Its got 3 HDMI resolution options of 576p. 720p and 1080i.

Just need a HD ready tv now.

Hi futaura

Just had a look at your web site and if you wish to add the time to V12.4, it is 12:57:21.

It froze the picture and changed channels again yesterday to 4Music (it must like 4Music for some reason) again as it did last time.
However yesterday I had been adding/removing programs in the EPG for about 4 or 5 minutes and I had only come out of the EPG for a couple of minutes when it was triggered.

I placed the unit in standby and it did have a delay before switching into standby.

I've had no other problems apart from the one mentioned above since I sorted the aerial connection out (but thats not a problem with the box).

I'm more than happy and impressed with it as its been much better than expected and would recommend one to anybody (if Argos have any left).

Spoke to soon.

Last night it froze and changed channel again and I had to do a power cycle.

It had also been very erratic since I posted the above in that it was still recording programs that I had deleted from the timers list. I recorded Match of the Day on Saturday night using series link and deleted the program from the planner after it had been on. I then noticed it had the Sunday morning repeat schedued to record so I deleted the event leaving the Monday night showing still in the planner. When I looked on Sunday morning, it had still recorded the program.

Only this time their was no responce so it appears to have died and won't come on so its going back to Argos this morning for a refund.

Have just got my HDR 253 to-day. Set-up was fine and easy. Has ver. 12. 4 22nd June 2009

I note that "Manual Update" doesn't work but I have read on this forum that there are never any OTA for this. Is this correct?
There was no sound on initial setup but powering it off at the plug and reboot sorted this. Although the epg is slow, it is far better than my last Humax PVR 9200T. To answer a previos question, it does have a cam slot and dosen't have a USB connection.
Just hope that the HDMI works when HD comes in operation.

bigglesk to some Keith to others

Yes, there have never (yet) been any OTA updates for these boxes. Also, no current PVRs will be able to view/record Freeview HD as current generation use DVB-T tuners whereas HD requires DVB-T2 tuners (i.e. new hardware). All the HDMI port is for is upscaled SD.

@futaura

Oh well! That's the story of my life. Thanks for the info.

Keith

I have a hitachi HDR253 and find the EPG very, very slow these days. Is this usual ? It takes about 10 - 30 seconds to move down / up channels or across within a channel.

Any suggested fixes ?

Have you tried the the low-power mode? Or powering it totally down every now and again i.e. unplugging it?

The Vestel PVRs (at least those with full Freeview+ functionality) become slower with larger numbers of recordings set. In my experience up to about 20 has little effect and as the number is increased at around 50 it becomes very slow particularly stepping through the days in the Guide and accessing the Timers list. Similarly the time it takes to delete recordings get longer as the number of entries increases.

The suggestions by Luis do give worthwhile temporary relief.

Colin

When Futaura posted that the Wharfedale T825 would be getting an OAD it was too late to save me money - my Hitachi HDR253 was already winging its way to me

All I wanted was a Vestel PVR with Series Record and 2min/30sec skips, and so far the Hitachi is providing that for me, but I've missed its OAD - which I presume will be repeated before DSO in this area in 2012.

This model is v12.4 dated 2009-06-22 @ 12.57.21.

Apart from a little slowness in the usual places it's performing well after a few hours' use and a few recordings scheduled and watched.

EDIT - Oh boo! The EPG is refusing to populate current BBC1/2 and some other channels' programmes although it's fine for later hours. And I have deleted a lot of unwanted channels from the full line-up. It's behaving more like a dear old T810!

parthena

Someone wants a simple, reliable PVR for his parents. I'm looking at this Hitachi HDR-253 on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...:X:RTQ:GB:1123

In response to my ASQ the seller (in Somerset, which DSO'd last year) replied:

The Hitachi HDR-253 we have listed is V.11.3
Our area has already gone through Digital Switchover and these units fully function with all available Freeview channels.

Is there anything against recommending this box?

parthena

They're implying that they are new, yet listing as customer returns, and there's no guarantee.

I should have made myself clearer - apologies.

A lot of the business sellers are using eBay's "New (other)" category for customer returns; and there will be a DOA or FOA (Faulty on Arrival ) warranty because of eBay/PayPal terms and DSRs. I'm not concerned about that, it would be weighed up with the pros & cons.

I was thinking about the software version: they say it's already working in a DSO'd area, so surely it won't need to risk mucking itself up with any future OAD I could tell him to disable upgrade scanning, but am not sure what v13.0 is supposed to "fix" - apart from preventing the Info button from bringing up detailed programme info... I thought it was to do with DSO but this v11.3 is working in a DSO'd area.

I'd warn the buyer not to overtax the unit with too many series recordings scheduled and to be patient navigating the EPG etc. It's such a good little PVR when it behaves itself.

Wish I'd kept me trap shut really, and I can't even remember where the thread is now

parthena

Ah, should have realised in the context of the thread. I guess I was half asleep at the time :yawn:. Can't help with the specifics I'm afraid.

When the epg becomes too slow to use, just unplug from mains for 5 seconds.

Holding down the power button for 5 seconds or so for a warm reboot is probably more convenient and less harmful than pulling the plug, and has the same effect. Not that parthena needs to be told such things I might add .

It's all very well the seller saying it works after digital switchover, but do they test every single box they sell? I doubt it. And more to the point, the problems encountered after DSO are not exactly understood - the box might work when the seller tests it, but in another location it might not work well at all. So, there is an element of risk, especially with refurbs because you never know how much of a hammering the HDD has had in its previous life, for example.

IMHO, the Hitachi HDR165 from Argos is a safer bet at £70 currently (£10 more than the HDR253) if price is a main concern. Yes, it has a smaller HDD, no HDMI and only has one scart socket, but at least you have the comfort in knowing that you can take it back to the store if it goes wrong. IMHO, the larger HDD models are pointless in that the library usage gets slower and slower the more recordings there are. I even notice it on my 160Gb model when there are more than 30 or so recordings, so I dread to think how slow the library is on a 500Gb model with a full HDD is.

Thank you, Futaura.

parthena