Japanese tech manufacturer Panasonic has taken the wraps off its latest lineup of Blu-ray disc players and recorder combo machines, with all five new models falling under the company’s Zenjido Diga hardware brand. The following new models have been announced: the DMR-2X210 (2TB HDD), the DMR-2X410 (4TB HDD), the DMR-2X610 (6TB HDD), the DMR-4X410 (4TB HDD), and the DMR-4X1010 (10TB HDD).
While all five units feature fully automatic DIGA recorders, the latter two are the only ones to ship with 4K tuners (as opposed to 2K tuners) for 4K UHD Blu-ray disc playback. As reported by AV Watch, all five models have an open pricing scheme, with estimated market prices ranging from 108,000 yen (roughly $696 USD) all the way up to 430,000 yen (roughly $2,772 USD).
The flagship DMR-4X1010 is by far the most noteworthy model of the bunch, capable of not only playing back standard 4K UHD Blu-ray discs, but also able to record onto BD-R and BD-RE discs, onto its 10TB internal hard drive, or, in novel fashion, onto the cloud via Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive.
The flagship DMR-4X1010 is by far the most noteworthy model of the bunch.
The ability to record content directly onto cloud storage services is particularly interesting, and it’s not the sort of functionality you see every day on a 4K Blu-ray player. In the event of a hard drive failure, recorded programs are still accessible, and Panasonic even offers a Dokodemo DIGA smartphone application for watching recorded content remotely while on-the-go.
If opting for cloud-based recording, programs from up to 10 designated channels can be saved automatically for 28 days at a time. Panasonic also has a playlist editing feature for curating scenes of interest, as well as a program tagging tool for easier sifting through recorded content after the fact. A cloud recording transfer service is also available for easier switching between models without loosing access to saved content.
The DMR-4K1010 packs a serious punch
For the time being, the unit is exclusive to Japan
The entirety of the new DMR line from Panasonic is set to land on October 22, but with one major caveat: the hardware is only releasing in Japan — at least for the time being. This is quite a shame, as the North American Blu-ray market is small as it is, and the lack of fancy new equipment doesn’t make matters any better.
Japanese exclusivity also means that the US market is missing out on the unique attribute of being able to record content directly onto cloud services, which is quite the selling point if you ask me. Plus, even the standard ability to record BD-R and BD-RE discs isn’t something we see much of at all in North America, even though it’s more commonplace in Japan.
Of course, you could always import the DMR-4X1010 or the DMR-4X410.
Of course, you could always import the DMR-4X1010 or the DMR-4X410 as 4K UHD Blu-ray players aren’t region-locked. Standard 1080p Blu-ray players, on the other hand, feature regional zones, and so importing the DMR-2X210, 2X410, or 2X610 would be less advisable. Either way, it’s unlikely that cloud-based recording will work stateside, as its compatibility relies on designated channels within Japan.
The silver lining in all this is that it appears Panasonic still has skin in the game when it comes to 4K UHD Blu-ray players. At a time when other manufacturers like Samsung and LG have bowed out of the race, Panasonic remains one of the only mainstream brands still championing optical-based physical media, if primarily only in its home market.
Panasonic, for its part, also isn’t immune to the current global market conditions when it comes to consumer technology products. The company recently hiked the prices on its US 4K UHD player portfolio, including by raising the price tag of its iconic DP-UB820 by a full $100. In other words, were the DMR-4X1010 to be released in the US, it’d no doubt cost a substantial amount of money, perhaps even as high as $3,000.
