Is this configuration TV/DVD recorder with Hard drive OK?

[novice7]

I am about to buy a new TV and DVD recoder with a Hard drive.
Originally (a few days ago), I wanted to buy a Panasonic Viera 37' with built-in FREESAT as JL was selling them for £699 but unfortunately not anymore, they are back at £799 (they were £999 before the sales mind!).

I'll therefore stick to a standard Full HD TV at roundabout £550, which is what I wanted to spend in the first place. Besides, some users here have highlighted in another thread problems of platforms between this particular Panasonic and the DVD recorder with Hard drive that I wanted to buy.

I now think that I'll go for this model of TV:

Buy Toshiba 37XV555DB LCD HD Ready 1080p Digital Television, 37 Inch online at JohnLewis.com

And I will probably buy this DVD recorder with Hard Drive
to go with it:
Buy Toshiba RD88DT DVD/HDD Recorder online at JohnLewis.com

I will then buy a FREESAT box to go with it, have it fitted by installers, I hope it'll be a simpler configuration for what I want to do, which is basically to be able to watch a channel while recording another one.

I'll add that this combination is purely for watching TV in high definition and recording TV on the hard drive (and occasionally recording onto a DVD). I have no console, no SKY box, no camcorder and do not intend to buy any of these things.

Does anyone here think it is a conflicting configuration that I should avoid at all cost or is this fine?

[ramjet]

I would say that hopefully it will fit your needs regarding FREEVIEW which is in SD or Standard Definition , as would panasonic`s that were mentioned in that other discussion thread , or sony or pioneer for that matter. I also mentioned not including HD recording and not including freesat as yet in that other thread as its clouding the basic issues here

the thing I dont understand would be your talk of watching HD on the freesat system using a HD foxsat or similar receiver. the fact is that there are very , very few HD channels around at the moment , and most are sky subscription channels which you have ruled out , so it seems to me you may be limited to say bbc1 HD and the odd ITV HD when its transmitting

read this about HD content etc More Freesat HD Channels? When/Never?

now I do not want this new thread to go off topic into the HD channels discussion but suffice to say that the majority of freesat is in SD , thats Standard Definition and I think it wll be some time before you get CH4 , CH5 , BBC2 and the other stalwarts in the HD that you seek , on the freesat platform ( ie:- with no sky subscription cards at all )

I think in a few years this will have changed but for now you will find little HD content on freesat , mainly bbc1 HD which isnt the same as your current regional bbc1 , there are variations



so will the toshiba ones do as you wish on standard definition ? probably

will the tv accept freesat receivers ? - yes

can you record in high definition ? = no , not without that humax hdr HD pvr with a 320 gig hdd fitted that we mentioned

will it allow HD viewing ? - no , not without a HD freesat or sky HD receiver

what would I buy ? a sony 40w4000 or 40w4500 or similar tv , or a samsung series 6 , and a sony 890 or 995 or similar hdd/dvd recorder and later maybe the humax hdr HD freesat pvr with twin tuners and a 320 gig hdd inside it for storage

others would tell you to stick with the panasonics of your choice

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by novice7

Besides, some users here have highlighted in another thread problems of platforms between this particular Panasonic and the DVD recorder with Hard drive that I wanted to buy.

Hello again novice7

I've come back to this because I think you may still be misinterpreting some points that were raised earlier.

If you've turned away from your original intended purchase for price reasons' that's fine... [ Although pricing is completely unpredictable at the moment so you cannot really plan on the basis of price. It is very likely to be different again when you get around to purchasing ] ... but you are now intending to go for a system which has a lesser capability than originally [ No HD ] and so is not comparative.

There would be no problem at all using the two devices together that you mention above.

If it is down to the fact that you could not record in HD, that is because no HD disc recorders exist yet in the UK... but everything you might choose to watch watch on HD would be recordable ... but limited to SD quality.

It is likely that disc based HD recorders will be here very soon so you may wish to factor that into your planning.

There has been much debate already about you wishing to record one channel and watch another...especially in regard the difference between your old analogue VCR system and the new systems using two independent digital tuners. You've grasped that now.
But you are partly wishing to leapfrog TWO generations of development and go into the realm of High Definition... for which, instead of the digital tuner in the TV and digital tuner in the recording device, the ideal is a HD tuner [ in this case Freesat ] in the TV and a HD tuner in the recording device.

Far from criticisms made earlier, this is the simplest arrangement, by far, to operate.
But the path you are choosing now will not allow you that option.



There is a considered ideal on this forum that the best general setup is to have both a PVR and a DVDR, which provides many multichannel recording options, a cross copying system from one device to the other, and an archive system in the form of a disc recorder.

You seem to be aiming for this ideal, if not immediately, then in the future.


Your latest choice is not going to take you to where you originally wanted to be, so I think you should rethink again... perhaps deciding whether it is all too early to be thinking of HD or not... which is also a valid consideration... and stick in the SD domain with a view to improving later when HD broadcasting is more established.

HD is coming to Freeview in a roll out over the period Late 2009 to 2012... but existing hardware will be no good for that.

[novice7]

Thanks to both of you for having the patience and fortitude to still reply to my queries!

Yes, the pricing is a consideration, I needed the whole lot to cost less than £1000 (Toshiba TV: £565, DVD recorder: £190, FREESAT box + installation £220) and as I will buy a new system sometime in the next two, during the sales at any rate, prices should remain the same more or less.

I've never been too bothered about recording in HD, the confusion arose in the other thread (the infamously long one) because I used the abbreviation HD when talking about the DVD recorder with HD (meaning Hard Drive in my little mind) when knowledgeable users here thought I meant High Definition! I'll never leave this one down

Gav, you write:
the ideal is a HD tuner [ in this case Freesat ] in the TV and a HD tuner in the recording device.
Far from criticisms made earlier, this is the simplest arrangement, by far, to operate.
But the path you are choosing now will not allow you that option.

Ok, but it did not sound very simple to operate for a few others. Besides, my Toshiba TV would not have a built-in FREESAT with this configuration but wouldn't the FREESAT box have a tuner? (only asking...)

In addtion, wouldn't this Toshiba TV (the XV555DB) have a built-in FREEVIEW tuner, isnt that digital?

Anyway, I visited the FREESAT website a week or so ago and I was under the impression that all the terrestrial channels (BBC1 & 2, ITV, C4, Five) were available in HD via FREESAT.
I really did not know it was not the case (thanks Ramjet for pointing this out). Not sure now that I want to fork out £220 (FREESAT box + installation) just to watch BBC1 in HD!
Sounds like this FREESAT is a bit of a rip-off for the time being...

[ramjet]

at last my messages are getting through , lol

now you see why I said to forget HD ( high def ) and HD recording for now , and freesat too as there is little on it in hd , only sky HD gives you what you want with a subscription , and even then its not the usual 5 channels and wont be for some time to come

this is precisely why I steered you towards the HDD/DVD DVDR recorder like the sony 890 , or panasonic gavtech recommended , which are all SD freeview recorders , and a freeview tv with HD hdmi sockets ready for future upgrades like a HD sat box , or a HD freeview box , or a blu ray HD player or HD recorder , in years to come I might add , as opposed to right now

the simplest overall method may be the freesat tv and the humax freesat pvr , and add a sony 890 in for SD recording and playback and archiving to dvd , but its over your budget

at least you now seem prepared to make a decision based on SD freeview tv and dvdr , and at some point add the freesat in for HD content , and possibly a blu ray dvd HD player if you wanted to add HD playback of a blu ray dvd

hopefully you have now got the gist of the replies made so far in 2 threads , but I have to agree with gavtech that you still need to fine tune your requirements with what is on offer at reasonable prices and within your budget

[novice7]

Thanks. I've just called FREESAT freesat - What's On
the guy pointed out that there is indeed a BBC HD channel, and an ITV HD as well, lots of football on it (which is what I wanted to watch in HD primarily), so maybe after all, Freesat is worth getting, form I mean.

Have got to go now, will think about the points you've made.

[ramjet]

fair comment , they are there at some times of the day or week , but its not 24/7 like the SD channels , and they dont have regional programming like your present channels , and you wont find much free football around as most is covered by setanta and sky due to buying the transmission rights , and 3pm kickoffs on a saturday are banned since 1991 by the powers that be

but it will grow bigger over the years , of that there is no question but I am hanging back on it for now and use SD methods to watch these things

either way , at least you are now more clear on the direction to go and the pitfalls there are. but bear in mind that at present you wont see much HD as shown in that freesat thread I linked to

[novice7]

Thanks, I've taken your points about FREESAT into consideration (in relation to my low TV consumption and the sort of progs I like to watch), I went back on their website, looked at their HD schedule, not much in HD really, phoned them again, etc. Finally, I decided that there isn't enough really for me to get it now, even Match Of The Day is in SD, hardly anything on their ITV HD, disappointing.