I have seen the new panny on the official web site but so far apart from the official site I can not find out anything more about it.

Any one got any ideas when this will be released in the UK and also what the price might be for the 160 gb version?

It looks very good, but if we cant get it for a while I dont know if I can wait. Also, would really like to see some reviews first so if anyone knows of any that would be of great help.

Anyone interested in having a look at it can do so at: http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/d...operation.html

Many thanks all,

Tony H

"DMR-EX75 and DMR-EX85 DVD/hard drive recorders, set at £399 and £499 and with 160GB and 250GB hard drives respectively", they seem to be aiming for a June release.

Schnauzer Bites, thanks for the info.

Where did you hear about a June release from if you dont mind me asking?

If it is on for June I may just wait, it is not that far away and I have been waiting for so long now, long story but was going to get the Sony HXD 710 from Amazon, had it on order since 10/1 and they have just told me they have cancelled my order after all that time as they cant source it!

So I thought sodd Sony, I'll get a Panny. Its about the same price as the 710 was online, so if this it the retail price could be even cheaper online. Guess we will have to wait and see, but June sounds great to me.

Thankfully recently upgraded Sky+ HDD so lots of space so can wait if I need to.

Any more info on this much appreciated.

Cheers,

Tony

I need to get one of these things soon. I notice that Amazon has the Sony RDR-HX910 delivered for £459 at the moment and I'm very tempted, but the rest of my kit is Panasonic (except for the Sony Freeview box).
What would all you experts recommend? Should I wait for the Panasonic DMR-EX85 or get the Sony now? If the Panny is going to be any later than June then I'm going for the Sony now, but if they were both available and roughly the same price which is the better box?

Muffy

I want one ........
Specifications look excellent .....

Roll on June ....

Wonder if it will have a RF output so I can pump it around the house? It is the reason why I never bought the top dog Sony

The full manual is on the Pansonic site. I think AV-land have the 250 HD version advertised at £434 and expected in June.

I went into a local Panny supplier about 3 days ago and was told its due out in June.

Anyone got any more info on this? I am prepared to wait for this but may reconsider if it is going to be constantly delayed like so many products are.

Anyone at Panasonic who has insider info would love to hear from you!

I must say it looks a great product and at £439 for a 250gb version I think this is a great buy. Has anyone got any information about AV Land? Good or bad?

Many thanks,

Tony H

I would expect they would want to get it out before the freeview sony HXD725 in August/September. It does have slightly more features than the sony and a bigger HDD. Otherwise not much difference: some have commented sonys have a better build quality and reliability but, again, I wouldn't think there's much in it.

I can't find much about AV-Land: can't find a phone number on the site either - which doesn't inspire confidence.

Hello,I dont know if it's important or not but the Sony 910 recorder on Amazon has no freeview built in.It says so on the listing but thought someone may have missed it.If anyone knows is this exactly the same as the 910 but without freeview and if so is it an official Sony product?. .

I noticed that too Volvofan.

I really wonder what is going on at Sony. First nothing but hassle trying to supply the HXD 710, now both these models on Amazon state without the Freeview tuner. I think its old early stock that came out before the Freeview digital model that they are trying to shift. I would not bother with it with so many new models on the way from various manufacturers.

Maybe the new cheaper Sony is worth a look, but with such excellent features on this new Panny I dont think I will wait once its out.

Interested to read what Brianjh said about the build quality etc. I always thought that they were very much on a par. Anyone else think the same? Also Brian, AVLand does show the telephone number on their web site: http://www.avland.co.uk/contact.htm

I suppose no matter what you end up buying we will always say this or that could be better, why dont they ever come on these sites and simply ask what we want? I did think the fact one tuner was analogue was a bit disappointing, but then many still need it. It wont be switched off where I live until 2012 so at least I will get some use out of it by which time the machine will probably need replacing!

I have written to some other suppliers and they have said they also have the new Panny on back order, so as soon as it comes out I think we will see more suppliers appearing on the searches and in places like Pricerunner etc.

Anyway, any more info much appreciated.

Tony H

I'm surprised that AVLand can advertise it as Multi-region before it's even come out. Don't they have to find a way to hack the chip first? I thought the big manufacturers don't allow the "soft" disabling of the region locking any more.

Muffy

Yes, you are quite right about the phone number being there. I missed it - too late at night! Sorry AV-Land!

The Sony HX*** models have an analogue tuner: the HXD*** models have a digital freeview tuner. The HX510 and HX710 seem to have been withdrawn, but the HXD710 is still available at arround £400. The new HX525 and HX725 are now available at arround £250 and £290. The HXD725 is due later in the summer. There doesn't appear to be much difference between the old series and the new: intelligent chaptering seems to have been dropped, the remote has been redesigned a bit, the scart sockets placed one above the other, and I guess some revisions to the software. I haven't seen any UK reviews of the new models as yet. New models from Tosiba and Pioneer are also due soon. As I have sky+ I'm not bothered about having a freeview tuner or not, my main concern is picture quality and here Sony and Pansonic appear to have the edge. I was hoping to get a HDD recorder without any tuner, but there don't seem to be any.

I'm lookign at the Panasonic DMR-EX75 as its got both things I need, hard drvie and divx however the spec on the panasonic website states that divx is not available on the EX75/85 in the uk. I rang Panasonic UK office and they said they dont do one so why available in Europe? Does anyone know if its being sold on the net with divx? I've seen that Pioneer do one with divx DVR-440HX. Any help would be appreciated

What is divx

All you need to know about DivX can be found here

http://www.divx.com/divx/whatisdivx.php

Does anyone know for certain if these new models can dub a widescreen recording from the hard disc to DVD +R and DVD-R discs?

I know that the Sony range can't do DVD+R, they get letterboxed, and wondered if the Panasonic units suffered the same way?

As I started this post I just thought I would let everyone know that this model has definately now been released.

I am going later today to pick up one from a local Panny retailer!

I will let everyone know what I think of it in due course, but what with the World Cup coming up it could be a few weeks before I get the time!

Cheers to all!

TonyH

According to this thread http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=354222 they have been withdrawn due to a fault.

I was browsing in Currys today, of all places, and came across a big stack of them! There was no price, so I asked one of the staff (yes, it did take a while to find one) and he chaecked. £499. I left it and still await my back-order from AV-Land. For multi-region and £65 cheaper I can wait a couple of weeks, although I was tempted for a few microseconds. Having one actually in my hands must have sent a spike through the rational part of my brain.


I phoned AV-Land and they say they know nothing about this, nor did Currys (although I doubt the Currys guy knew a Matsui from a Panasonic).

Muffy

yes, I noticed Currys are also advertising the ex75 at £399, in their larger stores

And they are on the shelves at my (quite small) local Curry's - although they said that no Curry's stocked the ex85 at present!

Damn! All the suppliers are still saying 2 weeks (early July). What's going on here? I have an order at AV-Land and they say that even Panny won't have more stock for 2 weeks. I get the same story from other internet vendors, yet there is still a pile of them at Currys for £499.

Muffy

Update: Just cancelled AV-Land order and gout it at £439 + £3.99 delivery from electrical Discout UK
Unfortunately not multi-region though. Does anyone know the Panasonic unlock codes for region free?

Muffy

Update
Just cancelled AV-Land order and gout it at £439 + £3.99 delivery from Electrical Discout UK
They have 1 left now.

Unfortunately not multi-region though. Does anyone know the Panasonic unlock codes for region free?

Muffy