Best PVR for older/non-techie people

I'm hunting for a PVR suitable for older people (many of them aged 80+),
who'll find timed-recording onto VHS difficult after switchover is completed
here.

As the unlucky owner of a Sagem 160GB PVR, which is probably the worst product
I've ever owned and definitely not fit-for-purpose, my skepticism regarding
the quality of Freeview PVRs is high.

So I'm looking for one which has a clear user interface, a fast response to
key presses, no software glitches, no crashes, no random resets/reboots, and
which actually records programmes reliably.

I'm put off the Humax ones because of the user interface, which many say is
non-intuitive.

So I'm thinking either the TVonics, or the Vestel-based units (often badged as
Alba/Digihome/Sharp etc.) might be the most suitable.

I'd therefore be interested to hear from people who use either of these PVR
types on a regular basis.

thanks,
Jamie.

In article ,
jamie powell wrote:
I'm hunting for a PVR suitable for older people (many of them aged 80+),
who'll find timed-recording onto VHS difficult after switchover is
completed here.

As the unlucky owner of a Sagem 160GB PVR, which is probably the worst
product I've ever owned and definitely not fit-for-purpose, my
skepticism regarding the quality of Freeview PVRs is high.

So I'm looking for one which has a clear user interface, a fast response
to key presses, no software glitches, no crashes, no random
resets/reboots, and which actually records programmes reliably.

My Topfield fits all that - and is actually easier to use than most VCRs.
For basic record/replay.

--
*Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

jamie powell wrote:
I'm put off the Humax ones because of the user interface, which many say
is non-intuitive.

Personally I find the Humax very straightforward , as does everyone I
know who owns one or uses mine.

I'd have a look at one yourself rather than dismissing it out of hand.

--
Alex

"I laugh in the face of danger, then I hide until it goes away"

HI Jamie, I have an old Humax PVR-9200T which is ok for me but sometimes
remote functions seem to take ages to respond so maybe no good for your
needs but there maybe something else you need to bear in mind here, I have
an older TV (and guess some of your clients/friends) may have an older TV as
well and there may well be a lack of scart sockets on the back of the TV,
for me i have one scart and that is used for the DVD player, so in my case i
had to find a PVR with something called an "RF modulator" so maybe this will
need to be taken into consideration, but i guess only you will know that.

Jim


"jamie powell" wrote in message
...
I'm hunting for a PVR suitable for older people (many of them aged 80+),
who'll find timed-recording onto VHS difficult after switchover is
completed here.

As the unlucky owner of a Sagem 160GB PVR, which is probably the worst
product I've ever owned and definitely not fit-for-purpose, my skepticism
regarding the quality of Freeview PVRs is high.

So I'm looking for one which has a clear user interface, a fast response
to key presses, no software glitches, no crashes, no random
resets/reboots, and which actually records programmes reliably.

I'm put off the Humax ones because of the user interface, which many say
is non-intuitive.

So I'm thinking either the TVonics, or the Vestel-based units (often
badged as Alba/Digihome/Sharp etc.) might be the most suitable.

I'd therefore be interested to hear from people who use either of these
PVR types on a regular basis.

thanks,
Jamie.

jamie powell wrote:
I'm hunting for a PVR suitable for older people (many of them aged
80+), who'll find timed-recording onto VHS difficult after switchover
is completed here.

Has to be a TiVo. By far and away the easiest PVR to use.

Still turn up on eBay regularly. Go for one with a lifetime contract.

Tim

Which Tivo model works with Freeview then ya muppett!!!!, doh.



Has to be a TiVo. By far and away the easiest PVR to use.

Still turn up on eBay regularly. Go for one with a lifetime contract.

Tim

Jim wrote:

HI Jamie, I have an old Humax PVR-9200T which is ok for me but sometimes
remote functions seem to take ages to respond so maybe no good for your
needs but there maybe something else you need to bear in mind here, I have
an older TV (and guess some of your clients/friends) may have an older TV as
well and there may well be a lack of scart sockets on the back of the TV,
for me i have one scart and that is used for the DVD player, so in my case i
had to find a PVR with something called an "RF modulator" so maybe this will
need to be taken into consideration, but i guess only you will know that.

I had a TV with one scart socket until recently and used a Topfield
and a DVD player with it simply by daisy chaining them.

DVDTopfield PVRTV

I think they are still set up like that despite the plethora of inputs
on my new TV. I don't watch many DVDs so can't say what happens if the
PVR comes on with a timer whilst watching a DVD but normaly the
autoswitching detects the last item switched on in the chain to
display on the output.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

"jamie powell" wrote in message
...
I'm hunting for a PVR suitable for older people (many of them aged 80+),
who'll find timed-recording onto VHS difficult after switchover is
completed here.

As the unlucky owner of a Sagem 160GB PVR, which is probably the worst
product I've ever owned and definitely not fit-for-purpose, my skepticism
regarding the quality of Freeview PVRs is high.

So I'm looking for one which has a clear user interface, a fast response
to key presses, no software glitches, no crashes, no random
resets/reboots, and which actually records programmes reliably.

I'm put off the Humax ones because of the user interface, which many say
is non-intuitive.

So I'm thinking either the TVonics, or the Vestel-based units (often
badged as Alba/Digihome/Sharp etc.) might be the most suitable.

I'd therefore be interested to hear from people who use either of these
PVR types on a regular basis.

thanks,
Jamie.


TVonics +1. Easy to use, reliable and the remote also controls the TV and
DVD.

Z

On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:58:39 -0000, "jamie powell"
wrote:

I'm hunting for a PVR suitable for older people (many of them aged 80+),
who'll find timed-recording onto VHS difficult after switchover is completed
here.

As the unlucky owner of a Sagem 160GB PVR, which is probably the worst product
I've ever owned and definitely not fit-for-purpose, my skepticism regarding
the quality of Freeview PVRs is high.

So I'm looking for one which has a clear user interface, a fast response to
key presses, no software glitches, no crashes, no random resets/reboots, and
which actually records programmes reliably.

I'm put off the Humax ones because of the user interface, which many say is
non-intuitive.

So I'm thinking either the TVonics, or the Vestel-based units (often badged as
Alba/Digihome/Sharp etc.) might be the most suitable.

I'd therefore be interested to hear from people who use either of these PVR
types on a regular basis.

I have dealt with this problem for an elderly couple, with the
additional problem of arthritic hands.
I gave them a Humax (freesat version) with a controller programmed so
that the channel buttons always control the Humax and the volume
buttons always control the TV. All reception is through the Humax and
not through the TV's tuner. They *only* set the recorder using the
EPG, and after a bit of coaching have found no difficulty in finding
and playing back their recordings.
Their only problem is the size of buttons on the controller, but after
some hunting I found a rather clunky old One for All that seems to
suit.
Neither their Humax nor mine has ever have a random crash or reboot.
There is a systemic problem with auto switch-on times but this doesn't
affect recordings.

In article , jamie powell
writes

I'm hunting for a PVR suitable for older people (many of them aged 80+),
who'll find timed-recording onto VHS difficult after switchover is completed
here.

My mum's 70 and gets along well with her Inverto IDL7000M pvr, which I
bought as I was happy with mine. But Inverto no longer has any UK
presence and no longer supports this model. It, however, has survived
the split NIT, DSO and introduction of 8k (with a caveat that it has
difficulty tuning in BBC1 and 2 in Granadaland.) But it does have its
quirks.

The IDL 7000 now only seems to be available via Ebay. I suspect a lot
of them are returned units and/or unsold stock.

As the unlucky owner of a Sagem 160GB PVR, which is probably the worst product
I've ever owned and definitely not fit-for-purpose, my skepticism regarding
the quality of Freeview PVRs is high.

Quite rightly too, from what I can see.

So I'm looking for one which

(ref. IDL7000)

has a clear user interface,

yes

a fast response to
key presses,

yes (except mine, which ignores the remote for two minutes after power
on. Still not got to the bottom of this)

no software glitches,

heh. Yes, it has some. "They all do that, Sir."

no crashes,

_very_ occasionally. "They all do that, Sir."

no random resets/reboots,

It needs to be power cycled once a day. I have mine on a timer.

and
which actually records programmes reliably.

It's pretty good at doing this.

HTH.

--
Mike Tomlinson