Audio Video News

Couch potatoes with an insatiable urge to record will love Panasonic's new DVD recorders. Announced July 14, the DMR-E100H and DMR-E200H both will feature 120GB and 160GB hard disk drives, respectively. With its 120GB hard disk drive the new DMR-E100H can record up to 160 hours of video in EP mode. The E-200H can record up to 212 hours of video on its 160GB hard drive. The recorders will also include slots for SD memory cards and PCMCIA slots for other types of memory. Both new machines will make their Japanese debut in August, with an autumn date set for the DMR-E100H's global debut.

"These new recorders are the best solution for consumers who want the best in home video recording," said Tokikazu Matsumoto, a Panasonic executive with the company's A/V division. "The multimedia recording capability of DVD-RAM discs, including their ability to store JPEG data for digital photos and MPEG2 video data, is a key advantage over other DVD recording formats."

The DMR-E100H and E200H can store and play back digital video in MPEG2/MPEG4 file formats, and photos in JPEG/TIFF file format from a Panasonic camcorder with an SD Memory Card slot or PCMCIA card slot. They can also record MPEG4 image data at the same time that they are recording MPEG2 data to the hard disk, and can transfer MPEG data to an SD Memory Card at high speeds for storage or use in other devices. The DMR-E100H and E200H can also convert MPEG2 data to MPEG4 and copy it onto an SD Memory Card in a single step.

One-touch, high-speed transfers: content on the DMR-E100H or E200H hard disk drive can be copied to a DVD-RAM or DVD-R disc at high speeds. A one-hour program can be recorded to DVD-RAM in just 5 minutes or to DVD-R in just 2.5 minutes, according to the Panasonic announcement. Transfers also go the other way: you can also record from a DVD-RAM disc to the DMR-E100H hard disk drive.

The machines' DVD-RAM/hard drive technology also permits simultaneous play and record and "Time Slip," both of which are also available by using the hard drive. Users can watch the recorded program from the beginning, while continuing to record in progress. The DMR-E100H and E200H feature a DV input terminal to allow direct transfer of images from a digital video camcorder to either the DVD-RAM disk or the hard disk drive. " The DVD video recording technology used in the DMR-E100H and E200H complies with the DVD-RAM recording format standardized by the DVD Forum," Panasonic's press release states. DVD-RAM discs can be recorded and re-written over 100,000 times, the company claims.

Panasonic has also announced the upcoming release of the SC-HT1000 Recordable DVD Home Theater Sound System, incorporating many of the technical advancements to be found in the DMR-E100H. The SC-HT1000 will be available in September 2003, with an MSRP of $999.95.