User friendly Freeview HDD/DVD for OAPs

[Pilch]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some fairly urgent pointers here!

I'm looking to help my in-laws out and I'm getting them a 26" HDTV and was looking to add a PVR or HDD/DVD recorder for them. This should be a bit of an upgrade from their wooden panel CRT TV and VHS recorder...

The TV we're looking at is the Panasonic TX26LXD60 - we were looking at the LXD500 but the sheer amount of black plastic around it's edges, plus the £300 price difference means I think they should go for the LXD60. I know that you or I may be able to spot the difference in picture quality, but I doubt that they would.

The main problem lies in what recorder to get for them. IDEALLY they wanted to get an HDD recorder plus have the ability to play DVDs, all in one box. They don't want too many remote controls which ruled out the prospect of a PVR and seperate DVD player. (Although I AM open to suggestions if people have good combinations to offer)

I have a Sony RDR-HX900 myself from a while back which I've always been very happy with, so I was looking to get them the newer Sony RDR-HXD710 which comes with integrated Freeview. Ideally I just want them to have to click on a TV show to get it recording. The only issue with this recorder is that I thought it had an HDMI output, which I was hoping would make it nice and easy to operate (a kind of next-gen SCART lead). Unfortunately it appears to only have a component out, which I think could prove tricky for them as I'm assuming it won't change the AV input on the TV automatically (in the same way that a SCART input would automatically change the AV input source on a TV).

The only issue that I have against getting them something that uses a SCART cable is the lack of progressive scan and the quality of SCART inputs on LCD TVs (I've read SCARTS can give a fairly fuzzy picture).

Has anybody got any good advice for me? I was looking to only spend £300 (ish) tops on the recorder.

Thanks in advance,


Pilch

[ROYOLD]

Note also that the Sony RDR-HXD710 has only the freeview tuner (no analogue) so will be of no help if the freeview signals are missing.

[TobyW]

Originally Posted by Pilch

I'm looking to help my in-laws out and I'm getting them a 26" HDTV and was looking to add a PVR or HDD/DVD recorder for them. This should be a bit of an upgrade from their wooden panel CRT TV and VHS recorder...

.... get an HDD recorder plus have the ability to play DVDs, all in one box. They don't want too many remote controls which ruled out the prospect of a PVR and seperate DVD player.

Don't forget that a 26" widescreen will appear smaller than a 26" 4:3 TV, when viewing 4:3 material, so if your in-laws are getting on in years, they might struggle with a 26" widescreen.

If you are getting a Panasonic TV, what about getting a Panasonic recorder with built-in Freeview tuner? The Panny's are very user-friendly, Also they will connect to the TV via a scart, the remote will control the TV as well.

[Pilch]

Thanks. They're used to a wooden panel ~17" (tops) 4:3 CRT, so the 26" widescreen will be plenty for them. The room it's going in is also fairly small so it seems the perfect size for them.

Plus I've just ordered the Panasonic TX26LXD60 for £667 from Currys online! They'd better like it

I was thinking about getting the Panasonic TUCH100 80gb Freeview PVR, which would be connected by SCART, but I'm worried about bleeding on screen from a SCART connection. I might see if I can goto John Lewis and get them to connect one up.

Plus they really only want one box under the TV. A box which will also need to play DVDs. This is why the Sony RDR-HXD710 seems one of the only options (Component outs too).

I was planning on waiting a bit to see what the Panasonic DMR-EX75 is like, as well as see how much it costs and what effect it has on other prices.

Can anyone tell me if HDMI connections change A/V channels automatically, like a SCART would? A component connection which doesn't automatically turn the TV onto the right A/V channel might confuse the in-laws