Which Freeview PVR?

ScarySquirrel

ScarySquirrel

ScarySquirrel

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Hi all,

I am after a Freeview box which will allow me to record programmes. Ideally would like it to be Twin Tuner so I can record one channel whilst watching another, built in EPG and HDMI out if possible (although not essential)

Any recomendations?

Budget of around £100

The Humax PVR9300T looks perfect but is about £75 over budget, however I can stretch to this by using my Quidco savings on it :) Any thoughts?
 
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Don't forget that PlayTv for the ps3 is out soon at £69.99.

Apart from the hdmi out which I'm unsure on, it covers everything else you have asked for.

Its reasonably cheap for a larger hard drive for your Ps3 depending on how much recording time you will want.
 
Lunix said:
Don't forget that PlayTv for the ps3 is out soon at £69.99.

Apart from the hdmi out which I'm unsure on, it covers everything else you have asked for.

Its reasonably cheap for a larger hard drive for your Ps3 depending on how much recording time you will want.
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That looks really good actually. It looks like the PS3 has to be on to watch TV though, is that the case? Can it still record stuff if the PS3 is in standby mode (red light on front)?

I don't fancy having to leave my PS3 on the WHOLE time just so it can record while I am out.

Also, I take it it records to the PS3 HDD. If so, I only have a 40Gb version, which will get used up fairly quickly. Is it easy enough to upgrade the HDD without breaking the warranty?

EDIT: Also, when does it come out?
 
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It hasn't been directly confirmed as such but more than likely it will just wake up from standby and record meaning you won't have to leave it turned on all the time.

It would not make sense not to include such a important feature imo.

Part of its other features is mobile tv with psp which mentions waking up from standby.

"The Remote Play feature has the ability to 'wake up' the PlayStation 3 from stand-by mode, allowing the user the ability to watch live TV, set recordings and watch previously recorded content anywhere in the world direct from their PlayStation 3 to their PlayStation Portable via the internet." Taken from here.

So the functionality for it to wake up and record is definitely built into it for that part of things.

Swapping the hard drive out is dead easy and does not invalidate the warranty.

There's a few threads about it in the console forums.

I'm sure its even mentioned in the ps3 manual itself.

A few gaming sites like eurogamer have mentioned September 10th.
Official date on Sony uk site mentions September.
 
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I know it is petty but the one thing that puts me off PlayTV is the fact it looks a bit ugly, plus it will mean having a USB cord running round to the front of the PS3. Not ideal really.

I am also not too keen on having to put the PS3 on just to watch TV.
 
I own a Humax PVR9200 which is the same thing but with only a 160GB HDD, have been using it for just under 2 years and absolutely love it, it's brilliant, so easy to use!!!

The best thing is it's twin tuner and can be recording 2 different channels and allows you to watch a third channel from the same mux as you are recording from, which is great.

Highly recommended!!!

Valve
 
valve90210 said:
I own a Humax PVR9200 which is the same thing but with only a 160GB HDD, have been using it for just under 2 years and absolutely love it, it's brilliant, so easy to use!!!

The best thing is it's twin tuner and can be recording 2 different channels and allows you to watch a third channel from the same mux as you are recording from, which is great.

Highly recommended!!!

Valve
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Very true. We have 2 in our house and they are awesome. I'd recommend Humax kit from now on if these are anything to go by. :D
 
Cobra-UK said:
The 9300 is supposed to upscale to 720p. Having tested this at work i can confirm that the picture quality at 720p looks terrible (thats with a good HDMI Lead).

I would go for the 9200 or there is a newer, cheaper and smaller version - 9150T:

http://www.humaxdigital.com/uk/products/pvr-9150t.asp
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Thanks for the heads up. How come it looks so bad then?

What connection would you recommend using instead of HDMI if I get an older model?

That 9150 looks perfect!
 
The Humax freesat boxes look pretty crummy when they 'upscale' to HD res. Far better off letting the TV do the scaling, which is probably the case with the PVR's aswell.
 
ScarySquirrel said:
Thanks for the heads up. How come it looks so bad then?

What connection would you recommend using instead of HDMI if I get an older model?

That 9150 looks perfect!
Click to expand...

Scart will be fine, I am wondering whether they will bring out a software update for the 9300 because the difference is so obvious.
 
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