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New PVRs at Argos |
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#76 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 228
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Tried to source the Alba last week but Argos were showing it as out of stock for Home Delivery and at all the stores I looked up.
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#77 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Thatcham, Hannington Transmitt
Posts: 5,274
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Quote:
Tried to source the Alba last week but Argos were showing it as out of stock for Home Delivery and at all the stores I looked up.
Colin |
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#78 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 544
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Quote:
Hi - would appreciate some advice please.
My mother has one of the infamous Humax 9200 PVRs which is now all but unusable. I have been following the Humax thread on here for some time but the technical advice is way over my head. We have therefore decided to throw in the towel with the Humax and replace it with one of these Digihome variants from Argos. Their latest May offers leaflet has the Alba as £79.99, £20.00 cheaper than the Hitachi. However, the Alba is not in the main catalogue so I am thinkiing it may be old stock. I have read on here about the different versions of software on these PVRs. My question is should I go for the Alba which may have an old version of the software or would it be safer to spend the extra £20 on the Hitachi? I don't want to repace one set of problems with another. |
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#79 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SW London, Crystal Palace Tx
Posts: 2,769
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The Alba hasn't been in the catalogue/online for many months, and it is now listed as unavailable in-store or for home delivery.
I get Argos offers via email and haven't seen any mention of it. Cock-up at Argos? That'd be a shame ![]() parthena |
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#80 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Thatcham, Hannington Transmitt
Posts: 5,274
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Quote:
The Alba hasn't been in the catalogue/online for many months, and it is now listed as unavailable in-store or for home delivery.
I get Argos offers via email and haven't seen any mention of it. Cock-up at Argos? That'd be a shame ![]() parthena Colin |
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#81 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 2
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Thanks for your replies. Sorry, I didn't realise there was no stock of the Alba. There are Grade A refurbs on e-buyer but with no warranty so I think we will go with the Hitachi. Who would have thought watching telly could be so complicated!
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#82 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 48
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Hi there,
I'm thinking of buying a Hitachi HDR165 but I'm new to PVR's and have a couple of questions... I've read alot about PVR's not keeping their EPG when switched off or using Lower Power mode, can this model be made to keep its EPG even when in standby? What exactly does Low Power mode do, or stop doing? Also one of my TV's no longer has a working scart (I know lol), can you still use the box via the RF out port? Does anyone have any pictures of what the remote looks like and perhapes of the GUI? Thanks Ninko |
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#83 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SW London, Crystal Palace Tx
Posts: 2,769
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Quote:
I've read alot about PVR's not keeping their EPG when switched off or using Lower Power mode, can this model be made to keep its EPG even when in standby?
Quote:
Also one of my TV's no longer has a working scart (I know lol), can you still use the box via the RF out port?
This box doesn't have an "RF modulator" (none of the Vestels do and not many PVRs of any brand do) - you can buy one separately from somewhere like Maplins, I believe, or eBay.parthena |
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#84 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 2,103
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Quote:
This model doesn't have LP mode, the EPG is instantly available when the box is brought out of standby.
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#85 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 48
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Hi there,
Thanks for your replys, does any of the Humax models keep their epg with low power mode disabled? Thanks Ninko |
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#86 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Thatcham, Hannington Transmitt
Posts: 5,274
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Quote:
Hi there,
Thanks for your replys, does any of the Humax models keep their epg with low power mode disabled? Thanks Ninko Colin |
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#87 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 48
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Hmmm... I'm stuck between the Hitachi HDR165 and Humax PVR-9150T.
The thing that puts me off the Humax PVR-9150T is the fact that it has to keep rebuilding its EPG everytime you put it in and out of standby. And the thing that puts me off about the Hitachi HDR165 is the live tv buffer aint active all the time meaning you can't just REWIND live tv if you want to see something again. Does anyone have their own good and bad points about these that might help me decide? Thanks so much! Ninko |
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#88 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SW London, Crystal Palace Tx
Posts: 2,769
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Quote:
the live tv buffer aint active all the time meaning you can't just REWIND live tv if you want to see something again.
Does anyone have their own good and bad points about these that might help me decide? Is the 165 a one-SCART-only model? If so, does that cause a problem if you want to record from the HDD onto a DVDR? parthena |
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#89 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 48
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Hi parthena,
It is a one scart unit yes. I won't really do much external recording, but if I had to I could always root the scart through the DVD recorder to the TV. So you would recommend the Vestels units? Thanks Ninko |
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#90 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Thatcham, Hannington Transmitt
Posts: 5,274
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Quote:
Hmmm... I'm stuck between the Hitachi HDR165 and Humax PVR-9150T.
The thing that puts me off the Humax PVR-9150T is the fact that it has to keep rebuilding its EPG everytime you put it in and out of standby. And the thing that puts me off about the Hitachi HDR165 is the live tv buffer aint active all the time meaning you can't just REWIND live tv if you want to see something again. Does anyone have their own good and bad points about these that might help me decide? Thanks so much! Ninko Generally the Humax PVRs are "slicker" to use than the Vestels IMO. The Vestel PVRs can be very sluggish when there are a largish number of recordings scheduled. Currently there are issues affecting the Humax PVRs particularly those operating during and after DSO (Digital Switch Over) activities in their area. Humax are developing software updates with the intention of curing these issues but it remains to be seen when these will appear and if they are successful. There are also DSO issues affecting some Vestel models (but not the T835 units such as the Hitachi HDR165 AFAIK). Vestel are developing a software fix but it has not yet materialised. Colin |
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#91 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 48
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Hi all,
I decided to go with the Hitachi HDR165 in the end, but I seem to have a signal problem on one of them. The one is saying Signal Quality is Poor, where as the other one is saying Signal Quality is Very Good. I'm getting someone down to look at my aerial as it wasn't long upgraded ready for digital, my question is, is the Signal Quality status 'Very Good' the highest status or is there a higher one, eg 'Excellent'? Just so I know if the problem is only on the one feed or could the other one do better aswell. Thanks Ninko |
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#92 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 2,103
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Quote:
Hi all,
I decided to go with the Hitachi HDR165 in the end, but I seem to have a signal problem on one of them. The one is saying Signal Quality is Poor, where as the other one is saying Signal Quality is Very Good. I'm getting someone down to look at my aerial as it wasn't long upgraded ready for digital, my question is, is the Signal Quality status 'Very Good' the highest status or is there a higher one, eg 'Excellent'? Just so I know if the problem is only on the one feed or could the other one do better aswell. .So, you have two HDR165's? Have you tried swapping the units over, to see if the one with poor signal still has problems in the location where the unit with good signal is and vice versa? This would confirm whether one of the units is at fault or whether one of your aerial feeds is much better than the other. |
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#93 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 122
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The Hitachi HDR165 is down to 79.99 at Argos currently which seems a pretty decent price. Also, for today and tomorrow you can get 10% discount off this if you buy via the Homebase website (which is basically Argos in disguise). The actual discount though will only be a few quid since you have to factor in delivery costs.
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#94 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 2,103
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Anyone using a T835 box with low power mode enabled... Can you try point the remote at the box while it is in low power standby and repeatedly press the OK and surrounding arrow buttons to see if the T835 decides to switch itself on (without pressing the power button)? Obviously, it shouldn't.
I noticed a while ago that my Sony RDR-HXD890 remote had a tendancy of switching the T835 on when it was in low power standby - I've only just realised that it does so with the Vestel remote too, and probably many others. Might just be my early generation T835 though. |
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#95 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 2,103
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Volunteers for testing?
Vestel have asked if there are any users who are willing to test various T835 software builds and provide feedback to them, just as I do. If you are interested, you will also need to be handy with a soldering iron in order to make the required scart->rs232 adaptor, and you will also need to have a computer permanently connected to the T835 in order to capture all the serial debug output which needs to be sent back to Vestel. Any takers?
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#96 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 384
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Quote:
Vestel have asked if there are any users who are willing to test various T835 software builds and provide feedback to them, just as I do. If you are interested, you will also need to be handy with a soldering iron in order to make the required scart->rs232 adaptor, and you will also need to have a computer permanently connected to the T835 in order to capture all the serial debug output which needs to be sent back to Vestel. Any takers?
ISTM that it's stupid restricting the supply of volunteers because the company can't be bothered to supply a suitable connector (including the necessary Serial to USB connector as most PCs don't have serial ports anymore). tim |
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#97 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sandy Heath transmitter
Posts: 10
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Quote:
Anyone using a T835 box with low power mode enabled... Can you try point the remote at the box while it is in low power standby and repeatedly press the OK and surrounding arrow buttons to see if the T835 decides to switch itself on (without pressing the power button)? Obviously, it shouldn't.
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#98 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 2,103
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Quote:
Futaura - don't know if you still want to know, but I've just tried this with my Hitachi HDR165 (v2.5 software) and the only button that switched it on was the power button. No other buttons, including repeated pressings of OK and arrow buttons, did anything.
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#99 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sandy Heath transmitter
Posts: 10
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Quote:
...I eventually managed to get my box to wake up from low power mode again by repeatedly pressing the OK and arrow buttons - didn't happen for 30 seconds or so though.
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#100 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 2,103
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Quote:
I didn't realise it needed that long! I've tried again, and sometimes I can get it to come on with just OK and arrow buttons. Once after 25 seconds, once after 90 seconds, and other times not at all.
. Time to chase this issue up with Vestel.
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