HDD Boxes

I have a Thompson HDD freeview box and it has changed the way I(we) watch TV - I would hate to loose it now. Much more flexible than a DVD recorder - the only down point is I have no obvious way to backup, but I have only wanted to do this once so far so no biggie. I have a 40gig drive and it seems to be pleantly but I could happily have more. I have also used the Sky+ and its an amazing system but I didn't want to pay a subscription.

If there were a DVDR/HDD freeview machine availble I would buy it. I am guessing that'll be the next step for sony as they have just released a freeview DVDR.

Hi


I to would hole heartedly recommend a HDD the Thompson being very good, you can expand its HD to 120 GB by fitting another and you can always archive to tape, I believe the new fusion will have an external port for a second HD which could also be used as an archive.

Stuart

I've got a Sky+ box, & like Occean I've never felt the need for a hard copy of anything I've recorded. Although "only" 40Mb, I've never felt the need for a larger drive either, although Sky+ is now available with 160Mb, and it's simplicity itself to change hard drives on both models.
The big plus with Sky+ is the truly wonderful user interface, always a delight to use, and even the wife can programme it! Sky will shortly be broadcasting in High-Def which will require a new box, so might be worth hanging on if you want to go that way.

Sky+ is so easy to use, but requires you to either pay for premium channels to get the use of it for free or pay a subscription. I would have sky+ if I could get it, but I can't. Since I can't I use a Panasonic DMR-E85 HDD/DVD and I think it's the mutts nuts.

I am thinking of getting the Thomson HDD freeview box. Could someone who has one tell me if the HD / fan in it are always running or does it go silent when not in use.

Also, it does look a bit home-made, is the software a bit more professional looking on the the screen than the casing might suggest?

Thanks,
Martin

Hi Martin

I have one and the HD turns off when in standby with the new software which it updates itself, the fan is always on, home made well I would say utilitarian but there you go, it has enough outputs to keep me happy (I am currently listing to a radio show I recorded via it’s SPDIF out into my DAC) the software is good and has a full 14 day listing, I had a Fusion before and sent it back as the picture used to break up due to it’s low gain tuner, this Thompson won’t be going anywhere.

Stuart

Thanks Stuart.

Pity about the fan. Think I will go for it though as your endorsement and the things I have read about picture quality are all positive.

Cheers,
Martin

if sky+ is going to be updated then i think i will wait. its only £99 now but you have to subscribe to the full package for 12 months. Thompson and deawoo boxes are all over the shops and ebay but i have have read a lot of reviews that say they are very fiddly to set up with sky digital. can anyone elaborate?

After my hard work around the house and garden over Easter I treated myself to the Lite-on DVD and 160Gb Hard Disc Recorder for £299. It took me a little while to work out how to get it and my freeview box, AV receiver and TV all working together in perfect harmony but it works like a charm now. It is certainly no DVD5, but recording TV, playback from HDD/DVD, and transferring to disc is very nearly as easy as changing TV channels. Playback quality from the HDD is indistinguishable from the broadcast, DVD's made on the unit seem slightly 'softer' in sound and picture when doing an A/B comparison. Negative points are: CD reproduction is best described as 'for emergency use only'. Sometimes it will, sometimes it won't, play dual layer DVDs (8.5Gb) I've made on the PC. I perhaps need to investigate different brands of blanks/authoring software, and would welcome any advice you guys may have.

Just got a Humax Freeview box with built in 80Gb HDD. So far pretty brilliant. And just as well because out panasonic DVD recorder just went on the blink (nice timing). The plan is to record everything onto HDD (an amazingly easy procedure) and back up the keepers onto DVD. But I can't comment on how well that works because the recorder is being boxed up for repairs.

I can see that the Freeview/HDD box is going to change our approach to watching what little telly we do - and for the better. In a perfect world we'd have a HDD DVD recorder, but redundancy ain't a bad thing and I don't think the technology's quite there yet - and it's still waaaay too expensive for what it is.

Cheers

Harry

I've just bought the Thomson DHD4000 Freview HDD box. The first one I got home went faulty after about 45 mins, it kept crashing so I took it back to Comet and exchanged it.

The second has been running for a couple of hours now and so far so good. Set up is a breeze and is very quick. From what I've seen of the UI so far it all looks very nice. Much better than the Sony Freeview box I have on another TV.

Its a shame the 7 day guide is only transmitted at 3am. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see it properly in action. For now I only have now and next programmes available.

Cheers,
Martin

Hi Martin

Taken the plunge then, unfortunately these boxes do sometimes suffer from the YLD (Yellow Light of Death), however the 1.77 software is far more reliable and if you don’t already have it, it should update early Wednesday morning I believe, the 14 day guide comes tomorrow morning as you say, good luck with this one.

Stuart

Hi Stuart,

Just back from a few days working in Scotland and the recordings I scheduled seemed to have been done.

As far as I can seen my guide is 7 days.

Not sure if I am looking at the right thing but in the Technical Help menu the top item says version 0.31.0 - does this mean I am way behind the current?

Cheers,
Martin

Hi Martin

The current software is 1.77 it will update on Sunday morning 03.00hrs and it will have a 14 day guide, you are looking in the right place, the box will have to be in standby and NOT doing a timed recording it takes about 20 mins.

Stuart

Stuart,

Thanks for the info, I'll make sure I leave it in standby.

Out of interest how do you know about the sw version numbers and when updates will be broadcast?

Cheers,
Martin

These guys no far more than i do,might be worth a look

digitalspy.

Had my Thomson box for a couple of weeks now. I really like what it can do but there are a couple of problems.

Firstly, the sound level (via scart) is much lower than normal TV so I have to turn the TV up all the time. I can live with this.

Secondly, the software seems really fragile. If I work the box hard, for example, fast forward a recorded programme whilst recording another off the air it often crashes and needs to be unplugged to reset. I am not sure I can live with this.

I am going to give it another week to settle down and if it doesn't I'll demand a refund from Comet.

Much as I hate Sky for their pricing, I would rather pay a subscription and have a reliable box.

Martin

Jez
A bit off topic but can i ask how your setup is connected? ie ariel to freeview to recorder etc. I'm having fun and games with ours!
Martin

Martin D, this is not going to be much help as it was a matter of plug it in try it, doesn't work, unplug it, try a different combination, etc etc to hair tearing etc. Eventually it worked but I'm not sure I could repeat it reliably and god only knows what spagetti is connected to what now, I hope I never have to move it. Try connecting the freeview box ala the instructions for the Canal box in the manual and take it from there. Don't forget to change the output settings in the 5045 RGB/Component as neccessary. I also had to change some settings in my Toshiba TV. Roll-on the day when the CD/DVD/HDD/Freeview is all in one box. It's all getting too complicated for this tired brain.

Incidentally the new firmware for the lite-on is due in a week or so. I hope it solves the Dual Layer issue. Loads of info on bugs, firmware, region free/macrovision hacks here:

http://cgi.mgillespie.plus.com/liteon/smf/index.php

There is a thread on the Lite-on users forum which should help Martin.
http://cgi.mgillespie.plus.com/liteon/smf/index.php/topic,762.0/topicseen.html

many thanks i'm looking into it