Panasonic DMR-BS880 - £850

Panasonic was first in the UK with a Freesat PVR/ Blu-ray disc (BD) recorder, in the DMR-BS750. Although lavished with praise for its high quality BD, twin-tuner Freesat receiver and 250GB PVR, it also came in for criticism of its £900 price tag.

One year on, the 500GB big brother of that machine – the DMR-BS850 – can be had for less than £500 and the new generation DMR-BS880 has appeared with some additions and improvements, but also a hike of the price back up almost to where it started (a 250GB model, the DMR-BS780, costs £700).

Build and connectivity

The DMR-BS880 is an elegant and well-made unit that doesn’t shout its features, though not as stylish as its predecessor, and the front panel is covered in acrylic plastic that will scratch easily. The whole front panel folds down in two sections. The left-hand side has the DVD/BD tray (bizarrely, the eject button is on the right) behind a sprung flap, and on the right another flap covers the bright and clear display, connections for DV and analogue camcorders, USB and SD card slots, and basic control buttons. Unlike the previous model, the DMR-BS880 has no S-video input – but that’s a minor loss.

The remote control handset is almost identical to the previous one – with some functions moved around and a few buttons added – and is a bit too light and cheapfeeling for this class of machine, but it is comfortable.

The rear panel of the DMR-BS880 is surprisingly sparse. Here, component HD video and S-video have been removed from the previous spec, along with other rear panel inputs – a shame, as this was one of the DMRBS750’s strong points.

For data, there is still the Ethernet LAN connection, used for software updates and much more besides.

There are two LNB inputs, of course, for the twin satellite tuners, but there’s no DiSEqC control. The only HD video output is via HDMI; SD has Scart sockets for TV and recorder – with RGB on the TV socket, but only when the HDMI output is not used – and separate composite video and analogue audio. The DMR-BS880 also sports both optical and coaxial S/PDIF outputs for digital audio.

Setup

Most users will devote the DMR-BS880 to Freesat only, and run-of-the-mill setup for this is amazingly quick and simple – once the signal is detected from the dish the channels are ‘scanned’ in about 15 seconds (just the network list is downloaded) and ordered according to your postcode (so the local services appear in the default positions) in another 15 seconds. That’s it.

If you want to access non-Freesat channels or channels from another satellite altogether, then it all takes a lot longer. Hidden away in the menu system is the real satellite search that scans through the transponders in its database to fi nd actively broadcasts.

The DMR-BS880 provides for 28.2°E (so you can access the non-Freesat free-to-air channels), 19.2°E and 13°E. Because there is no provision for DiSEqC switching (let alone a motorised dish), then you would have to use a manual LNB switch to select another satellite.

You can also search a single transponder and scan for FTA channels only or everything going (somewhat pointless without a CI slot). Although satellite scans have been speeded up since the last model, they are still not fast. Searching 28.2°E took nearly 20 minutes. Some FTA receivers can manage that in a tenth of the time.

If you want to access channels on satellites other than the three that the DMR-BS880 specifically recognises, then the ‘all satellites’ selection performs a very rudimentary blind search to fi nd whatever channels are broadcasting. You shouldn’t get too excited by this, however, as it doesn’t find any transmissions outside the ‘normal’ broadcasting symbol rates and FECs, and scanning a satellite in this way can take an hour!

Any non-Freesat channels that you can find are accessed entirely separately from the main Freesat list, and switching between the two is downright tedious, so even these limited search facilities won’t get much use.

Basic use

The DMR-BS880 uses a standard Freesat-style EPG and channel navigation system, which means there is no separate channel list. You must select the channel you want from the EPG, which annoyingly requires you to select a channel category first.

The EPG can either be displayed as a grid of programmes on seven channels across 2½ hours, or as a day-long list of programmes on one channel. You can scroll through either format and jump ahead or back by a day. A nice touch is that HD programmes are flagged, and alternative HD showings on other channels or at other times are shown too. However, while accessing the EPG you don’t even get audio, let alone an inset mini-picture of the currently tuned channel.

There are more delays getting to a channel because when you select a programme from the EPG you’re given the option to record it before you actually get to watch it. If you want to watch a recording, a DVD/BD or even a non-Freesat channel, then you have to select them in another menu and access the programme you want in a different way. It’s not a very integrated approach.

As a DVD/BD player, the DMR-BS880 is able to play picture-in-picture (BonusView) discs. It can access online content via BD Live and through Panasonic’s own VieraCast portal (to see video clips, photos and news), as well as BBC iPlayer (for catch-up programmes) via the Red Button – as long as it’s connected to a modem or home LAN router. You can also display pictures on TV and listen to MP3 music, from a USB memory stick or SD card.

This multimedia approach is versatile, but the DMR-BS880 uses a different menu system and user interface style for each medium, which undermines some of the all-in-one-box benefits. Worse, it is ponderously slow to do almost anything. Whether it’s simply changing channels, displaying the EPG, changing from BD to HDD, starting a recording or loading a BD, every action is accompanied by a blank screen and a pause.

Recording

The DMR-BS880 is Freesat+ compatible, so Freesat channels can also be set to record from the eight-day EPG (once or with a series link), or by manual timer. The event timer has to be set manually for non-Freesat channels – but you do get a full month ahead.

The DMR-BS880 can record on both recordable DVD or BD discs, and its hard disc drive – and it does an excellent job with both. The 500GB HDD off ers over 75 hours of HD recording or 210 hours of SD. Recordings can be started with the timer or as the channel is watched, with the option of stopping at the end of the programme, after a preset time or continuing.

With two tuners you can record one channel while watching another, record two at once, or even record two channels while watching a recording or a DVD/BD. You can also pause a live broadcast (although its sluggish nature can mean this takes around five seconds) and rewind up to two hours back to the last channel change.

Playback has the usual fast-forward, rewind and slow-motion tricks and dedicated handset buttons skip forward a minute or back 10 seconds (very useful). The only way to jump to a point in a recording (without using bookmarks) is using ‘time slip’ – entering a number of minutes to jump and pressing the button. Recordings can also be copied and edited to cut out sections.

The DMR-BS880 will also stream video across a home network to a suitable client such as a PC running Windows 7.

Recording to a DVD or BD is restricted to video from external equipment (say, a camcorder or a motorised dish receiver) as broadcasts are recorded (on HDD) in their transmission format and they have to be recompressed for DVD or BD. This can either be done on the HDD (to save space – but it’s done in real time so takes as long as the recording) or as they are copied to the DVD/BD. Some programmes cannot be copied to disc as HD, or only copied once because of content protection (both BBC and ITV severely restrict HD copying). Most commercial DVD/BD discs cannot be copied to the HDD.

However, you can freely transfer your own HD material and SD video, music and photos between the connected media – although getting to grips with all the diff erent formats and data rates is no mean task.

Performance

Panasonic has put together a very high-quality Freesat receiver, DVD/BD player and PVR into one box. The pictures produced by all sections of the DMR-BS880 are superb. Not only do HD broadcasts look fantastic, but SD channels take on a new life too – far better than SD receivers usually produce.

DVD and BD playback are up to the usual high standards and recordings, whether on HDD or DVD/BD disc; almost impossible to tell from the originals as long as you don’t go for the very lossy low data rate formats. The sound is also top-notch and both optical and co-ax outputs mean you have no reason not to take full advantage. Geoff Bains

Verdict

This is a beautiful machine – in appearance and performance. The DMR-BS880 can act as a comprehensive centre for all your AV equipment to time-delay, archive and transfer footage between diff erent media. But its excellent audio-visual performance is let down by the confusing user interface. Integrating diff erent functions in one product should simplify matters, but that isn’t the case here. Too many functions of the DMR-BS880 are also downright slow.

What’s more, the DMR-BS880 is expensive well beyond the sum of its functions. Given many of the HD programmes available FTA are protected against copying, you may consider that a cheap BD player and a Freesat HD DVD/HDD recorder provides much the same effective functionality at around half the price. But if you must have the ultimate, then the DMR-BS880 is it.

Ratings
PLUS
■ Fabulous picture and sound performance
■ Freesat HD, PVR and BD in one
box
MINUS
■ Expensive
■ Confusing menus and formats
■ Slow to respond
Build ★★★★★★★★★
Setup ★★★★★★★★
Searching ★★★★★★★
Navigation ★★★★★★★
Performance ★★★★★★★★★
Features ★★★★★★★★★
Value ★★★★★★★

80%

Features
LNB inputs: 2
LNB loopthrough: No
DiSEqC: No
No. channels: 3,000
Selectable FEC: No
Symbol rate range: 2000-45000
Blind search: No
Linux: No
CAM: No
Common interface: No
Teletext: Freesat MHEG text
EPG support: DVB now-and-next,
Freesat 8-day
Timer: 32-event, 1-month
Hard drive: 500GB
Removable media: Blu-ray
UHF modulator tuning: N/A
Software upgrade: Internet
download
Data ports: USB, SD card, Ethernet
SD video out: TV Scart (composite,
RGB), VCR Scart (composite),
composite video
HD video out: HDMI
Audio out: Stereo audio, optical
digital audio, coaxial digital audio