I've just bought a Digihome DTR160, and having previously only had VCRs I got very excited by all the amazing things it claims to do, but am getting very frustrated as the basic ability to record TV programmes is seeming not be among them.

The day I got it I tried to record 2 programmes simultaneously, but 1 of them stopped after 16 seconds. I checked the signal strength and it's Very Good on 4 MUXs and Good on 2 - the failed recording was on a Good MUX and the successful recording was on a Very Good MUX - is this likely to be the cause?

The next day I tried to record a 1 hour and 40 minute programme from the Good MUX and ended up with 2 recordings, 1 of 16 seconds and 1 of an hour. Is this likely to be signal strength issue again?

On that subject, if the DTR doesn't like the signal strength, will it stop recording regardless of circumstances, or would it carry on recording if it's set to record by time instead of from the EPG, like a VCR would?

I also had a programme set to record using the series record feature, and checked while the programme was on and found it sat in the timer list but not recording. Spookily, the DTR had inserted the Channel 4 + 1 repeat of it into the timer list and recorded that successfully. Is this a glitch in the series record feature? Or is the DTR just capable of rebellion, followed by remorse and intelligence?

Series record is a bit flaky, but as you have discovered, if it misses a recording on C4 etc, it will often record it on C4+1. Weird.

I assume you do not power off the DTR overnight? This is not recommended as the EPG data cannot be kept up to date when the unit is dicsonnected from the mains and might possibly result in missed recordings if EPG data is incomplete on the channel(s) being recorded.

Also, does the LED clock on the front of the unit show the correct time when on Standby?


If the missed recordings continues, I would recommend you take the unit back and have it exchanged.
I always found the Digihome DTR range very reliable for EPG event recordings.

No, it's on overnight, and the clock displays the correct time in standby mode. It seems to be behaving better now.

I'm thinking about getting a DTR160 (or one of its clones) for my parents.

Where are we on the padding ? Early models didn't allow auto padding, and coupled with the broadcasters' habit of not implementing 'Accurate Record' properly (or at all) means it's all rather hit and miss whether you catch recordings OK.

Have Vestel added padding to the latest s/w on 160s ?

On my year old T816 I have only had one occasion when I missed part of the programme. That was an episode of Poirot on ITV1. ITV do seem to be the worst for inaccurate "Accurate Recording" but as they like to include the ads at the begining and end it doesn't really matter.

Yes, my son has a year old T816 80 Gig model, and that's fine. Doesn't have Series Link, which I think T825 does have ?

Yes, but the T816s have Accurate Recording.