Anyone Using Telewest TV-Drive? Opinions?

I am aware that their HD is not the latest spec (mpeg2 rather than mpeg4)
but how are people getting on with it?

I am looking to get rid of boxes and could use this to get rid of both my
decoder box and VCR

Any thoughts or comments?

Tricky

Tricky Dicky wrote:
I am aware that their HD is not the latest spec (mpeg2 rather than
mpeg4) but how are people getting on with it?

I am looking to get rid of boxes and could use this to get rid of
both my decoder box and VCR

Any thoughts or comments?

Tricky

Hi Tricky!

I'm on Telewest too and I've been thinking about switching to TVDrive
myself.

I asked the same question on blueyonder.discussion.digitaltv a month ago and
the consensus was not to go for it yet - far too unstable. However, since a
recent software update things seem to have settled down - far fewer
complaints on the discussion group or the support group.

Also, people are actively praising the high def output.

You could Google the discussion group for previous threads or ask the
question there again. However, speaking for myself I must say I'm pretty
tempted.

I'm happy with mine, no problems with recording etc, HD is excellent from
the TVDrive.

"Tricky Dicky" wrote in message
...
I am aware that their HD is not the latest spec (mpeg2 rather than mpeg4)
but how are people getting on with it?

I am looking to get rid of boxes and could use this to get rid of both my
decoder box and VCR

Any thoughts or comments?

Tricky

"Paul D" wrote in message
news
Tricky Dicky wrote:
I am aware that their HD is not the latest spec (mpeg2 rather than
mpeg4) but how are people getting on with it?

I am looking to get rid of boxes and could use this to get rid of
both my decoder box and VCR

Any thoughts or comments?

Tricky

Hi Tricky!

I'm on Telewest too and I've been thinking about switching to TVDrive
myself.

I asked the same question on blueyonder.discussion.digitaltv a month ago
and the consensus was not to go for it yet - far too unstable. However,
since a recent software update things seem to have settled down - far
fewer complaints on the discussion group or the support group.

Also, people are actively praising the high def output.

You could Google the discussion group for previous threads or ask the
question there again. However, speaking for myself I must say I'm pretty
tempted.


Sounds good. Temptation is egging me on!

I am going to see what is being said in other forums and in the blueyonder
groups

Cheers

Tricky

What screen do you have and have you connected via HDMI?

Tricky


"Gordon Dack" wrote in message
. uk...
I'm happy with mine, no problems with recording etc, HD is excellent from
the TVDrive.

"Tricky Dicky" wrote in message
...
I am aware that their HD is not the latest spec (mpeg2 rather than mpeg4)
but how are people getting on with it?

I am looking to get rid of boxes and could use this to get rid of both my
decoder box and VCR

Any thoughts or comments?

Tricky

Tricky Dicky wrote:
I am aware that their HD is not the latest spec (mpeg2 rather than mpeg4)
but how are people getting on with it?

I am looking to get rid of boxes and could use this to get rid of both my
decoder box and VCR

Any thoughts or comments?


I've had one since march and I don't know if I could do without it now.
There have been problems with series links (which can still happen
occasionally) but since the recent updates it's been much more stable.
I've not got a an HDTV but it does a great job of downscaling that feed
to an SD telly. I do, however, have a 5.1 decoder and speakers so I do
get the benefit of the surround sound on the HD channels, I'm hoping
once the world cup is over the BBC will have something more to show on
it but frankly they can just loop Planet Earth and most people will be
happy. www.digitalspy.co.uk have a dedicated forum for the TVD which
might be worth checking out.

Stewart

Tricky Dicky wrote:
I am aware that their HD is not the latest spec (mpeg2 rather than mpeg4)
but how are people getting on with it?

I am looking to get rid of boxes and could use this to get rid of both my
decoder box and VCR

Any thoughts or comments?

Tricky



I have the TVDrive box together with a Sony Bravia 32" TV and have been
getting on with it just fine.

I've not had a huge number of problems with it, the forums were
initially full of reports of people experiencing issues, however since
the latest code drop the list of outstanding issues has been shortened
considerably.

You might know this already but the TVDrive box can be configured to
upscale the incoming SD signal to either 720p or 1080i over the HDMI
connection. What this means is that all your current SD channels have
an improved Picture Quality when viewed over the HDMI connection to a HD
Ready TV. Both myself and my wife noticed the difference within minutes
of watching.

In terms of HD Picture Quality, you have to bear in mind that HD content
is still sparse, apart from the live transmissions of the World Cup and
that some HD content is actually upscaled standard definition content.

On the BBC side,programmes like Planet Earth (which I'm told is full HD,
not upscaled SD) looks fantastic as does Pride. The trailers I've seen
on the BBC channel 108 on Telewest are also very very good.

TO be honest with you although the TVDrive box supports MPEG2 and not
MPEG4 I don't see that being a huge problem. From my limited
understanding of the TVDrive box it is software upgradable over the wire
as the numerous code drops have shown. If the decoder can be upgraded
via software the infrastructure is there to do that at some point in the
future.

The only outstanding problem we've had with our box over the past month
or so is where some content on Teleport doesn't display on first access.
It can sometimes take multiple times to get content to display
properly. This I think is an issue with the HDMI connection on the
TVDrive box because it doesn't appear when using the Scart output.
Talking to Telewest Support they have recommended that the TVDrive box
be swapped out though which, is a pain because I have around 40 hours of
programming stored on the disk which I've yet to catch up on. Hence I
have now purchased a Sony DVD-Recorder which I'm going to use to archive
all unseen content to DVD-RW.

If you're definitely going to buy or already have a HD Ready TV I'd say
go for it. If you're wavering on getting a HD Ready TV I'd say wait
until after the World Cup is over, you may well get a better deal on a
HD Ready TV. Since I purchased my TV it's already had £400 knocked off
the retail price, can't complain though, that's the price you pay for
adopting bleeding edge technology.

--
Regards,

JasonB

Tricky Dicky wrote:
I am aware that their HD is not the latest spec (mpeg2 rather than
mpeg4) but how are people getting on with it?

That's kind of irrelevent in everyday usage.

I am looking to get rid of boxes and could use this to get rid of
both my decoder box and VCR

Compared with a VCR it's excellent, on a par with sky+
you can record from two tuners at the same time, and watch
a third different channel.

Easy to set recordings from the same tv guide normal cable
boxes use, just highlight the program and press record,
or press yellow for series record.

Compared with Tivo, MCE or some of the better PVRs,
it's pretty limited.

It's missing any kind of keyword title search - you are limited to
the day-by-day tv guide, nearest you get is a large a-z listing.

Doesn't record the live buffer i.e. pressing record starts from
when you press, it doesn't go back and grab the last 20mins
from the start of the show like tivo. The box actually did this
on the pre-release trial, but the release boxes don't !

Is it good as a standalone recorder ? Yes, and the quality is great.

Is it good enough to replace the tivo yet? No, but the tivo
can control it just like any digibox, but only from the one tuner.

--
Mike

I'm happy with mine, no problems with recording etc, HD is excellent from
the TVDrive.

"Tricky Dicky" wrote in message
...
I am aware that their HD is not the latest spec (mpeg2 rather than mpeg4)
but how are people getting on with it?

I am looking to get rid of boxes and could use this to get rid of both my
decoder box and VCR

Any thoughts or comments?

Tricky