Any problems with DVD player/recorder with Freeview

katejo

I have just got a new 1080 tv with Freeview. I decided against paying VM for a V+ box or for TIVO because of the monthly charge and the need for a new contract. I will just have a new V box with HD sockets which I have ordered.
I probably need to replace my old DVD player recorder as it only has scart sockets and isn't digital. I have just been looking at DVD's which have Freeview and twin tuner and which will record.
Is there any incompatibility problem between the Freeview on the DVD and on the tv? Will the DVD recorder allow me to record programmes on Virgin or only on Freeview? I know that i can't record in HD.

macman

Unless it's for archiving material long term, a hard drive recorder (PVR) would be a better choice. Humax is the one to go for, and HD versions are available for Freeview.

katejo

macman wrote: »

Unless it's for archiving material long term, a hard drive recorder (PVR) would be a better choice. Humax is the one to go for, and HD versions are available for Freeview.

I have seen these but also want to be able to play DVD's which I already have. I did look at the possibility of DVD combined with tv but for the 32 inch screen(and bigger) only saw HD ready ones. Will a HD humax one also play a DVD? It's not for long term archiving.

macman

TV/DVD combo's are a terrible idea and only available in cheap and nasty branded supermarkets TV's. No, the Hummy's are PVR's (hard disk recorders), they do not have optical drives. Why not just use a separate DVD player?
You will find the interface on the Humax PVR's infinitely better than on any DVD recorder.

katejo

macman wrote: »

TV/DVD combo's are a terrible idea and only available in cheap and nasty branded supermarkets TV's. No, the Hummy's are PVR's (hard disk recorders), they do not have optical drives. Why not just use a separate DVD player?
You will find the interface on the Humax PVR's infinitely better than on any DVD recorder.

Just trying to avoid having/buying several different machines/appliances.
I did see tV/DVD's combined in well known brands eg. Samsung, Panasonic with good reviews.

penrhyn

Was it established if you can receive freeview, via an aerial?

katejo

penrhyn wrote: »

Was it established if you can receive freeview, via an aerial?

Yes I have Freeview via the aerial. The new tv came today and is working well. The reason behind the poor picture using the aerial was that the downstairs aerial cable had become damaged at some point and was loose in the aerial socket. I could not see this when the old tv was there. I bought a new aerial cable today and Freeview is working fine.

I now want to be able to record occasional programmes either because they are not on Virgin saved programmes or because I want to keep them longer than a week. I also want to watch DVD's and my old player recorder only has scart sockets and may not work after the digital changeover.

penrhyn

You will continue to be able to play DVDs from your existing DVD player/recorder. In addition you will be able to record the programme you are watching from the TV, using the AV input.
Your best bet as advised before is either a Freeview PVR or Virgin + box, and use your existing DVD player for your collection.

Colin_London

katejo wrote: »

Yes I have Freeview via the aerial. The new tv came today and is working well. The reason behind the poor picture using the aerial was that the downstairs aerial cable had become damaged at some point and was loose in the aerial socket. I could not see this when the old tv was there. I bought a new aerial cable today and Freeview is working fine.

I now want to be able to record occasional programmes either because they are not on Virgin saved programmes or because I want to keep them longer than a week. I also want to watch DVD's and my old player recorder only has scart sockets and may not work after the digital changeover.

Your current DVD recorder will continue to work for playback via a SCART lead connected to your TV, but will only be able to record what is being shown on your TV screen at the time (be it Freeview or Virgin). i.e. you won't be able to record what's on another channel or whilst you are away.

If your TV has an auto-on facility based on the Freeview EPG you could potentially use it to record programmes whilst you are out, but you'd have to set the timer on the TV & DVD recorder seperately which is a lot of hassle and bound to not work sometimes.

One thing to check though - does the new TV have a Hard Disk record facility? If so you can attach a cheap Hard Disk Drive to the TVs USB connector and use that to record via the TVs Freeview EPG. If you really wanted to archive you could then use the old DVD recorder to copy by playing back the recording from the Hard Disk and recording what was on the screen to DVD.

Otherwise there are combined DVD/Blu Ray Freeview HD boxes out there, but it would probably have been cheaper to get the TIVO box in the first place if you go down that route......

davemurgatroyd

There are no DVD recorders that will record HD to DVD. DVDs are an SD only media unless using special software on a PC. There are also no HD PVRs that will record from an external source - a PVR by definition only records from its own internal tuners. All HDD/DVD recorders will only record from scart sockets - they do not have HDMI inputs although some have HDMI outputs. Your old DVD recorder will still record from the V box providing it has scart output sockets.

The only way to improve on the DVD SD quality would be with a HDD/Blu Ray recorder with starting prices around the £400 mark from Panasonic.

katejo

davemurgatroyd wrote: »

There are no DVD recorders that will record HD to DVD. DVDs are an SD only media unless using special software on a PC. There are also no HD PVRs that will record from an external source - a PVR by definition only records from its own internal tuners. All HDD/DVD recorders will only record from scart sockets - they do not have HDMI inputs although some have HDMI outputs. Your old DVD recorder will still record from the V box providing it has scart output sockets.

The only way to improve on the DVD SD quality would be with a HDD/Blu Ray recorder with starting prices around the £400 mark from Panasonic.

Thanks for the advice. You have said that my current DVD will still record from the V Box (if it has a scart socket which I need to check). Colin_London said that it would only record a programme which I was currently watching. Which is correct? I am unlikely to record something which I am actually watching.

I knew that a DVD recorder would not record HD.

I also have a DVD player on my laptop so could use that to watch them.