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Review: DMR-PWT520 blu-ray disc player & hard drive recorder

December 20, 2012
Awards & Reviews, Blu-Ray / DVD Players & Recorders

Sometimes you might not be able to catch television when it is being broadcast due to the demands of busy life or those unexpected interruptions crop up which may cause you to miss a crucial plot twist. Of course, we had a solution for that in past decades in the form of timed recordings on the VCR but there are more modern and efficient solutions such as the DMR-PWT520 Blu-ray disc player and hard drive recorder.

It’s never been easier or more convenient to record your favourite content for later viewing – something called “time shifting”. If you’re new to the concept of time shifting and never fancied yourself as much of a VCR expert then you might want to check out what a hard drive recorder can do for you in terms of simplifying content consumption.

Firstly, the PWT520 packs in a sizeable 500GB hard drive which will be plenty of space particularly for those starting out with their first recorder. You’ve also got the option to archive shows out to an external USB hard drive if you do find yourself running out of space or you want to preserve space in the recorder. One approach you might employ is to use internal storage for content that you will watch once and delete while your classic movies and TV shows can be stored on an external drive. However, it’s worth noting in this model in that you can only view recorded content transferred to an external hard drive via the recorder itself and not on other devices such as computers. Also, If you’re after the ability to archive to DVD or Blu-ray discs then you might want to check out the BWT720 or BWT820 Blu-ray recorders.

Another major feature of the PWT520 for newcomers to the hard drive recorder scene is its twin television tuners capable of Full HD recording. If you’ve faced the conundrum of choosing between two or even three overlapping shows to watch then this will be the solution to your problem. Being able to record two channels simultaneously through the recorder while watching a third channel directly through the television should help you navigate smoothly through most clashes in television programming with a few button presses of the remote. The seven day electronic program guide (EPG) will also help you make decisions as to what to watch and record in advance – a convenient way to line up your favourite shows for recording.

One thing that I have come to love about the PWT520 is being able to improve the efficiency of content viewing. By watching content shortly after it has been recorded you can make very light work of not just the advertisements but a lot of the filler in some television shows that aren’t essential to your viewing experience. Essentially, you can cover more content in the same amount of time. You’ve also got the ability to pause and rewind live television as well when viewing via the PWT520 – ideal when you get those unexpected phone calls or visitors at the front door.

Of course, the PWT520 features a Blu-ray drive capable of playing CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs which is a plus if you’re looking to consolidating devices in your home theatre setup while teaming up nicely with a 3D capable television when playing 3D Blu-ray discs. The built in Wi-Fi means that you have access to online content such as Yahoo!7, ABC iView and YouTube just to name a few in addition to content that may exist on your home network. Most bases should be well covered as the BWT520 supports a bevy of media formats including AVCHD, MKV, MP4, MPEG-2 and DivX for videos stored on a USB hard drive with a subset available over network connections.

In terms of aesthetics, the BWT520 follows Panasonic’s current design styling for its audio visual products which should blend in easily with most home theatres. Despite being quite a solid unit this recorder is refined and understated in its appearance such that it doesn’t draw undue attention to itself.

So if you’re looking to jump into the world of hard disk recorders then the PWT520 should be well worth of your consideration given its vast content capabilities.

Words: Panasonic Insider, Boyd Chan.

            

222 CommentsLeave a comment

  • DMR-BWT 820
    Why am I getting a white flash on my screen since connecting this. Also a couple of my tv stations are now blurry.

  • I have this model. My only concerns is when I turn off the recorder it takes an awfully long time to shut down. Across the little screen it scrolls saying Please Wait.. over and over again till finally it shuts down. I am talking about more than 15 minutes. Any solution to this?

    Thank you.

  • “it’s worth noting in this model in that you can only view recorded content transferred to an external hard drive via the recorder itself and not on other devices such as computers.”

    Without buying a model that burns to actual blu-ray or dvd discs, do any panasonic units have the capability to export onto an external HD in a format that can be played on computers? Thanks

  • Hi Zac, Simple answer is No. Unfortunately none of our recorders permit recorded content to be viewed on a computer. This is also the case for many other name brands for content protection. Thanks!

  • There is reference in the manual to a list of compatible external USB HDDs. I can’t find that list on the Panasonic site. Can you point me to it please?
    Nick

  • Hi Nick, we have checked the link on the website is OK. A list of compatible USB HDD’s is not mentioned because:
    1] Mfgs constantly change model numbers due to very short product life cycles
    2] In our experience, most name brands (ie, Seagate, WD, Toshiba, Buffalo etc) work without problems
    Thanks.

  • Hi, it appears that the only features lost on this unit from the BWT720 are the ability to record to BluRay discs and the smartphone remote app, would this be correct?

    Also, does the DLNA mean I will be able to stream recorded content from this device to another compatible smart TV over my Wifi?

    Your feedback is appreciated, KiZ

  • Hi Kiz, please call our help desk on 132600, they can help with your questions. Thanks

  • HI Brian, hard for us to explain over email and social media. Please call our help desk on 132600 and they will be able to answer in more detail. Thanks!

  • Need help please with my Panasonic DMR-HW220 hard drive recorder?, I am trying to transfer shows I have recordered off the tv onto a usb external hard drive and then play them on my MacBook air lap tap. Problem the lap top doesn’t recognize the format the DMR records in? Is there anyway around this? I have spoke to Apple support, they suggested I down load a universal media player which I did (VLC) now just need to know how to change formats on how its recorded I presume? The external hard drive I am using is a WD elements and when it has the recorded movie from the Panosonic recorder on it , it wont recognize it. Though when I delete the movie it will then enable it to format the empty external hard drive to my lap top, so I presume its not the external hard drive its just the format of the HD high definintion that’s the issue? I was also advised not go down the track of buying a windows package for my MacBook air laptop, because the will create further problems. So to some it up does anyone know how to do this and is it actually possible?, thanks for your help in advance all help very much appreicated, regards Gez

  • Hi Gez, HDD recorded content is copy protected and unfortunately cannot be transferred to USB external drive. Thanks

  • How do I copy from the hard drive to a usb key? I go to the copy function and the source drive is listed as the DVD and there is no option provided via the menu to change it.
    I am not presented with the options as described in the manual. Its a PWT500.
    Any help is appreciated

  • When recording two channels at the same time how do you watch a third channel on the TV?

  • Hi Keith, you can only record two channels and watch a third If the third channel is on the same multiplex as the two recorded channels.
    Example: When recording ABC1 and SBS1 you can only watch another service on ABC (ABC2/3 News24) or SBS (SBS2/SBSHD). You cannot watch channels on 7, 9 or 10 as they are on a different multiplex. Hope this helps. Thanks

  • Hi, I’m unable to set up the WiFi connection on this device. It sees my router with a strong signal but it just times out when I try to connect. I have added the device MAC address to the list of allowed devices. Any ideas?

  • Hi Helen,
    DMR WiFi connection is an automated process… we assume WiFi is in a domestic environment.
    In the first instance we suggest you reset the router and DMR and try again.
    If this fails, try a temporary wired connection or alternatively try a friend or relative’s WiFi connection.
    Thanks

  • Thanks for your response. I did all you suggested. I can connect to my phone when it’s enabled as a hotspot, but cannot connect to the router. I’ve opened all ports on the router.

  • Hi Helen, if none of our suggestions worked, we suggest you take your unit to a service centre for inspection. It is hard to advise over email/social media. Thanks.

  • Please could you tell me how I can use the hard drive I bought for the bluray recorder on my pc, I have registered it with the Panasonic recorder and I do not want to use it on the recorder anymore as I need the hard drive for my pc.

    Thanks,

  • Hi Tony,
    The external HDD needs to be re-formatted by the PC using the HDD vendors format utility. This format program is normally available via the vendors website. Alternatively you can use the HDD format function that resides within the PC’s operating system. Hope this helps.
    Thanks!

  • Hello
    I have a Dmr bwt 720
    When I record on to hdd. And switch the tv off it switches the recorder off and stops recording. How do I still record

  • Hi Shane, try turning off Viera Link or perform DMR BWT 720 shipping condition reset. If that does not resolve the issue, please call 132 600 for assistance. Thanks

  • Hi Shane, please also check you are not using a a ‘smart’ power board that automatically switches off all ancillary devices. Thanks

  • I have formated my ext hdd and now it cannot be used or even viewed by the pc, how can I reformat it to use on my pc

  • Hi Conrad, please refer to page 62 in the operating instructions in relation to external HDD. If you use a USB HDD with this unit, the USB HDD must first be registered on this unit.
    • Registering of a USB HDD will format the USB HDD and all the content already recorded will be deleted.
    • Up to eight USB HDDs can be registered on this unit.
    Thanks!

  • I am trying to copy a show from HDD to a DVD-R. When I go into the Function Menu and then copy, the beginning destination only states BD and or SD card not HDD.

  • Hi there, I have a DMR-PWT520 and I was wondering about the timer recording. I’m going away for a 3 week period and there some shows I will want to record over this time. How do I set the timer recording extending past one week?

    Many thanks,
    Sonja

  • Hi Nat, we would recommend that the you need to change the drive before entering function menu and starting the copying process. Using the drive select button on your remote. So select HDD then enter copy. Please contact our customer service team on 132600 if we can be of further assistance.

  • Hi Sonja, yes this is possible, highlight the date tab and then using the corresponding colour button for day/weekly change the recording time to weekly. This will cause the machine to record the program selected weekly until cancelled.

  • Hi there,

    I have two questions.

    1: I have an external 1,5TB hard drive full of movies, photos, mp3’s, etc. and I would like to watch that on my TV through the Panasonic DMR-HW220 unit. Is that possible? When I connect the 1,5TB external HDD it says that I have to register USB and all will be deleted. So how do I watch my movies?

    2: I’m trying to connect home network (DNLA CLient) and it finds my HP laptop computer, after pressing ok button it says “Could not connect to the server. Please confirm Network connection and settings”. What should I do? I tried to set many wireless things, restart, etc. in my computer, but still doesn’t work.
    Thanks for letting me know.

    Alex

  • Hi Alex, in relation to the DMR-HW220, it will need to have to be formatted to the unit to be able to record on the hard drive. Only movies copied from DIVX or copied through the recorder will play.

    Secondly, shipping condition, reset router, and start the wireless setup from the beginning ensuring all information matches. Also through the settings in the HW220 ensure that the home network is turned on. Also best to confirm how many items you have connected to the router/ more than five can sometimes cause an issue with network connection. This may be something that you may want to contact our customer service team on 132600 and they can walk you through it on the phone.

  • I have just purchased a DMR-PWT530. I am trying to copy music onto the HD. I am using a DAT32 USB Key. When I first inserted it, the directory (folders) came up on the screen (all titles), but it would only let me copy those files that were in a sub directory, which I did do successfully. Thought I had to then play the game and put the others into a sub directory. I re inserted it and now it keeps saying no tracks. Any suggestions.

  • Hi Mark, we would suggest in the first instance you delete the material off your hard drive and attempt it again.

  • Hi Michael, Sorry to bear bad news but you cannot record to a USB memory stick. There is some availability for the playback of AVCHD files copied to a Correctly Formatted USB from a compatible item (Video Camera etc.) to do this you must first copy the files to the Blu-Ray’s HDD memory. Pages six and seven in the manual outline all the various playback and record options for different types of storage devices. Your best bet is going to be a USB HDD. Just remember to format your USB HDD to your PWT520 first!

  • Hi

    I have a DMR-PWT520 and, generally, am delighted with its performance.

    However, I have recently downloaded a public domain video file using Utorrent.

    The file is in MP4 format (at least, that is how it is described).

    I have transferred the file from the PC to a sandisk cruzer 32GB USB flash drive which I have inserted into the DMR-PWT520’s USB port. Using ‘Drive Select’ I then go into the ‘USB’ and ‘Play Video’ directories. However, the file does not show up at all in the ‘Play Video’ directory.

    The file has the title ‘Caesar_the_Conquerer_PSP’ and is described under ‘Properties’ as an MP4(.MP4)file. Interestingly, another Title File described as ‘Caesar_the_Conquerer_PSP.MP4’ does show up in the ‘Play Video’ directory.

    Grateful for yor advice on what to do to remedy this problem. This is the first movie that I’ve downloaded on the Net.

  • Have purchased a DMR – PWT520GL digital recorder. Taken it back to the retailer 3 times now. It has been sent away to be fixed so that the aspect ratio would fill the screen and because it keeps cutting out during DVDs as well as recordings on the tv and downloads from the Internet. Aspect was fixed however it still cuts in and out during viewing

  • Hi Glen, we are unable to comment on the actual file type downloaded via a Utorrent client. We suggest you contact the relevant company to confirm if this is a true MP4 file. Thanks

  • Hi Trevor, sorry to hear about the failure of your recorder. Please contact our customer service team on 132600 and they will assist you in this matter.

  • Hi I have the Panasonic DVD recorder DMR-XW300 and have a problem with copying my home videos which are presently stored on the Hard Drive on to DVD-R disks everything had been going well until suddenly the recorder has come up with the message “Cannot read please check the disc” the disks are the same that I have been using all along in fact it comes up with the same message even when I try to put in a commercial DVD movie any suggestions

  • Hi there, me again…

    I have just plugged in my registered Seagate hard drive to offload some programmes I’ve taped and my DMR-PWT520 is coming up with a message saying I need to register the hard drive. This has already been done as I’ve transferred a number of files onto it and watched them. When trying to plug it into my computer, the computer isn’t reading it, which tells me it is still definitely registered and it also says that I do have one registered external hard drive when it’s prompting me to register this one (which is the only one I have registered). If I re-register it, which I shouldn’t have to, I will lose all currently saved file.

    Please help.

    Kind regards,
    Sonja

  • I’ve registered an external harddrive to the recorder and now the harddrive will not register on any of my computers. How can I fix this?

  • Hi Anne, please contact our customer service team on 132600 and they will walk you through some trouble shooting or book a service call if required.

  • Hi Sonja, please contact our customer service team on 132600 and they will assist you with some trouble shooting over the phone.

  • Hi Brittnee, once the unit has been registered to the unit, you are unable to use it on other devices. Please refer to page 62 of your instruction manual for further details.

  • I have a DMR-PWT500 which I use all the time for timer recording. It suddenly won’t record despite setting the timer to record and re- setting multiple times. I can record only by pressing the record button. How can I fix this?

  • Hi Adrienne, please contact our customer service team on 132600 and they will assist you with this matter over the phone.

  • Dear Panasonic, if it is not possible to copy HDD content to a USB, how can I get my AVCHD family videos off the unit once it (eventually) dies??

    Thanks

  • Hi,

    I have a Panasonic Viera Smart TV. I bought a Hard Drive to store all of my Movies on. But the way the Hard Drive is formatted to work on my Apple computers is not recognised on my Panasonic. The Hard Drive is a Seagate 2TB. Is there any possible way to format the Hard Drive to work on both my Apple computers and my Panasonic TV? Or do you know a Hard Drive that can be compatible with both at the same time. This is really frustrating.

    Thanks

  • Hi Nick, Once the AVCHD files are on the HDD, copying to external USB is not possible. Please revert to backing up the original files as recorded on the camera to an external HDD using your PC/Laptop.

  • Hi Dominic, once the hard drive is formatted to the Panasonic product you are unable to use it on another device. You will also lose the content that you have currently on the hard drive. The television uses a different format and is unable to have the hard drive run two formats at one time.

  • Hi Michael, you may be able to have an external hard drive recovery company try to recover the hard drive but there is no guarantee that this would work.

  • I have this blu-ray player but have one issue that haven’t yet been able to resolve that being I can’t see to play any of the commentary tracks on any of the Blu-Rays I own (Games of Thrones Season I and II, Boardwalk Empire etc.). I select the option but it only ever plays the standard audio track. Any idea on how to play the bonus commentary tracks on this player? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

  • Don’t worry, found the solution (set secondary audio ON in the digital audio output menu section).

  • Hi, I am trying to transfer HD videos from my video camera to the HDD of my DMR-BWT835GL. Most of the SD cards transfer Ok in AVCHD format, but others fail, with the message “transfer has been cancelled” appearing on the screen? These videos play OK on the unit, but will not copy.

  • Hi Team,

    I have the DMR-PWT520 model and would like to copy an mp4 home video from memory stick to my unit’s hard drive. Although the unit will play the video from the USB beautifully, I’m not given an option to copy the file across?

    Help would be much appreciated.

    Thanks – Nick

  • Have an DMR-BWT820 with all the firmware updates. When daylight savings start the times for recorded programs get mucked up by starting at the wrong time. Happens every six months starting and stopping daylight savings. Have reset the unit as well.

  • Hi There. I have recently purchased the DMR-PWT635 and was loving it. However, we can no longer get the remote control to work. I have read the manual – but can not find anything to fix this. It is like the batteries are flat – but we have tried that. It will not even turn the machine on or off. Can you help??

  • Hi Neil, We require the below information before we can assist you further:
    Camera model number/brand
    SD card size
    Flie sizes
    Other file type information
    We’d suggest you call 132600 for assistance with this matter.
    Thanks

  • Hi Georgie, Please call Panasonic’s Customer Service Team on 132 600 for additional fault finding assistance with your Remote Control.

  • Hi George, This is a broadcaster issue; the broadcaster changes the clock but not the EPG times. This is a tri-annual problem that fixes itself within a few days of a daylight saving switch over. Thanks

  • Hi Nick, Copying MP4 files to an internal HDD is not supported. MP4 video can only be stored on an external HDD, connected to the USB port. Thanks

  • Hi Renee, Playback the title you want to record.
    Press OPTION
    Highlight Copy Title Playing and press OK
    Select Start and press OK
    Recording will then be started at the beginning of the title
    Hope this helps, Thanks

  • I have formatted an External HD to my DVD recorder not realizing that I would lose all content on the HD and also transfer all DVD recordered content to the External HD. How do I reverse all this?

  • Hi Sue, that’s horrible! Sorry to bear bad news, but whilst a computer technician may be able to recover those files for you, it could be an expensive exercise and we don’t know how successful it is likely to be. Thanks

  • I have a sierra Panasonic tv and Panasonic hard drive.I have not been able to pre program the device to record 2 shows at once for some time.I get a msg about overlapping recording times and the unit cuts out at the same time for both despite different finishing times. Any suggestions?

  • Hi Jenny,
    Can we get the model number of your Recorder? If you are trying to record two programs on the hard drive it will need to be a model that has a twin tuner.

  • Hi, When playing MP4 videos from an SD card on my DMR-PWT530, I don’t seem to get any sound? There is sound when played on the camera that recorded the video, but none when played over the TV. Any suggestions?

  • Hi David, we would need to understand the connection of your DMR-PWT530 and the TV. It may be best for you to contact our customer service team on 132600 and they can talk you through all the connections.

  • I have just purchased a DMR-PWT635. I am far from happy with this unit. I am not really interested in transferring recorded material to an external HDD. I do however want to play what I have on an external USB HDD through the player. This does work…eventually. When I turn the unit on and try to access the usb drive it comes up with ‘please wait’ this goes on for at least 5 mins. Then I get a message saying to connect a registered Drive. I then have to go through pressing function menu and drive select buttons and eventually it will work. I have tried 2 different drives. Seagate and WD. I registered the first one and it wiped all my data and is now dead (NOT HAPPY) Is there something wrong with this thing? I had a Beyonwiz previously and it worked flawlessly.

  • Hi John, could you please confirm the storage sizes of the hard drives you are using and how many files reside on this. The long external HDD ‘ready to use’ delay may be normal if the external HDD is several Tb in size and filled with 100’s of files.

  • Have DMR BW 780. Suddenly stopped allowing us to record 2 programmes at the same time.
    Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

  • One was 1TB and other 2TB. There are as lot of files (mainly pics) I returned the thing to the retailer on the weekend and they gave me another. Just as bad! I deleted all the pic files (20GB) off the drive. Made no difference. Sitting here now and ‘Please wait’ has been going for 10 mins. Giving up. Going to buy another Beyonwiz. This thing doesn’t belong in peoples homes or on a retailers shelf. It belongs in a bin!

  • Hi Deew, please contact our customer service team on 132600 when you are infront of the unit, they will go through some diagnosis over the phone with you and book a service call if necessary.

  • This may seem like a stupid question but I’m a bit technically challenged lol I’m planning on buying aPanasonic DMR-PWT530GL Twin HD Tuner 3D Blu-Ray Player with 500GB HDD but am wondering what format it records in? I am hoping to be able to record something, transfer it to my registered and new USB hdd (so I don’t wipe my computer one) and then play the USB hdd on my parents tv because I stay there a lot. Is this possible? What format does it record in?

  • I have a DMM-XW300, which comes up with a “No Read” message, and now wont read or play any dvd’s.
    When I power it on, it makes 4 short, seperate read attempt sounds, then 1 slightly different read attempt sound.
    Can you suggest what my problem is, and if its fixable/cost effective to fix?

  • Hi Team,

    When playing Youtube, the picture is small and to the right of the tv screen (with the other options filling the rest of the screen). How do I enlarge to ‘full screen’ the Youtube I want to watch.

    Thanks

    Nick

  • I have purchased three DMR-PWT520s, for three separate systems in different rooms. One of them has started cropping both sides of the free to air TV picture so I miss about 10% of the actual picture on each side. Even when i press the GUIDE button I loose about 10% of the guide picture on each side. I’ve fiddle with every button on the remote control but cant fix it. Can you advise what to do. The other two DMR-PWT520s do not have this problem

  • Hi Richard,

    We would recommend checking both the DMR and TV aspect settings; both should be 16:9. Please call our Customer Service Team on 132600 if you experience further issues.

  • Hi Mark, It sounds like the unit has developed a fault that requires service. Please contact our Customer Service Team on 132600 and they will assist you in locating a service centre.

  • Hi Elisha, the User Manual on page 61 talks about how to use a HDD on this product. Unfortunately you will be unable to locate the USB to another product, this is unique configuration to your machine only.

  • Hi, I just purchased the DMR-BWT835GL and tried to play/watch a DVD whilst recording one program to the HDD and it stated this is not possible. Is there anyway to record and play a DVD simultaneously please?

  • Hi there,
    I have a Panasonic DMR-PWT500, and I love it! Don’t know how I lived without it.
    This morning I discovered that I’ve lost all my tv channels, and no matter what I do I can’t rune them back in. Strangest thing is the th still has all it’s digital channels – which gets it’s antenna feed through the hard drive, but when I try to watch tv through my hard drive, it continually says that no stations found, and to chech all my connections. I’ve now done that ten times over, and returned as many times – but I get nothing!
    If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the hard drive is only searching analog and not digital.
    All indications on my Panasonic tell me it’s digital, as did the salesman. It even has the digital ready stickers still on it.
    Can you please help and point me in the right direction? I think I’ve done everything. Is there something I’m overlooking or not doing right?
    Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks in advance, Rebecca

  • Hi Michael, you should be able to record one or two programs on the HDD and also watch a DVD. If you have problems performing this, please call our Customer Service team on 132600 and they will assist you.

  • Hi Rebecca, we would recommend contacting our customer service team on 132600 when you are with the unit so they can try some options over the phone for you.

  • Hi again,
    Thank you for the information regarding watching a DVD and recording – it does work.
    Can you please tell me how I can store AVI or MP4 files on the Internal HDD so I do not need to insert a disk or connect a drive each time I want to watch a file.
    So far I have tried (and all unsuccessfully):
    1). connecting a SD card with my files. After formatting it in the recorder, as soon as I copied files to it, the recorder would not recognise the SD card anymore.
    2). inserting a DVD DL +R and a DVD SL – R with my files. The disks were not recognised as a source to copy from.
    3). inserting a BD-R with my files. The disk was not recognised as a source to copy from.
    4). connecting the recorder to a DLNA server hosting my files. I could play the files but not copy them internally.
    5). connecting a 500GB media drive with my files via USB. The drive was not recognised even though the single partition was formatted NTFS.
    6). connecting a 2TB external HDD with my files via USB. The files could be played but not copied internally.
    I even returned the first recorder as I thought it was a fault with that particular unit but the replacement is no better.
    I do not want to register a drive as I would need to wipe a drive which has my files on it and I do not want to risk losing these files if the process of copying them to the internal HDD does not work.
    Please help 🙂

  • Hi Michael, the copying of AVI/MP4 files to the recorders internal HDD is not a recorder feature and therefore not possible. We recommend reviewing page 62 of the manual in relation to adding an external HDD. You will be required to format the HDD for the DMR-PWT520, which will wipe all of the current contents on the drive. Please refer to page 6 of the user manual for the list of compatible media you can use with this recorder.

  • i have a dmr-hw220 that has the please wait notice continuing to scroll all the the time after i shut it down. How can i stop it please I’m in the uk.

  • All the TV shows we recorded on the HDD have disappeared. When we now try to record, it doesn’t allow us to. It also says the disk is full, but when we got to delete programs/shows as normal, there is nothing to delete. It is acting very strange for a unit that is only 13 months old. Any help please?

    Thank you.

  • Hi there

    I’ve just bought a DMR-PWT530, when pressing Direct Navigator or Function Menu to watch what I have recorded it turns the TV off, I find that if I’m recording another channel at the time I can then watch what I’ve recorded, but I don’t want to have to press record each time I want to watch a recorded program. Can you please help?
    Many thanks

  • Hi Tim, please contact our customer service team on 132600 when you are located with the unit and they will assist you with some options over the phone.

  • Hi Gary, are you experiencing any other issues with the unit, does it record or will it not let you proceed from the start up? One option to try is to hold the unit’s main power button down for 30 seconds and this will reset the unit. Please let us know how you go after that.

  • Hey! I have a Panasonic DMR-HW220 HDD Recorder, and I’ve noticed that after deleting recorded programs and movies, i’m not getting the same amount of free space on the hard drive as what was being used by what was just deleted.

    This is becoming an issue as i’m now running out of space and need to free some up! 🙂

    I’m assuming it has something to do with multiple copies stored somewhere on the drive, say, in the trash or something.

    Anyone have any ideas on how to solve this little problem?

    Cheers!

  • Hi Cameron, the time remaining is a rough guide. Due to many other factors, such as what you are recording in what mode, if it is a HD recording. Sorry you may need to further reduce your recordings.

  • Hi
    I have just purchased a panasonic dmr-pwt635 blu-ray – and I would like the current time to appear on the display panel. I cannot find how to do this. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

  • In attempting to play video files from a USB HDD I found a couple of problems with this player.

    Can’t connect and play videos from a USB external drive (1TB, NTFS). It does not recognize any files on the drive and asks to register it. However I was able to play from a smaller USB thumb drive (2GB, FAT32). Unfortunately this is no use unless I want to transfer files onto a smaller drive every time I want to watch them.

    I successfully connected to a DLNA server on the network, but the client (Panasonic player) was unable to play the files. It only supports a limited number of codecs (mainly H.264) and ironically not the same formats that it does support on USB.

    So following an afternoon of trying, the Panasonic can do certain things and none of those are what I wanted to do in the first place.

  • Hi. I have new blu ray player hdd recorder.
    Will it receive / record fox like my existing Panasonic hdd recorder?
    Can I transfer from hdd to DVD with this machine?
    Thank in advance.

  • Hi I have a DMR PWT530 the problem I have is that it will not play any blu rays or 3d blu rays but it will play dvds I have checked the condition of
    The disks and the area code they were all fine. When I insert the disk it reads it for a while then says can not read please check disk and on others doesn’t read the disk at all is there any settings that I need to change in order to play them or is it a fault with something internally

  • Customer service was unable to help, but as it turns out it was to do with the electrical board, as the DVD recorder was connected to the master point, when pressing direct navigator it automatically switched the tv off(which I feel is an issue with the remote) after buying a new power board without a master point all works fine.

  • Hi Rosa, this can be done by pressing the SETUP button on your remote and scrolling down to and selecting OTHERS. In this menu select CLOCK and manually enter the time. Pg. 67-78 and 79 of the user manual detail this process.

  • Hi Matt,
    The DMR-PWT520 cannot copy to a disk as it is a DVD Player -however it is designed to utilize a HDD for storage. For a complete run down of the recording specs with different devices see pg. 6-7 of the user manual. The DMR-PWT520 cannot record Foxtel but you can receive these channels by connecting as per pg. 15-16 in the manual.

  • Hi Kev, please contact our customer service team on 132600 when you are with the unit and they will try some fault finding and reset options over the phone.

  • Hi Donna, You can reformat your HDD for use with your PC but be aware that doing so will erase everything you have saved on it currently.

  • Sorry for the late reply, i have not been well. The player operated as normal, but we have had some storms here and after one of these the player seems to have corrected itself. Thank you for the reply and i will keep it for reference in case it does it again.

  • I had my new Blue ray recorder DMR-PWT 530 setup & working except unable to use Tv function on remote. Went into ‘Setup’ menu & changed code to ‘setup 2’. Everything then froze & I couldn’t exit. I’ve disconnected and now have no access to remote function at all. Please help

  • Hi Nicole, please call our customer service team on 132600 when you are near the unit and they will assist you in troubleshooting.

  • Hi, I’ve just bought a pwt530gl and notices it can’t stream anything other than mp4 videos, and not all mp4 videos at that, from my network drive.

    Is there any way that I can connect an external hdd to the pwt530gl and then be able to copy my video files to the externall hdd and store them there? Will a computer recognise it as a network drive so I can copy them?

    I know a lot of people are having trouble with connecting external hdd and then deregistering them so I don’t want to do it untill I know it can store my video files or not.

  • Hi, I have ptw500 and I can’t delete anything or move to the left with the remote can do anything else very frustrating can u help

  • Hi Melissa, please call our Customer Service team on 132600 when you are with the unit and they will talk you through some fault finding options over the phone.

  • Hi James, please refer to page 57 for file types that play via DLNA. In relation to being able to have an external HDD, you are able to but this will not be recognised by any other product, it will be for exclusive use by the DMR-PWT530. It can be used as added storage to your PWT530, but you will only be able to play back via this product. If you have any further questions please contact our Customer Service team on 132600 or send us an email at [email protected]

  • Hi there, we have just bought a DMR-HW220GLK and it’s great. The only thing we have discovered is when we go into the Internet home page, there is no app for Yahoo!7 as we expected and we’d like to be able to also watch other free to air content on it like Channel 9 and Channel 10’s catch up TV. All the other apps are there like iView, SBS, You Tube, social media etc. Is there a way of adding extra apps to the Internet section? Thanks

  • Hi Nicole, at this time we do not support the other apps you mention. If this changes in the future we will announce these changes on our website.

  • I just purchased a Panasonic smart TV
    TH-L42ET60A.
    I can not format a USB flash drive for TV recording.
    Formatting failed.This device is not supported.
    No device for TV recording.

    I have tried the same operation with the same USB flash drive with a LG smart TV and it works!!
    Should I exchange my Panasonic TV ??
    Regards
    Hans Hunziker

  • Hi Hans, please refer to the eHelp guide in relation to the usage of USB devices. The capacity that works with this TV is from 160GB to 3TB. If you have any further problems please call our customer service team on 132600.

  • I have a DMR-PWT 500 DVD recorder. On my internet channels I do not have SBS On Demand, however my other DVD recorder, a DMR-PWT 520 does have that as an option. Is there a way to update the channel options on the 500 to include SBS On Demand?

    Thanks
    Nick

  • Can you tell me how to find the list of programs waiting to be recorded on my panasonic viera. I cans see all the recorded new but not these. Thanks

  • Hi Jill, using the guide function, all programs waiting to be recorded will have a clock symbol.

  • I would like to know if it is possible to program my Panasonic Blu Ray Recorder DMR-PWT530 to automatically record all episodes of a specific television series without manually going through the EPG and manually selecting each episode of that series?

  • Hi Darel, you are able to set up a weekly or a daily recording at the same time to capture your favourite shows. Please refer to page 30 in your user manual on how to perform this.

  • My daughter pushed some buttons on our remoute and now the unit displays HDD on the left Net in the middle and a clock on the right.
    Now we can’t play recorded program and we can’t do anything else with the remoute
    Help is needed as i can’t find a solution in the manual.

  • I have just attempted to play an MP4 from a UB flashdrivstick.
    The recorder recognises(?) the file and lists it. When I press PLAY is simply states it “won’t play this file”.

    Any ideas of where to start?

    Regards

  • Hi Malcolm, although the recorder recognises the file type, its contents are not playable. Please call 132600 for assistance.

  • Hi Antz, disconnect recorder from main power for several minutes and try again. If this fails, please call 132600 for assistance.

  • I have a Panasonic Blue-ray Disc Recorder DMR-BW780.
    After recording a show onto HDD I sometimes like to transfer it to DVD to store. My problem is that it takes hours to do this transfer. Is there some way to be able to do this quickly? My previous recorder was a Philips & it took about 10 minutes to do a transfer.
    Thanks in advance.

  • We do not get Channel 9, 90 or 99 but we are able to receive it when not using the blue ray? We have auto tuned and manually tuned and still no success. Any suggestions?

  • Hi Kelly, check the signal strength reading when using the Blu-Ray (as it amplifies signal) – anything full strength is going to overload your TV. Only way to combat this is to attach an attenuator.

  • Hi Kitty, take a look at step 3 on pg. 45, changing the copying mode to high speed should speed this process for you.

  • Hi team,

    I’ve recently purchased a DMR-PWT530GL from Harvey Norman. We I was inquiring about this model I was told that I could play a BD or DVD and watch it on another TV in the house on my network through DLNA. Is this actually possible, as I’ve managed to view recorders TV shows and live TV, but not BD or DVD.

  • Hi Michael, I am sorry but only files contained on the actual PWT530 will be able to be shared.

  • Please help, my panasonic dmr hwt 130 did something to my seagate external hdd drive. My laptop wont recognise the hdd anymore? Can this be reversed?? I dont want to lose whats on the hdd drive. Thank-you very much.

  • Hi Ryan, the external HDD is registered to the recorder when used with it. It can be re-registered to the computer instead, but this will not recover your lost programs.

  • My unit won’t load all of the available channels. It only loads 13 at best and 8 of them are SBS (including the SBS radio channels). We’ve tried auto tuning, manually tuning, checked all of the connections repetitively and still nothing. Has anyone had these problems and found a solution?

  • Hi, Just purchased the DMR-PWT635 blu-ray. Love it. First blu-ray I’ve (had to!) purchase. The online store ad stated ‘up to 256 hours of recording time’ for the 1TB model. The total hours my machine indicates that I have used is about 11 hours with 141 hrs remaining. This is just recording run-of-the mill telly. This is nowhere near the 256hrs originally advised. Is the store completely wrong or perhaps my blu-ray only has a 500gb drive installed? Been trying to find out how I can verify the size of the hdd inside?

  • Hi I have just bought a Panasonic HDD DMR- PWT635 and can’t seem to get it to work with my TV. It is an old TV with no HDMI input. I have bought a cable to convert the HDMI out of HDD player to the points into the tv however I still can’t get the set up screen.
    ANy help gratefully accepted.
    Thanks Michelle

  • Hi Rebecca, different qualities of programming (Like HD) will take up more room on the hard drive which will affect the amount of hours you are able to record.

  • I have just purchased a Panasonic-DMR-PWT530 and am unable to access the SBS and NITV channels on it. My new Samsung TV was able to access these channels, but now that I feed the TV antenna to the PWT530 first then loop it back to the Samsung TV I cannot pick up the channels on the Samsung TV now when just watching it only?
    Thanks
    Bruce.

  • Hi Bruce, sounds like an antenna/signal strength issue, if you call 132600 they can help you troubleshoot.

  • My Panasonic blue ray recorder will not record TV programs recently. The red icon used to be showing, but now it is grey. When I tried Function menu, I found a movie that was stopped before it finished recording. There was a message saying that it was because the reception was poor or a connection was faulty. However, this doesn’t seem to be the problem. How can I fix this?

  • Hi Pat, please contact our customer service team on 132600 and they will assist you with some fault diagnosis.

  • Hi, I have the Dmr pwt 530. I’m unable to play 3d bluray discs on it. Does this model support 3d disc playback?

  • i have a dmr-pwt520-blu-ray-disc-player-hard-drive-recorder and i tried to use a sony hd-e1 for recording to and watching the shows on my computer but as previous persons have said its impossible. How do i get my Hard drive back or have i wasted $100 and have an expensive paperweight? Can i reformat my External HD and get it back so i can use it on my computer again? Oh if you tell me to use cancel registration on disc its blanked out in gray

  • Hi Teena, you are able to reformat your HDD to your computer for use again with your computer. Connect the HDD and then follow your computers instructions to format the HDD.

  • Hi Jason, the DMR-PWT530 is a 3D model. If you are experiencing issues playing 3D we would recommend reviewing pages 40, 67 and 74 of manual.

  • The pre-recording light has started to flash continuously…and the program is not actually recording? what have I accidentally switched on/off to make this start o happen after years of perfectly normal operations!!!

  • Hi Chris, please give our customer service team a call on 132600 and they will assist you with your DVD recorder.

  • I bought DMR-PWT530 a week ago.

    Its connected by a cable for networking.

    First of all it takes at least a minute to turn on.

    Secondly, when I click on YouTube – it takes at least 30 seconds to go on YouTube. When it finally connects to YouTube it doesn’t go on ‘Search’ by default. To select ‘Search’ when I use up and down arrow key, there seems to be lag. Because if I click ‘ok’ thinking the arrow keys selected ‘Search’ function, it actually selects one function above or below ‘Search’.

    Specially when I try and type using arrow keys, it plays up a lot. There is a huge lag between pressing the keys on remote and displaying characters in the search box. Do you think there is a problem with the recorder itself? I can exchange it because its hardly 7 days I bought it and I have all the invoices etc.

  • Hi Anil, please call our customer service team on 132600 and they will go thru some options with you.

  • Is it possible to stop the unit from recording while actually in the process of recording a program, I have tried several options including the stop button but nothing works.

  • Dmr-pwt530gl. Says it has a 500gb hdd for recording but it says it will only store 72 minutes of recorded tv? Why is this?

  • Hi Jack, do you currently have programs stored on the hard drive? Depending on the recording mode you have the product in, will also depend on how long you have left of recording time. Please contact our customer service team if you have any further questions and they will go thru it with you over the phone.

  • Hi Col, it should stop recording with you press stop. Please contact our customer service team on 132600 when you are with the unit and they will try some options over the phone for you.

  • Just want to know if DMRBWT 835GL is the latest model or is there a new one coming out soon?
    Is USB recording or playback possible on this model?

  • I currently have a DMR-BW780 which allows me to record 2 tv channels whilst watching a 3rd. I am looking at updating to a DMR-PWT530, but the spec for this device is confusing to me. Can I still record 2 channels whilst watching a 3rd with this newer model?

  • Hi Barry, like with your DMR-BW780 you will still be able to record two programmes on the DMR-PWT530 and watch one of these at the same time.

  • Hi again Panasonicau. In regards to my existing DMR-BW780, I can presently record 2 separate channels whilst watching a 3rd one. What you are saying about the newer DMR-PWT530 is that I can record 2 channels, but can only watch one of the channels being recorded. If that is true then the PWT530 has less functionality than the older BW780. Correct?

  • Hi, I have the DMP-BDT110 model and I have just recently bought a 2TB WD My Passport. When I plug it in to watch movies, I select “Movies” then “USB”, it then says “No USB device inserted”. Is the formatting possibly wrong? Thanks

  • Hi Charlie, could you please confirm what format you have the hard drive in? The DMP-BDT110 does not support USB HDD formatted in the NTFS format / MAC.

  • Hi George, this player is not capable of changing it to 24 hours as it relies on the broadcasters time and this is displayed in non 24 hour time. Cheers

  • Yet previous model DMR-XW380 had this capability, allowing use of the numerical keys on remote to select time when manually setting timer recording. Now I have to scroll up or down in 15 minute stages.

  • I’ve talked to someone on 132600 re this problem but have no answers yet..
    I have 3 ext. HDD’s:

    1. WD 2TB (powered)
    2. Seagate 500GB (powered)
    3. Lacie approx 200 gb (unpowered)

    According to comments from Panasonic (above), 1. and 2. should work
    i.e. movies stored on them should be watchable via my new DMR-PWT530

    However, the only one this works with is 3.
    Any ideas please?

  • I have a DMR-BWT720 and would like to record a particular tv program every day. The manual is clear about weekly recordings but I have had no success with daily recordings.

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  • HI We have a DMR-HW220 connected to our TV and a Samsung Surround sound 7.1 by HDMI cables. The remote for the HW220 seems to have disabled the remotes for the other 2 devices?

  • Hi Lesley, most likely cause of this problem would be in the connection of your Home Theatre system, or use of the Samsung version of “Viera Link”. Call the Samsung Support line and they can help you rectify this! MCB

  • I have been watching shows via a 16gb usb and also a 1tb external hard drive fine until now. When I connect the hard drive it no longer reads and the usb says that it is too small for the unit now. How do I fix it? Sorry I have the dmr pwt635 model

  • Hi Salv,

    Have you tried reformatting your Hard Drive? It may just be out of space. If this is unsuccessful can we recommend you call 132600 so our customer service team can troubleshoot directly with you! MCB

  • Hi Ray,

    Please call our Customer Service Team on 132600, they can talk you through this step by step. MCB

  • How can I reconnect my external 2tb WD USB HDD to my Panasonic DMR-BWT835. The USB was accidentally connected to my P.C, no files moved, but the recorder will not recognise it now. Wants to reformat it as a new connection. I have tones of saved media on it that I would like to recover?

  • Hi Joe, We wish we could help but sadly once your HDD was plugged into your PC the background information was changed. You won’t be able to use it without reformatting. MCB

  • I have a DMR-PWT 530 and want to copy recorded programs to another source. eg disc or usb. Is this possible?

  • Hi Matt, You can copy on to an External HDD. There are step by step instructions on pg. 45 of your user manual. MCB

  • Hi there ive got a samsung 40″ Led tv only 12months old and recently purchased a DMR-PWT530GL and after ive been watching something ive recorded on the DMR going back to the tv when finished the tv come up with pop up on tv and says tv will turn off in 58sec??? then turns tv and DMR both off.. thankx hope you can help.. 🙂

  • Hi there, ive got a Samsung Led 40″TV 12 months old and recently purchased a DMR-PWT530gl every time I watch a recorded program then go back to the tv programs, there is a pop up tha comes up and says… ” Tv will turn off automatically in 58 sec, Please press ok to keep tv turned on” then turns off TV and DMR box.. hope you can help.. thank you!

  • Have a PWT-520 and it won’t recognize the DVD ,tells me “no disc installed”
    I played same disc in same unit a couple of days ago/

  • Hi Trevor, is you PWT520 playing all other discs? If so it will be an issue with the disc itself – is the disc one you burned or a commercial disc? If you are experiencing problems with playing all discs in this machine please call 132600 so our customer care team can support you further. MCB

  • Hi Jak, to help you further we really need specific information about the Television. We are not aware of a pop up associated with the PWT530 that powers down the TV and DMR. We recommend you contact Samsung for information about this message. MCB

  • Hi Jak, to help you further we really need specific information about the Television. We are not aware of a pop up associated with the PWT530 that powers down the TV and DMR. We recommend you contact Samsung for information about this message. MCB

  • Hi Marisa,
    Thank you for yr reply to my problem,
    in response to yr reply dated 11/6/2014 9.20am..
    The tv is a Samsung LED 40″ UA40D5000PMXXY is the model.
    Thank you for yr time.

  • Just wondering if and how you can make a blue Ray DVD HDD recorder play region 2 DVDs also? Our older model did no problem! Is there a code or something? Thank you!

  • Hi Lyd, regulations were suggested by the government regarding DVD piracy that led to the region locking of our units. However the unit can be unlocked by an authorised Panasonic repair agent and this is a free service within 12mnths. You can book this in with our friendly customer care team on 132600. MCB.

  • I have a problem with my Panasonic PWT500 – it shows Quickflix on the TV and will stream movies but there is no old or new movies that you can choose to pay for (pay per play). The opening screen shot doesn’t resemble what you can see on a computer or ipad, it looks like an old version of quickflix with limited availability.

    the firmware version is 1.34 which is uptodate.

    will there be any further updates so I can watch new movies on my device

  • Hi Gayle, we are really sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Pay Per View is not supported and at this time we have no plans to update. MCB

  • Good morning, I am trying to connect a Seagate storage device to my Panasonic DMR-PWT635 but I keep receiving a message that the USB device is not recognised. Are there any formatting or setting issues I need to change?

  • Hi Maree, please confirm that your Seagate HDD meets the requirements listed on pg. 9 of your manual, if it does please also cheak that you have formatted it to your DMR-PWT635 using the instructions on pg. 61. Hope this helps! MCB

  • Hello.
    I’m trying to copy recorded shows over to my hdd (USB) the USB is 64Gb so plenty of room, but some shows won’t copy whilst others will. Is there any other reason for this?
    Thanks.

  • Hi Em, sorry it is a bit difficult to diagnose this via this blog without enough information. Please contact our customer service team on 132600 and they will assist you over the phone to diagnose this. SB

  • Hi, I have a Panasonic Bluray Recorder DMR-BWT 720. I use it to record programs to the hard drive, then archive them to disc. I use panasonic blank bluray disks as I have with my previous machine. Ordinarily when inserting a blank disc it will ask to format and then you can proceed to copy from the hard drive onto the disc.
    My device now comes up with a message Cannot read. Please check disc.
    It still plays movies on DVD and bluray, but no matter how many different blanks I insert, or how many times I turn the machine off for a rest, it still will not read the blanks so I can archive and clear the HDD. Any suggestions?

  • Hi Steve, please contact our customer service team on 132600 and they will try some options over the phone with you. SB

  • I have a question, we currently have a Panasonic Viera TV and Bluray. The Bluray is DMR-WT500. I have been researching problems that other owners have (above) and noticed that Quickflix is not going to be upgraded so that we cannot stream up-to-date movies from them. Could you please tell me where I can stream new release movies from please? We don’t fancy watching TV from the computer.
    Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you.

  • Hi Rebecca, there are alternate options you can google regarding the channeling of Quickflix…MCB

  • I have a dmr-pwt635 and when I put movie The Great Gadsby into it there was a message that I need a 3D blue ray player to play the disk whether I’m 2d or 3d and I not happy because it’s says on the box that it’s 3D blue ray disc player.

  • Hi Tanja, we are very sorry to hear about the issue playing The Great Gatsby. It is a 3D Blu Ray Disc Player and there should be no problem playing back. Can you please a test a different 3D Blu Ray movie? If you have the same issue please call 132600 and we can assist further! MCB.

  • Hi Marisa,
    As answered above, I have googled “Channeling of Quickflix” with no such luck. Could you please be more specific as to how I can get new movie releases on quickflix on my DMR PWT-500