My apologies if this an 'old' subject but I just have a couple of questions. The answers are probably obvious but anyway...
I am using an external HDD for the recordings so:

Do I have to leave the TV on standby for the recording to take place (e.g.for a late night film)?
Can I watch one channel whilst recording on another?

Thank you.

Yes TV has to be in sby. Whether you can watch another channel depends on the number of tuners it has. If only one then it may be possible to watch a second channel, but only on the same mux as the recording. Try recording BBC1-HD and see if you can watch BBC2-HD.

You should be ablee to watch a recording while recording something else.

Hi,

You'll only be able to watch one channel whilst you record another if the TV has more than one tuner, otherwise no you won't.

Watch out for programmes that start and finish late, like BBC2 and BBC4 evenings (BBC2 is okay during the day), and also there's one channel ITV4 I think (or it might be ITV3), where they interrupt the programmes with entertainment news and that stops the recording. Sometimes C4 and BBC1 start a minute or two early.

For situations like this it's best to use the EPG schedule manager and set the recording/s up manually. Note if I lose signal strength the recording stops, which is a new problem I've started having with C31 Com7 Winter Hill HD Freeview channels.

Thanks for the information.

I remember years ago having a DVD recorder with a single freeview tuner built in.
That couldn't even manage stopping a recording at (for example) 13:05 and starting the next recording at 13:05. Each recording had have a minimum 1min clearance gap.
Basically, it was rubbish.