[Aldavies01]

I hope I have posted this on the correct forum!
My parents have recently bought a new tv with integrated freeview. I am looking a hard disk recorder which will enable them to watch one freeview channel on the tv, and tape another, so presumably this would require a freeview recorder. They are not technically-minded so the simpler the better. Can anyone please advise as to which model I could buy for them preferably less than £100, but could go up to £150?

[nvingo]

Your parents have a TV with integrated digital receiver (IDTV) with which they can always watch one digital channel live. You (they) have a choice with the recorder, to record one digital channel, or an analogue input from a camcorder, satellite receiver or VCR to HDD or DVD they could have a "DVD recorder with HDD"; if they don't need to record analogue sources or copy recordings to DVD then a Freeview PVR will be suitable and simpler to operate. Most can normally record two channels simultaneously and allow you to watch a previous recording, or to watch one of the channels slightly delayed.

You will struggle to source a quality digital-tuner DVD/HDD in the prescribed budget, but twin-tuner PVRs are plentiful, starting at about £60 from Argos and supermarkets, right upto £200+ for the premium models (Humax and Topfield).

Look for those with Freeview+ logos as this being the latest branding exercise will denote recent products.

[AnilS]

Excuse the hijack, but I'm looking for something similar. My in laws would like one for Christmas and they need to record from Sky (Zee TV).

Is that possible and if so, how would I connect up?

[Aldavies01]

Thanks for the advice Nvingo. I'm pretty sure my parents don't require a dvd, so can anyone advise me on a reasonable quality freeview + recorder with an emphasis on ease of use?

[LV426]

Originally Posted by AnilS

Excuse the hijack, but I'm looking for something similar. My in laws would like one for Christmas and they need to record from Sky (Zee TV).

Is that possible and if so, how would I connect up?

If they want to record programmes that are **not** part of Freeview then a Freeview PVR will be unsuitable, because, by definition, that's outside of what they can do (which is, record Freeview, only).

Choose between Sky+ (which is a PVR for Sky) or a separate DVD recorder with a Hard Drive, GuidePlus and G-Link to control a regular Sky box

[creddish]

Originally Posted by Aldavies01

Thanks for the advice Nvingo. I'm pretty sure my parents don't require a dvd, so can anyone advise me on a reasonable quality freeview + recorder with an emphasis on ease of use?

If ease of use is the primary requirement then any of the Vestel PVRs meet this criteria better than any IMO. However, the Vestel PVRs are not the most reliable of PVRs but then no Freeview PVR is totally free of problems. But don't let that put you off. The functionality that Freeview PVRs provide can add enormously to the convenience of watching and recording TV.

If you wanted a recommendation (I would normally avoid doing that because different users have different requirements) I would suggest the Digihome DTR80 80GB Digital TV Recorder from Argos for £69.99 on the link here. If you think your parents would want to record and store more than about 40 hours of programmes then there are equivalent PVRs available with larger HDDs. Similarly if they wanted HDMI ports these are also available.

Colin