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UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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OT - hard disk recorders for TV?
Sorry. a bit (a lot!) OT but I'd value the group's opinions on this...
My VCR is definitely on its last legs, and needs replacing very soon. We already have a DVD playback machine; the need here is for something to enable us to time-shift TV (ie record programmes and watch them at a convenient time, then delete them). Not interested in preserving for posterity here. So the choice is between (a) a hard-disk-type recorder; (b) a DVD-R or -RW machine; or (c) another VCR. I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns... For example, all these machines give widely varying hour capacities, depending on the recording speed. How realistic are these - how good is the quality likely to be at lowest resolution? How many Gb should I rely on for an hours-worth of viewing? What about all these downloadable programming guides etc? Are you always locked in to have to pay a monthly sub, plus daily phone calls, on top of the initial purchase price? Finally, I wonder whether it's too early to be buying an HD machine, are they likely to improve massively in price and quality over the next 1-2 years, as we've seen with DVDs? Therefore maybe a cheapo stopgap VCR would be best? Or a DVD-R (but you've still got the DVDs to find and lose!) I look forward to your views! David |
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Lobster wrote:
Sorry. a bit (a lot!) OT but I'd value the group's opinions on this... My VCR is definitely on its last legs, and needs replacing very soon. We already have a DVD playback machine; the need here is for something to enable us to time-shift TV (ie record programmes and watch them at a snip Finally, I wonder whether it's too early to be buying an HD machine, are they likely to improve massively in price and quality over the next 1-2 years, as we've seen with DVDs? Therefore maybe a cheapo stopgap VCR would be best? Or a DVD-R (but you've still got the DVDs to find and lose!) HD capacities are likely to rise - probably around doubling in that time, which will double recording time. A non-trivial fraction of hard disks will fail every year. This means you lose all recordings. It's nice to be able to back up on to DVD in some way, if you can. |
#3
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"Lobster" wrote in message ... Sorry. a bit (a lot!) OT but I'd value the group's opinions on this... My VCR is definitely on its last legs, and needs replacing very soon. We already have a DVD playback machine; the need here is for something to enable us to time-shift TV (ie record programmes and watch them at a convenient time, then delete them). Not interested in preserving for posterity here. So the choice is between (a) a hard-disk-type recorder; (b) a DVD-R or -RW machine; or (c) another VCR. I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns... For example, all these machines give widely varying hour capacities, depending on the recording speed. How realistic are these - how good is the quality likely to be at lowest resolution? How many Gb should I rely on for an hours-worth of viewing? What about all these downloadable programming guides etc? Are you always locked in to have to pay a monthly sub, plus daily phone calls, on top of the initial purchase price? Finally, I wonder whether it's too early to be buying an HD machine, are they likely to improve massively in price and quality over the next 1-2 years, as we've seen with DVDs? Therefore maybe a cheapo stopgap VCR would be best? Or a DVD-R (but you've still got the DVDs to find and lose!) I look forward to your views! David I'd personally go for a HD model and possibly maybe one which also has DVD-R capability. The speed, ease-of-use, etc of HD recording far exceeds anything that recordable DVD can provide (although DVD-RAM is better than the other two formats). However, I've always wanted to keep some things on tape maybe for family/friends viewing or just stuff to archive off hence the DVD-R. All technology gets better by the minute so yes if you buy it now you'll be kicking yourself next week. But hey that's life! Presently I've experimented with a PC based digital TV system (kids Xmas present) and it is very good. A 90 minute film can take 2.5GB (highest quality setting) so that *may* give you an idea on what storage capacity consumer units may provide?! HTH! |
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On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 20:44:32 GMT, Lobster wrote:
What about all these downloadable programming guides etc? Are you always locked in to have to pay a monthly sub, plus daily phone calls, on top of the initial purchase price? The Philips HDD and DVD burner device uses a free EPG that it downloads each night from a teletext stream carried by ITV1. I'm also interested in this sort of device, HDD to avoid the tape hunting for "free space", EPG to record all eps of Y programme, DVD burner to archive off stuff you want to keep. Price tag is a bit steep though over =A3300 or there abouts. Next down are the DVD recorders at about =A3150, I guess if they can burn a rewriteable DVD then the archiving side is taken care of and you can reuse the DVDs but you then end up hunt the DVD with free space... -- Cheers Dave. pam is missing e-mail |
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"Lobster" wrote in message ... Sorry. a bit (a lot!) OT but I'd value the group's opinions on this... My VCR is definitely on its last legs, and needs replacing very soon. We already have a DVD playback machine; the need here is for something to enable us to time-shift TV (ie record programmes and watch them at a convenient time, then delete them). Not interested in preserving for posterity here. So the choice is between (a) a hard-disk-type recorder; (b) a DVD-R or -RW machine; or (c) another VCR. I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns... You seem to contradicting yourself in the above, first you say that you don't keep stuff for posterity and then say that you can't find a blank (or presumably) used tape to record on to.... For example, all these machines give widely varying hour capacities, depending on the recording speed. How realistic are these - how good is the quality likely to be at lowest resolution? How many Gb should I rely on for an hours-worth of viewing? What about all these downloadable programming guides etc? Are you always locked in to have to pay a monthly sub, plus daily phone calls, on top of the initial purchase price? Finally, I wonder whether it's too early to be buying an HD machine, are they likely to improve massively in price and quality over the next 1-2 years, as we've seen with DVDs? Therefore maybe a cheapo stopgap VCR would be best? Or a DVD-R (but you've still got the DVDs to find and lose!) Well, a VCR is proven technology, there are known problems with recordable DVD's (like compatibility between machines) and HDD recorders are still new to the consumer market - over priced or under spec'ed. Don't be taken in by Dixons (and DSG) marketing hype, IMO the VCR is far from dead and if it was not only would the Dixons stores be clearing their shelves of VCR's but their fellow DSG stores - Currys......... -- Reply to group please. begin .......nothing! I look forward to your views! David |
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On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 22:02:51 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote: On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 20:44:32 GMT, Lobster wrote: What about all these downloadable programming guides etc? Are you always locked in to have to pay a monthly sub, plus daily phone calls, on top of the initial purchase price? The Philips HDD and DVD burner device uses a free EPG that it downloads each night from a teletext stream carried by ITV1. I'm also interested in this sort of device, HDD to avoid the tape hunting for "free space", EPG to record all eps of Y programme, DVD burner to archive off stuff you want to keep. Price tag is a bit steep though over £300 or there abouts. Next down are the DVD recorders at about £150, I guess if they can burn a rewriteable DVD then the archiving side is taken care of and you can reuse the DVDs but you then end up hunt the DVD with free space... DVD-Rs are now so cheap that it's probably not worth bothering with rewritable disks. As far as spare space goes, at least it's random access....... -- ..andy To email, substitute .nospam with .gl |
#7
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Lobster wrote in
: Sorry. a bit (a lot!) OT but I'd value the group's opinions on this... My VCR is definitely on its last legs, and needs replacing very soon. We already have a DVD playback machine; the need here is for something to enable us to time-shift TV (ie record programmes and watch them at a convenient time, then delete them). Not interested in preserving for posterity here. So the choice is between (a) a hard-disk-type recorder; (b) a DVD-R or -RW machine; or (c) another VCR. I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns... For example, all these machines give widely varying hour capacities, depending on the recording speed. How realistic are these - how good is the quality likely to be at lowest resolution? How many Gb should I rely on for an hours-worth of viewing? I didn't think an 80gig drive would be enough for all my timeshifting, which averages about 7 x 3 or 4 hour tapes, so I waited for a 160gig, and then I got a Sony 250gig, which came out about the same time. What an overkill! 160 would have been loads. Also this 2.5 GB per hour is at standard play, which is vastly superior to VHS, so you can easily extend; I've not tried lower rates, but I'd be surprised if the longest play was much inferior to VHS I would suggest a builtin DVD recorder as well, there's always a possibility of archiving, also as a buffer if you manage to push the HD capacity. And you can use your present DVD player elsewhere. The advantages you've described are even greater in practice: I don't know how I managed before. mike |
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On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 22:21:11 +0000, Andy Hall wrote:
DVD-Rs are now so cheap that it's probably not worth bothering with rewritable disks. Seems a bit of a waste just for a time shift of a programme that I might not watch anyway or find naff within the first ten mins and not bother with the rest. A PC based HDD/DVD burner solution appeals, at least then it would not be under control of the kids and with a bit of tiddling about could probably get an email interface for remote programming set up. -- Cheers Dave. pam is missing e-mail |
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Dave Liquorice wrote:
Next down are the DVD recorders at about £150, I was surprised to see that Richer Sounds are doing a Relisys DVD recorder for only £119.99. http://ws2.richersounds.com/showprod...RELI-RDVR250RU I'm hanging on a little longer for one with HD though. |
#10
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I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a
blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns... I very much like the sound of the hard disk based systems too, but one critiscm I have read is of excessive noise from the units, (presumably fan noise and noise from the HDD itself). - Has anyone who owns such a unit got any comments on this? |
#11
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CHECK OUT ARGOS SALE; item 532-0462 @=A3200; 80gb hdd, twin tuners.
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#12
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In article .com,
Mike Pepper wrote: I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns... I very much like the sound of the hard disk based systems too, but one critiscm I have read is of excessive noise from the units, (presumably fan noise and noise from the HDD itself). - Has anyone who owns such a unit got any comments on this? You are now entering the realms of the home server + network arena - You have a living room "appliance" which is nothing more than a small (fanless) PC (boot off flash) with a slot (combined CD+DVD reader), an RF/UHF in with digital tuner on-board, Video & audio out and a network interface to take the data to/from the "home server" stashed under the stairs.. Well gekky stuff, but it's all do-able with todays technology, and open source stuff. Hopefully this year I'll get my act together and build such a thing... I already have a spare small PC - little pizza box size thing, works off a laptop PSU, boots from flash, 500MHz VIA processor, although the processor might not be up to playing video from the filestore and recording off-air at the same time. I've already gotten rid of the old Hi-Fi stack from the livingroom - my DVD player seems to play all my audio CDs quite well... (Amp & Speakers are still there though, but the Amp is now in the telly cabinet and not part of a separate stack) Gordon |
#13
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On 29 Dec 2004 00:15:45 -0800, "Mike Pepper"
wrote: I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns... I very much like the sound of the hard disk based systems too, but one critiscm I have read is of excessive noise from the units, (presumably fan noise and noise from the HDD itself). - Has anyone who owns such a unit got any comments on this? I have one of the Sky units and you can only hear the disk if you put your ear very close to the unit, and even then it's very quiet. In a cabinet and a few metres away, it's inaudible. -- ..andy To email, substitute .nospam with .gl |
#14
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In article , Lobster
wrote: My VCR is definitely on its last legs, and needs replacing very soon. We already have a DVD playback machine; the need here is for something to enable us to time-shift TV (ie record programmes and watch them at a convenient time, then delete them). Not interested in preserving for posterity here. One of my best ever purchases a year ago was my Pace Twin Freeview hard disk recorder which I use for time shifting. The real joy of it is the repeating timer: for a programme you watch week on week you enter the details once, selecting 'weekly', 'daily' or 'weekdays' and it will be recorded each time until you delete the entry. When it comes to playing back you have a nice menu of recordings with each given the programme's name, select what you want and play (skipping the ads at x32 playback). A further plus is that Freeview also carries BBC Radio, so you have a nice easy way of recording radio progs too. The only caveat is that the software is not 100% and occasionally you do get the endless loop (only cure to switch off at mains) or picture freeze bugs (press stop, then play) but these are more than compensated for by the fact that it does exactly what I want. There are some more recent PVR's around but some only have one tuner so you cannot watch one Freeview prog whilst recording another and some AIUI do not have the repeating timer. And of course you need to be in a Freeview reception area. -- Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk Free SEDBUK boiler database browser http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm |
#15
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Following-up my own post, which is not always a wise move, but after
catching up with some post-xmas news, I find the ofllowing: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/29/sub-500_imac/ So it looks like for under $500 there may well be a pre-built system ready to go... (Although it's probably take Apple another year to get to the UK market and then the $ will change to a £ without any form of monerary conversion taking place )-: Gordon |
#16
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#17
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Mike Pepper wrote:
I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns... I very much like the sound of the hard disk based systems too, but one critiscm I have read is of excessive noise from the units, (presumably fan noise and noise from the HDD itself). - Has anyone who owns such a unit got any comments on this? I've got a TiVo sat straight under the TV and don't find the noise intrusive at all, it's behind a glass door but the back is open to the room and the only time you can hear it is if you get right up close to it. I have though swapped the standard HD for a bigger one and specifically choose a quiet running drive. The cooling fan on the case is very quiet, if only PC manufacturers could catch on. -- James... www.jameshart.co.uk |
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Tony Bryer wrote:
One of my best ever purchases a year ago was my Pace Twin Freeview hard disk recorder which I use for time shifting. The real joy of it is the repeating timer: for a programme you watch week on week you enter the details once, selecting 'weekly', 'daily' or 'weekdays' and it will be recorded each time until you delete the entry. When it comes to playing back you have a nice menu of recordings with each given the programme's name, select what you want and play (skipping the ads at x32 playback). A further plus is that Freeview also carries BBC Radio, so you have a nice easy way of recording radio progs too. Thanks, sounds interesting. Just been looking into this one at http://www.pacefreetoview.co.uk/02d.asp. I see it has a 10 hrs viewing time/ 20Gb HDD which sounds a bit on the low side - are they upgradeable with standard PC kit? (does anyone know if this can be done with other models?) I also note it's subscription-free - good! - does it still get programme details/transmission times etc over the ether, or do you have to enter all that yourself? Cheers David |
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Gordon Henderson wrote:
You are now entering the realms of the home server + network arena - You have a living room "appliance" which is nothing more than a small (fanless) PC (boot off flash) with a slot (combined CD+DVD reader), an RF/UHF in with digital tuner on-board, Video & audio out and a network interface to take the data to/from the "home server" stashed under the stairs.. Well gekky stuff, but it's all do-able with todays technology, and open source stuff. I'd really like to do something along these lines but TBH I think I lack the geekability to do it from scratch and would need somethig a bit more off-the-shelf. My own living room TV sits next to an ethernet socket for my home network, which includes a PC with (underused) TV card and I can't help feeling that there must be a relaitively simple way to take advantage of this! I keep dipping into this to find out if technology has got there yet but am not convinced it is yet. There seem to be various media streaming devices (eg: http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/pages/pro..._mediamvp.html www.streamium.com www.dlink.com/products/?pid=318&sec=0 but I'm not convinced these are really replacements for a VCR, especially in terms of userfriendliness - am I wrong? I've never seen these gizmos in the flesh; has anyone experience of them? David |
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Lobster wrote:
Gordon Henderson wrote: You are now entering the realms of the home server + network arena - You have a living room "appliance" which is nothing more than a small (fanless) PC (boot off flash) with a slot (combined CD+DVD reader), an RF/UHF in with digital tuner on-board, Video & audio out and a network interface to take the data to/from the "home server" stashed under the stairs.. Well gekky stuff, but it's all do-able with todays technology, and open source stuff. I'd really like to do something along these lines but TBH I think I lack the geekability to do it from scratch and would need somethig a bit more off-the-shelf. My own living room TV sits next to an ethernet socket for my home network, which includes a PC with (underused) TV card and I can't help feeling that there must be a relaitively simple way to take advantage of this! Google Mythtv However, it's not really precisely turnkey. |
#21
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On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 14:14:33 GMT, Lobster
wrote: Thanks, sounds interesting. Just been looking into this one at http://www.pacefreetoview.co.uk/02d.asp. Looks like the Pace Twin, which I believe has been discontinued. I have one and it has performed well for me BUT the software is not bomb-proof and can give problems. However, it is one of the few that currently have twin tuners so you can watch one channel and record another. Recording quality is excellent - indistinguishable from broadcast quality. Again note that archiving is real time only to VCR. The hard drive is also notebook size 2.5in as opposed to the far more common 3.5in. I see it has a 10 hrs viewing time/ 20Gb HDD which sounds a bit on the low side - are they upgradeable with standard PC kit? (does anyone know if this can be done with other models?) The drive it is supplied with is 20GB which gives qo hours recording time. The drive can be changed to a larger one but an 80GB 2.5 in costs nigh on £100 (as opposed to £30 for the 3.5) Other models (Humax, Fusion) have standard 3.5 in drives and these can be upgraded but there is IIRC no twin tuner model yet. I also note it's subscription-free - good! - does it still get programme details/transmission times etc over the ether, or do you have to enter all that yourself? Thre was only a 24 hour programme guide but IIRC parts of the country no get up to 7 days EPG. I would wait at least six months until newer models hit the market or the dual mode - HDD/DVD writers come down in price, then you can record to HDD, edit and burn to DVD. Regards |
#22
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On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 22:37:55 +0000, Ziggy wrote:
Recording quality is excellent - indistinguishable from broadcast quality. I think you really mean that you can't tell that you are watching a recording. You do not get real broadcast quality over freeview it's fairly heavly compressed using lossy methods. -- Cheers Dave. pam is missing e-mail |
#23
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"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.com Seems a bit of a waste just for a time shift of a programme that I might not watch anyway or find naff within the first ten mins and not bother with the rest. A disk cost about 10 pence doesn't it? And are rewritable these days are they not? Is that an unbearable expense? A PC based HDD/DVD burner solution appeals, at least then it would not be under control of the kids and with a bit of tiddling about could probably get an email interface for remote programming set up. What are those 7 to 2 or somesuch DVD card readers on sale in Lidle? Is that what you lot are talking about? £55 sounds a lot cheaper than the above prices. But a lot more than an ordinary DVD TV player only. -- Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG |
#24
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On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 09:21:13 +0000 (UTC), Michael Mcneil wrote:
Seems a bit of a waste just for a time shift of a programme that I might not watch anyway or find naff within the first ten mins and not bother with the rest. A disk cost about 10 pence doesn't it? And are rewritable these days are they not? Is that an unbearable expense? Read back a bit further, it was suggested that WORM discs were used. It is also a waste of resources. -- Cheers Dave. pam is missing e-mail |
#25
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In article .com, Mike
Pepper writes I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns... I very much like the sound of the hard disk based systems too, but one critiscm I have read is of excessive noise from the units, (presumably fan noise and noise from the HDD itself). - Has anyone who owns such a unit got any comments on this? What you really, really, want is a head end that tunes the sat/ terrestrial signals whatever, that has an output over 10/100 ethernet which puts all the necessary data on the "server" in the "racks room" elsewhere in your house, then you can dump all the stuff you want to record timeshift on there. Then you "edit" what you want to archive, share etc, and burn that onto a DVD which all in all gives you the best of both worlds. We've been using a Manhattan Starlight 5900 satellite receiver for some non UK programmes and this has a built in HD and the quality easily exceeds VHS. The 160 G/B drive in that offers some 60 odd hours of video and or sound and very nice is that too. However this unit can't get the signal off the drive and thats where some of the newer receivers are quite good such as IIRC the Keon or similar sounding units from Germany that have the 10/100 streaming connection. IIRC too the dreambox has this on, but all in all I think that "architecture" of radio/TV viewing is about to develop along these lines. We have a 10/100 network here and we use that to distribute audio around the house, the big server outside in the garage/shed carries all the CD's and other audio which is just picked off as and when needed by other user PC's round the gaff) Very similar as to how a local radio station/studio works these days..... -- Tony Sayer |
#26
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In article om,
Dave Liquorice wrote: Recording quality is excellent - indistinguishable from broadcast quality. I think you really mean that you can't tell that you are watching a recording. You do not get real broadcast quality over freeview it's fairly heavly compressed using lossy methods. And I'd guess the recorder will throw away some more. But probably only noticeable on some types of movement. -- *Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all?" Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#27
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On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 22:37:55 +0000, Ziggy
squeezed out the following: Other models (Humax, Fusion) have standard 3.5 in drives and these can be upgraded but there is IIRC no twin tuner model yet. Fusion and Thomson both do them now. I also note it's subscription-free - good! - does it still get programme details/transmission times etc over the ether, or do you have to enter all that yourself? Thre was only a 24 hour programme guide but IIRC parts of the country now get up to 7 days EPG. Correct. The Thomson's recent software upgrade allegedly gets 14 day EPG. I would wait at least six months until newer models hit the market or the dual mode - HDD/DVD writers come down in price, then you can record to HDD, edit and burn to DVD. Anything you get is superceded a month or two later. I think UKP200k or less for a Freeview box with built-in 40Gb HDD is worth going for. -- Colin Irvine |
#28
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In article , Ziggy wrote:
Thre was only a 24 hour programme guide but IIRC parts of the country no get up to 7 days EPG. 7 days here (London) -- Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk Free SEDBUK boiler database browser http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm |
#29
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"Lobster" wrote in message ... Sorry. a bit (a lot!) OT but I'd value the group's opinions on this... My VCR is definitely on its last legs, and needs replacing very soon. We already have a DVD playback machine; the need here is for something to enable us to time-shift TV (ie record programmes and watch them at a convenient time, then delete them). Not interested in preserving for posterity here. So the choice is between (a) a hard-disk-type recorder; (b) a DVD-R or -RW machine; or (c) another VCR. I really like the idea of a hard disk - no more hunting round for a blank tape with enough free space left; no more hunting round for that tape with the final episode of '24', which I know is there somewhere - but have some concerns... For example, all these machines give widely varying hour capacities, depending on the recording speed. How realistic are these - how good is the quality likely to be at lowest resolution? How many Gb should I rely on for an hours-worth of viewing? What about all these downloadable programming guides etc? Are you always locked in to have to pay a monthly sub, plus daily phone calls, on top of the initial purchase price? Finally, I wonder whether it's too early to be buying an HD machine, are they likely to improve massively in price and quality over the next 1-2 years, as we've seen with DVDs? Therefore maybe a cheapo stopgap VCR would be best? Or a DVD-R (but you've still got the DVDs to find and lose!) I look forward to your views! David We bought a Philips DVDR725H/05 about 4 weeks ago. It has a 160GB hard drive which will store, according to the manual: M1 = 1 hour on a DVD+R/RW or 32 hours on hdd, M2 (pre-recorded DVD quality) = 2 hours on DVD or 64 hours on hdd, M2x (better than S-VHS quality) = 2.5 hours on DVD or 80 hours on hdd, M3 (S-VHS quality) = 3 hours on DVD or 96 hours on hdd M4 (better than VHS quality) 4 hours DVD or 128 hours on hdd M6 (VHS quality) 6 hours DVD 192 hdd M8 (VHS-LP quality) 8 hours DVD or 250 hdd DVD+RW's can be written to, erased and written to again over 1000 times and cost between 80p and £1 per disk (depending on brand) from local computer fairs. The unit sits openly next to the telly and there is no noise whatsoever from it. And as for the electronic program guide, it gets updated each night, covers 7 nights in advance and makes recording a breeze - even the wife can do it. Simply select the programme, press the red button, and that's it - timer is set! (find out more about it here http://www.europe.guideplus.com/) The features and benefits are far too many to mention here so have a look at http://tinyurl.com/55dwa to see it for yourself. OK, it cost us £499 from www.digital-point.co.uk and it'll be outdated and probably obsolete within 6 months, but hey, it really is one of the best things we've ever bought in the context of home entertainment. Mogweed. |
#30
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In article , Tony Bryer wrote:
The only caveat is that the software is not 100% and occasionally you do get the endless loop (only cure to switch off at mains) or picture freeze bugs (press stop, then play) but these are more than compensated for by the fact that it I've got a Pace twin that suffers from this problem. Passing traffic seems to trigger it. Anyone know a possible cure? BTW I'm supposedly not in a freeview area and the box often reads a signal strength of less than 20%, but picture quality is pretty good as long as it sits still. Also, it's possible to record direct to VCR from the second tuner if there's something you want to keep. Stu |
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I have just purchased the Philips DVDR725H and at first I got a guide
plus listing and every morning after it says it has not updated the 7 day listing. I have read the manual and left it on standby, on itv as i have only terestrial and the next nigh used the power off button on the front of the panel, thied leaving it on the itv1 channel prior to power off to standby. Tonight i will leave it turned on and observe.. Have you any tips ? Malcolm |
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