Personal Video Recorders now under £50

goldcroft10

Thanks dc. Pity that I have just had my ordinary tv aerial removed from the chimney. So even with Freeview, which my new tv has built in, I won't be able to record/playback on one of these machines. I am in a Freeview reception area, but the signal will still come from the Sky dish, so they won't work?

Sorry, SB 1786, but it looks as though you also won't be able to use your new recorder through your Sky box.

geoffwebb

With all the new technology making recording from the TV simpler, here's a word of warning. I have BT Vision, which records to the 160GB hard disk with great simplicity. Unfortunately it sometimes fails to record everything and over Christmas I recorded loads of films, and still don't know how some of them end!
BT says
The Digital Television Recorder (DTR) uses the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) to record your chosen programmes. Unfortunately not all programmes are broadcast within the scheduled time provided by the EPG. This means that occasionally the DTR might not record the end of a programme.
To stop this happening you can add additional time to the end of a recording.
It means that to be sure, use the easy peasy recording function, then spend 5 minutes faffing around to add time to the recording.

And by the way, there are no facilities to burn a DVD or transfer the recording to other media so when the 160GB is used up you have to delete your treasured recordings.

A major advance over the VCR, but there is still a way to go yet.

dc

geoffwebb wrote: »

It means that to be sure, use the easy peasy recording function, then spend 5 minutes faffing around to add time to the recording.

Are you sure? if so the BT one is rather backward with the technology. All my recorders have the facility to add margins to the time for early starts and overuns as a One-Off setting, so the setting is applied to all further recordings with out faff.

Plus DVD archiving is done via the scart, PVR/DTR to recorder of your choice.

BFG_2

we have a twin tuner Humax (excellent machine - upgraded from the single tuner as it was that good!!)).

You can record two progs at same time, and still watch a previously recrdoed prog.

When recording two progs at same time you can still watch SOME of the other channels (Freeview inc)...something to do with channels being in 'groups/sets'??

Hope this has muddied the waters completely.



Buy one, you'll never wathc TV in the same way again (IMO).

andyfras_2

speedqueen wrote: »

I've got a DVD recorder which I tape analogue tv to.
I've since gotten a freeview box from which I can get about 5 extra channels (not sure whether this is due to signal or the cheap freeview)

It is due to your signal. You may need an aerial upgrade.

I usually record Ch4 during the day, but on a few occasions ended up recording Freeview instead - I have no idea how I did it! (I presume I'd forgotten the Freeview on, & so it was recorded rather than my Ch4...??)

If you have the FV box connected to scart 2 on the DVDR and switched on the FV box after the DVDR, the DVDR will select AV2 as its source for recording.

Would I be able to get this Freeview PVR, use it to record Freeview, AND keep the DVD recorder to record analogue?

Yes. Connect the aerial to the PVR then on to the DVDR and then to the TV.

Woby_Tide

sb1876 wrote: »

I was on the look out for a digital TV recorder and bought one today from Tesco for £99.95 (half price), its brand new and can be returned etc. if it's faulty or unsuitable, the one I bought is a 160gb hard drive (about 80 hours) Sharp TU-R160HA, I haven't used it yet although I should be able to hook it up to my Sky box and record things as I used to (except the sky channels that I no longer get after cancelling).

You've been sold a lemon if you are in a non-freeview area. This is exactly the thing that a Freeview PVR won't do, it can not record from an external source like a Sky box, you will need a DVD recorder if you want that functionality though you'll only be able to record the channel you are watching on the Sky box.

skull

I can't get freeview in this area for another year or two (don't get me started on broadbandso I battle on with dial-up). I quit sky because the cost was too much and I didn't see why I couldn't watch one programme and video another channel as I could without sky (this was when sky+ cost extra & £10 a month on top). So I have developed patience, and pick up the dvd's of a series I like in sales/car boots/ebay and when I have had enough of watching them, I resell them or pass them on to others, much cheaper. Also the reason the pvr's are cheaper now is probably because there is a better replacement in the offing - there always is in this market, and they are offloading the old ones now. I can wait so why pay morethat I can't afford? Just my view on the subject.

phillj

A Cautionary Tail:

---

I had a digifusion from Microdirect just over a year ago, worked for 6 months and packed in, I returned it and got a replacement which packed in just before Christmas (2007) returned this one and the next lasted 3 days, I returned this and as they were out of stock was given a partial refund (about half what I'd originally paid) in credit, I complained and managed to get the still partial refund paid back onto my credit card. I then went a bought a Digihome DTR160 for £94.99 from Argos:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5321344/Trail/searchtext%3EDIGIHOME.htm

This is brand new and has 1 yr warranty - return to argos store if broken (rather than pay postage to send it to microdirect), it also has a much larger 160 Gb hard drive, in my opinion this is much better value than the refurbished boxes - I pity anyone who ends up with one of my returned boxes after it's been "refurbished"

There is loads of excellent info on PVR's on the digital spy forums:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=90

I recommend any one thinking about purchasing a PVR/Hard disk recorder reads these carefully.

Phill.

renegade

DannyboyBoy
I have just read in a Which Magazine, that if you have a freeview digital tv then all you need is a single tuner not twin!

notpoliticallycorrect

I bought two refurbished digifusion recorders from microdirect last year with twelve months warranty on each.
My sons has intermittent colour distortion. Mine failed completely within a few months but microdirect would not entertain a refund or replacement.
Wasted money, their guarantee is not worth the paper it's not printed on.
I have found them good and cheap for NEW computer accessories though.