80gig Digital Video Recorder TwinTuner £99.99

ToAoB

for those that got this PVR - can u check out if it records (and playback!) subtitles please?

Thanks

andreboyle

Hi all,

I tried to get one of these for my parents in Ireland where there's no Aldi stores.

The first one has a loose RF unit at the back so it reported no signal from a cable that gives us near perfect freeview in the bedroom. The front bezel / panel was also hanging off the unit with the sticky tape that holds it on hanging out underneath the bezel.

Took it back and got another unit. It worked well for about 10 mintes at which point the picture started to get very bad interference. I thought it was the freeview somehow but then went into the menu system and it was ALL output that was scuppered. Essetially you couldn't navigate the menus to resolve the problem.

So that unit will be going back today and I won't be replacing it.

These feel like bad refurbs to me. Pretty poor effort. I hope everyone else has better luck. I might have persevered if it wasn't for that fact that I'd be paying for postage to get it to Ireland and then they wouldnt have been able to return it without a heavy postage bill in the event of failure. (Sending off for repairs in the first 30 days is simply unacceptible in my eyes.)

Best of luck everyone with these ones, I'll be keen to see how everyone else fairs.

Dre

morosebill

I know nothing about DVR's, hope folks will bear with me re these queries
Currently have a LITEON dvd rec/plr but can't record digital channels
The tevion appeals because you can, twin tuner etc.

1.Is it woman friendly? This applies to any similar models.
The Liteon is too much for my wife who has told me to disconect it and dump it on tip.
2.How easy is it to search for the progs you want, also finding the space you finished at after an interupted viewing session?
3. Can it be easily "rewound" if you want to quickly replay something you may have momentarily missed?
Can you scrub individual recordings off the hard disc or do you have to delete the lot?
Is it easy to set the timer?
Is it compatible with rented dvds or ones supplied by friends recorded on their machines?
Can never see Tevion in reviews - get the opinion from this forum they are not reliable - any comments?
Can it be used to create a dvd from a home movie camcorder thru usb?

Once again , apologies for the basic nature of these queries but thanks in antipation to anyone who helps.

imsi

morosebill wrote:

I know nothing about DVR's, hope folks will bear with me re these queries
Currently have a LITEON dvd rec/plr but can't record digital channels
The tevion appeals because you can, twin tuner etc.

1.Is it woman friendly? This applies to any similar models.
The Liteon is too much for my wife who has told me to disconect it and dump it on tip.
2.How easy is it to search for the progs you want, also finding the space you finished at after an interupted viewing session?
3. Can it be easily "rewound" if you want to quickly replay something you may have momentarily missed?
Can you scrub individual recordings off the hard disc or do you have to delete the lot?
Is it easy to set the timer?
Is it compatible with rented dvds or ones supplied by friends recorded on their machines?
Can never see Tevion in reviews - get the opinion from this forum they are not reliable - any comments?
Can it be used to create a dvd from a home movie camcorder thru usb?

Once again , apologies for the basic nature of these queries but thanks in antipation to anyone who helps.

1. Yes it loves women. very hygenic and lots of empathy
2. Very easy on both counts
3. yes, similar to VCR
Other points - This is a stand alone Hard Drive Recorder and has no DVD playing facility. You can connect a DVD recorder tho to copy.

phatbhoy

creddish wrote:

In what way do you find it noisy? AFAIK these units are amongst the quietest PVR's there are.

Regarding the guarantee this appears to have only been documented on the Aldi leaflet and website advertising.

Colin

I found it to be surprisingly noisy when recording anything - I would imagine it is the harddrive and fan. However this is the only PVR I have tried in the house and maybe that humming noise is the norm?

Could you possibly tell me how you know these to be the "quietest PVRs there are"? As if so I dont want to take it back if its not justified.

Finally is nobody else worried about the warranty? - the guy in the aldi told me that it is only guaranteed for 12 months by aldi - and if there is an extended guarantee it would be down to the manufacturer! As there is no indication in the packaging or manual I am beginning to think it doesn't really exist!!

Bubba_Shaboo

phatbhoy wrote:

Finally is nobody else worried about the warranty? - the guy in the aldi told me that it is only guaranteed for 12 months by aldi - and if there is an extended guarantee it would be down to the manufacturer! As there is no indication in the packaging or manual I am beginning to think it doesn't really exist!!

The leaflet shows the 3 year warranty and the ad on the internet site stated 3 year's manufacturers warranty. My Aldi for some strange reason usually has copies of the last few leaflets still lying around by the door, you may want to pop back and see if yours does too.

In case of dire emergency (cause I've not got much spare time at the moment) I could try and get the relevant page from the leaflet scanned and e-mailed to you but really only as a last resort.

I can, however, mail you a PDF screengrab I had the foresight to take from the internet site, which states 3 year's manufacturer's warranty.

PM me with your e-mail addy if you want the PDF and I'll send it tomorrow.

Cheers,

Bubba©

creddish

phatbhoy wrote:

I found it to be surprisingly noisy when recording anything - I would imagine it is the harddrive and fan. However this is the only PVR I have tried in the house and maybe that humming noise is the norm?

Could you possibly tell me how you know these to be the "quietest PVRs there are"? As if so I dont want to take it back if its not justified.

It can't be the fan because it doesn't have one. I based my comments on my own experience of the Technosonic and now the Tevion and comments by other owners in these fora. The only time I can hear the Hard Drive unless I put my ear actually in contact with the case is when it spins up from idle and a slight click when it switches off. Many PVR's do have fans and also have Hard Drives which "chatter" when recording two data streams such as when recording and Timeslipping simultaneously. I can't hear any such chatter on the PVR101 or 801. Most of the time the hard disk on these PVR's are idle. The HD is only running whilst required i.e. during recording or Timeslip and briefly when required to access data e.g. when accessing the Recordings List. Can you hear the whine when the HD starts up and a noticeable reduction in noise when it runs down (normally about 10 to 15 seconds after the end of a recording if that is the only activity being performed immediately before it runs down). I you can hear significant noise whilst the HD is running then you may have a faulty HD or mounting. If you have noise when the HD is idle I would supect a faulty unit with mains hum. BTW I didn't say these PVR's are the "quietest PVRs there are" just that they "are amongst the quietest PVR's there are".

Finally is nobody else worried about the warranty? - the guy in the aldi told me that it is only guaranteed for 12 months by aldi - and if there is an extended guarantee it would be down to the manufacturer! As there is no indication in the packaging or manual I am beginning to think it doesn't really exist!!

Yes, I'm concerned about the documentation of the 3 year warranty. I was told at the checkout that there was documentation in the box covering this but clearly there isn't. I'm inclined to try to get Aldi to confirm this in writing.

Colin

Threepints

creddish wrote:

It can't be the fan because it doesn't have one. I based my comments on my own experience of the Technosonic and now the Tevion and comments by other owners in these fora. The only time I can hear the Hard Drive unless I put my ear actually in contact with the case is when it spins up from idle and a slight click when it switches off. Many PVR's do have fans and also have Hard Drives which "chatter" when recording two data streams such as when recording and Timeslipping simultaneously. I can't hear any such chatter on the PVR101 or 801. Most of the time the hard disk on these PVR's are idle. The HD is only running whilst required i.e. during recording or Timeslip and briefly when required to access data e.g. when accessing the Recordings List. Can you hear the whine when the HD starts up and a noticeable reduction in noise when it runs down (normally about 10 to 15 seconds after the end of a recording if that is the only activity being performed immediately before it runs down). I you can hear significant noise whilst the HD is running then you may have a faulty HD or mounting. If you have noise when the HD is idle I would supect a faulty unit with mains hum. BTW I didn't say these PVR's are the "quietest PVRs there are" just that they "are amongst the quietest PVR's there are".



Yes, I'm concerned about the documentation of the 3 year warranty. I was told at the checkout that there was documentation in the box covering this but clearly there isn't. I'm inclined to try to get Aldi to confirm this in writing.

Colin

To my knowledge your receipt is (as with all Aldi goods) your three year guarantee.

creddish

Threepints wrote:

To my knowledge your receipt is (as with all Aldi goods) your three year guarantee.

But surely not all Aldi goods have a 3 year guarantee? There no-quibble returns policy is only for one year.

Colin

bcwc

Just bought a Tevion PVR from Aldi, excellent piece of kit.

Just to confirm:

1. Model is PVR801.
2. Firmware is V1.6.
3. No co-ax cable in box, so need to buy a cable if you are planning to daisy chain the signal to VCR etc.
4. Near silent in operation.
5. Does not record subtitles.
6. Approx. 55 hours TV record time.
8. Can only record one channel and watch/timeslip another. i.e. cannot record two channels at the same time.


Bri.