How do the current range of freeveiw PVR's compare to Sky+? I'm talking about ease of use etc. I know the 7 day EPG is on the way. When it turns up, will freview with a PVR be as good as SKy+ but with less channels? I'm seriously considering changing as I have now reached the conclusion that I want to watch FTA and FTV channels for free but still want Sky+ functionality. So, honestly, how does it compare? Also, is the interface any better than the clunky old thing that used to be Ondigital? Changing from that to Sky was a refreshing change.
Never used Sky+ so can't compare. But I can tell you something about the Pace Twin. 7 day EPG is something that is needed for true, sweet, use. At present the EPG contains only now and next. Recording from the EPG is easy. Highlight the required show and press the red button. There is no equivalent of PDC on freeview so if the programme runs late you miss part of it. But you can configure the box to ALWAYS add a pedefined amount of time to the start and end of any scheduled recording which mitigates this risk somewhat. Two tuners. You can record one programme and watch another. You can record one programme and watch a previously recorded programme. You CAN'T record two programmes. You can set the box to record to either the onboard hard disk or to the AV2 output (eg to a VCR, DVDR etc). The user interface for all the new crop of freeview boxes differs, but all the ones I've seen are way ahead of the old ON user interface. And the boxes are typically quicker and more stable. This includes the twin. You can pause live TV. But it does not automatically record everything you watch so you can't suddenly rewind live TV unless you have already paused it and are watching it 'later'. The onboard HDD is good for 10 hours of stored recordings only. This can't be changed, but some people have swapped out the HDD for a larger one and I gather this works to give you more capacity. PQ is better (IMO) than $ky assuming decent reception conditions. Anything else you want to know?
Thanks Nigel, 10 hours is fine as I only use sky+ for timeshifiting and the rare times I want to keep something I use my DVDR. The twin looks the leader at the mo although panasonic have a pvr coming out. Do you know much about the 7 day epg as this would be essential for me after having sky+ (eg. you see a trailer for a programme in 5 days time and you just find it in the epg and grab it so you don't miss it.). I gather the 7 day one is coming but will the twin (or the panasonic ) work with it? Maybe I should hold fire till the epg is out and see what works then. The other attraction of the twin for me is the 2.5"hdd which must run cooler and quieter than the beast in Sky+ which now requires the fan to run for much of the time since the last software update. Other than that, I don't use sky+ to buffer although I could and I don't think I've ever recorded 2 programmes at once (have a dvdr and vcr if the need came up). I guess I should wait for a pvr/dvdr with freeveiw tuner really. That woudl do the lot in one box.
pace twin is a good machine, has a few software bugs like anything but yes it will support 7 day epg when they start broadcasting, wont support top up tv if you wanted a few extra channels, but overall u cant knock it and available around £199, forgot to mention had optical out for good sound through amp, unfortunately no 5.1 Rgb, S video usual good connections
THanks, not worried about tutv, it looked a good option but the channels are only on for a few hours each. I wanted it for Bloomberg but it stops at like 10am or something which is no good for me when I'm waiting on the Fed. Also, 5.1, well it's not on that many Sky Movies and not on Box Office which really sucks. Also, I'm really dissapointed with SKy Movies as they seem to show the same 50 or so movies over and over (High heels and low lives, Air Bud etc.). I used to laugh at people who spent £35-40 a month on TV but now I find I have been seduced into that very position. A bit at a time, they get you. So I'm spending a great part of my life trawling through the hundreds of channles trying to find something worth watching. I have to cut loose. BBC is good enough for me. The £400 a year I save will go towards something more useful like a walking holiday etc. instead of dumming down my brain while I rot on the sofa.
Oh yeah, another question. On the the twin can you select and de-select favorite channels (de-selected ones do not appear when scrolling through) like you could with Ondigital? I really missed this as Sky give you 20 favorites with hundreds of channels so you spend ages spooling through to find something. WOuld be better if you could just stop certain channels from appearing.
on the twin you can make up your own tv lists putting in what u want and leaving out what u dont, hope this helps