[DavidB of Devon]

I have a Panasonic HD camcorder (SD60). I have been keeping the created files on cards until I could buy something to replace my (non HD) Sony DVD recorder. I am probably going to buy the DMR BWT 720. My TV is only HD ready but I do not want to loose what the camera has - one day the TV will be upgraded.
My question (as a non technical person - really!) is should I be doing something else? Instead or next. We have a laptop that is our photo album (also on an external hard drive connected to our desk top). And all our originally video recordings and more recent digital recordings are on DVDs (via the Sony).
What I am thinking of is - is there a easy/simple way that I can access all to show on the TV. Clearly I can connect the laptop to the TV for the photos and the DVDs can go in the recorder or the 5.1 system. It is just that there are now so many bits of kit! Any comments would be great.

[BarryTheSprout]

First - just copy all of your videos from all of the cards straight to the laptop. Just drag and drop style, not via any processing software.

From here you have a few choices depending on the TV.

First, if your laptop is Win7 then you can use the built in DLNA to share to a DLNA aware TV set.

If the laptop is not Win7, then 3rd party DLNA Server software can be installed to do this.

If your TV is not "smart" then you could get a "smart" Bluray player which does support DLNA and play across the network that way.


OR... simpler option. Get an external hard disk and copy all of the videos to that. Many TVs\BluRay\PVRs etc have USB sockets. You can plug the external hard disk into this USB socket and then directly play the videos back through the TV\BlueRay\PVR.


OR... if you don't have any of the above hardware, you can pickup a really cheap little HDMI player from Amazon\Ebay which can playback video files from an external hard disk. (This is what I have my very non-technical 70 year old Mum using)



The thing to remember is we are already getting to a point where we are moving beyond DVDs. As your videos are already in a digital format, I would suggest it is best to keep them in that format. Forget the DVD conversion as that will just be a time waster for you.


Dozens of options in this post, but pick at it and ask questions and I'll do what I can to assist. Ultimately I like to find the simplest yet highest quality solution.


Quicker summary? Remember, that "non HD DVD" will always be "non HD" as DVD is not an "HD" format. You would need Bluray for that. If you are planning on buying a Bluray player, then just make sure you have a USB socket on it. Then we can give you a really simple answer by just copying all the videos to an small external hard disk.

[DavidB of Devon]

I left it too late to ask for guidance. I have the 720 and am very pleased with it. Also I already have a selection of hard drives and so I will proably start with that (simple) route.

My first concern is my pre-existing DVDs. These are from either non-HD digital camcorder or copied from (again domestic) VCR tapes. Is it possible to get the content of these DVDs onto a hard drive such that the 720 can 'see' them?

[BarryTheSprout]

Do you have a link to the manual for that 720? Then I can translate my advice. (I'll hunt for the manual myself later today when I return)


First job is to locate TWO of those spare hard drives. One to hold the videos from the camera. The second to be used as a backup and kept hidden in a cupboard.

I would empty both of these drives out. Then make sure the format matches what the 720 can use via its USB port. I'd then attach the first hard drive to your PC and copy each memory card to the hard drive one by one. Make a new folder each time, and copy all of the videos in raw "drag and drop" format to this hard drive.

We then need to check the format of these videos. (Again I may need a manual link if you don't know)

The quickest test would just be to copy a couple of SD cards across to the hard drive. Then disconnect it from the PC and attach to the 720. Can you play these videos back? OR will we need to convert?


With the DVDs, there should be nothing to worry about. These will play back fine on the 720. Any copied from VCR will already be as good quality as they can be. (You can't make an old VCR magically convert to 1080p).

To convert them to digital files to place on the same hard disk we will need conversion tools. Again when I return later today I'll give you some links to something nice and simple (first I need to check the 720 specs)

[BarryTheSprout]

P.S. I have the manual for the 720. A nice bit of kit which gives us lots of options.

What version of Windows do you have on your PC? And is your 720 connected to the network?

I'll be back in a few hours to assist you further. For now, lets test out if the videos from the camera will play directly. You could even just put the SD Card directly into the front of your 720 to test.

[Gavtech]

There are one or two important overview issues which affect how things can be done here.

Any hard drives used with this machines have to be registered to it, formatted by it ( with the unique proprietary formatting and file system), and thereafter, once this is done, those drives cannot be used on any other equipment without reformatting and thus losing all content.

They can only be regarded as backup for material that exists on the internal hard drive, not for shifting material around to and from various devices.

Getting pictures into the system is straight forward. Just plug an SD card straight into the machine.
Pictures can be played back or copied to the hard drive.

[BarryTheSprout]

@Gavtech - okay. So that stuffs the idea of using an external hard disk with the Bluray. Does that mean hard disks are recognised in a different way to flash drives?

I know that for recording the special format was needed. Didn't know that hard drives full of videos from elsewhere were banned. (I'm going to experiment on my box tonight... especially as I realise I had mainly been plugging USB flash drives into my Panny TV instead of my Panny Bluray)

@DavidB: I'll be back shortly once I have done some testing with my dumb bluray player and what it does and does not handle, and then translate the differences through reading your manual.

[BarryTheSprout]

@Gavtech: Do you have a 720 yourself?

The OP was talking about watching videos from his handycam on his TV by making use of his Bluray player. He was not talking about archiving of recordings.

I have just attached a normal FAT32 formatted external hard disk to my Panasonic DMT-BDT120 Bluray player using the USB port on the front and it happily played back the videos on the hard drive. No special format, this came direct from a PC.

@DavidB: I think we are still on track. As you want to play video from the hard drive there should be no problem. I think Gavtech was confused with archiving options where you have to have the special format.

[DavidB of Devon]

We now have family staying and so I will get back to the doing of it but not until the weekend.

I have already encountered the registering of the hard drive when I tried to show our recent photos. I did not register it IE I did not delete them!

I am gobsmacked by the research done on my behalf. But should it be of any use in that regard all my previous DVD creation (all of which is domestic stuff - hols etc) was produced using my recently discarded Sony DVD recorder (was it an RX820? - it def had 160 GB memory).

Next purchase (but not now!) will be a new PC to replace our full laptop photo album.

Anyway, thanks again and I will be in touch.

[BarryTheSprout]

"Research" is being done as we are all addicts in this topic. And enjoy playing with the toys ourselves. And then sharing the knowledge.

That is a bit frustrating that your fancy Bluray writer will not read normal hard disks like my much more basic Bluray player can. (It is also confusing me as I clearly see it in the manual that it SHOULD work. Only the WRITING to the hard disk would require that format. Not the reading.) This will not be a problem as we have plenty of other options.


One of those options will be DLNA which is easier than it sounds. Especially if you have a Win7 laptop there. If not a Win7 laptop, then we can install software to do the DLNA tricks. This would then let you just leave all the pictures and videos on the laptop and access it over the network. This is how I watch films in my house.

(I like simple options...)


With the DVDs written by the Sony they should still be okay as they should be written to a DVD standard. And the point of standards is portability.


I'll be back once you have disposed of the family. :D

[DavidB of Devon]

I am back! Heres hoping that you are still there.

I have an 80GB laptop which runs Vista Home Premium which is almost full with only JPEGS. Hence it is likely to be the next big cost replacement. We also have 40’ish DVDs all produced using our previous DVD recorder – Sony RDR-HXD860. We will now be accumulating output from our Panasonic SD60 HD camcorder (hence buying the 720). We have a few hard drives but they are all either prime source or backups.

What I would like is the 720 to be able to see on one thing all our DVDs and photos. IE 80GB of photos (and growing), 40 non-HD DVDs (4.7GB each) and, from now, HD recordings from the SD60.

If a hard drive is viable (it appears to be the only option in the short term) I would have to buy another (no problem – my 1TB one only cost £50) as I now realise the 720 would ‘own’ it.

Another thought. We can use YouTube and a few other things via the 720. Can it see other PCs in the house (WiFi used)? Taking it further, could it see things attached to any of the PCs?

Any contributions are much appreciated.

[DavidB of Devon]

I took so long typing 1st time that I was chucked off. So I typed it again in word. Pasted it in and get font info etc.. Sorry.

[BarryTheSprout]

That post is very hard to read. It would make sense to edit it to make it readable.

I'll come back to the rest of this later in the weekend. But I am still confused why your Bluray player is trying to "own" the drive. Especially as this is not what the manual says.

Can you do me a test. Take any disks out of the player. Then turn it off.

Now take your FAT32 formatted external hard drive and plug it into the USB port on the 720.

Now turn on the 720. You will feel the hard disk starting to spin.

Press the HOME button on your remote control and select VIDEOS from the menus.

Now select USB. What do you see?


I am sure the only reason your 720 tried to OWN your hard drive is due to going into a recordings or disk transfer menu. When using the plain media player this should not be the case. Otherwise it would be impossible to play back digital video and photos on this device.

Edit: @David: looks like we have to forget the simple route.

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by DavidB of Devon

I took so long typing 1st time that I was chucked off. So I typed it again in word. Pasted it in and get font info etc.. Sorry.

Formatting now cleared.

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by BarryTheSprout

But I am still confused why your Bluray player is trying to "own" the drive. Especially as this is not what the manual says.

See page 74 / 75 of the manual for the processes required for the connection of an external HDD.

[BarryTheSprout]

Originally Posted by Gavtech

See page 74 / 75 of the manual for the processes required for the connection of an external HDD.

You have proved my point. That is for moving the data FROM the built in hard drive TO an external hard drive. This is not what the OP is trying to do.

OP is talking about watching videos and pictures he has created himself. These being on an external hard drive. Check page 10 and 114 and you will see reference to using FAT/FAT32 devices with this Bluray player. And the ability to playback data from USB devices. If that device had to be "special formatted" for playback then you could not actually put an MKV onto it to playback.

Gavtech - Do you have a Panasonic 720 Bluray yourself? I find it weird that a hard drive would not be allowed to be used to playback videos and photos from. is this more expensive product REALLY limited to only using Flash and SD Cards?

I find it especially bizarre as my much cheaper and basic Panasonic Bluray player happily plays back from that hard disk (just like the Panny TV does)

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by BarryTheSprout

Gavtech - Do you have a Panasonic 720 Bluray yourself? I find it weird that a hard drive would not be allowed to be used to playback videos and photos from. is this more expensive product REALLY limited to only using Flash and SD Cards?

I find it especially bizarre as my much cheaper and basic Panasonic Bluray player happily plays back from that hard disk (just like the Panny TV does)

No I don't have one of these units.

As far as I am aware this units distinguishes between USB HDD devices and USB mass storage memories... and HDD's have to be registered with unit , dedicated to it and are deliberately restricted to video only.... unlike USB memories which support a variety of file formats.

See page 6 / 7 for more details of the capabilities and restrictions.

[BarryTheSprout]

That manual is written in a vague way as it fails to make it fully clear that a USB-HDD cannot be used for video playback. But if you are sure it is not allowed, then I'll stop looking at that route.

It just seems pretty weird to me that you are not allowed to attach a hard disk full of pre-recorded films and pictures to this Bluray for playback using the built in media player. Yet they let you attach a small 32GB flash drive.

Thanks for stopping me from wasting too much time on the USB-HDD route



So back to David's questions:

Originally Posted by DavidB of Devon

What I would like is the 720 to be able to see on one thing all our DVDs and photos. IE 80GB of photos (and growing), 40 non-HD DVDs (4.7GB each) and, from now, HD recordings from the SD60.

The 720 does not really seem to be designed to be a media player working with a local library of files using a portable hard disk unless it is "special formatted". Above the messing with a hard disk was attempting to use the laptop to fill the disk with all this stuff, and then just attach it to the Bluray to be used as a library of photos and videos. This is not a feature that is allowed. USB Hard Disks are only there for recording to. That "special format" means they can't be used on the PC.

OPTION ONE: What we could do with an external hard disk is expand the 1TB internal hard drive in the 720. This would then let us treat the 720 as a storage device. You would copy your photos to the 720 and store them on the internal drive (expanding to the external drive as needed). And then same with the DVDs and new HD content. This could be copied into the 720 for quick access. BUT you would not be able to get them back out again. So it may be convenient, but no use for future access by your next device.

Copying everything into the 720 for access means quick and easy access for anyone who wants to view the pictures\video. But it also means it is then vital to keep good backups on PC based media if you want to edit or change any of these videos in the future.

Apart from that limitation, and the fact you are using up storage space reserved for recordings, this is a simple solution.


OPTION TWO: A better option will be to make use of DLNA. This is a way for the 720 to use your house network and access the other computers in the house. This is a trivial thing to setup in Windows 7 so an obvious question is - when is the new laptop planned? If soon, then we hold off on the setup details here.

If months away, then we can look at installing a DLNA server on the Vista laptop. This can then feed the photos and video from the laptop to the Bluray over your house network. As the vista laptop has a rather tiny 80GB hard disk it will need some of those external hard drives attached to store the videos on.


With the DVDs you have of older videos from the Sony, did you say you still had the original SD cards for these? If yes, we will return to those to copy the videos from card to laptop external hard drive. If no, then we will get you some ripping software to copy these videos back to that hard disk.

Originally Posted by DavidB of Devon

Another thought. We can use YouTube and a few other things via the 720. Can it see other PCs in the house (WiFi used)? Taking it further, could it see things attached to any of the PCs?

It is this ability for the 720 to talk to PCs that we are going to use. The 720 can only talk a specific protocol called DLNA which means it can't just "browse the network" like PC to PC, but if there is a DLNA server running on those computers then they can share categories of files like videos, music and photos. Win7 has a built in DLNA server. Or we can install a third party one where Win7 is not available.

Making use of DLNA means that any time you copy videos or photos to the laptop they will immediately be made available on the Bluray via the network. This method is also more flexible as you can keep editing and reorganising the library as much as you like from the comfort of the laptop.


(I'll boot up a Vista PC later today and see what its Media Player can do. IIRC there are some DLNA features in there, just can't remember how complete they were)