AfterDawn: News

Panasonic Blu-ray burner has VHS deck as well

In a move that can only be described as strange, Panasonic has launched a new personal video recorder in Japan that includes both a Blu-ray writing drive and more strangely, a VHS deck.

The recorder can be useful though, as I am sure there are many of us out there that have personal videos of family still on VHS however to see a VHS deck next to a Blu-ray recorder is something you don't see everyday.



In addition to the deck and the drive, there is a built-in 320GB HDD for storage and TV recording as well as a USB 2.0 port and an SD card slot. There are two HDMI connections, digital and analog TV tuners and second generation MPEG-4 AVC H.264 encoder chips. There is also an ethernet port and Panasonic says a video download service is coming soon.

The DMR-BR630V is set to hit the Japanese market soon with a price equivalent to $1,456 USD.



Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Aug 2008 14:43

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• 25 comments

• 7thsinger

  a VHS deck?
  
  Lol. Odd.

  28.8.2008 15:24 #1

• iluvendo

  Where are my blank vhs tapes ??? I need to find them quick !!!
  

  If it wasnt for bad luck, Id have no luck!
  "The flimsier the product,the higher the price"
  Ferengi 82nd rule of aquisition

  28.8.2008 16:12 #2

• glassd

  I have a VHS/DVD burner combo that I used to copy all of my old VCR tapes and camcorder tapes to DVD. You could put a lot of movies on a BD. Old crappy on new fancy.

  28.8.2008 16:15 #3

• atomicxl

  Originally posted by glassd: I have a VHS/DVD burner combo that I used to copy all of my old VCR tapes and camcorder tapes to DVD.Hmm, I didn't think of it like that. For some reason I feel like this recorder will make it a pain to really max out a disc with SD content. I fear auto upscaling so that somehow you still can't fit more than 3 hours.

  28.8.2008 16:47 #4

• wolf123

  This is lol funny I could get the dvd vhs combo because there was a transition from vhs to dvd but now they droped vhs all together in the world whats the point. This is like putting a record player4 next too a cd player and I understand that records sound better too some people because they have been listening too records longer then cds.

  28.8.2008 17:12 #5

• JRude

  Vinyl sounds better than CD's because it IS better than CD's! YOU have been listening to CD's too long! lol! I can buy 20 DVD-VHS-Divx Certified players for the price of that one BR Player-Recorder...Good thing I am not market oriented and require the latest technology at any price...Fire away! ;- )

  28.8.2008 18:31 #6

• gehx

  they should go for the gusto and add beta max support ;)

  28.8.2008 23:49 #7

• ripxrush

  Originally posted by gehx: they should go for the gusto and add beta max support ;)Dirr thats what Toshiba is releasing next week! HD-DVD?Betamax Combo! put your old dead format onto your new dead format!

  29.8.2008 02:11 #8

• pcaddict

  Its better to have something like this rather than to have multiple playback/recording components. Saves space and you have less clutter behind the set. This could be useful for seniors as playback would be simple.

  29.8.2008 04:34 #9

• MrXenu

  Quote:Originally posted by gehx: they should go for the gusto and add beta max support ;)Dirr thats what Toshiba is releasing next week! HD-DVD?Betamax Combo! put your old dead format onto your new dead format!In a turn of irony, in japan they still use beta max, infact I beleive they used it more in japan then they used VHS, so like yeah!

  29.8.2008 06:34 #10

• OneMember

  Originally posted by iluvendo: Where are my blank vhs tapes ??? I need to find them quick !!!
  I don't think you will use blank vhs tapes because that can't record... its play only =/

  29.8.2008 08:50 #11

• ZippyDSM

  wait wait wait, dosent the copy protection on tapes prevent good copying?
  
  and wahts a good DVD burner/vhs unit to copy VHS tapes to DVD?

  29.8.2008 11:13 #12

• JRude

  I've HEARD a good capture box removes Macrovision from VHS tapes, allowing capture to PC HD's as either Divx or mpeg2 (DVD) format. In many cases resulting with a BETTER file due to filters in processing! :- 0
  Standalone DVD burners can be very iffy...choose carefully!

  29.8.2008 15:11 #13

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by JRude: I've HEARD a good capture box removes Macrovision from VHS tapes, allowing capture to PC HD's as either Divx or mpeg2 (DVD) format. In many cases resulting with a BETTER file due to filters in processing! :- 0
  Standalone DVD burners can be very iffy...choose carefully!
  I am not plugging anything into my PC >> I have tried capturing before its a waste of time and effort >>

  29.8.2008 15:18 #14

• glassd

  I got a Magnavox at bestbuy years ago. works fine. It's main purpose is to burn home movies on dvd from Digital tape recorder.

  29.8.2008 15:42 #15

• JRude

  Au contraire...proper hardware, apps and procedures render excellent results on PC's..one must capture to mpeg2 on HD, NOT direct to disc! THEN burn with Nero or other software to DVD.

  29.8.2008 15:46 #16

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by JRude: Au contraire...proper hardware, apps and procedures render excellent results on PC's..one must capture to mpeg2 on HD, NOT direct to disc! THEN burn with Nero or other software to DVD.I know the results are good but its not low tech/no tech friendly, as well as I do not want anything messing with my PC for long amounts of time, that can't be easily suspended so I can do something else.
  
  I am not interested in doing for self anyway my uncle has 100ish VHS tapes he wants to put on DVD.

  29.8.2008 16:00 #17

• wuhead

  Originally posted by JRude: Au contraire...proper hardware, apps and procedures render excellent results on PC's..one must capture to mpeg2 on HD, NOT direct to disc! THEN burn with Nero or other software to DVD.I honestly can NOT tell a difference between these two methods. I am able to do both and the VHS-to-DVD option is MUCH quicker and more reliable. Record everything in SP mode and you're good to go.
  Doing it VHS-to-HDD-to-DVD takes forever, takes up HDD space, and unless you have over a gig of RAM, your pc will be sluggish mcgee.

  29.8.2008 16:40 #18

• greekave

  Quote:Doing it VHS-to-HDD-to-DVD takes forever, takes up HDD space, and unless you have over a gig of RAM, your pc will be sluggish mcgee.Are there really people out there that still have less than a gig of RAM? I mean I just bought 2GB from Newegg for $31 including shipping.

  29.8.2008 17:00 #19

• JRude

  Yes, it is intensive! I use a separate PC for encoding only. XP with 1G of ram. It WILL use all available resources while encoding! But surfing and site reading are enabled at same time, just no other intensive apps or proggies at same time. 2.2Ghz and 1G of RAM will encode in about real time. Many titles are on VHS only. It's a niche. Not for everyone. Those VHS tapes aren't gonna last forever!

  29.8.2008 17:04 #20

• DXR88

  LoL, any body remember the dream of the 80 Dual Deck FTW. actually i still have my dual deck.

  30.8.2008 00:53 #21

• wolf123

  I had a dual deck dvd recorder last 1 year and a half plus sent too get repaired and they did nothing and I always wanted too sew them for that but how do I prove they did nothing.
  
  The good thing is I still can watch dvd movies and vhs tapes and record vhs tapes.
  
  Anyway what is the point I tranfered some tapes too dvd and they came out somewhat watchable but not that great.
  
  Plus there is no way around putting a dvd movie store and recording too vhs or visa versa.
  
  But if you want too know if you get a tuner for your computer hook a dvd player up so you are watching dvd on the computer through the tuner software then you just have too hit record and you can record any dvd without having too get around the encryptions.
  
  
  now they are trying too block the signal too the tv from getting recorded and that wont sit well with people they have had the video recorder out for how long and what did they expect us too record on the tapes.

  1.9.2008 14:53 #22

• varnull

  Classy.. 2 obsolete formats for the price of 3. Keep hold of your 80's VHS machines and tapes.. they will be the only things you can make an off air recording with in a couple of years.
  My pair of 3v29 machines are still going strong after nearly 25 years... now show me a dvd player that old ;)
  

  
  
  Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. An engineer with a single tool in his toolbox is an idiot, not an engineer

  1.9.2008 21:10 #23

• JRude

  wolf, if ya have a VHS tape ya HAVE to have on DVD, just pack it up and send it to me! It WILL be as good as the VHS! Sometimes filters even make it BETTER!

  1.9.2008 23:57 #24

• Jemborg

  I guess the thing that gets me from reading all the comments, is that people seem to have the same idea I had when CD/DVD etc. came out. That is that they have (with care) almost an indefinite life-span. They don't. Be prepared to backup all your stuff in about 10-15 years time in whatever's the going format then.
  
  :P

  2.9.2008 01:51 #25