[intro]
[February 2009 Update - Panasonic Blu-ray recorders now announced. Full details here ]
Panasonic has claimed "there will be a Blu-ray recorder available in some areas of Europe this year". Already available in Japan, Blu-ray recorders are key to the growth of the HD format, but Panasonic is the first manufacturer to hint at an imminent European launch.
The claims were made at Panasonic's 2008 HD Networking Convention in Valencia, but other than a company spokesperson adding "the archiving spec isn't finalised, but we'd love to have a product to market as soon as possible," the manufacturer stopped short of naming product or release specifics.
Instead, Panasonic revealed six new DVD recorders, including hard-disk models that double-up as music jukeboxes. [/intro] Here are the six new models, due in shops from March (exacts dates and pricing to follow).
- DMR-EX98V: DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner, VHS VCR, SD Memory Card Slot, USB Terminal and 250GB HDD
- DMR-EX88: DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner, SD Memory Card Slot, USB Terminal and 400GB HDD (pictured above).
- DMR-EX78: DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner, USB Terminal and 250GB HDD
- DMR-EX768: DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner and 160GB HDD
- DMR-EZ48V: DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner and VHS VCR
- DMR-EZ28: DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner