Panasonic BD recorder for Freeview

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shk292

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Topic # 148660 26-Jun-2014 13:35

I've had my eye on Freeview HDD PVRs for a while now, as a replacement for our current MySky which is a waste of money - we only ever seem to watch the free channels, so I intend to discontinue Sky subscription.
Does anyone have any experience with the Panasonic DMR-BWT835 BD/HDD recorder? JB HiFi have just dropped the price to $488 and it seems a good deal, actually cheaper than the DMR-XW440 DVD recorder which has half the HDD space. I understand there is a newer model BD recorder, but I don't need the 4k upscaling that device offers.
Biggest concern at the moment is WAF compared with the great user experience of MySky
Specifically, does anyone use the DLNA multi-room streaming feature of this? I like the idea of having the recorder by the main TV but letting the kids stream recorded content to the XBox in another room.
Any comments appreciated

B1GGLZ

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Reply # 1075016 26-Jun-2014 13:53

I've got the BWT720 and previously had the 880.
The 835 is the later model with larger HDD. At $488 it's got to be best value for your dollar. That's half the original price. Never had a days problem with mine.
I don't use the DLNA feature though as I have a Media Player which is more versatile.
For recording FreeviewHD I reckon its the only way to go. It's also possible to transfer recordings to your PC for which I use Twonky but many other ways available..

bazzer

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Reply # 1075023 26-Jun-2014 14:00

I have it. IMO, get it. I've streamed recordings and live TV to my phone via the (slightly clumsy) app, but haven't used any other DLNA client yet.

You can also remotely schedule recordings which is pretty cool.

Dingbatt

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Reply # 1075033 26-Jun-2014 14:32

I agree with the above comments. I was happy with my 835 when it cost $700+ so $488 is a great price. It has great bluray playback as well. Interface is a bit clunky, but typical of Panasonic.
Android and iPad apps seem to work well enough, as does access from windows computers.
If you do get it and decide to transfer anything to DVD then make sure you have the correct audio stream selected in settings prior to recording the program otherwise you end up with (like I did early on) an audio commentary over top of the standard audio.

Areas of Geek interest: Home Theatre, HTPC, Android Tablets & Phones, iProducts.

shk292

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Reply # 1075054 26-Jun-2014 14:52

Thanks all for the comments - it looks like a visit to JB HiFi is needed

This device seems popular with aviators, I may need to change my profile photo!

JimmyH

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Reply # 1075994 28-Jun-2014 13:00

I don't have the BD version, but I do have the equivalent DVD machine (the XW390) and comment on the DLNA feature of that, which should be essentially the same. In essence it work, but how well it works will depend on the DLNA client at the other end. I have a WD TV Live and it will stream well, although the WD doesn't seem to like the Freeview audio codec (HE-AAC v2), and gets a bit confused when fast forwarding through ads on recordings from the HD channels. Other than that, it works well - it certainly sees the Panny recorder as a DVD client, index the hard drive, and streams from it.

However, a word of suggestion. Particularly for HD channel recordings, I wouldn't try to do the streaming over wireless. There's a good chance the throughput won't be enough. Go with a wired solution if you can - either full ethernet (100mbit will be fine) or something like ethernet over powerline (which is what I use). More stable and reliable for real-time streaming.

shk292

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Reply # 1076127 28-Jun-2014 16:36

JimmyH: I don't have the BD version, but I do have the equivalent DVD machine (the XW390) and comment on the DLNA feature of that, which should be essentially the same. In essence it work, but how well it works will depend on the DLNA client at the other end. I have a WD TV Live and it will stream well, although the WD doesn't seem to like the Freeview audio codec (HE-AAC v2), and gets a bit confused when fast forwarding through ads on recordings from the HD channels. Other than that, it works well - it certainly sees the Panny recorder as a DVD client, index the hard drive, and streams from it.

However, a word of suggestion. Particularly for HD channel recordings, I wouldn't try to do the streaming over wireless. There's a good chance the throughput won't be enough. Go with a wired solution if you can - either full ethernet (100mbit will be fine) or something like ethernet over powerline (which is what I use). More stable and reliable for real-time streaming.

Thanks for the tips. I went ahead and bought a BWT835 yesterday, seems good so far. I haven't been able to get it to stream its contents to the Xbox via DLNA, will have to do some more experimentation with that. I have the two rooms with TVs linked via powerline, with a four-port switch at each end - as you say, much more reliable than WiFi

shk292

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Reply # 1084097 8-Jul-2014 13:59

Following up on this, had the Panasonic Box for a little over a week now and am very pleased with it. Easy to use, fantastic picture quality - gradually weaning the family off Sky. The only feature of Sky I miss is the 'grid view' EPG which shows all channels over a wide time window, but I think this is a Freeview EPG limitation rather than a Panasonic feature. You only seem to be able to see 'now and next' for multi-channels.
One thing I haven't had much success with is DLNA. The Panasonic boxes (I also have a HTIB by Pana) seem to fail to read about 90% of video files I try to stream to them. This is in stark contrast to a new Samsung TV, which has played evrything I've tried so far (very impressed with Samsung TV media playing and internet features). More importantly to me, the kids' Xbox doesn't seem able to play a stream from the Pana recorder; it receives the incoming stream and displays the file name, but won't play the file. I've tried changing the streaming settings on the Pana, but to no effect. Has anyone on here managed to do this? It would be great to be able to watch recorded programmes via the Xbox in the rumpus room.

Oblivian

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Reply # 1084108 8-Jul-2014 14:16

Without looking at the manual could not confirm, but with older ones it was always a case of read DLNA only, no inbuild server itself.

For playing to it, there is varying results between plex/ps3mediaserver etc. Best I've found so far for my BD and TV to receive, was running XBMC on a host somewhere, adding the file sources to that. And enabling the uPnP sharing server in settings. Boom, done. TV etc reads all but older mov/mpeg encoded videos

shk292

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Reply # 1084115 8-Jul-2014 14:24

Oblivian: Without looking at the manual could not confirm, but with older ones it was always a case of read DLNA only, no inbuild server itself.

For playing to it, there is varying results between plex/ps3mediaserver etc. Best I've found so far for my BD and TV to receive, was running XBMC on a host somewhere, adding the file sources to that. And enabling the uPnP sharing server in settings. Boom, done. TV etc reads all but older mov/mpeg encoded videos

Thanks for that tip. The one I have definitely has a DLNA server and it shows as a server and player in a UPNP app such as bubble on my phone. I'm not bothered about it receiving, because the new TV will receive anything. But the other (non-smart, non-networked) TV only has an Xbox and a PlayonHD under it and neither of these will accept what the Panasonic is serving. I think I'll experiment with your XBMC suggestion and try running this as an intermediary between the Panasonic and the Xbox

kharris

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Reply # 1084134 8-Jul-2014 14:49

shk292:
Oblivian: Without looking at the manual could not confirm, but with older ones it was always a case of read DLNA only, no inbuild server itself.

For playing to it, there is varying results between plex/ps3mediaserver etc. Best I've found so far for my BD and TV to receive, was running XBMC on a host somewhere, adding the file sources to that. And enabling the uPnP sharing server in settings. Boom, done. TV etc reads all but older mov/mpeg encoded videos

Thanks for that tip. The one I have definitely has a DLNA server and it shows as a server and player in a UPNP app such as bubble on my phone. I'm not bothered about it receiving, because the new TV will receive anything. But the other (non-smart, non-networked) TV only has an Xbox and a PlayonHD under it and neither of these will accept what the Panasonic is serving. I think I'll experiment with your XBMC suggestion and try running this as an intermediary between the Panasonic and the Xbox

Try copying the DR recording to another format. DR (Direct Record) records the transport stream as it is transmitted. All the other modes convert the data and compress it.

With DR recording the Xbox and PlayonHD may not like the freeview codecs? I don't know, I don't have either.

shk292

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Reply # 1084136 8-Jul-2014 14:57

kharris:
shk292:
Oblivian: Without looking at the manual could not confirm, but with older ones it was always a case of read DLNA only, no inbuild server itself.

For playing to it, there is varying results between plex/ps3mediaserver etc. Best I've found so far for my BD and TV to receive, was running XBMC on a host somewhere, adding the file sources to that. And enabling the uPnP sharing server in settings. Boom, done. TV etc reads all but older mov/mpeg encoded videos

Thanks for that tip. The one I have definitely has a DLNA server and it shows as a server and player in a UPNP app such as bubble on my phone. I'm not bothered about it receiving, because the new TV will receive anything. But the other (non-smart, non-networked) TV only has an Xbox and a PlayonHD under it and neither of these will accept what the Panasonic is serving. I think I'll experiment with your XBMC suggestion and try running this as an intermediary between the Panasonic and the Xbox

Try copying the DR recording to another format. DR (Direct Record) records the transport stream as it is transmitted. All the other modes convert the data and compress it.

With DR recording the Xbox and PlayonHD may not like the freeview codecs? I don't know, I don't have either.

The Playon won't do DLNA at all, to the best of my knowledge. I hadn't though of using another recording mode - I'll try that. It would be quite easy to put all the kids' recordings into HD or SD mode, I seem to recall that everything is recorded in DR initially and then automatically transcoded overnight.

My backstop position is to either get a WD TV Live, or to put an old very small form factor PC that I'm currently not using much, behind that TV and use XBMC or similar to access the recorded programmes. I've found that a PC can see the recorded programmes and live TV channels on the Panasonic recorder, as network shared folders in Windows explorer

kharris

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Reply # 1084139 8-Jul-2014 15:04

shk292:
kharris:
shk292:
Oblivian: Without looking at the manual could not confirm, but with older ones it was always a case of read DLNA only, no inbuild server itself.

For playing to it, there is varying results between plex/ps3mediaserver etc. Best I've found so far for my BD and TV to receive, was running XBMC on a host somewhere, adding the file sources to that. And enabling the uPnP sharing server in settings. Boom, done. TV etc reads all but older mov/mpeg encoded videos

Thanks for that tip. The one I have definitely has a DLNA server and it shows as a server and player in a UPNP app such as bubble on my phone. I'm not bothered about it receiving, because the new TV will receive anything. But the other (non-smart, non-networked) TV only has an Xbox and a PlayonHD under it and neither of these will accept what the Panasonic is serving. I think I'll experiment with your XBMC suggestion and try running this as an intermediary between the Panasonic and the Xbox

Try copying the DR recording to another format. DR (Direct Record) records the transport stream as it is transmitted. All the other modes convert the data and compress it.

With DR recording the Xbox and PlayonHD may not like the freeview codecs? I don't know, I don't have either.

The Playon won't do DLNA at all, to the best of my knowledge. I hadn't though of using another recording mode - I'll try that. It would be quite easy to put all the kids' recordings into HD or SD mode, I seem to recall that everything is recorded in DR initially and then automatically transcoded overnight.

My backstop position is to either get a WD TV Live, or to put an old very small form factor PC that I'm currently not using much, behind that TV and use XBMC or similar to access the recorded programmes. I've found that a PC can see the recorded programmes and live TV channels on the Panasonic recorder, as network shared folders in Windows explorer

I have WD TV Live but I haven't used it for DLNA client for some time. I don't remember if it can see the HD broadcasts or not... This are generally the troublesome ones. If I remember tonight I may check it out.
I use my WD TV Live for Netflix and Hulu instead.

Kirk