Toshiba HDR5010 500GB Freeview HD-PVR Master thread

brookheather

Distinguished Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2005
Messages
5,665
Reaction score
1,017
Points
1,186
Location
London
Play.com have now moved their delivery date to 07/10/2010 so it looks like yet another manufacturer having problems delivering a Freeview HD PVR!

- Simon.
 
I had an email from Sharp on 23 July announcing that it was ready for shipping and offering £20 discount to apologise for lateness. When I went to the website it was not in stock.

Not that I would have bought it until several AVF-ers had posted glowing feedback :D

clemenzina
 
Just received an update from Play:

We have recently been informed by the manufacturer of this product that the release date has been changed to 30-Jan-2011.

- Simon.
 
Play.com have just updated to "In Stock" and my order is now showing as "Processing". I'm not sure when I will receive it due to the current parcel backlog but I'll post some photos and a review when I receive it.

- Simon.
 
Hi

Looking at the user manual for the Toshiba it would seem it is basically a Tvionics!

Regards

Phil
 
That's what it looks like to me too ! from the manual.

The on-screen display is identical too - no bad thing. I'd say it is a re-badged DTR-HD500.

Just got mine from Play at the £199 having ordered back in June when their deal was on. Just considering whether to keep my Humax freesat HDR.
 
Just got mine an hour ago (£199 from Play as well). Comparing to the Humax it has a couple of extra features - various auto delete options and the live buffer can be configured to 2 or 4 hours.

The GUI is mostly in shades of green and is a bit slow to navigate around. It shows one or two red time lines at the top to indicate one or two recordings. Setting a recording timer takes a couple of seconds and displays a green dialog box instead of the EPG while it is setting up the timer. Setting a series link involves pressing the Blue button - not clear what you press if you don't want a series link (maybe Back?).

Conflict resolution shows a mini EPG with the three channels and you have to select the offending program and press Red to delete the timer - bit clunky when one of the programs starts an hour or two later as you have to scroll across to find it.

The box has two HDMI inputs and there are buttons on the remote to switch the output between these inputs. You can connect a USB drive but this is limited to displaying photos. I connected my network cable and it configured IP address correctly but there doesn't seem to be any functionality that uses it.

Physically the box is like a slightly larger version of the HD FOX-T2 - very light metal box - you can see the 3.5" drive through the bottom slot so no special sound isolation cage like on the HDR FOX-T2. There is no fan at all - just slots on the top and bottom - there is a very slight hard drive humming if you put your ear right to the box - otherwise silent even when recording two programs.

The LED light around the power button changes colour to indicate whether it is on, in standby or standby while recording.

Any questions let me know.

- Simon.
 
Simon - thanks.

Sending mine back - already had couple of lock-ups just using the up-channel button and had to disconnect to get it to respond again. May have been unlucky but not sufficiently impressed to replace the Humax which is cheaper than even the excellent £199 play charged.

Have a great Christmas break.
 
Sending mine back - already had couple of lock-ups just using the up-channel button and had to disconnect to get it to respond again. May have been unlucky but not sufficiently impressed to replace the Humax which is cheaper than even the excellent £199 play charged.

I was chatting to a guy who has had a role in testing this Toshiba HDR5010. He claimed that in benchmark tests with the Philips & Humax the Toshiba was significantly better on the whole.

He also said to keep my eye on Comet as something would be happening after Christmas day. He obviously meant a drop in price which actually seems to have happened yesterday.
 
What is this benchmark? In terms of usability and features the Toshiba is a big step down from the Humax and a bit better than the Philips. When the new software is released for the Humax I can't see anything touching it for features or reliability.

I would say the price of £199 for the Toshiba is about right for the feature set - I don't have the DS which is the same price from JL so not sure how it compares in terms of features.

- Simon.
 
Luckily that's only your opinion and I wouldn't count your chickens before they are hatched if I were you. Me, I wouldn't swop my 3View unit for a Humax if someone paid me to and I have BBC iPlayer right now.

TG
Please don't post on my threads - your argumentative posts are not appreciated by members on this forum.
 
What is this benchmark? In terms of usability and features the Toshiba is a big step down from the Humax and a bit better than the Philips. When the new software is released for the Humax I can't see anything touching it for features or reliability.

I would say the price of £199 for the Toshiba is about right for the feature set - I don't have the DS which is the same price from JL so not sure how it compares in terms of features.

- Simon.

Sorry, I can't really say what the tests may have been. I don't really know this person, only from chatting online and he doesn't give much away. I think he may have some R&D role, though maybe not for Toshiba per se.

Although the HDR5010 is now down in price, I'm still tempted by the DS. Already been out longer and has had updates & seems to be a more flexible machine. The Toshiba at a glance looks good in two departments - no fan, and can be used as a HDMI switch.
 
Luckily that's only your opinion and I wouldn't count your chickens before they are hatched if I were you. Me, I wouldn't swop my 3View unit for a Humax if someone paid me to and I have BBC iPlayer right now.

TG

TG. You rather deserved the response you got.

This appeared contention for the sake of it and added nothing.

Please avoid such activity. Thanks.
 
Any more opinions on this model now people have had time to get used to it?

Does it support iPlayer? Software updates improved it?

Cheers.
 
Any more opinions on this model now people have had time to get used to it?

Does it support iPlayer? Software updates improved it?

Cheers.

Its great - reliable, makes sensible decisions about repeats, clashes etc. Doesn't lock up or and hasn't let us down yet.

No iplayer support though. No update scheduled yet that I can find to support it either.

Would highly recommend though
 
I second the recommendation - I've had one of these since Easter, and paid around £200 IIRC. It's been (touch wood) completely reliable, and the recording seems to work very well. Dislikes? It takes a while to boot up from standby, channel changes are a little slow, and I can see no way of searching the programme guide by category or keyword. All minor issues, hopefully to be resolved in future software updates.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom