I'm really keen to get a J-35, but am wondering if there is a good/easy way to move anything I wish to archive to my laptop so I can put it on DVD? I don't really want to go and get a DVD Recorder as well when I have already got a perfectly good way to archive information.
Thanks.

Why on earth would you be "keen" to get something as buggy as the J35? In theory they are great, but in practice it's a different story. May I suggest doing a search through these forums for the J35 before you spend your hard earnt money!

Is there another twin HD tuner with HDD product on the market yet?
I know another was coming, but is it available?
And it seems the later versions of the J-35 are improving. Do you disagree? Is it still a poor performer?

As of right now you've got the choice of 1, The J35. Having said that, the LG is "just around the corner" .................

steve_1, I was a bit dissapointed that you are still having problems with yours, have you had Castel do the V71 firmware (and maybe hardware ???) upgrade.

IMHO there's no comparison between the previous versions and the V71. Basically the V71 is at the 99% reliability stage. I consider 100% reliability to be as good as my old Philips 26-inch colour TV that would only ever show any signs if interference when the electric knife is in use !!!!

Austen.

I'll probably be canned for writing this by some users, however IMHO....

I think that the J35 is a fantastic unit. It has worked flawlessly with my set up. It is however extremely sensitive to RF signal quality (bad, weak, strong, etc). Most (not all) people on this forum who have reported bugs with their unit simply have dodgy RF.

So if ya house is wired for digital (quad shield cables, F type connectors, etc.) then get it. It will change your Television life. If you don't then be prepared for potential digital break-ups, sound pops, 'bad or no signal' messages on screen and missing recorded programs. Firmware updates have gone along way to fix this but still problems remain for some people.

As to your original question regarding moving files to your PC, it is impossible. The only way to get a recorded program from J-35 to DVD is using a DVD recorder connected to the composite output (? not sure if you can use any other outputs) and using the 'external record' feature.

Jim

The final fix for me, after the V71 upgrade was a $2 antenna connector (solderless PAL-type) from Jaycar, the antenna lead now comes through the wall and straight into the J35, IE, the J35 does not plug into the wall, the lead plugs into the J35.

So yes, I agree, you've gotta make the Toshie happy with the signal. Now, what your Toshie is going to be happy with, that's another story !!!

Austen.

I had a brand new antenna installed when I purchased the HD25 and that setup worked flawlessly. After upgrading to the J35 I experienced a multitude of problems (mostly firmware bugs) including reception difficulties. Side-by-Side a $99 Wong Chong STB has out played and out lasted and out witted my J35. I fail to see how it is related to RF signal quality. That said, until the recent V71 upgrade the unit was totally unreliable. Now it works (almost) like one would expect.

Cheers,
Matt

Reliability issues aside - there is no way to copy data to/from the unit. There are no USB, Ethernet, firewire or serial ports.

Maybe the new LG? Otherwise you may have to wait for a HD topfield.

hey Austen. The J35 I have does have the V71 Software. I sent my previous J35 back to Castel, and they deemed the problems I had with it warranted a replacement unit. I waited until my retailer had the J35 with the Red dot and the CC, which I was told by Castel was the latest firmware and the minor H/W change. My new J35 is HOPELESS at keeping time.

I know with the previous J35 I had, it use to boot up every so often, supposedly to update the time. This one doesn't seem to do that, and as a result gains about 10 mins a day (which is an ABSURD amount of time for any clock on any device, and makes timer recording absolutely useless). My previous J35 worked OK, till after about 6 months of use decided to go beserk (I bought it the minute they were released), but it had some minor glitches during that time which i was prepared to live with.

The bottom line is, that this is a VERY flawed device. The picture quality on the J35 is explempary, especially through HDMI to my Pio 434. But the rest of the J35's functions are VERY below par. Even the Force $199 SD STB I had on loan while I was waiting for the J35 to be replaced had a far better EPG and N&N population than the J35, and far more professional menus etc. The J35 is unreliable for recording, and sometimes seems to have a mind of its own. When this one goes back, it'll be staying there. I have said in other posts that I would NEVER buy nor recommend another Toshiba product after this. The fact is, this PVR should never have been released without more thorough testing from the manufacturer or distributor, and if I remember rightly, it's release was delayed about 4 months initially. One would have thought that was for quality control.

Pioneer or Panasonic dont release products onto the market that are this buggy, well not to my knowledge these days anyway, and they are, i would imagine, Toshiba's main competitors. I wouldn't mind if the J35 cost 2 or 3 hundred dollars to buy, but it didn't. It was pitched and priced at the "premium" end of the market, and as a result, should have been "premium" quality. All the equipment I have is, what I would call, premium. (Well some may beg to differ), yet none of it has required the amount of upgrades and the amount of negative feedback that the J35 has recieved.

Toshiba need to S_E_R_I_O_U_S_L_Y take stock of the J35 and it's problems. I've had several STB's over the years, and they have all worked flawlessy. I've only upgraded for more features etc. But the J35 is a joke, which is begining to wear very thin with me.

I am asking for my block to be chopped off but the Topfield can record HD for transfer to DVD. The qustion to ask is - do you really want to transfer HD programs to a DVD which effectively only is capable of SD.

hornblower

This is exactly the point, really. I want to be able to archive HD to an external HDD connected to my laptop. Not to DVD. But I really want the functionality of a twin HD tuner unit. I guess if I can put a big enough HDD in the Toshi then I won't need to export it?

Id actually be waiting karlos879. The Toshi is still buggy. It's only a matter of time till the other manufacturers release HD PVR's in our market. I must admit, the Toshiba does have amazing PQ through HDMI, but the rest of it is pretty average. One thing I have found with manufacturers, is that they dont give a great deal of lead time for the release of new products. Panasonic or Pioneer could quite possibly announce the release of something like a HD PVR with only a month or so's notice. LG have now come onto the bandwagon with a HD PVR (yet it's still to be "trialled" through these forums). If you've got the time then wait a bit. I'm sure others will follow.