Cheap PVR recommendations?

Woby_Tide

Nikolai wrote: »

Hello,
our freeview box has given up the ghost after a couple of years and so it needs to be replaced. As we have been still using a VCR for recording I thought now would be a good time to get a freeview PVR with twin tuners.
We only have a budget of around £110 - £120.
We would probably not need a massive HDD, 80GB would be enough.
I know the Humax one is highly recommended but would be a bit too expensive.
Any recommendations?
Thanks

Not brand new but you can get the Humax direct from them and still with a 12 month warranty for £130

http://humaxdirect.co.uk/product.asp?ProdRef=20032

Nikolai

Sorry, have been busy and unable to check this thread out.
Thanks to all for your replies, much appreciated!

buglawton

Well I ordered from that link - what you see is a Humax PVR 9200T-G. What arrived has no model number on the casing but the manual says 9200T. Everything is as described so I'm happy. The link above seems to get the product £20 cheaper than finding it through the front door on Humax Direct's site so double thanks to the OP above. If there is one disappointment it is that you cannot record via the SCART so recording from the satellite does not seem possible. There are 2 scart sockets. On the other hand the tuner is brilliant with no sign of picture freezing (compared with an old Sagem Freeview box that had loads of breakup).

Miró

maninthestreet wrote: »

I understand that the Thomson DTI 6300-16 PVR (cost about £100) is a good buy - has 160GB hard disk, plus it supports TopUp TV.

Get it from John Lewis online, use a £20 off £100 spend voucher...even better :j I did and I'm pleased with mine.

Woby_Tide

buglawton wrote: »

If there is one disappointment it is that you cannot record via the SCART so recording from the satellite does not seem possible. There are 2 scart sockets.

No PVR offers that functionality currently. If you need to record from an external source then you need a DVD recorder (with or without a HD), but you then lose teh PVR ability to record from multiple digital channels.

when/if someone designs a '1 tidy box' 2 digital tuner PVR with DVD recording capablities and also the ability to record from an external source, they will become very, very rich, very quick

buglawton

Interesting that no PVR exists that has an external input. Anyway I feel the need for a really simple low profile and reliable DVD recorder/player coming on, for occasional purposes. Having too many widgets in one box can result in the box having a fault or becoming obsolete too early IMHO.

[ Update ] One other curious thing is that when you put the Humax in Standby (as you do) it loses the EPG (Programme Guide) and is rather slow (hours) to fully reload it, so you can't schedule recordings! This is a known issue and i am amazed it has not been addressed.

Woby_Tide

I think the main issue is fitting the tuners inside the box along with all other associated bits. With a PVR the tuners are receiving and recording the actual transport stream from the broadcaster, with a DVD-rec, the input tuner is having to convert the incoming signal to a valid format to save(which technically reduces the quality of the picture as it converts), i guess that takes up teh space for a second possible tuner(though why when most of the newer ones have an analogue and DVB tuner they don't sacrifice the analogue one I don't know). Does seem odd that no company wants to clean up teh market in the short term

buglawton

Well I'm going to bump this as the Humax Direct link above still works and this must be the bargain of 2007 for anyone looking for a PVR right now - £140 inc next day delivery, direct from Manufacturer with 1 yr warranty. Get used to the quirky menu system and this is a gem.

mostly

buglawton wrote: »

.

[ Update ] One other curious thing is that when you put the Humax in Standby (as you do) it loses the EPG (Programme Guide) and is rather slow (hours) to fully reload it, so you can't schedule recordings! This is a known issue and i am amazed it has not been addressed.

It is a bit of a pain in the !!!!, but if you stick picture in picture on & watch bbc & say c4 it'll load a lot quicker.

buglawton

Also I find the Channel 5's EPG is always empty and stays so - till I turn to Channel 5 then it updates in a minute or 2.