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5stars
33ratings4stars
12ratings3stars
4ratings2stars
0rating1star
2ratings
Would recommend88% agree
Good value88% agree
Good quality94% agree
45 reviews
I originally bought a Humax
I initially bought a Humax 5000 because it seemed to be the most popular recorder, despite my having had Panasonic equipment for many years. Unfortunately my Humax was faulty but I didn't realise that until I had been pressing all the buttons and trying to get it to work for a whole day!
I then got the Panasonic because I had more confidence in the brand. I have not been disappointed. It was very easy to set up and does everything I want it to do. Recording off the TV Guide could not be easier. My only slight niggle is the time lag in response to pressing some of the buttons on the remote. You initially think it's not working - but it is.
Overall I am very pleased.Read full review...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: ao
Does what its say..... just slow
It works but it's slow.
Live TV guide slow to come up, painfully slow to navigate, no page up/down buttons on the remote, can only move channel by channel and it so slow it's always behind where you think you are.
Freeview Plus (scroll left for 'yesterday'), go put the kettle on, you'll have enough time before it loads. Mine is wired rather than wireless and no issues with the broadband so it is the box that's slow as.
Volume out is low and can't find any means of adjusting it. I have to increase the volume on the TV significantly when viewing anything from the box.
280 hours of recording not the 520 the spec says. I'm not deliberately choosing to record HD it's just the only option that seems to be available. No huge issue for me as 280 hours is more than I'll ever want.
As a result I don't use the box to view 'live' TV (RF straight through is seamless) which is a pain when you're flicking through the schedule and see something you want to record - mental note, turn box on (if it's off), switch AV input, navigate on the box (painfully slow) then select to record. Glorious pain the backside. No idea why it's so slow or why no page up/down,left/right buttons.
No SCART output. It does say it doesn't but it seems unnecessary to leave it out. So you can't use with a TV (or anything) with no HDMI in. Converter won't work due to HDCP (unless you know of someway of stripping the encoding).
The HDMI cable supplied is garbage, chuck it in the bin. You don't need anything fancy, just a few quid for HDMI 1.4 something basic will be fine.
Would I buy another? I don’t know, there were few other options. The HUMAX sounded good but it’s not a brand I know – me, always been Panasonic, over 30 years now I’ve bought nothing ‘TV’ that wasn’t. Nothing has ever failed on me so brand loyal – maybe too much so this time.
Comment: Not Panasonic just Freeview Plus in general. Don’t think that by scrolling left you’ll get everything that was on TV yesterday or before – you’ll only get what is generally available form normal catch-up TV (BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub etc). Not everything is available, especially films; Film 4 is a non-starter. I assume it’s Copyright/royalty issues.Read full review...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: refurbished | Sold by: panasonic_outlet
Better than some others.
I had the earlier version of this beast and it was superb, this one has become rather complicated compared to the old one. Using the TV guide is very slow in responding and annoying to say the least, you have to wait for it to catch up. In general it is slower all round on the menu's. Like the old one the simplest thing like finding and setting up favorites can be a a pain. On the old one just by pressing the blue button on the controller in the guide panel you could switch between favorites lists on this one you have to do it outside the guide and only comes up for a very short period of time when you have done something else. There is no direct contact for them which is rather silly. Everything else is great, picture quality etc., The audio output seems to be a little on the low side so if you switch between HDMI and direct through you TV the audio has to be adjusted. Still think it is a good purchase even with its niggling problems although I would have thought Pansonic would have been aware of these things and sorted them.Read full review...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: idoodirect
Easy to Setup
Very easy to setup. Have been using the recorder for about 2 weeks and haven't had to read the instructions, yet!
Get too many warnings about consecutive recordings and can only have 32 items set to record. Nowhere near enough if I'm going to be away for a fortnight.
Recordings are compacted so when you delete an hour programme you only get back about 12 mins of available time but will really struggle to fill the 1TB HDD.
Don't seem to be able to watch a recording at the same time as you go through the guide but you can jump to any time in the guide quite easily.
Overall am reasonably happy but will probably go back to previous make when this recorder dies.Read full review...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: FI6jILuyRya@Del...
OK for price
Small light weight unit, no clock on front display, records well, good picture, poor sound you will have to turn up tv volume, the EPG is poor not thought out very well, the EPG on my old Panasonic was much better, smooth and clear to run through it, also had jump to next day, this model doesn't have that feature. FreeView catch up is ok.
In all a good machine let down on sound and the very poor EPG.Read full review...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: refurbished | Sold by: panasonic_outlet
Reliable product
Nice product but could do with a few refinements. Will record 2 programmes but that stops you watching another channel. Doesn't seem to allow you to see scheduled recordings which is annoying if you decide to cancel; also can't cancel a timed recording once it has started. Good points are fast responses to remote actions and able to shut down using just the one remote. Access to players are quick as well.Read full review...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: currys
Easy to use, but with lots of options
Good quality imaging. Fairly fast operation overall. Lots of options available, if you want to use them.
Easy to use remote, including TV controls.
Android app works well, but a bit slow to connect. The app won't let you you watch content from outside your home if you live in the UK and Ireland (to comply with the law).Read full review...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: panasonic_outlet
Lots of features, not sure about the value
So far so good, very annoyingly though the remote seems to operate on the same frequency as my Panasonic blue ray , meaning each time I switch on they both come on......Panasonic if you are reading this please let me know how to overcome.
ThanksRead full review...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: refurbished | Sold by: panasonic_outlet
Great Panasonic quality
There may be better freeview recorders out there, but if you already have other Panasonic kit, the Viera link compatibility makes this a worthwhile purchase. Recording is simple, smart features easy to access, and picture quality is what you would expect from Panasonic. The program guide is a little on the slow and clunky side, but this is just a minor niggle.Read full review...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: refurbished | Sold by: panasonic_outlet
Panasonic DMR-HWT250EB Smart 1TB HDD Recorder with Freeview Play
It was easy to connect and mostly does what we want.
Don,t like the size of print in the manual, small print and old eyes.
We have found no way to fast forward through recorded adverts other than skip forward a minute at a time.
Other than that WE ARE WELL PLEASED with it and we can ditch our second Virgin box.Read full review...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: refurbished | Sold by: panasonic_outlet