[OwenSmith]

Originally Posted by Dancc

Discovered a new 'quirk' of this box yesterday.

I tried to set a recording for a programme that was on this morning but it wouldn't let me, flagging up some error about signal issues during that time of day. I sat and thought about it and it occurred to me it was referring to the other day when I had switched the box off at the mains overnight and forgot to turn it back on before I left for work, meaning a couple of planned recordings failed. The only way it would let me set daytime recordings again was by performing a full retune!

Why did you switch it off at the mains? A PVR is meant to be left switched on all the time, it's a recording device. In standby the DTR-T1000 only consumes 0.5W (in high eco mode and with RF pass through disabled) so it's not a big concern.

I'm not sure I'd consider this a fault in the box. OK it hasn't coped gracefully, but it was your switching it off that caused the problem. On the other hand this does mean that a power cut can cause not only the interrupted recording to fail, but subsequent ones as well even though the power has come back. Not good.

Also if you switch it off at the mains it won't be able to update firmware. It checks for new firmware over the internet every night in the middle of the night. So if you switch it off every night, it won't ever manage to update firmware.

[Clusterbombed]

UPDATE

Sky's NowTV has been added to the list of On Demand players. It has pay-per-play rental movies, or a £15 per month Sky Movies Pass.

On the NowTV website it boasts "Up to five new premieres every week plus all 11 Sky Movies channels". However, on the Youview box it only says "Up to 5 new premieres every week" with no mention of live Sky Movies channels, making it unclear whether you're signing up just to watch the movies or the movie channels.

[Dancc]

Where are the options for aspect ratios? The box just does what it wants.

The zoom button on the remote control does nothing.

[Max Demian]

Originally Posted by Dancc

Where are the options for aspect ratios? The box just does what it wants.

The zoom button on the remote control does nothing.

Surely you have to set that on the (widescreen) TV: the TV should have a configuration setting to show widescreen material wide, and 4:3 in 4:3 (with the black bars either side), with a manual override when it gets things wrong.

[JonnyDee]

it should be it don't

[markrduk]

I have noticed the channel 5 on demand streams are a bit hit and miss. Not a massive deal to me as I can't really see me wanting to use demand 5 very much, but...

As a test I was playing some of the celeb BB streams and they all had blocky picture breaking up the whole way through and then I choose the next item in the menu 'Person of interest', which initially played fine, but then kept freezing and going to a black screen where there's supposed to be adverts and rather than resuming play would just sit there forever. When I went out of it and back in the ads would play fine and then I would get the black screen again.

I'm pretty sure its not my internet connection and the other players seem to be fine - the BBC HD streams and great!

I really can't decide whether to stick with this or switch it for a HDR T2. The T2 seems to definitely be the more proven, sturdy device, but I'm not sure if the content benefits and the future potential of this box are worth the investment. It does feel a bit unintuitive to me, coming from Sky+ HD, but then do I just need to get used to it?

I remain unconvinced.

[rotty]

Just bought a YouView DTR from John Lewis this afternoon to replace (yet another) Topup TV PVR that has gone TU and I have to say the 1st impressions are pretty promising.

We live in a difficult area reception-wise as we are on the Bristol Channel coast with no LoS to Mendip, so have to take all of our COM mixes off Wenvoe, and our local regional PSB mixes off a Freeview Lite relay. The relay has UHF channels tightly interleaved with the Wenvoe channels which can be an issue - our oldish Panasonic Plasma without manual tuning struggles, but our Sony HD TVs are fine. the TitsUP TV boxes were useless and would only pick up the Welsh services

Anyhow, even though the YouView box doesn't have manual tuning, it happily took the combined feed from both aerials, presented me with a Wales or West option and correctly loaded the channels bunged the Welsh stuff up into the 800's just in case....

EPG seems fairly fast, and the box is MUCH more responsive than the old TUTV trash. Only annoying thing is that there is no EPG search, the search facility appearing to only look at On-demand content, which seems a glaring omission. I did like the 14 day EPG with search facility on the TUTV box, even though the search was clumsy.

Just looking at some 'past EPG' progs, and it does work very seamlessly, though the ITVPlayer ads are a bit of a pain. Would just love to now see Netflix and LoveFilm integrated too - live in hope I suppose.

May post more info after I've had the box for a week or so ... Bought at full price from John Lewis as they couldn't demo half the features, but it meant I could return without hassle if it didn't work as expected. And 2 year warranty too which is a bonus.

[rotty]

Originally Posted by Dancc

The zoom button on the remote control does nothing.

Yes it does ... It allows zooming of text in menu's etc. Presumably as an aid for partially sighted? But it does work as stated in the manual. Shame it doesn't zoom the pic though.

[OwenSmith]

Originally Posted by rotty

EPG seems fairly fast, and the box is MUCH more responsive than the old TUTV trash. Only annoying thing is that there is no EPG search, the search facility appearing to only look at On-demand content, which seems a glaring omission.

If you think the EPG is fast and responsive then my word that TUTV box you had must have been diabolical. The EPG on the DTR-T1000 is like a snail on valium compared to the lightning speed of the Humax HDR Fox T2.

[OwenSmith]

Originally Posted by rotty

Yes it does ... It allows zooming of text in menu's etc. Presumably as an aid for partially sighted? But it does work as stated in the manual. Shame it doesn't zoom the pic though.

It seems intended to compensate for the very bad and hard to read layout of the menus. The HDR Fox T2 is easier to read compare to the DTR-T1000 even when it is zoomed. Very bad user interface design and very poor choice of colours (no contrast due to everything being blue).

[rotty]

Originally Posted by OwenSmith

that TUTV box you had must have been diabolical.

Yes, it was. But I did have a play with the T2 and it didn't seem any quicker. Perhaps my YouView trash is yet to get the usual 'rot' that pervades most of these things, but from what I read, the T2 ain't no angel when it comes to issues. And of course, Humax have stopped development of the portal which for me was the reason why I never bought one.

Have to say I've never found a PVR that I liked everything about, T2 included. But for me ( and my technophobe family) the 'idea' of YouView is perfect.

As an example,the Mrs missed a prog whilst we were away on holiday. When she looked at the EPG synopsys for the prog being shown tonight, it stated that there were more episodes available, and gave her the option to watch the episodes she missed. She didn't even have to go looking for it. So, regardless of all the negatives, something like that is great. There is absolutely no way previously she would have attempted to work out how to view the progs on one of the other devices we have (is it on The WD TV Live box, or the Wii, or do I have to view it on the PC?).

[mwnn]

Ive been on the beta test for this unit as well and I;ve spent the last month going in and out of the unit writing an almighty review for my website. Hope it's not against the rules to post my blog link (essentialmac.co.uk) here.

I'm not 100% sure on what to make of the unit overall. Theres a lot of nice features such as the miniguide lettings you view other showings of a program that are online but for each good feature theres a negative.

Recording a series for example there's no granular settings to say record all or just record new showings. Recording a series seems to be a mish mash

One thing that does bug me is ESPN shows up on the list of channels yet top up tv doesn't. Both of which I get in my area on my HTPC so it's not a signal issue.

If you want to see what BBC iPlayer on Youview looks like I've taken done a recording and uploaded that to YouTube. (not sure if you can embed on these forums)

But the SINGLE biggest annoyance. That remote control, it;s loud and noisy. Dear lord does it make a click or a clack on the d-pad yet the other lesser used buttons are just about right.

[OwenSmith]

Originally Posted by mwnn

Ive been on the beta test for this unit as well and I;ve spent the last month going in and out of the unit writing an almighty review for my website. Hope it's not against the rules to post my blog link (essentialmac.co.uk) here.

Your review says Book Me is a new feature of YouView but that isn't true. It's a reasonably new (last 6 months?) standard Freeview feature which my Humax HDR Fox T2 supports. I actually hate this feature, I can find stuff myself thanks and I don't want random things jumping up at me on screen while I'm watching TV. I'd like an option to enable or disable all interactive MHEG applications (that's how it works). I don't even like "Press RED" appearing on screen when I'm trying to watch the BBC evening news, very distracting.

On the subject of the non functioning IPTV channels, Vision and Connect TV are still insisting that all YouView boxes will support them at launch. Left hand clearly has no communication with right hand.

[mwnn]

Originally Posted by OwenSmith

Your review says Book Me is a new feature of YouView but that isn't true. It's a reasonably new (last 6 months?)

Thanks for the info. Review updated as I wasn't sure if this was a new feature as I've been on a HTPC rig for as long as I can remember without such things

AFAIK launch day for YouView was today, well thats when the NDA was officially lifted I'll keep an eye on them and thanks for the updates :-)

[Ezra Pound]

Originally Posted by mwnn

I my blog link (essentialmac.co.uk) here.

Just a small point about the review, the display is not a LED or LCD display, it is a VFD or vacuum fluorescent display, Picture HERE is of the Humax HDR-Fox T2 but it is the same on the YouView

[mwnn]

Cheers ezra. I'll have that updated shortly. I knew deep down I'd got it wrong lol.

[Ezra Pound]

Originally Posted by mwnn

Cheers ezra. I'll have that updated shortly. I knew deep down I'd got it wrong lol.

Blimey that was a quick change There is another mention of LED in the next line

[mwnn]

Ermmm. Changes are still uploading. I'll have it changed soon. Bar some obvious typing errors I hope the review is getting the points across.

By Jove do I detest that noise the remote makes. Anyone else found that?

On that T2 box you mention does the guide lad or take its time to refresh like the YouView box?

[gomezz]

Originally Posted by mwnn

But the SINGLE biggest annoyance.

Without a doubt is the lack of digital surround sound transcoding. The remote control is actually the best Humax have delivered with one of their boxes in my experience.

[mwnn]

Originally Posted by gomezz

Without a doubt is the lack of digital surround sound transcoding. The remote control is actually the best Humax have delivered with one of their boxes in my experience.

Honestly thats the best remote from Humax? Granted 80% of the remote is good but that 20% with that noise, that invasive sound, the echoing reverberation every-time you use that d-pad?

I'm not picking or flaming here but how do you compare it to say a standard sky remote or a Microsoft remote control? I realise that both of those aren't the most ergonomic but at least I'd say their button noise isn't as invasive like the YouView remote

If you can let me know about the digital transcoding, what other models have it and how it affects things in general I'd be grateful and happy to update the review :-)

[gomezz]

I can't say the slight clicking bothers me and I do not recognise the echoing reverberation you mention. It feels good in the hand and the keys are nice and positive unlike the remote for my Foxsat HDR which can be very hit and miss and rubbery. Better than a Sky remote, no experience of a Microsoft remote. Maybe there is production variability issue and I have one of the good ones and you have one of the lemons?

Have a look at Nigel Whitfield's blog on transcoding as a primer on the topic:-

http://gonedigital.net/2010/05/20/tr...or-freeviewhd/

[mwnn]

Fair enough Gomezz. I found the remote noise IMO to almost warrant me stopping using it at times. Granted yes, it does feel nicely weighted, good centre of balance, buttons in general response well will a "nice" feel and yes, things respond well but for me the noise ruins it. I;m sure like car manufactures, those remote control designers must obsess about the noise a button makes (well at least I hope so lol)

Thanks for the linkage. So the issue with sound is converting the HE-AAC format to Dolby Digital if I read that article right?

That would point to the overall feeling of the YouView box, who is it really aimed for? Those like yourself who value audio may not want the online aspects like this box? Those who like the online content may already have enough of an idea to roll-their-own box.

One thing about my time with the youview box is that it leaves me wishing I could hit up the online stuff on windows media centre.

[gomezz]

To be fair it has its good points. The tuner is better than the one in my Digitalstream and always produces a rock solid good picture. But there is a long list of basic features missing from what you expect to have with a modern PVR. For example the lack of channel editing or hiding makes this totally unsuitable for use by a family with young children.

[mwnn]

Agreed, that tuner speaks for itself as I live in remote wales on the wrong side of a hill dip meaning I need to use a booster (which can often result in deterioration of signal) yet still gives a decent signal.

Good point on the guide features. There is no option to remove those *specialist* channels or create a list of favourites for the kids etc. (article updated)

[Ezra Pound]

Originally Posted by gomezz

Without a doubt is the lack of digital surround sound transcoding.

I didn't know about the lack of transcoding, I would add it to the LIST In #19 but it looks like you can't edit previous posts, so I'll add them here :-

Are Tuner conflict alternatives supplied = No
IPTV HDD buffer (for slow broadband) = No
Is multi-channel sound transcoded to DD 5.1 = No