Panasonic Unleashes the World’s Smallest Blu-ray Recorder/HDD DVR Combo

Just a few years ago Blu-ray players were the kind of devices that everyone of us gadget geeks wanted and only a few could actually afford, but things have changed dramatically by now and manufacturers have started pairing Blu-ray players with all sort of other devices in order to differentiate themselves from the crowd, Panasonic just launching what it touts as being the world's smallest Blu-ray Recorder/HDD DVR combo.

Available for now just in the land of the rising sun (as it seems to be the case with every other cool device available out there), this new Blu-ray.DVR combo measures just 210x194x65mm and weight somewhere around 2.2kg.

But don't let yourself be fooled even for a second by its compact size, since Panasonic did add all the bells and whistles that usually come with such a solution, the Japanese manufacturer somehow managing to cram in there a BD-R and BD-RE disc burner together with a 320GB hard-drive, so users can record their favorite TV shows.

Since Panasonic's unit stores recorded video in the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format, the company states the built-in HDD can store up to 290 hours of Full HD content, so this will most definitely be enough even for the most heavy users out there.

Streaming support is also included thanks to a Ethernet connection that is placed on the unit's rear side, allowing users to watch YouTube videos, although support for other video or audio streaming services is missing for now.

Other connectivity options include a HDMI port and a SD card slot enabling users to easily access the footage recorded with their camcorder or share snapshots with loved ones.

As I stated earlier, the DMR-BF200 will be released only in Japan for now, the unit coming in at about $860 US, so this won't be a cheap alternative to regular Blu-ray/DVR by any means, although Japanese “Club Panasonic” members can get a special skin in order to personalize the DVR’s body that should sweeten the deal just a bit. (via CrunchGear)