Hi all,

I've just (i.e. yesterday) taken delivery of an Evesham DTR250, and think it's great so far. I just have a few quick queries:

(1) Is it possible to schedule repeat recordings? (e.g. same time every Wednesday.) If so, how?

(2) Is there any way of re-ordering the channels? I've discovered the favourites lists, but can't see any way of putting channels in the order in which I view them most often.

(3) When browsing through what's on 'Now and next', if you press 'Info' again to get detailed info about a programme, is there any way of then moving on to info for another channel? I have found that after getting detailed info on screen, all you can do is switch between info for the current and next programme on the channel whose info you're currently looking at; pressing 'Info' again takes you back to the channel you're viewing, so if you want to look at detailed info for other channels you have to scroll all the way back to them.

These are the only annoyances I've discovered so far, and in other respects it seems very good. Although I haven't recorded enough yet to discover how well 'Accurate Recording' is working...

Thanks,

Alex

Hi Alex - I have also just started using one of these:

1. Yes. After setting up your recordings in the EPG, move to the Timer view and press OK for the recordings that you wish to repeat. This brings up a sub-menu - press left arrow for weekly recordings and then save with the green button (I think).

2. No, I don't think so.

3. This can be done in the EPG view, where INFO is shown in the top half of the screen for any program highlighted in the bottom half.

Paul

I haven't got one of these but I have noticed that some of the freeview playback version of the Vestel software has removed the weekly/daily 'repeat' options and replaced it with the series record option.

I don't know whether this was a decision that they made or one that is mandated in the freeview plackback description.

IMHO this is a retrograde step. Given the experience that some have of the channels not transmitting the start/stop signals correctly I would rather trust my recordings to my own decisions.

tim

Thanks for the reply, Paul - very useful to know. Although for (3), I thought that when you were in EPG mode you couldn't view one channel while looking at info for another - or am I wrong about that? I'll give it a go when I'm at home this evening.

Tim: I would very much like series record on our model, but I think it doesn't include it (at least, there's nothing about it in the manual, and no prompts when you schedule a recording of one part of a series). As you say, there are reliability issues so having an option of repeat recordings would be good too, but in general a well-implemented series record would be fantastic. In the past (with a DVD-recorder) I've had many instances of either continuing to record after a series has finished (not too disastrous, but annoying), or of missing episodes that are on at different time from usual.

But I thought no Vestrel software had series record yet? Although I note from this (http://www.cabot.co.uk/news/20070907.html) that Cabot claim to have achieved "Group 1 and 2 compliance" for Freeview Playback, including series recording and merging 'split' recordings together, so hopefully this will mean an OAD for our boxes soon... Or do others here think differently?

Alex

FP with Series Record is available on the latest versions of the Daewoo pvrs, not Vestel exactly but using the same Cabotware.

You should be able to edit a selected timer via the green button from the timer list, and scroll down to select once, daily or weekly with the left/right buttons.

You should also be able to use the up/down buttons from the info pane to scroll to Now/Next on the other channels.

At least, this is how my Daewoo does it, and generally the Vestels follow suit.

You can't go up & down in now & next with the info banner displayed on the Evesham for some reason, and you can't re-order the channels like the Daewoo. Bit of a step back woods Is it not ?

You're not wrong there lad. It looks like one step forward and two steps back with each new version. I don't suppose the p+, p- keys work instead?

The p+ / p- keys do work while info is displayed, but they change the channel you're viewing, rather than the channel for now / next info.

Even though it's a relatively trivial issue, it's probably the most annoying feature of the user-interface, because I frequently use now / next + info to decide whether to watch a channel, and each time after viewing info you have to scroll all the way through the channel list again to get to the next channel!

I'm perhaps mistaken, but I'm sure you could change the info banner channels with the full info open in previous software versions. However, what I did notice in 3.7 is that the full info banner has spawned a scrollbar on the right hand side, so presumably up/down are now used to scroll the info instead of change channels. That said, I've yet to see any info that overflows the info box, therefore have never needed to scroll .

Have I mis-understood what you are trying to achieve here. I'm on Version 3.7.

If I press the INFO button twice I am presented with the Now/Next and Programme Description banners with Now information shown. If I now press UP/Down to scan through the channels the banner information (both banners) updates to show the successive channels. Pressing the Right button switches to the Next information and scrolling using Up/Down updates the Next information for successive channels. I don't have a scroll bar on the Programme Description banner. Is this what nccrow and yourself are hoping to achieve?

Colin

Edit:- I can also set recordings for Now/Next programmes from the INFO banners. Useful if you don't want to lose the live picture by going to the Guide. I assume this is normal?
Last edited by creddish : 01-11-2007 at 14:14

Yes my Evesham is the same. I had not noticed the scrol bar before you mentioned it futaura.
It seems there are two version of 3.7. Colin

Yes, indeed there are - has been brought up before. IIRC, Colin has a Wharfedale. Certainly there are two differing 3.7 builds, unfortunately. My parent's new Digihome DTR80 from Argos came with the same buggy 3.7 as I already had - that is, with a scrollbar on the info panel, amongst other things .

I actually have the Onn from Asda (a bit cheaper ). As you have had yours a while can we assume that mine (without the scrollbar) is the later version. Is there a list anywhere identifying which units have which version?

This raises the question as to what other functional differences or bug content there is between the two vesions (is it possible there are more than two)? Is there any info about this anywhere?

Are you suggesting that the version I have is better overall than the Evesham or the one you have?

Colin

I think this is what the OP is saying he can't do. The scroll bar is incidental, but perhaps indicative of a software variant between differently badged boxes. Maybe the 'badgers' have more input to the design than we might have originally imagined. There's evidently more than subtle differences between clones at the moment.

EDIT: Must read ahead before posting!

On the Now & Next issue, I've just discovered with my Digihome DTR80 (T816) that if you select the Info for the channel you are viewing then use the Up and Down arrows, you can view the now and next info for the previous or following channels without leaving the channel you are viewing! I find that very useful. i'm sure this has been done so apologies if it's old news!