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Panasonic MW-20 adds a new twist to the photo frame – music!

Ian McGurren — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:18:26 +0000

Are you one of those people who has a bedroom full of tech bits and bobs like digital photo frames, a Hi Fi, iPod docks, a clock radio? Well how about if you could roll them all up into one (reasonably) handy device? Panasonic may have the answer to your prayers with the new Panasonic MW-20.

The MW-20 is the follow up to the MW-10 (clever!) multimedia audio system photo frame – that’s Panasonic’s tag line, not mine – and offers a souped up take on its older brother at the expense of the CD player.

What is a multimedia audio system photo frame?

Looking less like a tiny TV and now more like a very sleek photo frame, the MW-20 plays photos from its 2GB internal memory, an SD card and any attached iPod/iPhone device.

Panasonic claims the MW-20 supports video playback, but annoyingly doesn’t elaborate on what formats it accepts.

The MW-20 will also play music from your iDevice through the frames built-in 5.6″ speaker, although there doesn’t appear to be any stereo out so you’ll have to appreciate the unit’s inbuilt DSP to make the most of the sound.

It’s a sleek setup, executed with the usual Panasonic panache, and although there are similar devices like the Elonex Cube 3 and Sony’s ICF-CL75iP, the MW-20 is certainly worth casting your ears and eyes over this Chrismas.

It’s slated for $249 in late November with a UK release date to be announced.

[Source: Slashgear]

Panasonic adds pearlescent buff to its Viera D28 HDTVs

Ian McGurren — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 00:08:10 +0000

Ever open to new ideas, Panasonic’s new Viera Pure line aims for maybe a slightly different demographic to the usual AV buffs. The LCD TVs are to be made available in a selection of different coloured frames from the industry standard black, including purple, silver and ice white. Panasonic have also added a pearlescent buff to each, claiming that they will take on different colours in different lit rooms.

While this may appeal to interior designers and not TV experts, the screens still pack an excellent LED lit IPS panel for those deep blacks and wide viewing angles. The excellent Viera Link network technology for all that internet interactivity with YouTube and more is included with the 32″ and 37″ models but don’t feel bad for the 22″ and 19″ models, as instead of Viera Cast, they boast iPod docks.

The 19″ and 22″ also have Freeview, with the 32″ and 37″ models coming equipped with Freeview HD and Freesat HD.

While these TVs are evolutionary rather than revolutionary, being able to get a TV for the bedroom or lounge that goes with your decor has until now been difficult – however now you can, and what’s more is that it’s from an excellent brand.

Panasonic DMP-B500 portable Blu-ray player lets you tweet from your remote

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:04:34 +0000

Panasonic were showing off their new DMP-B500 and DMP-B100 portable Blu-Ray players at CES 2010, both of which feature high resolution screens (10.1″ and 8.9″ respectively) and Panasonic’s new VIERA CAST technology, which it uses across a variety of Blu-Ray players, home theatre systems and HDTVs.

VIERA CAST (apparently the capitals are important!), will give access to a full range of social media apps, which you can watch on the high resolution screen that the new portable Blu-ray players offer.

Seems everyone is stuffing social media apps onto their gadgets theses days, but it’s how easy they are to use that will make or break them. Seeing your tweets on a portable Blu-ray player is one thing, but how easy can it be to write your own tweets from a remote control?!

For its part, VIERA CAST now supports

Netflix
Pandora
Twitter
YouTube
Picasa

as well as Fox Sports, Bloomberg news, and Amazon Video on demand. That’s quite a range, so even if text entry is tricky, you’ve at least got easy access to videos and music.

Both portable Blu-ray players feature tonnes of connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, an SD Memory card Slot (which can also play back JPEG images and High Definition video), a USB port, Dolby Digital and DTS HD, and VIERA Link, which uses HDMI to control all VIERA Link combatable products with one remote.

[Source: Engadget]

Panasonic TX32LZD80 price drop reflects shift in HDTV market

Mike Evans — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:25:17 +0000

If you wanted proof that the price of HDTVs is dropping like a stone, look no further than the Panasonic TX32LZD80. Part of the Panasonic LZD80 series, the TX32 is, as it’s obscure name suggests, a 32″ LCD TV with full HD 1080p, integrated freeview receiver, 3 HDMI inputs, and, most impressively, a PC input that lets you plug your laptop or PC directly into it.

What makes the TX32LZD80 so good though is its current price: just

Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-Ray DVD review

Mike Evans — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:46:21 +0000

The Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-Ray player that I’m reviewing here has the perfect combination that you want from a gadget – fantastic features combined with huge discounts despite the fact it was only released back in October 2008! So you get a fantastic, award-winning gadget at a fantastic price – bonus!

Of course, it’s only really a bargain if it’s actually any good, so I thought I’d find out to see what you get for your money these days for a decent Blu-Ray DVD player.

Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-Ray DVD player overview

The first thing that hits you about the DMP-BD35 is the name – I mean, could Panasonic throw any more letters and numbers at it? It’s a source of constant annoyance to me that consumer electronic manufacturers give their products such appalling names. I know it’s because most of these gizmos are simply commodities that have a half-life of 6 months before something better is released, and so it’s not worth spending the money on branding them.

But still, you’d think if they were going to give it a name, even if it’s only a codename, they could make it short!

Clearly not, though, so we’re stuck with the appallingly long DMP-BD35, which isn’t just annoying to read, it’s annoying to type as well!

OK, rant over. Name aside, the DMP-BD35 is just like most Blu-Ray players from the outside – sleek and black with a few minimalist features letting you know whether the thing’s alive or not, and a hugely ugly remote control. It’s the inside of this beast where all the goodness lies.

Panasonic DMP-BD35 features

The DMP-BD35 comes with the following array of features:

VIERA Link
SD Memory Card Slot
HD Audio Decoding and HDMI Out
Progressive Scan
1080/24p Playback
Playback: BD-ROM, BD-R (Blu-Ray Disc Recordable), BD-RE (Blu-Ray Disc Re-Recordable), DVD+R/RW (Re-Recordable), DVD-RW (Re-Recordable), DVD-R (Recordable), DVD RAM (Re-Recordable), MP3 (MPEG-3), CD-R (Recordable), CD-RW (Re-Recordable), JPEG (JPEG/Image CD), DivX