Panasonic DMR-EX77: Record and upscale Freeview

Because Crave leads such an active social life (read: we can't stop playing World of Warcraft), we're very rarely around to watch TV. This means Freeview hard-drive recorders are absolutely invaluable. One of our faves was the excellent Panasonic DMR-EX75, so we're overjoyed to see an upgrade: the EX77, which allows digital recording to either DVD or its built-in 160GB hard drive.

The EX77 also has a built-in Freeview receiver, so there's no messing around with those pesky Scart leads to plug in your Freeview receiver and suffering a loss in quality as everything is converted from digital to analogue and back again.

There's also an HDMI output for hooking it up to your high-definition television. The great news is the EX77 can upscale all of your stuff to 1080p. Don't expect miracles from Freeview pictures, but DVDs should look great.

What's even more awesome is the ability to copy files from the hard drive to DVD and vice versa. This means you can pop stuff on to the hard drive, and if it's good, dump a copy to DVD to keep forever -- or borrow a burned TV show from a pal. Although Crave would never suggest that anyone break the hallowed law of copyright by doing so.

You can get your grubby mitts on the EX77 for about £260 online, and we've got a full review on the way. -Ian Morris

• Share:
• 
• 
• 

• Tags:
• Panasonic,
• Panasonic DMR-EX77,
• HDMI,
• DVDs,
• hard drive