Freeview PVR questions

In message
,
Lakeuk wrote

Make sure any PVR you get supports Freeview Playback

Or you could get a machine that does more


http://www.freeviewplayback.co.uk/

And from that site what are the features of Freeview Playback? No
cheating - only use the information on that site.
--
Alan


news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

"Ed" wrote in message
...
On 29 Dec, 18:01, Alan wrote:
In message
, Ed
wrote





Hi there

Spent a few days at the inlaws and explained to them the benefits of a
PVR. They're not keen on getting a dish so I said I'd sort them out a
freeview PVR.

Every freeview decoder I've ever seen has a now and next banner, but
not one where you can press 'down' a la sky plus to see what is on
after that, and therefore to set a recording for later that evening
you have to use the painfully slow on screen tv guides.

Do any newer PVRs work like the sky plus machine?

I know a lot of people on here have topfields, but they seem pricey.
The Sagem DVR64250 has had good reviews too.

Most (all) recent PVRs will have a 7+ day Electronic Program Guide (EPG)
where you can just select the program from the EPG to record.

On the better machines the EPG is near instantaneous and scrolling
through it takes seconds. My Topfield is set-up to show a single screen
with 10 TV channels and 3 hours of programming and the up/down,
left/right keys on the remote scroll through the hours or other TV
programs.

With some (most) PVRs you will be able to search for the program you
want, irrespective of the channel its on, or you can get the machine to
search for you on a regular basis and automatically set the recording.

Freeview Playback with its associated logo/branding is a poor attempt to
tell the public that the Freeview PVR is very much like Sky+. However
some machines that do not yet carry the Freeview Playback logo can do
much more

Many manufactures put the manuals for the machines on their web site so
you can download them and check the operation or features before you
buy.

--
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for all the replies so far. Do any of these machines allow you
to search later using the 'search and scan' banner as per my OP?


Certainly with the Topfield you can select any programme in the next 7 days.
(That the broadcaster has been kind enough to send out the EPG data.)
You would need to scroll up/down or across to get to the right channel and
day.
With Taps there are many different ways that the EPG can be displayed, and
the data is cached so that you get instant access.


--
Michael Chare

* Mark Carver:
Ed wrote:

Thanks for all the replies so far. Do any of these machines allow you
to search later using the 'search and scan' banner as per my OP?

Just checked the Digihome DTR80. You can view 'Now' or 'Next' on the
channel you're watching, or any other channel. You can also set a
recording by hitting the Rec button on any of the 'Next' banners you
bring up. Beyond that and you need to use the EPG grid page.

The PVR does also have the 'Freeview Playback' logo. This should mean
that overrunning BBC programmes are recorded fully, one of FB's minimum
requirements. That might also work for C4. The other broadcasters have
yet to set things up their end to enable this.



Is there a manual to download for the DTR80? As I say in a another thread, I'm looking for an easy
to use PVR for my (not tech-savvy) Mother.


Thanks
--
Derek

Ed wrote:
Hi there

Spent a few days at the inlaws and explained to them the benefits of a
PVR. They're not keen on getting a dish so I said I'd sort them out a
freeview PVR.

Every freeview decoder I've ever seen has a now and next banner, but
not one where you can press 'down' a la sky plus to see what is on
after that, and therefore to set a recording for later that evening
you have to use the painfully slow on screen tv guides.

Do any newer PVRs work like the sky plus machine?

I know a lot of people on here have topfields, but they seem pricey.

The Topfield has a week's worth of EPG data by default, and there are
add on programs that allow to download extra programme details for
further ahead from the Radio Times website and (I think) from something
like Digiguide.


--
neil h
google brights

DerekBaker wrote:

Is there a manual to download for the DTR80? As I say in a another
thread, I'm looking for an easy to use PVR for my (not tech-savvy) Mother.

Can't find it on the web. Email me Derek as per the instructions below, and I
can send you a scan.

--
Mark lid
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

* Mark Carver:
DerekBaker wrote:

Is there a manual to download for the DTR80? As I say in a another
thread, I'm looking for an easy to use PVR for my (not tech-savvy)
Mother.

Can't find it on the web. Email me Derek as per the instructions below,
and I can send you a scan.


Done.

Thanks
--
Derek

Mark Carver wrote:
If you want a cheap PVR the Digihome DTR80 seems quite good. Twin
tuners, 80 Gig HDD, (40ish hours recording time), very intuitive menu
(very similar recording set up as Sky +). My lad got one this week,
early days, but it hasn't crashed or failed to record yet. 80 quid at
Argos (30 day return deal does not apply).


Does anybody else have any experience of the Digihome?

I'm really tempted by it as my 2-3 year old Humax set top box
drives me nuts by constantly locking up, losing schedule info and
refusing to record.

* Mark Carver:
DerekBaker wrote:

Is there a manual to download for the DTR80? As I say in a another
thread, I'm looking for an easy to use PVR for my (not tech-savvy)
Mother.

Can't find it on the web. Email me Derek as per the instructions below,
and I can send you a scan.


Thanks.

I notice that the QuickStart Guide you sent me says 'you can make a recording of one digital channel
and watch a different digital channel'.

While http://tinyurl.com/3x6p5m says 'Can record 2 channels at the same time'.

Which is correct?

Thanks
--
Derek

DerekBaker wrote:

I notice that the QuickStart Guide you sent me says 'you can make a
recording of one digital channel and watch a different digital channel'.

While http://tinyurl.com/3x6p5m says 'Can record 2 channels at the same
time'.

Which is correct?

Both ! But if recording two channels, you can't view a third.

--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

Mark Carver wrote:
DerekBaker wrote:

I notice that the QuickStart Guide you sent me says 'you can make a
recording of one digital channel and watch a different digital channel'.

While http://tinyurl.com/3x6p5m says 'Can record 2 channels at the
same time'.

Which is correct?

Both ! But if recording two channels, you can't view a third.


You can with the Toppy, provided the third channel is on the same
multiplex as one of the other two.

--
neil h
google brights