Any word on this getting a firmware update to make it official/add MHEG5 EPG recording setup support? Hopefully it is an option, rather than requiring any new hardware.
Initially the high price made this a joke but with the price coming right, this would be pretty good IF it had EPG support.
Jaxson: Any word on this getting a firmware update to make it official/add MHEG5 EPG recording setup support? Hopefully it is an option, rather than requiring any new hardware.
Initially the high price made this a joke but with the price coming right, this would be pretty good IF it had EPG support.
My understanding is Panasonic have no plans for an MHEG5 update for these models.
I submitted an enquiry on the Panasonic website about the program guide and got this reply -
This particular model accesses the Now & Next guide which is only a few hours ahead, this is what it was designed for, it is a different process to get the licensing rights with Freeview to access the full guide. There will be no upgrade for this model as it's not just a software change.
We are bringing in a new model end of this month which will access the full EPG guide.
If you already have the XW350 you can't get the full week EPG but I suspect you'll have one clear advantage - the ability to skip forward 60 sec. I think it's extremely unlikely the new XW380/BW880 will have been allowed to retain that feature after Freeview certification.
Can Admin please move this thread to the Freeview forum?
Can Admin please move this thread to the Freeview forum?
Auz freeview broadcasts a full 7 days worth of info on the EIT system. Here in NZ freeview only offer 3 events ish ahead on EIT.
NZ freeview have another EPG system that does offer a full 7 days, however this MHEG-5 system requires devices to be MHEG-5 capable, which the panasonic Bluray/DVD and Freeview combo units are not.
cb1: I submitted an enquiry on the Panasonic website about the program guide and got this reply -
This particular model accesses the Now & Next guide which is only a few hours ahead, this is what it was designed for, it is a different process to get the licensing rights with Freeview to access the full guide. There will be no upgrade for this model as it's not just a software change.
We are bringing in a new model end of this month which will access the full EPG guide.
Looks like that's all we're going to get.
From other threads here and at Freeview Forum there has been program name issues with some PVR's after Freeview started using a new compression system for the EPG. (Dish tv, Magic tv and 2 early Panasonic units seem to be the only ones)
For my Panasonic DMR-XW350GZ unit, the guide was showing garbage characters. After last night's firmware upgrade (either available OTA or as a download from Panasonic it now shows the real names AND also 7 (and a bit) days.
So much for the "it's not just a software change" in the above response from Panasonic 4+ years ago! Well done Panasonic!
(BTW - I had the OTA update setting turned off, as I was intending to upgrade manually, but it auto upgraded anyway!)
Nice product support by Panasonic, I have one of these too although it's not in use any more. It just boggles the mind a little that they couldn't have added the full program listings years ago.
cb1: I submitted an enquiry on the Panasonic website about the program guide and got this reply -
This particular model accesses the Now & Next guide which is only a few hours ahead, this is what it was designed for, it is a different process to get the licensing rights with Freeview to access the full guide. There will be no upgrade for this model as it's not just a software change.
We are bringing in a new model end of this month which will access the full EPG guide.
Looks like that's all we're going to get.
From other threads here and at Freeview Forum there has been program name issues with some PVR's after Freeview started using a new compression system for the EPG. (Dish tv, Magic tv and 2 early Panasonic units seem to be the only ones)
For my Panasonic DMR-XW350GZ unit, the guide was showing garbage characters. After last night's firmware upgrade (either available OTA or as a download from Panasonic it now shows the real names AND also 7 (and a bit) days.
So much for the "it's not just a software change" in the above response from Panasonic 4+ years ago! Well done Panasonic!
(BTW - I had the OTA update setting turned off, as I was intending to upgrade manually, but it auto upgraded anyway!)
Been a while since I looked at this unit, could you advise which of the following it has with the new update:
1) Skip forward (30s, 60s, 2m, 4m) 2) A full 8 day EPG 3) Record from EPG (rather than timer-record)
Been a while since I looked at this unit, could you advise which of the following it has with the new update:
1) Skip forward (30s, 60s, 2m, 4m) 2) A full 8 day EPG 3) Record from EPG (rather than timer-record)
Many thanks
1) It has 60s skip forward - same as before 2) It has always had a grid style EPG showing 8 days BUT only the first 4 hours of the current day were actually populated with program names. It seemed to know about the start/end times of programs as it showed a divider where it would be. With the new firmware it still shows as the grid style EPG, but program names are shown for 7 days + ~4 hours of the 8th day. Pressing i shows the full description. Not sure whether the new style EPG data now contains the extra names or the new firmware is now displaying it. 3) From the EPG you can create a timer recording (and see that 1 is already set, modify/cancel it) Can also view/edit/add new timer recordings using the prog/check button
Been a while since I looked at this unit, could you advise which of the following it has with the new update:
1) Skip forward (30s, 60s, 2m, 4m) 2) A full 8 day EPG 3) Record from EPG (rather than timer-record)
Many thanks
1) It has 60s skip forward - same as before 2) It has always had a grid style EPG showing 8 days BUT only the first 4 hours of the current day were actually populated with program names. It seemed to know about the start/end times of programs as it showed a divider where it would be. With the new firmware it still shows as the grid style EPG, but program names are shown for 7 days + ~4 hours of the 8th day. Pressing i shows the full description. Not sure whether the new style EPG data now contains the extra names or the new firmware is now displaying it. 3) From the EPG you can create a timer recording (and see that 1 is already set, modify/cancel it) Can also view/edit/add new timer recordings using the prog/check button
Sounds quite good now
So does it do series record that stops when the show stops airing or is just creating a recurring timer record in that timeslot that goes forever?
So does it do series record that stops when the show stops airing or is just creating a recurring timer record in that timeslot that goes forever?
Unfortunately it doesn't do series record - you would have to modify a 1-off program to be a recurring program and then keep an eye out for schedule changes or the show stops airing (either for a temporary break or the end of the series) and adjust/delete accordingly.
Before updating my Panasonic DMR-BW850 I checked the EPG and it was showing 8 days of scrambled names and descriptions.
After updating it showed plain text for 8 days, names and descriptions only no ratings or HD etc like the Freeview MHEG-5 EPG.
One can conclude from this that Freeview is now broadcasting a compressed 8 day EIT EPG and this update has nothing to do with MHEG-5.
To confirm this I changed the Eye TV program guide from xmltv to DVB and updated, this resulted in a fully populated plain text 8 day EPG identical to the Panasonic EPG.
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