I purchased a 500Gig recorder at the weekend and i'm not totally happy with the unit so far, The receiver has hung twice on me so far and had to be plugged out by the mains to re-start it, plus the fan in the rear of the machine getting very loud at times.

Has anybody else had any problems to reports or found any other issues.

There's threads longer than the bible about problems with the Harvard range of Freesat boxes.

Harvard have stopped their Goodmans range and the very similar Grundig models after they lost the rights to use the Grundig name - and managed to destroy the reputation of both brands with their Freesat SD and basic HD boxes. They have now started a new brand name - View21

Take it back and get a more reputable make (not Bush which is Argos own brand they badge Harvard machines with)

So are you saying that current Goodmans box is made by Harvard?
Bush and Goodmans I thought are the only cheap freesat boxes under £50.
Otherwise you need to get a non freesat box.

The logik box is around £65 and is made by a well known manufacturer.

That's a Manhattan isn't it, but it's not a pvr, not sure what your post means

The Goodmans brand name is owned by Harvard International (previously called Alba). The company then called Alba sold the Alba and Bush brand names to the Home Retail Group, owners of Argos and Homebase stores.

Harvard almost certainly do not make anything (although they may well have a hand in design and software development), buying their products from OEM manufacturers. They also provide Argos with Bush and Alba branded versions of the models they import as is the case with the satellite boxes.

Not all Bush or Alba items are purchased through Harvard by Argos - for example the Bush branded Freeview HD boxes were badged versions of the Vestel T8300 - which seems to have reappeared as their Bush Saorview box in Ireland. On the other hand, the Alba FVHD box was the same internally as the Grundig and Goodmans boxes from Harvard but in the OEM maker's original case.

@lbear
thanks for the history of the brands and who made what.

logik - are we saying this is the only cheap satellite box not made with design flaws?

No problem.

There are two different themes going through the thread so I will try to separate them.

The original post regarded a PVR (recorder) and I think all the old hands on here were hardly surprised that the make was giving problems. There is a bigger choice of makes for PVRs as single tuner Freesat receivers are less popular. There are some good bargains available for Sagem Freesat+ if you shop around they are similar in price to Bush or Goodmans. Sagem are also one of the lead developers for the "second generation" freesat boxes due out late this year/early next year. Humax fulfilled a similar role for G1 boxes and their Foxsat HDRs are very well regarded.

The discussion slipped slightly to other budget single tuner models. Harvard are about the only people who "make" freesat SD boxes which are really really basic boxes. They have also had problems with their HD tuners, including having to replace a batch because it did not meet the specifications - that was revealed when the broadcasters used DVB-S2 more extensively.

Of the other HD set top boxes without recording facilities, the two that are the most regarded are the Humax Foxsat HD (which has had power supply capacitor problems) and the Manhattan HD-S.

If you are unlucky, you can get a Foxsat HD with a cr*p capacitor in the power supply that only blows after the 2 year warranty is up. If you are within the 2 years, Humax will replace it with a reconditioned "B" grade model , very likely one that has been returned with a blown capacitor which they have replaced. These are also available cheaply from their Direct web site as manager's specials for less than Humax's "standard charge" for out of warranty repairs - despite the fact the capacitor cost about £1 to replace if you can weild a soldering iron. (If I were buying one again, I would either get a "B" grade or buy from Richer Sounds with their 5 year warranty)

The Manhattan has had a very good reception and they are also responsive to comments on an independent site devoted to all things freesat. They have recently announced a PVR designated the HDR-S with a very nice design but which have yet to hit the shops.

If you do not already have a dish, or want to get a receiver installed in a second room; the best deal available is a Manhattan HD-S from Tesco for a few pennies under £100. That includes either a dish installation or the upgrading of an existing dish so you can run two PVRs from it (or an existing PVR and two receivers presumably)

The box itself is from £20 cheaper in the shops. DRG (Dixons, Currys and PC World) recently introduced the Logik which is their own brand. Although it looks very different from the Manhattan, there is evidence it is the same electronically as the Manhattan and is £10 cheaper. Early photos of it included the remote control which gave it away as being made by Hylab who make Tesco;'s "Technika STBHDIS2010" Freeview HD box. That has proved to be the best and longest lived of the budget FVHD boxes.

yes, sorry if I derailed the thread.
I was asking as in another thread I having been trying to work out the best solution to getting radio in the bedroom. We are getting satellite installed in our flats and I could pay to have an extention in the bedroom (either TV/Radio or +Satellite).

Given DAB is low quality and satellite carries more stations with slightly higher bitrate than freeview, I thought getting a satellite box (no need for freesat epg) would be the way forward.

But it should be cheap and if possible the remote should support a sleep function (as my speakers won't).

A cheap satellite fta box starting from £20.00 or so will do fine for Radio. Sleep requirement is a bit harder.

Problem with a sat box is most will need a display to actually find the sations unless you rely on channel numbers.

How about a time switch or a remote controlled socket apaptor which will turn off the box and the speakers.

If you want more choice how about a internet radio (or a laptop), ?

I could use my old laptop, but would need a remote for it to change stations.
No need for a STB to have a display once tuned in, as I could set up favorites or just channel numbers.
Surely like FM, you just learn the channel numbers, like you know radio frequencies