What set up would be easier?

Jano · 1 Sep 2011 at 12:23

I have been asked to recommend a new system for my girlfriends grandparents, who seem to be worried about the digital crossover. They currently have an old CRT, video and digibox set up, and have asked me to come up with the best, and preferably cheapest, way of doing the following -

They would like a 26-32" TV.
Freeview, with some sort of recording facility.
DVD.

I've done a little bit of searching as I was instantly sure there was no way they were going to get all that in one box. I have an older DVD player they could use, but I don't think that helps too much as from what I can see, theres no TV's with a freeview recording system built in. I've also seen a few TV's with DVD players built in, but they seem, to be blunt, pants.

Am I therefore correct in thinking they will need to go for all three options seperately, and there is no all in one (or two for that matter, freeview, recording and dvd player in one box?) option here?

lucid · 1 Sep 2011 at 12:50

one box solutions have proved themselves either heavily compromised on performance or features, or very expensive... or all three! Separate boxes is the way to go for flexibility, longevity and ease of use.

TV.... take your pick of the products out there... but do they really need to change that at all? If the current set works fine then a dual-tuner Freeview PVR will give them TV viewing, recording and playback so there's no need to spend money on a new TV. Look at Humax. They have a good range and perhaps the easiest to use onscreen programming guide. Look for boxes with a dual tuner and hard drive. They'll allow recording of one channel while watching another. Just make sure there's a SCART output if not changing the TV. Price range from £120 up.

DVD players... well, there's a move towards Blu-ray replacing DVD, but the prices are still closer to £100 for those machines and they need a new TV with HDMI. So if you are looking to keep costs down then a standard DVD player is the way to go. Have a look tat the Toshiba SD2010. It is around £25 and has everything you'll need for good DVD playback.

TheVoice · 1 Sep 2011 at 13:19

Sainsbury's sell a range of TVs with USB record functionality for freeview. Obviously it means you have to use a USB stick or hard-drive, but apparently it works fairly well. A lot of them have integrated DVD players as well.

Jano · 1 Sep 2011 at 13:40

My initial thought was a decent TV, humax box and a standalone DVD player, but I couldn't see them accepting the cost, despite the obvious vast increase in quality. I think the Sainsbury's range may well be the way to go, but I will see what they say.

lucid · 1 Sep 2011 at 14:04

Just check that the USB record function allows one recording whilst watching another channel. It's easy to get caught out like that.

lucid · 1 Sep 2011 at 14:09

Jano said:
My initial thought was a decent TV, humax box and a standalone DVD player, but I couldn't see them accepting the cost, despite the obvious vast increase in quality.

I wouldn't be so sure that it will look better.

Freeview isn't that great on larger TVs. The CRT set they have right now will be very forgiving of a poor source, but an LCD screen will show up more of the blockiness. Then there's the issue of sound quality. It's often cited as a major disappointment with flatscreen TVs compared to the CRTs they have replaced.

Unless they have a pressing need to change the TV I'd go with just the Freeview recorder and a DVD player. That gives them what they want/need without spending more than might be available and taking a backwards step.