Samsung BD-D8500 or Panasonic DMR BWT-700 blueray HDD’s which one?

[cee1]

I am considering the purchasing one of the above blue ray HDD’s for the digital changeover. I have used Panasonic in the past and like their kit however at the similar price point the Samsung looks a no brainer.
500GB against 320GB on the Panasonic. I have read that the Panasonic is not very easy to use without the manual (a big issue when the wife wants to record Corrie!) Built in wifi on the Samsung, you have to pay extra for the Panasonic dongle! I suspect though that in the future streaming films etc will be better with ethernet connection. The Samsung can’t record to blue ray disc and from what I’ve read doesn’t allow you to do much else whilst you are recording. Recording to BD disc is not a big problem for me but I really want to buy once and not have to upgrade too soon in the future.
Does anybody have any info or recommendations regarding the 2 players - and especially using Viera cast and the Samsung smart tv hub and blueray playback?

Thanks in advance

 

[f1only]

Hi cee1

The Samsung at around £329 may look a no brainer, i would advise you take a look at some customer reviews on Amazon & this on What HiFi's own website here clicky. Recording & watching two different programmes may be a problem. This may still be the machine for you even with the its possible drawbacks & comes with 6 free films from Superfi, but the price is £399 from them.

The Panasonic £419 to me would be the no brainer ( I have a panasonic HDD DVD Recorder, love it once i got my head round how to use it properly ), it has 2 HD tuners, you can record two channels on to the HDD at the same time & watch something you have already recorded, you can record on to vurtually all types of dvd including bluray, except double sided ram discs & comes with 4 3D movies that you have to apply for. The only drawback is the editing functions on it are a little limited by all accounts.

At the end of the day it all depends on what features you want & are likely to use.

Regards .. Paul

 

[cee1]

Paul,
thanks for the feedback, I also have a pansonic DVD HDD recorder and I am still really impressed with the playback and its ease of use. Also the price of the panasonic is also coming down -thanks for the link. I think it'll be the Panasonic with the extra features etc.

Cheers

cee1