[gordon115]

On offer at argos Buy Wharfedale Top Up TV 160GB Digital TV Recorder. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .

I have read on another thread thes are made by Sony,surely that can't be true at these prices?

[lsatdown]

Im trying to decide on that player or this one from argos too (digihome).

Buy Digihome DTR80 80GB Digital TV Recorder. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .

The digihome doesn't have series link though.
The Whafedale seems very good for the price.
Anyone got one?

[Matt_C]

Just bear in mind that neither of these are actually true "twin tuner" models - they do have two tuners, but one is for watching live TV, and the other is for recording - so you can only record one programme at a time! I have a version of the Digihome box (they are all basically the same generic internals) and a couple points worth noting;

- As said it's "record one and watch one" NOT "record two"
- If you are buffering a programme (ie, you used the pause feature) then you can't have a second recording going on, or change channel and keep the recording going on what you were buffering)
- you CAN make a recording AND watch a previous recording
- You CAN "chase-play"
- You CAN "pause live TV"
- You CAN'T however, rewind live TV unless you have already paused it and are resuming. The units do not "auto-buffer" every channel you watch, so you can't turn it on, be watching and then suddenly rewind. You would have to have paused it, watched for a bit, then rewind, but you can only go as far back as when you paused it in the first place (if all that makes sense)

As said I have one, and it's been virtually spot on for me, and only a couple times in the last couple years have I thought I wished I could have recorded two progs at the same time - not a major issue with Freeview as so much content is repeated - often daily!

[IainB]

Originally Posted by lsatdown

Im trying to decide on that player or this one from argos too (digihome).

Buy Digihome DTR80 80GB Digital TV Recorder. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .

The digihome doesn't have series link though.
The Whafedale seems very good for the price.
Anyone got one?

or if you want it even cheaper

newsletter - Aria Technology

[creddish]

Originally Posted by Matt_C

Just bear in mind that neither of these are actually true "twin tuner" models - they do have two tuners, but one is for watching live TV, and the other is for recording - so you can only record one programme at a time! I have a version of the Digihome box (they are all basically the same generic internals) and a couple points worth noting;

- As said it's "record one and watch one" NOT "record two"
- If you are buffering a programme (ie, you used the pause feature) then you can't have a second recording going on, or change channel and keep the recording going on what you were buffering)
- you CAN make a recording AND watch a previous recording
- You CAN "chase-play"
- You CAN "pause live TV"
- You CAN'T however, rewind live TV unless you have already paused it and are resuming. The units do not "auto-buffer" every channel you watch, so you can't turn it on, be watching and then suddenly rewind. You would have to have paused it, watched for a bit, then rewind, but you can only go as far back as when you paused it in the first place (if all that makes sense)

As said I have one, and it's been virtually spot on for me, and only a couple times in the last couple years have I thought I wished I could have recorded two progs at the same time - not a major issue with Freeview as so much content is repeated - often daily!

You obviously have a old Digihome PVR using the T810 hardware. That was only single record. The model which came out in mid-2007 was called Digihome DTR80 with 80GB HD or Digihome DTR160 with 160GB HD. These models used the T816 hardware and had dual record capability and also Freeview Playback Accurate Recording. The latest models also confusingly called Digihome DTR80/160 have full Freeview capability with Series Link etc. The latest models use the T825 hardware.

The details on the Argos website are probably wrong but worth checking the label on the box and the underside of the unit in case they have found some very old stock. The label should show the T825 hardware version and a software version 2.7. If so they have the full Freeview playback features.

A point to note is that generally the stability of the units have got progressively worse with each change of hardware and software as the software has become more complex and Vestel (the manufacturer) have not provided any OAD software updates to cure bugs for either the T810 or T816 units but they did for the earlier T810 which you have.

The Wharfedale PVR linked in Post #1 is a completely different unit from the Digihomes mentioned. It is equipped with the Top Up TV software rather than the Vestel/Cabot software. It is made by Vestel as are the Digihome PVR mentioned.

Wharfedale is just a brand name used by Argos. The Wharfdale unit which the OP associated with Sony is another PVR sold by Argos using the Wharfedale brand but is made by TVonics who have links with Sony.

Colin

[creddish]

Originally Posted by IainB

or if you want it even cheaper

newsletter - Aria Technology

Check the Aria unit is not old stock before purchase. It does not mention Series Link functionality.

Colin