Freeview with watch a channel record another

rtm

Seeing as most freeview boxes are going to be pretty much useless when analogue is switched off I was wondering.

Does anyone know of the cheapest freeview receiver that has dual channel allowing one digital channel to be recorded whilst wathcing another?

Without this facility what's the point in getting a freview box?

Poppycat

The new kid on the block is the Humax 9200 with twin freeview tuners and 160gb hard disk. You can watch a previous recording and record two if you so wish. Around £210. See freeview HDD thread below ( Freeview with HDD)

allycat999

rtm wrote:

Seeing as most freeview boxes are going to be pretty much useless when analogue is switched off I was wondering.

Does anyone know of the cheapest freeview receiver that has dual channel allowing one digital channel to be recorded whilst wathcing another?

Without this facility what's the point in getting a freview box?

I thought freeview boxes were digital???

gizmoleeds

allycat999 wrote:

I thought freeview boxes were digital???

They are, and far from being useless, they will be essential when analogue is turned off.

And on the original subject, your best bet is two freeview boxes - far cheaper than one with two tuners.

Poppycat

But the twin tuners have a hard drive and you not comparing like for like.

gizmoleeds

Poppycat wrote:

But the twin tuners have a hard drive and you not comparing like for like.

The OP is rather ambiguous though. He/she doesn't actually specify that the box itself should be able to record, just that one channel can be watched while another is recording (perhaps on a VCR or DVD-recorder).

If that is the case then two freeview boxes are cheaper, but you are right I am not comparing like for like :doh:

rtm wrote:

Does anyone know of the cheapest freeview receiver that has dual channel allowing one digital channel to be recorded whilst wathcing another?

Without this facility what's the point in getting a freview box?

allycat999

gizmoleeds wrote:

They are, and far from being useless, they will be essential when analogue is turned off.

And on the original subject, your best bet is two freeview boxes - far cheaper than one with two tuners.

Thanks - thought they were digital but could be having a dim moment

gizmoleeds

allycat999 wrote:

Thanks - thought they were digital but could be having a dim moment

THEY ARE DIGITAL :rotfl:

Like I say:

gizmoleeds wrote:

They are, and far from being useless, they will be essential when analogue is turned off.

Bargain_Rzl

Now, I could be misreading the OP, but I think he/she might have led to the rest of you getting your wires slightly crossed. This is what I think (s)he meant (and I stand to be corrected by the OP):

"BECAUSE most Freeview boxes can only deal with one channel at a time, they will be fairly useless when analogue is switched off because a key feature of analogue TV will have been lost (i.e. the ability to watch one prog and record another). At the moment it is not as bad because if you want to plug your set top box into the VCR, you can watch a different programme via analogue, but when analogue no longer exists, the viewer will be limited to either/or. Therefore the current selection of Freeview boxes will serve as a poor replacement to analogue once analogue has gone forever".

Sorry if I misread but this is what I think the OP is getting at!

BenL

I think Daewoo do a digital video recorder.

You then use this tuner to record the digital signal and watch a different digital signal on your set top box/integrated digital tv.

Here you go

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001J03NO/kelkoo-2004-ce-21/ref%3Dnosim/202-5348699-4874239

£80 - this was a quick look and not a cheapest price search.

and here's a review of it in August 2004 - PDF http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-bin/outputpdf.php?file=HCC/200408/096_HCC_0804.pdf

Ben

xlt_hunter

rtm I had the same desire last week, poppycat mentioned Humax 9200 with twin freeview tuners and 160gb as above but at £210 - but at that price it is a little too pricey for me

Then you have the argos brand one for £180 - but it doesn't look right in a way (no display) I had a look and I find it "cheap & cheerful" - but you can not return it on the 16 day moneyback

Next one is a DigiVision (http://www.fusiondigitec.com/fvrt200.htm) - paid £161.00 for it in currys after discount (5%) rrp at currys is £169.99 - A brilliant machine! With 80GB for 40 hours of recording (enough for me) and can be upgraded to 120GB if you need it, also comes with twin tuners. But they are hard to find at the moment, ring currys to see where there is one near to you on the stock location system and have a look.