I've seen rumours on here that Thomson don't make this unit any more so I thought I'd try to find out.

I know it sounds like a bit of a non story but for what it's worth I phoned Thomson this morning because I was a little concerned that the DHD that I am returning as faulty was a remanufactured/returned unit - it had a serial number of 4077. The (unhappy) chap on the other end of the phone said that Thomson was still manufacturing these units and would under no circumstances send out repaired units as 'new'.

I'm now in two minds as to whether I should get my money back for it or wait a few more weeks and get the replacement. Especially since there seem to be some new bargains (Fusion 145) that seem to offer the same functionality. I think I'll trawl the Digifusion forum next...

One wonders why Thomson are still manufacturing them when there apparently isn't a retailer in the country who stocks them...

The thing that concerns me is that the Customer Helpline might not actually know themselves what is happening. "Is the unit still being manufactured?" - "Yes"...

... "When is the OAD for 1.7.7?" - "Every Tuesday & Saturday"

I saw one in the window of Sullivans at Tilgate Parade in Crawley a few weeks ago, but I don't know about now.

If they were still making them with a view to actually getting sales then surely they would fit at least an 80Gb disk?

The unit was never styled (a blessing perhaps!) and no uprated models have appeared. It looks to me like the product didn't have senior managment buy in and has been abandoned.

And yet Thomson have reportedly bought 4TV, the company responsible for the DHD4000 and it's ongoing support and listings (not to mention its Fusion and Inverto counterparts). So presumably they have some interest in the model's future, or at least the development of a successor..?