Blu-ray archiving DVRs have been a staple in Japan since the format was still in protective cartridges, and now we have more details on the new Panasonic HD Everything lineup launching in the UK. All three boxes can convert recorded programs into h.264 to save disc space, and beyond their FreeSat+ twin tuner DVR capability, support Panasonic's VIERA Cast internet hookups to pull in video and pictures from YouTube and Picasa. The DMR-BS850 and DMR-BS750 support BD-Live enabled Blu-ray playback and recording in HD, while the DMR-XS350 serves as an HD DVR on its hard drive, but falls back to SD for disc archiving on old school DVDs. No word on a price, but while the British ponder Panasonic vs. Humax we're already willing to trade in proposed tru2way boxes to have a shot at these.

[Via TechDigest.tv]

Update: TrustedReviews came through with some better pics, specs, and most importantly, prices for these joints - The DMR-BS850 has a 500GB HDD for £999, the DMR-BS750 has a 250GB HDD for £899 and the DMR-XS350 clocks in with a 200GB HDD for £699.

For camcorder owners with mind enough to know what Blu-ray is (and own at least a Blu-ray player), yet not enough time / knowledge to bother archiving your footage onto the format, The Photo Archival Company is ready and willing to take your dough. The archiving outfit has formally introduced a solution that involves placing old (albeit valued) content on USB hard drives, camcorder tapes, etc. onto Blu-ray Discs for safe keeping, though there's no mention of just how costly this convenience will end up being. But no, it won't be cheap.

[Thanks, Anthony]

If you've stumbled upon the perfect solution for archiving your DVD collection and streaming it via a DLNA server (you know, like the PlayStation 3), this week's Ask Engadget question is just begging for your input. Head on over and give those two pennies a toss!

Archive master Delkin has stepped up to the plate once more, this time aiming to please those with way more horror films than a typical CD-R can hold. The Archival Gold Blu-ray recordable media is the first of its kind "guaranteed to preserve data safely for over 200 years." The 4x discs feature the outfit's proprietary ScratchArmor technology, which is designed to fend off the terrifying effects of UV light, heat, humidity and careless fingernails. The units are available now in 1/5/10/25 packs for an undisclosed price.