Panasonic DMR-HW220

Great unit – Purchased 2012 after 3 Topfield machines failed.Great unit easy to use and understand,No problem with storage. Is used a LOT,nearly always recording 2 programs.Also have a Samsung in another room purchased 2017, Am about to replace it with a Panasonic as it is useless.Will always buy Panasonic from now on.  Show details

Problem – I find this product very difficult to use. After the third try and alongside a Panasonic TV, I thought this would be ideal. No. We still needed a DVD player to start with, so now we have three appliances and three remotes, all very confusing. We cannot mute the DMR, very frustrating. I cannot work out how to quickly record something I see on the… Read more

TV that I like the look of. Mess around and it's over, missed it both ways. Also it doesn't record what is put into the pre selected program - if the previous program runs overtime it records that and then cuts off the program we wanted early.

Still working well – We have had this for two years and no troubles. Admit we don't use it like the other reviewers- we don't want to read off or record to USB. We just record tv shows, fast forward and rewind real time tv and other non-complicated things. This set top box has been working longer than most others and doesn't take any time to load up (like previous set top boxes did).  Show details

Not as expected – I have had this unit for 3 years and today I have found that the tuner stopped working. This model was not ready to be offered on the market. I managed to connect it to internet wifi but I could not make it browse internet or show netflix, though they were promised. I am not going to buy another Panasonic PVR/DVR. To be fair, I am enjoying… Read more

Panasonic plasma TV for 7 years already. Works perfect.

I wish they could provide the same quality with the recorder.

Below acceptable – Terrible, inadequate and not fit for purpose. They advertise a USB socket, but it doesn't play from a USB drive (I have tried 3 of them!!). It simply asks you to format your drive. That's right - the friggin' Panasonic wants to format your drive full of media files! I contacted Panasonic support and apparently it "only supports USB key drives",… Read more

not USB hard disks, whatever that means. I don't know how it can tell whether the device contains solid-state or disk media, but for some reason it does. Secondly, there is no volume control, meaning you need a TV and the box remote to make watching TV possible. Thirdly, when you record something and delete it, you only get a portion of the used space returned. It's a joke, and Panasonic aren't interested in helping me at all. Finally, that Viera connect crap is a waste of time too.

It's a Personal Video Recorder that's better than Topfield but not as fancy as Foxtel's IQ – I set this gift up for my mother who is happily using it daily at 81 years of age. I know because I wanted one too after researching what to buy, other than the Topfield that my sister had bought for me. While setting it up, I certainly found it better than the Topfield that I had been using (until it broke as per my review in 2015). It had… Read more

a a good Electronic Program Guide that integrated well, possibly due to her Panasonic TV, but they usually function separately, in my experience anyway.

It's only a Personal Video Recorder and not as fancy as Foxtel or Austar IQ's (I have subscribed to both in the past at a cost).

Note: I don't have the receipt as it's with her in Sydney for warranty purposes, but as I did the research for the purchase, my records show:

$347 Harvey Norman, 4.9.14 Deposit paid $147, Balance $200 due next month,

Panasonic 1TB Full HD PVR DMRHW220GLK 8887549474026

Easy Peasy Setup and Intuitive to Use – EDIT: the electronics inside the remote control have degraded. The pasticisers or whatever have broken down and exude a liquid which wets the circuit board and interferes with the signal/function. It NOT a spill from a drink or food. Pretty disappointed in the lack of longevity in the remote control. Someone else I know also had the same issue.… Read more

---------------‐---------------- Purchased this 1terabyte HDD PVR yesterday and it was a no brainer to set it up and use. I used the basic settings only as I already have the TV connected to the internet. The basic setup didn't take long - maybe 10 to 15 minutes while I was chatting on the phone to a caller. The stations were automatically searched for and figuring out how to schedule recordings and then play them back today was relatively straight forward. There is a USB socket so you an play movies, view photos etc from the USB stick. It was a nice surprise to see you can connect to the internet with either a lead or wirelessly. This unit cost us $389. So far, very pleased that we spent that bit extra to get a PVR that looks like it will be headache free. We went straight from a VCR which is very basic so this seems like a dream machine in comparison. There are other machines with a lot more bells and whistles but this was within our budget.

Someone else said they cannot record two programs at once but we do this regularly with no issues. If we also wish to watch a third program we have to change the source back to digital TV and watch it directly via the TV instead of through the Panasonic. You have to make sure your program times do not overlap so you are, in effect, trying to record three programs simultaneously, even if the overlap is even just one minute as it will shut one of the recordings off so only two are being recorded. Easy no fuss setup and it is easy to figure out how to use it. Nice clear picture. Love the fast forward button. Love the fact it can record two shows while we watch a third all at the same time. The antennae cord supplied is only about 1 metre which is too short for our TV cabinet. You also have to buy the HDMI lead if that is what you are going to be using. And you can only record 7 days ahead.

Terrible if you ever want to record 2 things at once – Purchased this after our strong pvr died after 5 years of full on use - editing, multiple recordings etc. This Panasonic unit is unable to record two programs at once successfully even if you edit your timer to ensure a lack of duplication - and it said it was a twin tuner!!!! There are a few positive features in terms of being able to fast… Read more

forward in time blocks but - you buy a twin tuner so you can record two things at once so it fails for the things you need it for. Don't buy it. Panasonic please do a software upgrade.

A Mistake – Since the main purpose of this unit was the EPG (for me, and probably most people), the EPG should be easy to use, however Panasonic have completely removed the EPG Portrait mode from this unit. This was a good feature on earlier units. As a result it is awkward to use (compared to earlier Panasonic units that I also own). The support of… Read more

YouTube also ceases at the end of April 2015 (according to the notice within the Panasonic unit itself), so don't buy this unit expecting YouTube videos.

Magic PVR – My last hard disk drive recorder was wearing out, the remote was not always working and it was very annoying that it did not have the TV Guide functionality which makes setting up recording so much easier and faster. Sticking with Panasonic again since they integrate so well via Vierra Link with Panasonic TV's I bought this device and highly… Read more

recommend it. The TV Guide function is great. Only complaint with the T V Guide function is that sometimes the TV networks change the timetable a bit or cancel the show, the machine is not smart enough to adjust accordingly. The machine does allow the user to personalise the timer settings so that you can start the recording X minutes before the TV Guide and it continues recording X minutes afterwards. This is great since networks often run late.

I would definitely recommend this particularly for Panasonic TV owners, you only need to use 1 remote most times.

Almost unuseable -Buyer beware – Anyone used to their Foxtel IQ box will have a fit having to deal with this awful device. Buyer beware: 1. Cannot record series (it only allows weekly repeats of time slots) 2. You cannot save existing movies/videos to the 1TB hard drive, in fact, if you want to attach an external hard drive, it has to be formatted (all content deleted) to ONLY… Read more

work with the PVR

3. If you are watching a movie from your external Hard Drive or USB, and a timer recording starts, you are forced to stop.

4. Pretty much any activity is restricted once one of the 2 tuner recordings are in effect

5. Deleting content e.g 90 minute movie only frees up 15 minutes from the 1 TB hard drive. Space will fill up fast!

I could go on but there are so many issues you may fall asleep reading this.

Not a good choice – While these units record and playback TV well, this DMR (and in fact all the Panasonic DMRs) have a problem that is not mentioned anywhere and you should understand this before you buy any of them. When you delete a title (say a 60 minute recording) you only recover about 40 per cent of the deleted time for new recording, say 20 to 25 minutes The… Read more

other 40 minutes is "lost" by being retained within the recorder's cache. So very soon you find your are running out of any available record time. There is a solution, and that is to reformat the HDD, but that means EVERYTHING recorded on the HDD is wiped. If you buy a model with a DVD recorder included, at least you can transfer titles to an external drive before you reformat (a big job, but possible). Best solution is buy something else, but verify they don't have this same issue.

great machine – I purchased this machine after returning two Kogan 500gb PVRs back to them, I have nothing but praise for this Panasonic, it has everything I require, the people who have knocked this product must be so nit picking, the EPG is terrific to use,( try Kogans) the quality of video is excellent, I am an HD fanatic the recording quality it exceptional,… Read more ·  1

What do these negative individuals want? you just cant please some people. the ex HDD is no issue even if its got to be registered, I use the external drive next to the PVR for special programmes I want to keep, The negative comments should remember the VCR s of a few years ago and compare the performance of this PVR you all sound like spoilt brats get a life

Pretty good – Easy to set up, good features for the money. Only negative is the long lag time to get to the internet - 13 secs after hitting the button. Oh and there isn't a mute button. Other than that, seems pretty good. Even controls my 8 year old lg tv. Worth a look. Value for money, features No mute button, long lag time to get to the internet.

Awful. Big mistake buying this – I hate this recorder. What I hate is that if you pause a live program, you can't record it. And, if you pause a live program, you can't access anything else you've recorded. So if you pause then leave the room for sometime, you have to watch it or lose it. That sucks! The Foxtel IQ unit lets you pause, and if you desire, you can save everything… Read more

for later viewing. Why couldn't Panasonic do that? What else it can't do is transfer anything saved to another medium (except a USB which can only be used in that machine). That sucks too. If only I'd known about these limitions before I bought it. Lesson learned.

The picture quality is great, but the problems mentioned above make this the worse recorder I've ever bought. Picture quality. Can't save paused program. Can't watch anything else if you've paused. Can't transfer recording to other medium

Waste of money – Waste of money. Picture quality is horrible. Sound keeps cutting in and out for no apparent reason. Returning tomorrow. Manufacturers tried to tell me it's my aerial. Little do they know Before purchasing this rubbish i just had brand new aerial installed and pick up every channel perfectly. What a joke. Don't waste your money. Doesn't work

Completely unfit for purpose – I bought this PVR from The Good Guys. It was $340, there were a number of other PVRs around the $250 mark, but this theoretically had better features and Panasonic has an excellent reputation in this area. The Good The unit is extremely easy to set up (but then every other PVR I've used has been as well). The basic functions are simple and… Read more

easy to use.

The Bad

Series recording is standard on PVRs these days, but this unit lacks it. For a device with so many theoretical features, the instruction manual is woeful. It simply doesn't mention most of the advertised features. In many instances it warns that a particular process must be undertaken before doing something, then gives no hint as to how that may be done. Features must be discovered by randomly pressing buttons.

The Deal Breaker

The system has 2 USB ports which are essentially just for show. To use a USB device it must be registered to the PVR. This process wipes the drive and renders it unusable by any other device. There is no way of transferring files from this device or watching files recorded elsewhere. The slots therefore serve no purpose whatsoever and their presence is misleading. I've seen plenty of retailers advertising that they can be used to watch files on a USB stick (a logical assumption), but this is simply not true.

Summary

It's good for recording and playing back TV content, but if that's all you want to do there are plenty of units around the $70-$80 mark that will do it just as well and will give you the ability to transfer files off and on to them as well. Easy to set up, Intuitive menu system No ability to transfer files from device, Can't watch files from other sources, No series recording, Almost non-existent instruction manual

Almost perfect – I have had a few different PVR's over the years and needed to find one for an elderly relative. I chose this Panasonic because the remote control is well laid out with nice big buttons for play, stop etc. So far so good, I have only had one phone call. Only small complaint would be no series record, but you can set Monday to Friday or record on the same day every week. Panasonic PVR's have also been reliable. Easy to use. No series timer record

Love this PVR – The packaging is labelled DMR-HW220GLK, but the manual says it is DMR-HW220, so it may be that these two are the same. The Panasonic DMR-HW220GLK is everything I've been looking for in a PVR. It has dual tuners that allow recording of two different channels at the same time. While you are recording one or two shows, you can simultaneously watch… Read more ·  3

something else that has previously been recording, or begin watching one of the current recordings while it's still recording.

Setting programs to record is easy. Adding extra time to the beginning and end of a recording is easy. Up to 10 minutes extra can be set as a default, but any amount longer can be set manually.

Built in networking connected automatically to my home network without fuss.

Built-in ABC iView and BigPond Movies is the icing on the cake for me.

It also supports Netflix, but I am unlikely to subscribe to that.

Playback of 3D is also available, but I haven't been able to test that as I do not yet have a 3D television.

It has a one terrabyte drive built in, but you can also use an external drive plugged into the USB port. But the unit has to 'register' the drive before it can be used. During the registration process all existing data will be deleted. And a 'registered' drive will not play back on a normal computer. Only a maximum of 8 external drives can be registered at the same time. To add a 9th drive, one of the registered drives must be de-registered.

After putting up with a single tuner Kogan PVR that was quirky to use and had many design faults, and then trying a Dxtreme DX-480 that was not fit for the purpose and so returned to the retailer, it was refreshing to plug in the Panasonic DMR-HW220GLK and find that everything just worked, and it was easy to use. Easy setup, easy to use, reliable, ABC iView, BigPond Movies If you add an external hard disk drive, it must be registered to the machine and then will work only on that machine.

Ok machine – Great picture, easy setup, didn't like the series record takes to long to setup also didn't like that you are limited to how many programs you can record. I have taken it back along with a topfield ( I didn't like anything about the topfield)and bought a humax 7500t great machine. Picture Series record,limited recording

Best PVR you can get – Don't listen to the negative reviews, this is the best PVR you can get. Panasonic is a high quality brand you can trust. I recently bought a Topfield & Bush PVR & took both back for very poor reception and functionality. Scrambled channels, badly designed tv guide and things just not working as they should. Panasonic was my 3rd attempt at buying a… Read more

new PVR and i,m pleased to report i could not be happier with this machine. If you've had a panasonic tv or dvd before you will be familiar with the menus and tv guides. This is a well made solid piece of machinery - that works! From initial set up to recording everything is simple and easy. The TV guide is simple to use, recording you just choose the show from tv guide, then you can increase the finish time, change to weekly, mon-fri, mon-sun or daily. You can record 2 channels. Once recorded they can be found on the "direct navigation" button. Again so simple even a geriatric could figure it out. It also has wireless internet so you can watch youtube, abc iview, skype video calling as well as watch normal tv channels. The tv guide channels can be re-arranged into a favourites order. You can easily edit the tv show too. I highly recommend this PVR. steer clear of all the cheap branded PVR's. It's well worth the extra money to have something that just works. Everything - it works, easy to use, reliable Nothing so far, i love it

All Show, No Go – This unit is fine for watching and recording digital TV but nothing else. According to specs it can do all this whiz-bang extra stuff but none of it seems to work very well and the actual extra stuff that I would like it to be able to do it can't do (remote record & series record). When I first tried to log in to my YouTube account through this… Read more

unit it wouldn't let me log in and then suddenly I get a warning from Google (who own Youtube) that someone in India has tried to log in to my account and that they blocked it. [censored word removed]? Why would my PVR in Adelaide be getting routed through some place in India? I imagine that would do wonders for high quality video streaming! Not to mention that now this feature is completely useless because I can't even log in to it.

No remote record

Fantastic Device – Don;t worry what others say. They don't know what they are getting and then complain. Not the PVR's fault though. I love it, this machine is great. Picture quality is atomic!. very easy to set up, very user friendly interface. My wife loves it so it may be good then...... top quality  Show reply

Couldn't Connect – I have had two Panasonic dvd recorders so wanted another recorder but didn't need dvd player. This was cheaper and huge hdd capacity. What a disappiontment when I received this to find I couldn't connect it. I live in rural WA and have tv via satellite. This PVR only has an rf input (I always thought rf was analogue). As satellite receiver is… Read more

digital, does not have rf output, only hdmi or av. Tried an rf modulator but didn't work as it sends out an analogue signal, pvr needs digital signal. Panasonic Customer Support was no help. So looks like I will need to get another dvd recorder which has av input. Works similar to dvd recorder, cheaper with double hdd capacity. Can't connect to digital fta satellite receiver

Aussie version is limited - NO series recording NO daily or weekly recording scheduling feature! – I have this unit and I DO NOT recommend it. It does not offer 'series recording' - so it can't record a TV series (at the click of a button); you have to MANUALLY select the show you want to record EACH TIME. Extremely very tedious and time consuming! It does not have 'time shift' - this feature would be handy as sometimes shows extend… Read more

longer than their initial schedule, resulting in the recording ending; but the show hadn't.

If I had my time again to make a decision I would have never bought it and bought a competitor starting with "H".

Panasonic are not offering to provide customers a 'software update' to add the above mentioned features that are on the UK version of the unit. Panasonic Australia scrapped them off the Aussie unites for no apparent reason. 1 terabyte hard disk NO SERIES RECORDING, NO TIMESHIFT, NO FLEXIBILITY FOR RECORDING DAILY OR WEEKLY SHOWS, NO SOFTWARE UPDATE FROM PANASONIC

Check the recorder you are looking at will be compatible to receive pay TV or encrypted channels – We recently purchased the Panasonic DMR-HW220 and it was not until it was connected and we were unable to link to Foxtel that upon picking up the manual that accompanied it that we discovered in rather small print on the cover that quote- ' This HDD is for viewing and recording free to view channels only. It does not receive pay TV or encrypted… Read more

channels". Needless to say we returned it to our local Myer store. There was nowhere on the outside of the box indicating that it would not receive Pay TV or encrypted channels. Please be aware.

VCR is now in the recycling bin – A friend living in rural Queensland had purchased an earlier model for an elderly relative. They were so impressed they decided to purchase another the next time they came to visit me. I had kept some advertising brochures for them to peruse and they spotted this model on sale at a major department store. The department store was out of stock so… Read more

we headed over to the Good Guys. They matched the sale price so I also bought one. Set up was a breeze. I have it connected to an older NEC tube TV via AV (Line or RCA type) cables and the picture quality is excellent. Recording is easy to program, although I have found I need to a add few extra minutes to the record time thanks to the less than perfect timing of the TV stations. With 147 hours of recording time on the internal hard drive I doubt that I will need to add an external hard drive (although copyright protection means that the external HDD is only useable with this unit). I haven't used the connectivity functions such as wi-fi or LAN yet. Similar priced units had smaller hard drives but included DVD player whereas this model does not. Purchased in March 2013 $329.00 Huge 1TB hard drive, remote able to function with other brand tv, connectivity via lan/wi-fi, support for external hard drive/usb No dvd player, no audio mute button on remote

Very Happy – I've been wanting to purchase a recorder for quite a while, and finally decided to get one. I first purchased a Topfield, which was highly recommended to me. Unfortunately it would not tune into all the channels (it only had ABC, Seven and Nine). I took that back and purchased another random brand that I'd never heard of. That one was better, but… Read more

still wouldn't pick up SBS. So I took that back and finally decided to go for this Panasonic. I'd wanted to get this one in the first place because I've only ever had good experiences with this brand, but as the others were recommended to me, I tried them first.

Well, this machine is great. It immediately tuned into all the channels. I've never had a recorder, so I don't know much about it's features etc, but for me, being able to tune into all the channels is a good start! I find it easy to navigate and record, and I love that I can watch iView and Bigpond Movies through the wifi. I'd recommend this machine, particularly if you've been having trouble with others!

A bargain – I have been looking for a recorder that is simple to use and can highly recommend this one. The set up was simple but most importantly the remote has all the buttons in the right place. The remote is very well designed and is really easy to use. Playing recorded programmes and deleting them is a doddle.The recorded picture is very good as it… Read more

upscales everthing.

This unit has a 1Tb hard drive which is massive. The only negative i have about the unit is the inability to be able to plug in an external hard drive and play it through the unit. Any external hard drives have to be formatted by the unit and can then only play on the unit. In this day and age it is mind boggling why panasonic has done this. The unit has an inbuilt wireless gizmo. It easily lets you access the internet but i havn't been able to get it to stream stuff from my computer as it operates with DLNA which is too complicated for an oldie like myself. As a stand alone recorder this unit is excellent and well priced at the moment. Easy to use and very simple remote. Unable to play stuff from my external drive

Poor picture quality – Having owned a Strong and two Topfield PVRs, I thought I was buying quality (sick of sending the Strong and Topfields in for repairs). My first disappointment was that you only have a choice of record one time or weekly, meaning I need 7 entries to record the news each day. The second disappointment was the picture quality. It was like watching… Read more

an old CRT TV, not a flat panel. All detail was missing even though the signal strength was good. It was so poor I switched back to the tuner in the TV and returned it to the store the next day for a credit.

It wasn't a picture quality i could live with. Brand quality Unacceptably poor picture quality.

New Panasonic HHD set top – poor picture quality compared to topfield - return to store for refund. Easy to setup, remote has too many buttons therefore not intutive. Better picture quality through our sony TV. Picture signal quality poor and erractic, drop outs were common when picture was available. Don't waste your time or money. Buyer beware