Re: New to Freeview PVRs - closest match to Sky+ wanted

Rojo Habe wrote:
It's averaging three stars on Amazon; most of the complaints seem to be about the noise. I'd try before you buy at this price.

Most people here will probably recommend the Humax or Topfield, although you won't get one for eighty quid. I can vouch for the Humax, it's whisper quiet. It's not bug-free but none of them are, unfortunately. Software upgrades are coming through roughly every six months. On-screen displays are pleasing to the eye (though this is subjective. Try before you buy at any price) and all the usual features (series link, accurate record, split program, alternative instance) are supported on channels that support them. It doesn't come with Top Up TV as standard but there is a slot for a CI module.

If you do go for the Thomson, let us know what it's like.



"Ian McMillan" <ian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:65s3kfF2hf0s0U1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi all,

Sadly I'm moving to a building where I can't get Sky+ any more.

The Freeview PVRs seem to be very varied and no decent source online for screenshots, fair reviews etc.

Does anyone here know what is a good match to Sky+? From what I can see, the Thomson Top Up TV box at £80 on Amazon seems to be a good bet. Not interested in the Top Up TV aspect though, or Setanta.

Cheers,
Ian



As Rojo said, Humax and Topfield seem to have best reputation.
I very happily recommended the Topfield in its native mode, but when you add the MyStuff TAP it is even better and even more highly recommended!

A colleague of mine moved to a house where he couldn't get Sky (having previously been a total Sky+ addict) and I recommended the Topfield to him. After a couple of days he told me it was better than Sky+ (by better he meant more features and just generally more usable)

Not being one to pay Mr Murdoch anything if I can avoid it, I can't really comment on the comparison, except to say that MyStuff on the Toppy is intuitive and powerful. You can skin it to look like Sky+ too if you really want.

Obviously Sky 'own' the broadcast equipment and specify the receiving equipment so can tightly integrate the two. Freeview receiver manufacturers don't have that luxury. Series link was a feature that always evaded Freeview until recently and had to be worked-around by the MyStuff guys with their 'control timer' functionality. It works so well that even though Freeview has now implemented a 'series-link' feature, I don't use it because MyStuff already effectively handles it superbly via the control timers.

Ian.

.

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