DVD Recorder with HDD and Freeview

worldofchat

Hi guys

I have been looking for a good dvd recorder with a hard drive and built in freeview for a while there are loads of different models out there the cheapest i have found is http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?quicklinx=4K63

But there is very little information about it ? anyone got any info on these products ?

Woc

mustrum_ridcully

I don't know much about that model, or what the current situation is (I last looked about half a year ago at them) but becareful that the box might only have a single tuner. This means that if you are recording something you can't watch another channel. If you want to be able to do that (i.e. watch the football whilst recording coronation street) then you'll need a Twin Tuner box. However when I last looked (over 6m ago) there appeared to be no twin tuner, HDD + DVD Freeview boxes around .

worldofchat

Hi there

Thanks for the info and a very good point about the single tuner, btw i dont watch coronation street lol !!!!!!

Woc

Mercenary

You may be better off buying a HDD-DVDR with a separate Freeview box so that it can record from either the digital Freeview channels or the analogue TV channels while you watch the other.
There is the added benefit that if the Freeview box suddenly dies (as is known to happen) then you can simply replace it rather than having an almost useless HDD-DVDR if an integral Freeview system goes west.

As yet, there is no actual twin-tuner HDD-DVDR (so that you can record 2 channels while watching a 3rd), although there are always manufacturer's hints that there may be one marketed soon. DVDR machines marketed as 'twin-tuner' now are merely ones that can record from 1 digital or 1 analogue source.
Of course you could always investigate some of the twin-tuner PVRs mentioned here: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=90

itgirlinuk

Is it possible to record freeview channels on to the DVD HDD, if you have a separate freeview and dvd?

I thought you needed a freeview tuner built in to the DVD player to do this...

Mercenary

Yes it's perfectly possible to record from a Freeview box to a DVD-Recorder (with or without a Hard drive) as long as you connect it correctly and set up the correct Input source on the Recorder.:D
It's the same principle as you used to set up the old VCR to record the signal from the TV aerial input...and then through to the TV using scarts and RF leads to 'Daisy-chain' them together.

For example: My Sony HDD-DVDR is set up to receive the Input from the F/view box into it's Line3 (Read your own equipment manuals! ).
To watch the recorded content (or the Freeview channels from the F/view box passed through my DVDR if I'm recording bits selectively) on the TV, my Output is set from Line1 on the HDD-DVDR to the correct TV input (AV1).
My F/View box is also connected via a 2nd scart directly to the TV's AV2 for those times I don't need/want my DVD-Recorder on.

You do also have to set up timers on BOTH pieces of equipment for timed recordings ...with an extra minute or two of overlap set on the Freeview Box's timer so that it is operating before and after the DVD-Recorder's timer just so you don't get blank recorded space.
If you have both machines on then you can simply press the REC button (after correct connections are setup , of course).