Panasonic set to launch DIGA-series Blu-ray DVRs

Panasonic updated its DIGA-series Blu-ray DVR recorders, which were released late last year, announcing today it will soon launch the three recorders that include the 1TB capacity DMR-BW930, 500GB DMR-BW830 and 320GB DMR-BW730. All will support the web-based BD Live bonus content, record HD programming onto their onboard hard disk drives and be able to burn Blu-ray AVCHD format (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264) videos onto blank Blu-ray discs at 6X speeds.

The players will feature a dual digital TV tuner, allowing users to watch one program while recording another. A USB port will allow connecting other devices such as digital cameras, MP3 players and portable hard drives, while an SDHC card slot will let users transfer their multimedia files onto the hard disk drives. As far as audio support, DTS-HD Master, Dolby NR TrueHD and Dolby Digital plus are all accounted for.

The top two models features two FireWire connections for computers in comparison to the single one on the 320GB model, as well as a 1080/24p/60p HDMI output versus a 1080p only output in the lowest-priced model. A digital coaxial audio output is also exclusive to the more expensive models, but all share a D4 video output, S-video, composite, optical audio and a pair of analog pair connections.

The BW930 will cost the equivalent of about $2,550, the BW830 $1,640 and the BW730 $1,370 when they go on sale in Japan on September 1. A US release has not yet been announced.

Panasonic DMR-BW730