Panasonic aims to be the first consumer electronics manufacturer to release a high-end DVD recorder that offers network connectivity. Matsushita Electric Industrial, better known for its Panasonic brand, says it will soon start sales of its networked-enabled DMR-E500H.

The DMR-E500H--which will be shown at the CEDIA consumer electronics show in Indianapolis this week--is the first DVD recorder that can be remotely programmed from PCs or mobile phones; it's also the first to enable people in different rooms to watch the same recording, according to the company.

Panasonic hopes the DMR-E500H will help spark interest in the company's latest ideas on networked devices, says Ichiro Kawamura, general manager of Matsushita's Panasonic AVC Networks company.

The DMR-E500H has a 400GB hard drive that can store up to 709 hours of recording in extended play (EP) mode (which is typically considered about VHS-quality). The DMR-E500H has a maximum effective speed of 64X when recording in EP mode from a hard drive to DVD-R, allowing it to record a 60-minute program in 56 seconds, which Panasonic claimed is the fastest in the industry. (Panasonic says that the speeds quoted are effective speeds, not data transfer speeds, since they're referring to how many hours you can record for a given amount of data.) The recorder has a maximum speed of 40X when recording in EP mode from hard drive to DVD-RAM.

The unit will go on sale in Japan on September 21 for $1715, and will be offered outside of Japan shortly thereafter, says the company. The product is geared towards higher-end users; Panasonic says it will initially produce only 3000 units per month.
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Source : TechZonez

At last, it took so many years for someone to offer the obvious which some day will become the trivial...

(in reply to SiliconFreak)

Tottaly true, sp!

There are only 2 questions...

1. Do You love to gamble (or at least believe in)??? Because to get on of those 3000 produced per month will be a big gamble I guess...

and

2. Do You consider Yourself as HIGH-END user, willing (read: MAD ENOUGH ) to pay $1715 for this unit?


I guess that for "ordinary" users this unit will became available (in both aspects : AVAILABILITY and PRICE) in some 2006...and till then...more new better ones will hit the market...and we are again at the beginning of this neverending story...

(in reply to sp)