If you want a quiet PVR..........buy a TVonics !!

Mr-Bananas

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I have just bought a TVonics DTR-FP1600 for £129.99 delivered:

http://www.tvonics.com/dtrfp1600.html

What a fantastic bit of kit. This thing is so quiet, it is almost totally silent. Its the most user friendly PVR I have tried. It may not have as many features as the Humax or Topfields, but its just so easy and fast to use. Great EPG, very similar to Sky and the remote is just pure class.

Series link is due very soon via an update, for me it will then be perfect. :thumbsup:


Forgot to mention the most important bit............picture quality is absolutely superb.
 
Series link is due very soon via an update, for me it will then be perfect. :thumbsup:
I think TVonics have promised FP firmware for a long time now. Let me know when it does actually comes out and HOW WELL IT PERFORMS... will you?

I also would like to find out how much power this box consumes in standby... I think it promises 1.5W in standby. How much does it consume now, and how much will it consume with FP firmware running..?
 
The manual confirms that it only uses 1.5W in standby. Why would a series link update change that ??????????

All their PVR's are now Free-view Playback enabled, its just the the series link thats missing. The update is due late May, early April according to their customer care department. I am sure it will perform just fine.
 
I don't know why it would, but I know that, in the case of the Toppy, it does change the stand-by power consumption.

This is a record-two PVR, yes?
 
Yes, here are the full specs from the TVonics site:

Key Features
Stylish design and Massive 160GB Hard Disk.
Built in Freeview receiver - no need for a separate freeview box.
Record and Store up to 80 hours of Freeview Digital TV & Radio.

One touch record.
Rewind and Pause live Digital TV.
Record two channels at the same time.
Start to watch recordings before the recording has finished.
Front panel buttons.
30 second Skip.
Twin Tuner.
Twin SCART.
8 day electronic programme guide provides TV and Radio listings on screen for a full week ahead.
Picture In Picture.
Parental Control.
Universal Remote Control capable of operating most TV and DVD brands.
Energy efficient and low power standby (15.5W operating, 1.5W standby).
 
If I remember correctly from other owners' info, the TVonics' EPG falls short in that to view individual programme details you have to call up a separate 'box' (like the Humax) - whereas with the Vestels you have a choice to view either 11 channels without individual programme details or 6 channels with details of the highlighted programme in the top third of the screen.

clemenzina
 
Why do TVonics regard 160GB as massive these days.:D

If any company are going to market a twin record PVR it should be regarded as a minimum size for the hard disk:)
 
The manual confirms that it only uses 1.5W in standby. Why would a series link update change that ??????????
Because, with FP, the box has to update the Series Record timers some how, and to do that it has to read the metadata changes, and to do that it has to be 'running'...

All their PVR's are now Free-view Playback enabled, its just the the series link thats missing. The update is due late May, early April according to their customer care department. I am sure it will perform just fine.
The Freeview Playback logo can be stamped on anything that merely conforms to the Freeview Playback Group 1 of the specification. The Freeview Playback Group 2 of the specifiication is the useful part of FP as it contains the Series Record functions...

The Humax 9200T has been available with Freeview Playback (Group 2) since January, and before that with FPG1 (and also other boxes such as Sony's). So this is all 'old hat' to the PVR consumer...

--
 
I have just bought a TVonics DTR-FP1600 for £129.99 delivered:

http://www.tvonics.com/dtrfp1600.html

What a fantastic bit of kit. This thing is so quiet, it is almost totally silent. Its the most user friendly PVR I have tried. It may not have as many features as the Humax or Topfields, but its just so easy and fast to use. Great EPG, very similar to Sky and the remote is just pure class.

Series link is due very soon via an update, for me it will then be perfect. :thumbsup:


Forgot to mention the most important bit............picture quality is absolutely superb.
The TVonics PVRs do have a fan and the HD is running all the time the unit is switched on. So it is not as quiet as some other PVRs. As opposed to the Vestel PVRs which do not have a fan and the HD is running only when required. A number of TVonics owners have reported vibration induced noise and have needed to take steps to add additional vibration isolation.

I would never assume that updates will materialise for any PVR. TVonics have not provided updates for any of their previous PVRs. They lagged behind the competition in providing dual record capability and Skip features. It would be wise to wait and see if and when the Series Update arrives. No other manufacturer has produced an adequate Series Record PVR IMO so it is not easy to achieve.

In terms of user friendlyness what other PVRs are you comparing it with?

Colin
 
I had a TVonics DVR-FP250 before, and it did have a slight vibrating problem, but it was still very quiet.

The new TVonics DTR-FP1600 has a plastic body (not metal like the old ones) and is almost totally silent. I really can't hear a thing unless I get really close to it, and then all thats audible is the hard drive spinning.

I am comparing the TVonics to the mighty Humax PVR 9200 which I returned after two days. The Humax is nice, but it was very loud and I found the whole menu system very clunky compared to the TVonics. I have also had a Wharfedale STB and I own a Samsung and a Sharp LCD both of which have built in Free-view. None of these even come close to the TVonics for pure speed and ease of use.

As an ex Sky owner, I feel very at home with the TVonics. The EPG is great (way better than the Humax), it shows lots of channels on the menu and is very fast and responsive.

Build quality is superb, picture quality is fantastic. Its just a really nice bit of kit.
 
There is a sound/picture sync bug when searching with the new TVonics though, that customers have identified and TVonics are aware of this and are working on a fix.

Sounds like you might have to send the unit back to them though for this fix, as they don't do updates, as of yet anyway.
 
The Humax is nice, but it was very loud and I found the whole menu system very clunky.
Glad someone agrees with me, Humax owners who haven't seen better PVR usability don't realise there is such a thing.

clemenzina
 
I had a TVonics DVR-FP250 before, and it did have a slight vibrating problem, but it was still very quiet.

The new TVonics DTR-FP1600 has a plastic body (not metal like the old ones) and is almost totally silent. I really can't hear a thing unless I get really close to it, and then all thats audible is the hard drive spinning.

I am comparing the TVonics to the mighty Humax PVR 9200 which I returned after two days. The Humax is nice, but it was very loud and I found the whole menu system very clunky compared to the TVonics. I have also had a Wharfedale STB and I own a Samsung and a Sharp LCD both of which have built in Free-view. None of these even come close to the TVonics for pure speed and ease of use.

As an ex Sky owner, I feel very at home with the TVonics. The EPG is great (way better than the Humax), it shows lots of channels on the menu and is very fast and responsive.

Build quality is superb, picture quality is fantastic. Its just a really nice bit of kit.
I can understand you preference over the Humax 9200 regarding noise and user friendlyness. Also the fact you like the TVonics simialrity to Sky I can understand. However, had you experienced the quietness and range of facilities and useability of the Vestel PVRs you may be persuaded that the Vestels are better in these respects. However, the reliability of the latest Vestels is not so good.

Colin
 
As an ex Sky owner, I feel very at home with the TVonics. The EPG is great (way better than the Humax), it shows lots of channels on the menu and is very fast and responsive.
Anyone got a screenshot or two of this great EPG?
However, the reliability of the latest Vestels is not so good.

Or even one or two of the lastest Vestels?





--
 
As an ex Sky owner, I feel very at home with the TVonics. The EPG is great (way better than the Humax), it shows lots of channels on the menu and is very fast and responsive.

However, the reliability of the latest Vestels is not so good.

Colin
Anyone got a screenshot or two of this great EPG?


Or even one or two of the lastest Vestels?
You can get a pdf of the TVonics Manual here which has screen shots shown. Likewise you can get a copy of a Vestel (Sharp Series Link T816 PVR) here. Select TUR160HA in the Product Code list. This is not the latest Vestel but the screen shots are almost identical.

Note the greater number of channels displayed, the Expand and Shrink facilities and the additional navigation features on the Vestel.

Colin
 
No other manufacturer has produced an adequate Series Record PVR IMO so it is not easy to achieve.
What about TiVo? TiVo was released in the UK in October 2000 (and in the USA a good few years before) and has always had a rock solid series recording - far better than even Sky+ as it keeps the link from one series to the next and even records a repeat on another channel if the origional recording was missed.

Mark.
 
What about TiVo? TiVo was released in the UK in October 2000 (and in the USA a good few years before) and has always had a rock solid series recording - far better than even Sky+ as it keeps the link from one series to the next and even records a repeat on another channel if the origional recording was missed.

Mark.
I concede on that ;). I should have qualified my comment as applying to Freeview PVRs.

Colin
 
Note the greater number of channels displayed, the Expand and Shrink facilities and the additional navigation features on the Vestel.

Colin

Go on! my ssson!!! :smashin:

(Have I been watching too much horse-racing on t'telly? :D

clemenzina
 
Hi Mr Bananas,

I also must admit that I'm also loving the TVonics FP1600 :smashin: :smashin:.

My Humax 9200 bit the dust in January and I managed to get a full refund from Currys. After reading few threads here I decided to go for the vestel based Digihome DTR160. Initially I was quite impressed with the functionality for the price. However, since then I have become more and more fed up with it. The main issues for me were the frustratingly slow resonse from the box after pressing a button, the constant freezing on the current channel and the missed recordings (where only a few minutes are recorded for example for a 1 hour programme).

Anyway, I had had enough and returned the Digihome to Argos on Friday and bought a TVonics FP1600 to replace it. It has excellent picture quality, a nice EPG and responds really well to key presses. It's also a very small, quiet and neat box with low power consumption and noise levels. I've recorded loads on it since then and it hasn't missed a beat. The only thing missing for me is the lack of any EPG search facility although this has turned out to be less of a problem than I thought, and I would rather have rock solid reliability and stability than a search facility. Anyway, maybe something they will address in a future upgrade (just don't mess with the reliability).

Cheers
JH_47
 

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