[jap]

I must confess I am completely baffled by new technology. I was perfectly happy with my VCR and my huge 32" 8 year old TV but unfortunately they both perished in a house fire.

So now I have to replace them and I am drowning in a swamp of jargon. I have found when I replaced my camcorder that quite often new digital technology is no better than the old analogues, as I got an HDD camcorder to replace the old Hi-8 one I had (that also got rather melted by the fire!).

So I need a new method to record TV. I can't get sky and have fallen out with NTL/ Virgin, so I am only looking at receiving terrestrial or Freeview. I was looking at the Humax PVR range, but I think I am now settling on Sony's HDD DVD as it has the added benefit of being able to back up to DVD. Am I making a mistake in this or will this be OK for recording stuff off the TV?

Now the more important bit - the TV? What do I get? I have settled on 32" screen as that is what I had. But is there really any difference between the cheaper end of the market (£350 - £500) and those costing double that?

As I only have Freeview, I doubt I will get HD quality images broadcast for a few years. I just want a TV that I can use for me and the kids to watch TV and movies on, that we can all see the screen without having to sit on each others laps and that we can still watch when the sun is shining (not that the sun shines much in the UK!)

Any help most gratefully accepted...

[Chris Simon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jap

I was looking at the Humax PVR range, but I think I am now settling on Sony's HDD DVD as it has the added benefit of being able to back up to DVD. Am I making a mistake in this or will this be OK for recording stuff off the TV?

It will almost certainly have analogue tuner so that you can record analogue TV, if it also has a Freeview tuner then you can use it to record from Freeview. Or, if you have a separate Freeview box, you'll be able to plug it into the recorder via SCART and record that way, like you would with a VCR. A DVD/HDD recorder will also allow you to record from external sources such as VCR or camcorder, edit them and put them onto DVD. However, it will only have a single tuner so you cannot record two things at the same time, nor watch one thing while recording another on the one machine.

A PVR (especially if you hold back for a Freeview Playback branded machine) is more convenient for simple timeshifting of programmes and will have two tuners, but you can't edit recordings, archive them directly to DVD, nor record from external sources.

In an ideal world, I'd get both a PVR and a DVD/HDD recorder - but it depends what you want to do. I have a Pioneer DVD/HDD recorder and it's perfect for controlling and recording from my Sky box, but next year when BBC/ITV Freesat comes out, I'll be ditching the Sky box and getting a Freesat PVR. No terrestral reception at all here!

[breath]

This DVD/HDD recorder is very good: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/113877 (Keep checking stock levels- they sell quickly)


Also, Ebuyer have a good selection of TVs: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/store/73/cat/Televisions