DVD / Hard Drive Recorder With 28-Day Capacity

fenimor writes "Panasonic today unveiled new DVD-recoders with astonishing 709 hours video recording capacity. The top model has onboard components of a good PC: 400GB hard drive, Ethernet port, broadband receiver, SD Memory Card slot, and a PCMCIA card. The DVD recorder is the fastest in the industry as it can record a one-hour program onto DVD-R disc in just 56 seconds. Internet access allows users to program recording through cell phones or PCs while away from home."

Comments

burnin'

[dirvish]

Oooh, that will go nicely with my Netflix account. ;)

plenty

[el_salvador]

of space for the sex lifes of all slashdot readers i guess

One hour in 56 seconds

[jrumney]

The DVD recorder is the fastest in the industry as it can record a one-hour program onto DVD-R disc in just 56 seconds.

Easy! All it needs to do is detect and remove the ad breaks.

Re:One hour in 56 seconds

[jrumney]

seriously, doesn't 56 seconds seem like a typo?

Not really. It does seem like the marketing version of the story though, as they are certainly talking about raw write time, not including compression time etc. My guess is the steps go like this:

1. Capture one hour of TV.
2. Possibly cheat by removing ad breaks, leaving around 40 minutes.
3. Compress to MPEG4. Think VHS quality, not near-DVD.
4. Defrag hard drive
5. Start timer
6. Write to DVD
7. Stop timer: 56 seconds.

Cost inefficient?

[scowling]

OK. I have a computer with video in, a DVD+-R drive and 300 GB of hard drive space. Just about anybody upgrade their system with the same for about $400. Right? A little more if you want digital video in.

And it's user-friendly. Got a remote control and everything.

So how much is Panasonic's system, and how would it be better for me than what I've already got.

Re:Cost inefficient?

[j-turkey]

So how much is Panasonic's system, and how would it be better for me than what I've already got.

I've set up a few PC-based PVR's and the TiVo and Panasonic ReplayTV's that I've used kick the crap out of them all (I haven't seen MythTV yet).

The interface is cleaner, it's easier to use, there is very little to set up, it doesn't require a clunky PC, and integrates nicely with whatever you've got in your home entertainment system (except for HDTV).

What can it offer you? I don't know. Maybe you're superman with your gear and can set up a seamless MythTV install in minutes. I'm not, although I have the know-how to do what I need -- and in my house, I don't even own a TV, so it's all via my personal computer. The prepackaged systems are pretty cool though -- it's a compelling package no matter who you are.

IMO, where your PC is really cool is for things like watching DivX and other downloaded videos...trying to integrate it into a system that you can use every day. I don't mind using my OS for that -- but again, the TiVo and Replay systems are pretty compelling like that. Cheaper to run, and they just work.

Heh

[shutdown -p now]

I wonder if you can plug a webcam into one of those things. 700 hours... yep, no need to change tape too often, and that DVD burning speed will also be handy for archiving. But now you will always be able to tell your girlgriend what exactly she did at 16:34, 15 days ago.

Oh. Duh

[boomgopher]

I first thought "28-Day Capacity" meant the contents disappear after 28 days, and that this was just another MPAA scheme. :)

How can you WATCH that much TV?!?

[the_skywise]

I've got a Tivo with 120 hours on it. I can't KEEP UP with it. Half the stuff "spills off" for having too many copies (I stick with the default 5 episodes max for most things) or the suggestions just time out.

Granted, it's nice to be able to thumb through that much content when I don't feel like my normal stuff, but 700 hours worth!? (Yeah, there's always archival and keeping your DVD library on the hard drive is convenient but... c'mon... how hard is it to pull the DVD out of the case and put it into the drive?)

700 hours of TV!

[Kotukunui]

Great. Now all we need is some decent programs to record. I don't think there has been 700 hours of quality television in the history of the medium. (called a medium because it is neither rare nor well done - ba-dum-chhh!)

Finally a product that people want.

[Facekhan]

As to a commercial deletion feature. I will settle for a gain detector (in case you had not noticed commercials are significantly louder than the program itself) that creates a seperate chapter for commercial breaks that can be skipped easily if the viewer desires. That will satisfy the broadcasters that the commercials are being seen, while letting the users do what they have every right to do, skip the ads on recordings.

Re:709 hours into 400GB?

[Eric Sharkey]

That's around 160 KB/s, not Kb/s. That works out to 1.2Mb/s, which is passable for basic quality video.

Remote Programming(!)

[ackthpt]

Internet access allows users to program recording through cell phones or PCs while away from home."

This would be highly welcome as I'm often away from home and miss shows I might want to record, also could give peace of mind that it is programmed to record the show you really really really don't want to miss.

Of course, it being PC-like and on the internet, I wonder how secure it is. I'd hate to got on a trip in July, hoping this is recording stages of the Tour de France and coming home to a title "SUXX0RS11 UR 0WN3D1!" and a mess of Oprah shows.

the horror, the horror

Re:How's that supposed to work?

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's see.

400 GB/709 HR = 577 MB per minute.

1x DVD is about 4.8 GB/HR.
8X DVD is 8 times faster or 600 MB per minute.