Panasonic Showstopper TV
July 2001
The Future Should Look So Good
by Grant Clauser
In the future, all TVs should be like this. What I'm referring to is the Panasonic Showstopper TV's integration of a good television with a digital hard disc drive, an on-screen program guide and a service for searching and organizing your TV viewing. The future should look so good.
Since Replay, TiVo and DishNetwork began making digital TV recording available via hard disc drives, the few people who have had the pleasure of using those products have, for the most part, raved about them. Many of them have also wondered why TVs can't be designed with this function built inside, similar to TV/VCR and TV/DVD combos.
Panasonic has done it with the Showstopper TV PV-SS2710. The Showstopper TV takes a 27-inch direct-view television and adds a Showstopper hard disc drive based on the ReplayTV guide service. Last year, Panasonic launched the first Showstopper set-top box, which, similar to TiVo, hooked up to a TV through the rear video inputs and recorded incoming TV signals before passing them on to the TV. Stopping live TV, using the program guide to select shows for recording and searching a database of upcoming shows was all possible with the original Showstopper. Putting that in the TV makes the process more seamless and reduces the amount of clutter around your entertainment center.
The TV side of this product is a pretty standard Panasonic 27-inch direct-view TV with a Panablack picture tube with a cable/antenna tuner, stereo speakers and black-level enhancement. The rear jack section includes two audio/video composite ports and one S-Video port, plus a set of stereo-out jacks for sending audio through your stereo or home theater receiver. A phone jack provides the modem hookup, which is necessary for downloading the program guide data. An infrared jack connects to an IR blaster in case you want to control a cable or DBS box. One set of A/V ports is in front for camcorders or game consoles.
Like all the hard disc-based recorders before it, the Showstopper TV requires some setup configuration before you can sit down to enjoy it. The first time you turn it on, on-screen instructions walk you through a few short questions about your video signal (antenna, cable, DBS…), your phone area code (for finding a local access number) and such. It then makes an initial 800-number phone call that takes about five minutes to find a list of local numbers. Once you select your local access number, the TV makes another call to gather your program data. All-in-all, the process takes about 40 minutes.
This TV is all about putting you in control of what and when you watch. It starts with the program guide. When you power up the TV, the first thing you see is the channel guide telling you what's on. It shows you two hours' worth of programs for seven channels at a time. By using the channel up and down buttons, you can move a full screen at a time to see the next seven channels. Or you can move forward in time seven days. Programs that are currently showing are highlighted in a light blue background. The guide also provides a brief description of whatever program you highlight. The TV gets this information during short nightly downloads from the Replay server.
To record a currently showing program, you simply press the REC button on the remote. You're then taken to a screen where you can select the recording quality (high, medium and extended). The TV also tells you how much recording time you have left on the hard drive, based on the recording quality you selected. At the lowest level, you get about 30 hours of video, and 14 hours at the highest. If you don't need all 30 hours of the hard drive, try to record most everything at the highest quality setting. The difference between the original showing and a recording at the highest level was barely noticeable, but at medium, the picture became slightly pixilated, even more so at extended quality. A good satellite or digital cable signal will record best, as those sources tend to deliver the best signal off the bat. A weak cable or antenna signal won't record as well.
Scheduling future shows can be done the same way you record currently playing shows, or you can go to the Replay menu to search the database of shows based on genre and keyword.
The most talked-about feature of hard drive recorders has to be the ability to pause "live" TV. To stop a show in its tracks, press the PAUSE button at the bottom of the remote. The Showstopper TV lets you pause a show for the duration of the free space on the hard drive—potentially hours. If you plan on pausing for the entire show, pressing the REC button is a more efficient use of the recorder's space. For what is probably the most-used feature of this unit, Panasonic made PAUSE one of the smallest buttons on the whole remote. There's also an instant replay button that jumps back seven seconds.
There are other ways to search and organize your program choices, other than simple keyword searches. Showstopper lets you search through Replay Zones. The Zones are like channel guides but organized by categories, such as sci-fi, family, sports, music and sitcoms. The Zones tell you what programs in each category are coming in the next seven days. You can then select any of the programs for scheduled recordings. Each Zone is then organized into sub categories. For example, when you go into the family Zone, you find the sub categories of sitcoms, dramas, animals, cartoons and family films. I tried the sci-fi Zone, then the sub category of Final Frontier, which located all upcoming episodes of the various Star Trek series.
All this organization is aimed at allowing you to create your own personal channel, so that whenever you turn on the TV, there's a selection of programs you'll really want to watch. This is a good thing. However, all separate menus and subcategories take time to work through, and the fact that Showstopper spreads all the different guides and menus among four separate buttons on the remote leads to more confusion. This is probably only a small hurdle for most users.
Mostly, the Showstopper TV performs heroic feats for a television, save a few small blemishes. The remote is a confusing array of tiny buttons and microscopic writing. The standard TiVo remote, by comparison, is well laid out and easy to read. Also, when switching between various Replay menu screens, there are occasional pauses of more than a minute.
Listing at $900, the Showstopper TV isn't cheap for a 27-inch screen. But if you figure that a good 27-inch TV sells for about $400, then add the price of a separate Showstopper set-top box ($599), the combo actually costs $100 less. The Showstopper doesn't require a monthly or lifetime service fee, as TiVo does, but that's only because the service fee is built into the price you pay up front.
It is my sincere hope that Panasonic builds digital recording functions into more TVs, bigger TVs, in fact all of its TVs. It may not radically change the way you watch TV, but it does improve the whole experience. Once you get used to something like this, there's no going back.
www.panasonic.com or www.replay.com
Click here to compare!
by Grant Clauser
In the future, all TVs should be like this. What I'm referring to is the Panasonic Showstopper TV's integration of a good television with a digital hard disc drive, an on-screen program guide and a service for searching and organizing your TV viewing. The future should look so good.
Since Replay, TiVo and DishNetwork began making digital TV recording available via hard disc drives, the few people who have had the pleasure of using those products have, for the most part, raved about them. Many of them have also wondered why TVs can't be designed with this function built inside, similar to TV/VCR and TV/DVD combos.
Panasonic has done it with the Showstopper TV PV-SS2710. The Showstopper TV takes a 27-inch direct-view television and adds a Showstopper hard disc drive based on the ReplayTV guide service. Last year, Panasonic launched the first Showstopper set-top box, which, similar to TiVo, hooked up to a TV through the rear video inputs and recorded incoming TV signals before passing them on to the TV. Stopping live TV, using the program guide to select shows for recording and searching a database of upcoming shows was all possible with the original Showstopper. Putting that in the TV makes the process more seamless and reduces the amount of clutter around your entertainment center.
The TV side of this product is a pretty standard Panasonic 27-inch direct-view TV with a Panablack picture tube with a cable/antenna tuner, stereo speakers and black-level enhancement. The rear jack section includes two audio/video composite ports and one S-Video port, plus a set of stereo-out jacks for sending audio through your stereo or home theater receiver. A phone jack provides the modem hookup, which is necessary for downloading the program guide data. An infrared jack connects to an IR blaster in case you want to control a cable or DBS box. One set of A/V ports is in front for camcorders or game consoles.
Like all the hard disc-based recorders before it, the Showstopper TV requires some setup configuration before you can sit down to enjoy it. The first time you turn it on, on-screen instructions walk you through a few short questions about your video signal (antenna, cable, DBS…), your phone area code (for finding a local access number) and such. It then makes an initial 800-number phone call that takes about five minutes to find a list of local numbers. Once you select your local access number, the TV makes another call to gather your program data. All-in-all, the process takes about 40 minutes.
This TV is all about putting you in control of what and when you watch. It starts with the program guide. When you power up the TV, the first thing you see is the channel guide telling you what's on. It shows you two hours' worth of programs for seven channels at a time. By using the channel up and down buttons, you can move a full screen at a time to see the next seven channels. Or you can move forward in time seven days. Programs that are currently showing are highlighted in a light blue background. The guide also provides a brief description of whatever program you highlight. The TV gets this information during short nightly downloads from the Replay server.
To record a currently showing program, you simply press the REC button on the remote. You're then taken to a screen where you can select the recording quality (high, medium and extended). The TV also tells you how much recording time you have left on the hard drive, based on the recording quality you selected. At the lowest level, you get about 30 hours of video, and 14 hours at the highest. If you don't need all 30 hours of the hard drive, try to record most everything at the highest quality setting. The difference between the original showing and a recording at the highest level was barely noticeable, but at medium, the picture became slightly pixilated, even more so at extended quality. A good satellite or digital cable signal will record best, as those sources tend to deliver the best signal off the bat. A weak cable or antenna signal won't record as well.
Scheduling future shows can be done the same way you record currently playing shows, or you can go to the Replay menu to search the database of shows based on genre and keyword.
The most talked-about feature of hard drive recorders has to be the ability to pause "live" TV. To stop a show in its tracks, press the PAUSE button at the bottom of the remote. The Showstopper TV lets you pause a show for the duration of the free space on the hard drive—potentially hours. If you plan on pausing for the entire show, pressing the REC button is a more efficient use of the recorder's space. For what is probably the most-used feature of this unit, Panasonic made PAUSE one of the smallest buttons on the whole remote. There's also an instant replay button that jumps back seven seconds.
There are other ways to search and organize your program choices, other than simple keyword searches. Showstopper lets you search through Replay Zones. The Zones are like channel guides but organized by categories, such as sci-fi, family, sports, music and sitcoms. The Zones tell you what programs in each category are coming in the next seven days. You can then select any of the programs for scheduled recordings. Each Zone is then organized into sub categories. For example, when you go into the family Zone, you find the sub categories of sitcoms, dramas, animals, cartoons and family films. I tried the sci-fi Zone, then the sub category of Final Frontier, which located all upcoming episodes of the various Star Trek series.
All this organization is aimed at allowing you to create your own personal channel, so that whenever you turn on the TV, there's a selection of programs you'll really want to watch. This is a good thing. However, all separate menus and subcategories take time to work through, and the fact that Showstopper spreads all the different guides and menus among four separate buttons on the remote leads to more confusion. This is probably only a small hurdle for most users.
Mostly, the Showstopper TV performs heroic feats for a television, save a few small blemishes. The remote is a confusing array of tiny buttons and microscopic writing. The standard TiVo remote, by comparison, is well laid out and easy to read. Also, when switching between various Replay menu screens, there are occasional pauses of more than a minute.
Listing at $900, the Showstopper TV isn't cheap for a 27-inch screen. But if you figure that a good 27-inch TV sells for about $400, then add the price of a separate Showstopper set-top box ($599), the combo actually costs $100 less. The Showstopper doesn't require a monthly or lifetime service fee, as TiVo does, but that's only because the service fee is built into the price you pay up front.
It is my sincere hope that Panasonic builds digital recording functions into more TVs, bigger TVs, in fact all of its TVs. It may not radically change the way you watch TV, but it does improve the whole experience. Once you get used to something like this, there's no going back.
www.panasonic.com or www.replay.com
Click here to compare!
Companies Mentioned:
 |
|
|
|||
|
