PanasonicDMR-PWT550EB Blu-Ray Player and HDD Recorder with Freeview Play, Black

If you like to keep the clutter under your TV to a minimum then this combined Blu-Ray player, Hard disc recorder, with catch up and popular video on demand services, may just be what you are looking for!One quick tip, ensure you check for any new software updates as soon as you have finished the set-up process. This will ensure you have the Freeview Player functionality.Setup, after you have made the required connections of Aerial, HDMI and power, is quite straight forward. Ensure you make all settings, by selecting "Yes" to all the setup items to ensure you get the full functionality out of this unit. Wi-Fi setup is simple, as long as your router supports WPS (most new ones do have this feature). All setup items worked first time for me and IO was soon able to explore all the features on offer.After the required software update was installed the basics seem quite easy to operate. The displays are clean and simple to use, as can be seen in the pictures I have added to this review. Pressing the Guide button brings up the usual grid showing the TV programs and includes a live inset of the current program. As you select a different program in the grid you get a picture from the program (if available) and a short synopsis. Pressing OK on the remote brings up more details and allows you to either watch the program, by simply pressing OK again, or the option to record it or see series information (if available). All very easy and intuitive to operate.Another quick tip, to move up or down a whole page in the guide you need to hold down on either the channel up/down buttons or the cursor up/down buttons. This speeds up moving through all the channel lists rather than multiple button presses moving from one channel at a time.To use the Freeview Play catch up function you simply scroll to the left, moving back in time, to see the catchup programs available for the selected channel. Moving the curser down or up allows the material from other channels to be seen and selected from the grid (see attached photo). So again all very easy to operate.All the menus appear swiftly and the guide populates within a second or two at the most. By comparison to my 5-year old Panasonic it is speed demon!One feature not widely mentioned is the ability to be able to set a program or view a recording from your Android or Apple iOS device, from anywhere you have an internet connection. I loaded the App onto my iPad and was able to set a TV program to record directly without having to turn the TV on or reach for a remote. Now the process is not fast, as your Panasonic box is being accessed from servers in Japan, but it works. When I first setup the App on my iPad I received an error message, which I could not get passed. However, I simply uninstalled the App and then re-installed it and all was fine.The popular video on demand services are currently limited to Netflix, YouTube and Amazon instant video. For many these will cover their requirements without the need for a separate box. 4K video is supported, where available. It would have been nice if they also included NowTV, as this is quite popular. The unit can also act as a DLNA server or client, meaning you can view content stored on the internal hard disc from another device or view content stored on another device using this to render (show) the content.The Panasonic also supports control via the HDMI cable so if your TV supports this function then you can control many aspects from your TV remote. My LG 49UF850V plays very nicely with this and I can perform all frequently used functions via the TV remote, including setting a program from the guide and playing back from the disc drives. It even turns the Panasonic on and off (equally turning the Panasonic on will turn the TV on).If you have a surround sound system connected to your TV via HDMI (with ARC support) then the audio return channel (ARC) works well and supports 5.1 Dolby surround sound. In the case of my LG TV I find the panasonic, connected directly to the second HDMI input on my TV, not only passed Dolby Digital but also DTS to my surround sound system. This mitigates the missing digital output from this model but which is included in the PWT655 and BWT850.Currently (December 2015) the only fly in the ointment is the lack of Channel 5 catchup, which hopefully will arrive shortly. Overall though I am very happy with my purchase and it has simplified my life and more importantly pleased my wife, who now can operate all the technology simply and with reduced clutter!

Purchased this to replace an older unit and has a Blu ray player built in. I'm now in the position of using the unit for a while so got used to differences and yes great to use. The picture is excellent and recording simple to activate. This unit is free-view play so can go back to watch missed programs. The only down side is no ITV X but every other player works so ITV's loss

This unit was to replace an existing Panasonic Blu-ray freeview recorder that developed a tuner fault. The new unit was easy to set up. It has two options to connect to the home wifi either by LAN or wirelessly. I used LAN. The programme guide is very clear and the unit now includes BBC Iplayer, ITVX, More4, 5 Netflix, Amazon Prime, and others. Picture is very clear. I have not used the Blu-ray player yet. The remote control is very similar to previous Panasonic remotes. The unit comes with a very comprehensive manual and guide, very welcome in an age where nearly all manuals appear to be online only!

I actually thought this product didn't play DVDs but I was wrong- it does , and well. It coped with a vintage Dr Who with ease and gave me quality sound and pictures. Have not tried anything else as of yet as I also have a new TV to navigate , so there may be an update , but so far , good.

I purchased the 550EB because of great on line reviews about its operational capabilities and while looking at replacing old tech dvd and freeview recorder that I already had. Definitely not cheap but the quality, in all areas, is outstanding! Always been a Panasonic fan having had a number of their TVs, this new HDD recorder links seamlessly with my Panasonic TV and Bose soundbar, one hand set controls the lot, picture quality is great. Set up is relatively easy but the systems within do take a little getting used to, all the fun of a new bit if kit! I have had this recorder about a month now and am really pleased with it and would highly recommend it, spend a little more and get the best. 👍

Oh I'm glad I bought this. I love high def TV but my previous Panasonic DVR only recorded in standard def, so of late I'd increasingly gone for watching on iPlayer and so on, via an iPad and Apple TV. I was also short of a blu ray player as I'd used an Acer Computer in the past, but so infrequently that any use was preceded by half an hour of Wndows updates. So this looked a perfect solution. Not too long to set up, these things seem to be getting easier, a software update once on line (I chose to make a manual wi fi connection) and I was away. With the coffee table free of the plethora of remotes I previously had I enjoyed more features than I'd expected. Excellent HD on the TV channels, and good reproduction on those that don't offer HD. Fast teletext on BBC. Freeview Play with iPlayer, ITV hub, All 4 and My 5. Netflix and Amazon Prime. You Tube and several other bits I've yet to check out. Good blu ray player - no writer but you can use a usb stick and if you've a usb card reader you can use memory cards too. Only slight drawback so far is old 4:3 DVDs are displayed in 16:9, making everyone look a bit tubby, though I suspect that could be at least partly down to my now aging JVC HD Ready TV - time to trade up to 4K 3D maybe! Summing up, this does all I hoped it would and more.

I was happy with this until I went deaf. I looked up and found out about STTL buttons, pressed them and nothing happened. So no more tv for me apart from foreign films with subtitles.