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Choosing a PVR
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LydiaJ
Posts: 8,083 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
I'm thinking of getting a new PVR and I'm looking for advice about features before I shell out any more money.
Originally I was using BT Vision (before the recent upgrade). I found its capacity rather small, and I wished I could export stuff I want to keep onto a DVD or something, but otherwise I was happy with it. I then bought a 1TB Logik PVR. I immediately found that it was missing quite a lot of the functionality I had been used to with BT Vision. For example:
1) "Record series" used to give me various options "only on <weekday> at <time>, "any day any time", "any time but only once a day" etc. I like "any day any time" because it then starts recording the next season, even if months later and at a different time, whether I've heard that it's about to start showing again or not. Sometimes I've also found it helpful to be able to set the feature for adding extra minutes of recording time at the end, but not often, so that's not crucial to me.
2) The listing of recordings grouped them by title, so you just saw "<name> 16 recordings" rather than 16 items all with the same name. What's the point of having a whole TB of space if you have to scroll through every episode of every show separately to find what you're looking for?
3) When using the guide, there were useful buttons for finding other times when the show was on, checking the record settings for the series as a whole, and that sort of thing. The Logik machine doesn't give me any of that.
4) Searching the guide actually picked up all instances of the search item over the next week. The Logik is hopeless as this - several times I have searched for a show I know is coming up in the next few days, only for the box to say there are no shows scheduled, even though manually scrolling through the guide does actually pick them up.
Anyway, I've not had the thing long, and now there's been some kind of accident and the socket that you plug the aerial cable into is very wobbly and the reception is intermittent. I'm thinking I'd like to replace the machine if I can get one that would be significantly better than I've got. I'll decide what to do with the old one later. Can anyone recommend a model that will do all the things I've mentioned, please? It would be very helpful if you could.
Also, if I'm going to export to DVD then I also need a DVD-RW, or some way of making my computer talk to the TV. Or should I just be getting an external HDD and using that? I don't know the first thing about that, so any advice would be lovely. Thanks.
Originally I was using BT Vision (before the recent upgrade). I found its capacity rather small, and I wished I could export stuff I want to keep onto a DVD or something, but otherwise I was happy with it. I then bought a 1TB Logik PVR. I immediately found that it was missing quite a lot of the functionality I had been used to with BT Vision. For example:
1) "Record series" used to give me various options "only on <weekday> at <time>, "any day any time", "any time but only once a day" etc. I like "any day any time" because it then starts recording the next season, even if months later and at a different time, whether I've heard that it's about to start showing again or not. Sometimes I've also found it helpful to be able to set the feature for adding extra minutes of recording time at the end, but not often, so that's not crucial to me.
2) The listing of recordings grouped them by title, so you just saw "<name> 16 recordings" rather than 16 items all with the same name. What's the point of having a whole TB of space if you have to scroll through every episode of every show separately to find what you're looking for?
3) When using the guide, there were useful buttons for finding other times when the show was on, checking the record settings for the series as a whole, and that sort of thing. The Logik machine doesn't give me any of that.
4) Searching the guide actually picked up all instances of the search item over the next week. The Logik is hopeless as this - several times I have searched for a show I know is coming up in the next few days, only for the box to say there are no shows scheduled, even though manually scrolling through the guide does actually pick them up.
Anyway, I've not had the thing long, and now there's been some kind of accident and the socket that you plug the aerial cable into is very wobbly and the reception is intermittent. I'm thinking I'd like to replace the machine if I can get one that would be significantly better than I've got. I'll decide what to do with the old one later. Can anyone recommend a model that will do all the things I've mentioned, please? It would be very helpful if you could.
Also, if I'm going to export to DVD then I also need a DVD-RW, or some way of making my computer talk to the TV. Or should I just be getting an external HDD and using that? I don't know the first thing about that, so any advice would be lovely. Thanks.
Do you know anyone who's bereaved? Point them to https://www.AtaLoss.org which does for bereavement support what MSE does for financial services, providing links to support organisations relevant to the circumstances of the loss & the local area. (Link permitted by forum team)
Tyre performance in the wet deteriorates rapidly below about 3mm tread - change yours when they get dangerous, not just when they are nearly illegal (1.6mm).
Oh, and wear your seatbelt. My kids are only alive because they were wearing theirs when somebody else was driving in wet weather with worn tyres.
Tyre performance in the wet deteriorates rapidly below about 3mm tread - change yours when they get dangerous, not just when they are nearly illegal (1.6mm).
Oh, and wear your seatbelt. My kids are only alive because they were wearing theirs when somebody else was driving in wet weather with worn tyres.
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Comments
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Also, can somebody answer a question that I have about YouView, please? Adverts on TV refer to it having "7 day catch up - just scroll back through the guide" - which seems to me to imply that you can watch any show from the last 7 days. But other descriptions of it say it just incorporates iplayer, 4od and the others into the TV, which is not the same at all - those catch up players between them certainly don't cover all the shows on all the Freeview channels for the last week. So which is it, please?Do you know anyone who's bereaved? Point them to https://www.AtaLoss.org which does for bereavement support what MSE does for financial services, providing links to support organisations relevant to the circumstances of the loss & the local area. (Link permitted by forum team)
Tyre performance in the wet deteriorates rapidly below about 3mm tread - change yours when they get dangerous, not just when they are nearly illegal (1.6mm).
Oh, and wear your seatbelt. My kids are only alive because they were wearing theirs when somebody else was driving in wet weather with worn tyres.0 -
You'll find more answers/get more responses here
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=90
or here http://www.avforums.com/forums/pvrs/0 -
The Panasonic range includes a number of HDD recorders with DVD drives.
The editing facilities are first-rate, allowing recordings to be divided (if you've recorded two programmes in one go, you can split them back into two), partially edited (snip out adverts, top 'n' tail), and titling, amongst others.
Transfers from HDD to DVD can be done at high speed, allowed a 4 hour DVD to be made in around 12 mins.0 -
Sometimes I've also found it helpful to be able to set the feature for adding extra minutes of recording time at the end, but not often, so that's not crucial to me.
You can do this on the Panasonics
2) The listing of recordings grouped them by title, so you just saw "<name> 16 recordings" rather than 16 items all with the same name. What's the point of having a whole TB of space if you have to scroll through every episode of every show separately to find what you're looking for?
The Pana doesn't group them in default mode, leaving them in date order of when they were recorded. If it's a weekly show, and I'm looking for next episode, I merely add seven days to that of the previous, and scroll to that date. There's alternative grouping modes, but I never use them
4) Searching the guide actually picked up all instances of the search item over the next week.
Never use search, I'm afraid, so can't help here0 -
With YouView the catch up players are integrated into the backwards EPG. That is the USP of the offer.
However not all programmes that have been broadcast will be available due to licencing issues.
The catch up players are also accessable as individual apps.That gum you like is coming back in style.0 -
Yeah change the word 'any' to 'many' and it's more accurate. Point being, if you use on demand, it's got as much available as any other Freeview PVR, but is integrated more nicely. Unless you've got a really good reason not to, just go ahead and buy a YouView, it's the best on the market.
You can output from it to a DVD recorder of choice. Best way will be SCART-SCART. This won't be in HD obviously.0 -
You can output from it to a DVD recorder of choice. Best way will be SCART-SCART. This won't be in HD obviously.
... the disadvantage being that has to be done in real time - 4 programmes of 1 hour each dubbed to DVD takes 4 hours; at which point I refer back to the high-speed dubbing of a combined unit like that mentioned above0 -
Agree googler - OP need to prioritise between the better PVR (YouView) or ease/speed of recording. There's no YouView box with DVD drive which would be the perfect device in this case.0
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we have a humax pvr and its fab0
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Yes, I've got the Humax HDR Fox T2 Freeview HD PVR. Really happy with it.0
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