0304WHC49 Panny/Thompson group

24/2/03

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Thomson DTH7000

homsons DTH7000 raised a few eyebrows when it first arrived at What Home Cinema towers. At first, we assumed it was a HDD and DVD recorder, like the Panasonic also featured on this page. And its fair to say we were a little disappointed when we realised it only boasted DVD playback. However, on reflection, its a very clever idea. If youre the sort of person who uses VHS video merely as a time-shift function in order to watch programmes at a later date rather than storing onto DVD or videotape or if you want to build a home cinema around a separate, dedicated DVD player, this could be exactly what youre looking for. With its 40GB hard disk, you can record up to 60 hours of programming, although to squeeze this much out of the Thomson results in poor pictures. The other two recording modes (30 and 45 hours) provide near-perfect picture reproduction. Built-in is a 99-channel Nicam tuner, which, as with the Panasonic, is analogue-only. To get the best out of recordings, youll want to hook this baby up to Sky, cable or Freeview terrestrial digital broadcasts.

Now and then

Simultaneous recording and playback allows you to pause and rewind live TV as with every system in this group test, bar the Pace. Connections include RGB Scarts, for the best pictures, analogue stereo, and S-video terminals. Thomsons event timer only allows for eight programmes, a real shame when you consider just how much recording capacity this machine offers. And although PDC is included, as with the Panasonic, it lacks VideoPlus. Instead, Thomson has included its own Naviclick timer programming system. The DTH7000 is a decent enough DVD player not the last word in picture quality, but on a par with most 200 players. Overall, the Thomson is a clever option for those who arent bothered about archiving TV programmes, and who want a separate DVD player. Well worth considering if it fits the digital bill for you.

Ratings

Recording Playback Sound Features Ease of use Value Overall

Further Info

Call 920 or visit www.thomson-europe.com

Panasonic DMR-HS2

anasonics super-unit is the first to combine hard-drive recording with recordable DVD. Combining arguably the best of both worlds, it is a truly desirable slice of home entertainment kit. If youre considering buying a DVD recorder, we seriously suggest you consider this combi-option before shelling out your hard-earned greenbacks. A substantial 40GB hard disk allows you to record up to 20 hours of programmes, of reasonable quality, directly from the units built-in TV tuner. You can then edit the footage down to your favourite shows, minus the adverts if you prefer, to be stored on a blank DVD-RAM disc. The HDD portion of the machine can be programmed to record TV in a similar way to a VHS VCR, with its PDC timer facility. But unlike with a regular video recorder, you can nip back to watch the beginning of a programme while the DMR-HS2 is still recording neat, eh? Panasonic has christened this facility Time Slip, and it can also be used to pause live TV.

Getting acquainted

It does take a while to get familiarised with the DMR-HS2s operating system, despite Panasonics brave efforts to make things simple. Two buttons, labelled HDD and DVD, separate
the functions for each portion of the DMR-HS2, while a helpful set of onscreen menu pages make the process of editing, setting the timer and choosing preferences relatively painless. Relatively being the operative word. There is little to choose between the image quality of DVD or HDD, with both making near-perfect copies of the original broadcasts. The built-in tuner is only analogue, though, so we recommend hooking up the Panasonic to a digital source, such as Sky digital or Freeview. Whichever recording option you decide to use day-to-day, you wont be disappointed, and will never want to watch VHS recordings again thats a promise! Of course, this deck also plays pre-recorded DVD-Videos, and would also make a superb hub for a home cinema system. All you would need to do is connect it to a DVD upgrade setup, like the Klegg M6 501R on p100 of this issue, or build a dedicated separates system around it. Overall, this system makes a mockery of recordable DVD-only machines. It fuses the ease and flexibility of HDD with the storage wizardry of DVD-RAM. If you are set upon buying a DVD recorder, this combi must be considered.

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Call or visit www.panasonic.co.uk
What Home Cinema April 2003
Group Test: Hard-disk Recorders
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0308WHC25 Panny DMR-HS2 DVDR

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In association with for DVD discs
Panasonic DMR-HS2 DVD-RAM DVD-R recorder 800

Test Scenes

Futurama
anasonic revolutionised the world of DVD recording with the DMR-HS2, the first machine to fuse a hard disk drive and DVD recorder. Such was its success that, a year after its launch, Panasonic is still selling them by the bucketful. Of course, the price has dropped since then. A recent web search revealed that you can buy this phenomenal machine for as little as 650! (The average price is around 800). But why is the HS2 so special? For starters, the 40GB hard disk lets you store anywhere between nine and 52 hours of material. And in terms of removable media, it uses DVD-RAM discs, a far more flexible format than DVD+RW or DVD-RW. It also puts Panasonics Timeslip feature at your disposal, which allow you to simultaneously record one programme and playback another on the same disc, or watch the start of a programme youre still recording. Moreover, because DVD-RAM discs are expensive and incompatible with the vast majority of normal DVD players, the HS2 also records onto DVD-R, the cheaper and more widely available media. With all that good stuff inside, what is the DMR-HS2 like to look at? Damn snazzy, actually. The mirrored fascia panel is a particularly attractive touch, and there are plenty of knobs and dials to keep you occupied.
(lowest quality) and FR. In the lower quality modes LP and EP picture quality is reduced, but the recording time is increased. FR mode, meanwhile, is able to calculate how much space is left and automatically ensures that you get the best quality recording.

Heroic colours

When using an RGB-capable digibox and XP mode, Zapp Brannigans red tunic looks rich and solid, with no nasty digital artefacts

Nifty navigation

All your recordings are grouped into Disc Navigator, where they can be renamed or deleted. When dubbing from hard disk to DVD-RAM or DVD-R, there is a high-speed copy option to save time. If you want to edit together parts of hard disk recordings before dubbing, the Playlist function lets you do so. Other features include a 32-event, one month timer and tons of DVD trickplay modes. In XP mode (offering one hour per 4.7GB disc) from an RGB source, picture quality is stupendous. Its incredibly well defined, solid as a rock and bursting with vibrant colours. If you switch to SP, theres a slight increase in digital noise, but the amount is insignificant. All you need to know is that its head and shoulders above VHS and S-VHS quality. Move to LP and EP and pictures are still hugely enjoyable. Theyre rougher round the edges, but for the extra recording time its worth the sacrifice. Sound is recorded in two-channel Dolby Digital, and sounds fantastic. There is a wonderfully dynamic quality to even the most basic TV soundtracks, and the Panny is also able to knock out raucous movie recordings with aplomb. As a DVD player its faultless, both in terms of picture and sound. What a bonus! The DMR-HS2 is digital recording The Next Generation. Not only does it give you a 40GB hard disk to play with, but it can also archive recordings on DVD-RAM and DVD-R. Whats more, the number of features inside this space-age sizzler is incredible, and performance is second to none. If you want to be able to record onto a hard disk and have a superb archive-tastic DVD recorder, this is for you. Other brands are following suit (see p74), but for now this is the ultimate machine. Further Info

Call Panasonic or visit www.panasonic.co.uk

Shrek Silence is golden

The kaleidoscopic colour scheme of this family favourite is vividly reproduced, with forceful detail and no digital noise

Good Points

Hard disk and DVD recording in the same box need we say more? The shedload of features and exemplary recording quality are the icing on the cake

All the right moves

Theres also a card reader on the front panel, which means that you can view JPEG images taken with a digital camera on your TV. Beneath this is a panel of inputs including S-video, composite and stereo audio inputs, plus i.Link connection for easy dubbing of camcorder footage to hard disk or DVD. The rear sports two Scart sockets (RGB-capable) for top-notch pictures via a suitably-equipped television, and plenty more sockets besides. Setup is painless and, once installed, the menu system is incredibly easy to follow considering that this is such a complex machine. When recording, there are five settings for you to choose from XP (the best quality) SP, LP, EP

Bad Points

No MP3 playback

Overall

The DMR-HS2 is the future of digital recording and we love it to bits

Ratings

Style Ease of use Features Picture Sound Value Overall

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68 What Home Cinema August 2003