27 replies to this topic

[rugbyrene]

Just found this article on Smarthouse.  Fairly new so I guess there isn't much more in the way of info.

http://www.smarthous...dustry/N2F9J9A6

[pgdownload]

Not sure why they think its 'upped the bar', seems pretty similar to Panasonic's long standing offering.

And you got to like claims like:

Quote

processor can up-convert ... low-resolution streaming video to pristine Full HD 1080p for viewing on a full HD screen.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[rugbyrene]

Yeah I saw that claim and had to laugh.  I'd love to see how they up-scale a crappy YouTube stream to 1080p.  I got excited as I'm looking to replace my ageing Sony PVR.

Any ideas?

[pgdownload]

Quite probable this is a pretty decent machine - $600 seems a touch pricey but not unreasonable given the feature set. Just don't expect 1080p youtube )

Main question in my mind is do you need to record blurays? Be better to by a seperate BR player and just offload stuff from a standard HD PVR for burning. Also its not clear if the BRs this unit records can play on other machines.

This offering also seems designed for people getting into the Samsung/Android environment. If you don't have a smart TV or Galaxy then its of less appeal.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[diesel]

I think the upping the bar refers to the inclusion of a full blown web browser.

[pgdownload]

diesel, on 28 March 2012 - 09:39 PM, said:

I think the upping the bar refers to the inclusion of a full blown web browser.

Spose so. Still can't imagine very many people wanting to do more than a trivial amount of web browsing via a TV screen. Its just awkward IMO. Seems the manufacturers are still trying to shoehorn in that 'convergence' thing despite low consumer takeup.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[rugbyrene]

pgdownload, on 28 March 2012 - 02:33 PM, said:

Quite probable this is a pretty decent machine - $600 seems a touch pricey but not unreasonable given the feature set. Just don't expect 1080p youtube )

Main question in my mind is do you need to record blurays? Be better to by a seperate BR player and just offload stuff from a standard HD PVR for burning. Also its not clear if the BRs this unit records can play on other machines.

This offering also seems designed for people getting into the Samsung/Android environment. If you don't have a smart TV or Galaxy then its of less appeal.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

I don't need to burn blurays.  I'm just looking to replace my ageing (7 years old now) Sony workhorse that has started to show signs of breaking down.

I have been looking at the Panasonic DMR-BWT700/800GL, but then I saw the Samsung.  I like Samsung products as I have a few TVs dotted around the house.

I like the fact that it's a combined bluray/PVR and it looks nice as well.  I would like to wait until someone else has tried it out to see if there are any obvious issues.

Cheers

[rugbyrene]

Here's a review for the E8500 model from a UK review site.  Score 9/10.

http://www.trustedre...-top-box_review

[Paul55]

We don't know how many (if any) Freeview restrictions have been built in.

[rugbyrene]

And I hope it's a proper twin-tuner.  Not like their previous, hobbled, 'twin-tuner', which let you record one program and watch live tv.  How pointless is that?  Though reading through the review I linked to above, it looks like it is a proper twin-tuner.

[pgdownload]

rugbyrene, on 29 March 2012 - 08:09 AM, said:

We don't know how many (if any) Freeview restrictions have been built in.

Doesn't appear Freeview badged so I'd say none. I'd suspect a built in Bluray burner might breach Freeview requirements anyway unless the unit restricts playback to just the one recorder. Seems transfering files to a PC is possible (which is unusual for a DVDR) based on the UK model. No mention of what ad skip options are provided.

Quote

I like the fact that it's a combined bluray/PVR and it looks nice as well. I would like to wait until someone else has tried it out to see if there are any obvious issues.

Fairs enough. Personaly a combo unit is of less value to me - 90% of the time I'd watch TV with the occassional  Bluray movie night means its easy enough to switch the TV AV input and pick up the BR remote. You could get a decent PVR and BR player for unde $500 now, but you would lose the ability to burn DVDs and there's the other bag of tricks the unit offers. Its really just a decision if the extra $200 or so is worth it.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[rugbyrene]

Hey pgdownload, what would be a decent PVR?  I've got a good Sony BR player, so really only need a PVR.

[prl]

It looks like Samsung has jumped off the Freeview bus (I think it was once aboard). In fact, just about everyone who's anyone in the PVR game has jumped off the Freeview bus.

[rugbyrene]

prl, on 29 March 2012 - 09:21 AM, said:

It looks like Samsung has jumped off the Freeview bus (I think it was once aboard). In fact, just about everyone who's anyone in the PVR game has jumped off the Freeview bus.

And a good thing to.

[pgdownload]

rugbyrene, on 29 March 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

Hey pgdownload, what would be a decent PVR?  I've got a good Sony BR player, so really only need a PVR.

Worth checking out the MagicTV PVR (thread here somewhere) or the long standing Beyonwiz Lite - both under $400.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[rugbyrene]

pgdownload, on 29 March 2012 - 09:27 AM, said:

Worth checking out the MagicTV PVR (thread here somewhere) or the long standing Beyonwiz Lite - both under $400.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

I don't mind spending a bit more.  

Never heard of the Magic.

[rugbyrene]

Just checked the Magic PVR and they seem Freeview badge.  I want to stay away from that world of hurt.

[prl]

rugbyrene, on 29 March 2012 - 09:36 AM, said:

Just checked the Magic PVR and they seem Freeview badge.  I want to stay away from that world of hurt.

They're still signed up with Freeview, but I don't think all their products are Freeview. Just as Beyonwiz used to be signed up with Freeview, but have only ever had one Freeview product (FV-L1) out of six altogether (DP-S1, DP-P1, DP-H1, DP-P2, DP-Lite & FV-L1).

[pgdownload]

prl, on 29 March 2012 - 09:21 AM, said:

In fact, just about everyone who's anyone in the PVR game has jumped off the Freeview bus.

Wouldn't count chickens yet. The Freeview benefits are still only just coming on line and its likely manufacturers are waiting until they feel the Freeview EPG can live up to its promises. Reliable, one touch series record is a pretty big drawcard for many potential customers IMO.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[pgdownload]

rugbyrene, on 29 March 2012 - 09:36 AM, said:

Just checked the Magic PVR and they seem Freeview badge.  I want to stay away from that world of hurt.

As mentioned, there's a non Freeview version.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[rugbyrene]

Yeah I'm not sure about the Magic.  It's a brand I've never heard of and to be honest it looks a bit cheap.

[pgdownload]

rugbyrene, on 29 March 2012 - 09:34 AM, said:

I don't mind spending a bit more.  

Not sure there's much point in spending much more. My base PVR criteria are user definable ad skip, reliable, possible to offload files to a PC, twin tuner (i.e. I like it for recording and watching TV and not much else). Most of the extras these days are in things like DLNA and YouTube. Not sure what functionality you really want in your new PVR? I also have ICETV for series recording, but that requires a network connection to the PVR and an annual subscription around $60.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[prl]

pgdownload, on 29 March 2012 - 09:58 AM, said:

Wouldn't count chickens yet. The Freeview benefits are still only just coming on line and its likely manufacturers are waiting until they feel the Freeview EPG can live up to its promises. Reliable, one touch series record is a pretty big drawcard for many potential customers IMO.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

But some former signed-up manufacturers (Beyonwiz and Topfield in particular) have withdrawn completely from the list of Freeview (and Freeview EPG) manufacturers. Topfield have gone their own way with their non-Freeview EPG Intelligent Recording feature on the TRF-7160, which appears to do at least no worse than relying on the Freeview EPG.

One-touch recording will remain something of a fantasy, anyway, by any mechanism, while the broadcasters keep failing to adhere to schedules, because you'll never know when the actual broadcast times of shows will overlap. I keep having to check up on my IceTV-scheduled programs to make sure that potential overlaps due to broadcasting programs outside their scheduled times don't cause problems.

[rugbyrene]

A good feature of the Samsung is that it can act as a wifi access point.

[diesel]

But' you'd still need to have a switch/router to connect up all the other devices that require internet access that now live in the HT entertainment units