DVD Recorder

[Sapper 77]

I'm new to the forum so hope this posting is in the right section!
I've got a DVD recorder, model, DMR-BWT800, which I use for recording films of the tele which I then transfer to disc then finalize so that I'm then able to play on my laptop whilst pounding the treadmill.
The recorder is possible over ten years old and really playing up by telling me that discs are not recordable when they are, suddenly switching off for no reason and making some strange noises!
My question is, what current model with twin tuners, would I need to do what I'm doing now? I happened to be in John Lewis who sell Panasonic but the guy told me none of them the they sell record to disc which I found strange.
Would appreciate any help and advice from the knowledgeable.

 

[Sapper 77]

I've got a old DMR-BWT800 DVD recorder that's come to the end of it's life. I use this to record films from the TV then transfer to disc which I can then watch on my laptop whilst pounding the treadmill.
Happened to be in John Lewis today and the guy in there told me that none of the Panasonic recorders they sell including the DMR-PWT550EB are not able to transfer from the hard drive to disc. Is this right or was he talking rhubarb?
Appreciate any help.

 

[Gavtech]

Welcome to the forum.

Yes - he is correct... assuming he does not sell the DMR-BWT850EB

The PWT550EB is a freeview hard disk recorder with a bolt on disk PLAYER - not recorder.


If you want the current equivalent of the BWT800, you need the BWT850.
The disk unit in that is a Bluray /DVD recorder.

Details here.

 

[Gavtech]

I've moved your other post into this thread - Please note that posting the same issue in more than one forum section is against the forum rules - Thanks

 

[Sapper 77]

Sorry for that mistake moderator, and thanks Gavtech for your help, much appreciated.

One more question, what other brands could I look at that would do the same job?

 

[Gavtech]

None unfortunately. Panasonic have always been the only brand producing units that can record bluray.

Other units would be DVD only, not HD and not twin tuner.

 

[Sapper 77]

Thanks again mate your a champ

 

[mikej]

what other brands could I look at that would do the same job?

There are only 3 main brands left making Freeview PVRs (that you'll find on the high-street at least) - Humax, Manhattan and Panasonic - and of those three, (as previously mentioned) only Panasonic make one with a built-in Blu-ray/DVD recorder. Humax and Manhattan only make HDD-based PVRs.

The DMR-BWT850EB is now 6 years old and (at £479) very expensive for what it is, so it would be worth thinking about whether there is a better way of achieving what you want to do without spending that kind of money.

A good option might be the Humax Aura PVR which has an accompanying app that allows you to stream Live TV or it's recordings and also download recordings directly onto an Android or iOS device. This would be super convenient and save you the hassle or continued expense of having to write to disk every time. I don't know how well this works in practise, but you could ask other users in the Freeview & Youview forum. The Aura has 3 tuners and the 1TB model is around £249.

Alternatively - are the films you're recording available via the Freeview catch-up apps like iPlayer, ITV Hub, All4 etc ? If so, you could stream them on the laptop and then buy a simple HDD-based PVR for the lounge to replace your failing BWT800. The Manhattan T2-R is £130 and the £349 you save (vs buying the BWT850) would buy you nearly 3 years-worth of an HD Netflix subscription which would give you plenty of films and other content to watch, on the laptop and anywhere else in the house.

If you did decide you were interested in either of those PVRs, then make sure you read up on them in the Freeview & Youview forum as both have their pros and cons - there are a number of comparison threads there.

 

[Gavtech]

It is worth querying how the '800 is failing.

If, for example the disc drive is packing up, you could still use the networking facilties it has and network to your laptop.

 

[Sapper 77]

Thanks once more for all the help and suggestions, what a great forum.

Just one more train of thought, if I were to forgo the DVD part and get over that some other way. What would your recommendations be for a straight forward recorder with play back., It wouldn't need to have a huge hard drive.

 

[crockett]

Depending on the fault it may be possible and worthwhile repairing the 800. There are quite a few people out there who service/repair most Panasonic models.