complexities.Not sure if his opinions/statements are correct but they sort of stuck in my mind. Edited September 7, 2009 by Basil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted September 7, 2009 Author Share Posted September 7, 2009 Not sure myself Mick but when the 500 first was released i rang Panny. Customer support regarding a few issues and they got an "Engineer" to ring back,very helpful guy(for a change) and spent about 20 minutes on the phone,reason for no PIP was "stability issue related to processing" and the reason why twin tuners PVR's/DVD Rec. were so difficult to engineer was related to bandwidth complexities.Not sure if his opinions/statements are correct but they sort of stuck in my mind. Fair enough Basil, I don't doubt there may be technical difficulties with recording 2 HD FTA streams whilst also allowing playing back of a BD disc, but I assumed that this being a 2nd or 3rd generation product they would have all that sorted, unless Aust. spec FTA is more taxing on processes than Japanese spec FTA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix.. Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 (edited) Sony have a BD Rec.in the pipeline,it was supposed to be released earlier this Year in Oz. but obviously there's been a hiccup. It must be extremely difficult to engineer out a reliable twin tuner HD Rec.,it took Topfield nearly 4 Years to get the 7000 to market, so add BD playback and Rec. to that and you see the potential for a mess. Its amazing that Panny. got the 500 stable from the word go but i expect a rush of HD/BD Rec. to hit the market over the next 12 Months now that Panny. have solved bandwidth/compatibility (etc) problems associated with twin tuner HD Rec. I guess I'll just sit tight then. I was considering a replacement to my troublesome DP-S1 such as perhaps a DP-P2 or the new TRF2400, but I may as well hold out until a BD recorder/HDD/dual tuner is released that has a street price south of the $1K mark. Fingers crossed that will occur in the next 12mths. Edited September 7, 2009 by Felix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapworth Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Hello guys,I was looking at the BW500 at Dick Smith's Power house today. I brought in a SCHC memory card from my Canon Video camera to be sure that it would play, and it did. But the salesman said that I could not record from the card to the hard drive, that it was for playback only. He said that you would not be able to burn your HD camera recordings with this unit. Is that true? If so, can anyone confirm that the newer models do alow you to archive your memory card HD files to blu-ray disc. If it won't do this , then I won't be buying one. Thanks, King Hilary. I haven't tried it myself on my BW750 yet but according to the manual Pages 60 - 61 you can copy video direct from the camera via the dv (firewire), USB or by plugging an SD card into the SD card slot to the hard drive or to bluray disc. If you copy it to the Hard Drive first you can do more editing before burning it to Bluray Disc. In fact don't believe anything the salesman tells you. From page 11 of the BW500 manual downloaded from http://panasonic.com.au/content/library/files/F002181.pdf comes the following:- Still pictures (JPEG) HD Video (AVCHD format) Data that can be copied Still pictures (JPEG) ≥It can be copied to HDD, BD-RE or DVD-RAM. SD Video (MPEG2 format) HD Video (AVCHD format) ≥SD Video shot with a Panasonic SD Video camera, etc. can be copied to the HDD or DVD-RAM. (➡ 59) ≥HD Video shot with a Panasonic digital camcorder, etc. can be copied to the HDD, BD-RE or BD-R. (➡ 58) so as long as your camera records in AVCHD or MPEG2 format you should be able to copy it to the hard drive then burn it to BD in high def if you wish. If they let you playback your SD card you should be able to try copying it as well. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrantleyBuffalo Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 I guess I'll just sit tight then. I was considering a replacement to my troublesome DP-S1 such as perhaps a DP-P2 or the new TRF2400, but I may as well hold out until a BD recorder/HDD/dual tuner is released that has a street price south of the $1K mark. Fingers crossed that will occur in the next 12mths. I'd even settle for one of the other mobs to bring out a DVD recorder/HDD with dual HD tuners. How can Panasonic STILL be the only ones offering this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted September 8, 2009 Author Share Posted September 8, 2009 I'd even settle for one of the other mobs to bring out a DVD recorder/HDD with dual HD tuners. How can Panasonic STILL be the only ones offering this? What's your aversion to the Panasonic twin tuner DVD recorders - XW350 or XW450??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrantleyBuffalo Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 What's your aversion to the Panasonic twin tuner DVD recorders - XW350 or XW450??? No aversion, I'm always on the lookout for a cheap one; I just think a little competition wouldn't hurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted September 8, 2009 Author Share Posted September 8, 2009 Another review - this time the BW750 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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