Abundance of Features and Storage Cpacity (Panasonic DMR-EX79)

Member Name: Good_Guy

Product:	Panasonic DMR-EX79
Date:	10/06/09 (225 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: HD-like Picture from SD sources

Disadvantages: A tad pricey

The Panasonic DMR-EX79 in essence has the same specifications as the DMR-EX769 only relevant difference is a bigger hard drive; this unit has 250GB of storage space. Other main features are, as before, DVD recording, Freeview tuner, upscaling or HD enhancement and multi-format. So what is different? Well, for a start, something Panasonic call " Intelligent Auto Standby"; means that it automatically goes into a power save mode when you go back to watching TV. A "Quick Start" function will turn this unit on/off when TV is turned on/off but only if you are using it with a compatible Panasonic TV with 2009 Viera Link. Another specification change is in the size of this unit, depth has been marginally reduced, hardly likely to matter very much.

VIERA LINK
Viera Link is a facility available to you if, like me, you have a compatible Panasonic Viera TV. A real benefit is that you don't need to be mucking around with two remote controls as you can choose to record via the buttons on the TV remote. Plus, of course, gives you the Intelligent Auto Standby capability. Also you can access "Pause Live TV" from the VIERA remote control which means the program is temporarily saved on the hard disk drive so you can watch, precisely from the stopped frame, at a later time. Pause Live TV lets you freeze TV programs just like pausing a DVD, by selecting "Pause Live TV" on the VIERA Link menu.

FREEVIEW PLAYBACK
A feature designed to make TV recording convenient is Freeview+. It will detect any program schedule changes, so no need to miss any recordings because of program overruns, in effect any changes are tracked. Series recording lets you record all future programs in a series; one click selects "series recording" which will ensure all future programs in series will be recorded, thus you will never miss any episodes of your favorite soap.

DVD RECORD AND PLAY
All DIGA DVD Recorders offer the ease and convenience of Super Multi-format Recording and Playback, which lets you play all DVDs, regardless of the recording format! There are so many different DVD recording formats about now that you never know what you can and can't play back - a very frustrating experience. This bit of kit solves all that.

UPSCALING
Adaptive HD Enhancer enhances your DVDs and digital recordings to HD like images and there is an HDMI output port to ensure best reproduction on your TV screen. This up scaling was my main motivation for getting the DMR; picture and sound are amazing so no disappointment on that score; DIGA's original i/p conversion and up-conversion functions solve this problem. These functions convert SD signals from DVD discs or it's own hard disc drive into 1080p signals that provide high-resolution images. The conversion process boosts the amount of image information by about 5 times, so pictures are clear and beautiful.

TUNER
As there is only one digital tuner in this unit you can't record two programs at the same time. In practice as there is a Freeview tuner in the TV, the disadvantage hasn't actually been an issue; I can general watch and record most if not all my preferences. Other features of benefit being the serial recording and ease of use of the EPG for viewing or recording which make finding and recording your favourite programs an absolute dream.

MUSIC & PHOTOS
Data from music CDs and USB devices can easily be transferred to the DIGA hard disk drive; titles and artist names are automatically saved together with the music CD data. There is a USB port to facilitate this. It also supports the ID tagging of title information embedded in MP3 music data. The new DIGA is like a jukebox filled with your favourite music. DIGA recorder can also play JPEG, MP3 and DivX files stored on a USB device, and can transfer JPEG, MP3 data onto hard disk drive. The JPEG format is just the ticket allowing for storage your photos for viewing on you large TV screen.
Price range from £250 to £350 depending on where you shop!

Summary: Great all round performance

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