Panasonic DMR XW380 or alternatives? Looking for recommendations

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nzapster

22 posts

Geek

#92075 26-Oct-2011 08:38

My parents are looking at getting a MyFreeviewHD set top box, with twin tuners so they can watch a channel and record another at the same time. When getting our aerial sorted out, the guy recommended the Panasonic DMR-XW380GZK which is $591 at JB HiFi right now.

Looking around, that price seems to be about right, but I am slightly worried about the size of the HDD. AT 250GB, it will be used up quickly, especially if recording HD programs. I have looked into it and it seems to me that the USB port on the DMR is not able to be used with an External HDD to add more storage - is this right?

I have seen other MyFreeviewHD boxes out there, such as the MagicTV 3700 (with a 500gb HDD), and I was wondering whether anyone had experience with either (or both) units and had any recommendations (I am open to other suggestions also).

Thanks for any help.

B1GGLZ

1961 posts

Uber Geek

#537562 26-Oct-2011 09:21

The Panasonic DMR BWT700GZ is now down to $998 at JB HiFI. Was originally around $1400 when released a few months back.
It has a 500gb HDD and the ability to transfer HDD files to DVD or Blu Ray disc so you never need to fill the HDD.
It also handles 3D.
I have the previous model (BW880) which isn't 3D capable but is really good value.

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#537673 26-Oct-2011 12:03

Neither of those prices strike me as amazingly cheap...
However, in regards to recording, how much do your parents actually record TV? If it's not much, don't worry about the 250GB drive... most people don't hold onto episodes of TV shows for years and years, and even if they do, they can rip the contents to DVD.

LookingUp

411 posts

Ultimate Geek

#537682 26-Oct-2011 12:45

Vu+Duo.

Twin tuners, install your own hard drive up to 2TB, works with a network so you can either store to network (or USB drives with NO ENCRYPTION), you can stream video from it to a PC providing a multi-room capability, it takes a Sky card, ......

The only downside is that it's DVB-S only, which means no HD except for Sky channels

Things are LookingUp.... A photo from my back yard :-)

bfginger

1267 posts

Uber Geek

#539378 30-Oct-2011 22:19

The guy at JBHifi?

Freeview certification doesn't allow a device to record or transfer HD to an external drive unless the material is encrypted.

The DMR-XW380GZK doesn't really make sense. The HDD is too small and there is not much point in buying a DVD player / writer in 2011. If playing back or writing to optical media is going to be involved then the BWT700GZ makes more sense.

New Zealand is too small of a market to find many people able to relate their experiences with most products.

The DishTV T1050PVR looks like good value for money but nobody seems to own one.