Panasonic Ships Its First Combination DVD Recorder/Hard Disk Recorder
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Reprinted from a Panasonic press release:
Panasonic has begun shipping its new DMR-HS2 DVD recorder to U.S. retailers and has announced a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) $999.95. The new model is Panasonic’s first DVD-RAM and DVD-R(1) recorder coupled with a built-in hard drive, providing great flexibility and compatibility. The DMR-HS2 allows the consumer to enjoy such unique features as Time Slip(tm), Chasing Playback and the ease of recording images from a digital video camera via a DV input, as well as a PC card slot for use with memory cards.
The DMR-HS2 can record a maximum of 52 hours (in the EP mode) of video on its 40 GB hard disk drive, 12 hours on a 9.4GB double-sided DVD-RAM disc, and 6 hours on a DVD-R disc.
With the Panasonic DMR-HS2 DVD recorder, consumers can watch what they want, when they want. Panasonic’s Time Slip and Chasing Playback features allows users to watch a show in progress that’s being recorded, right from the beginning, while the show continues to record to the end. The unit can also be programmed to automatically record their favorite television shows every day or every week onto the hard disk.
In addition to recording new video content, the DMR-HS2 provides a new medium for transferring VHS tape recordings to space-saving DVD-RAM or DVD-R(1) disks or the internal hard drive.
DVD-RAM offers high storage capacity on removable media, high-speed data transmission, exceptional picture and sound quality, fast, random access memory and rewritability up to 100,000 times. The versatile DMR-HS2 also allows users to record onto highly compatible DVD-R disks, allowing them to share video recordings with virtually anyone with a DVD player.
In addition, a built-in standard PC card slot(2) enables users to download and save digital images(3) from an SD Memory Card, MultiMedia Card, Compact Flash, Smart Media and other flash memory cards.
For the ultimate home theater experience, the DMR-HS2 features progressive scan, delivering optimum picture quality when viewing a DVD movie.
The DVD video recording technology used in this new unit complies with the DVD recording formats standardized by the DVD Forum.
Panasonic DVD products are marketed in the United States by Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. The company is a division of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Japan, one of the world’s largest producers of innovative electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use. Media can access press releases via the Panasonic Pressroom web site, www.panasonic.com/pressroom, or through our toll-free fax-back system at 888-734-7490.
All prices are in U.S. dollars.
1 DVD-R media is recognized as being widely compatible with most existing DVD video players and DVD-ROM drives.
2 The appropriate PC card adapter is required to use a memory card. The DMR-HS2 is compatible with the SD Memory Card, MultiMedia Card, Compact Flash, Smart Media and other flash memory cards.
3 The DMR-HS2 is compatible with JPEG still images that confirm to the DCF standard.
This unit offers 5 selectable recording modes: XP/SP/LP/EP/FR
Specifications subject to change without notice.