Question Options for new box

Gallifreyan

Established Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2017
Messages
220
Reaction score
75
Points
60
Location
Europe
Hi all

My trusty Panasonic Ex768 is on the way out. Error codes U61 & 88 are happening all the time and the drive is whirring and clunking with it.
My Sony bluray player (740?) is also aged and buggy with few seconds of sound or picture/connection loss
I would like advice on replacements.

I have been looking at the Panny bwt550 which combines the two. JL & Richer Sounds are playing games with the price yoyoing between £235 & £279.
What about a PVR and separate bluray player? Any advantages?

My current Smart setup is an non-hard drive You View box courtesy of TalkTalk. Can be buggy, taking a while to load catchup and EPG. Not sure how or if it compares to Freview Play.

Thanks
Darren
 
An important point to note is that a BWT550 is not the equivalent class of machine as the '768 that you are used to.

The '768 is a true DVD recorder. ( i.e. records to hard drive and material can them be archived to removable disk)

The 550 is a partial step up in that it supports Twin HD tuner and plays Bluray discs but it is not a 'true' Bluray recorder: It is a twin tuner PVR which has an integrated bluray PLAYER. i.e. It will not record discs. You cannot archive to it.

So your first decision is to decide if you want archive / recordable facilities.

If you do, then the nearest ( and only) equivalent for your existing machine is an EX97 ( details here) Twin HD Tuner DVD recorder.

Or if you want recordable Bluray, the BWT850 (details here) Twin HD Tuner Bluray recorder.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply. Yeah I realised about the archiving, but the EX97 I s dvd only and the 850 is overkill. To be honest I don't record much. It is good to have something I like on hard drive instead of catch up where it could vanish.
With the 550 can I still edit recordings, create chapters etc?
 
Last edited:
With the 550 can I still edit recordings, create chapters etc?

Yes - I believe so.
I've never had my hands on one, but I believe it uses the standard Panasonic system engine so it should act much the same as the rest of the range.
 
I should mention that you could also have the alternative of just the PVR - no disc deck.

The '150 or the '250 - Info here
 
Thanks. If I go for separates what are the options for disc players? Mostly the market is full of 4k/uhd bluray. Our tv is a 40" HD Sony from about eight years ago.
 
Bumping this up a bit.

Still dithering on what to buy:rolleyes: but my issues have got worse. My Panny is now showing a U61 code and is stuck in self test on a loop. I let it run for quite a while, then unplugged overnight. Plugged back in and it was still looping. I can't get into anything. All that works is "OK" when it tells me to press after testing.
Thinking it's completely gone now.:(
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom