Unpacking and Installing the Zinwell ZMT-640 PVR
Scott Palmer (Zinwell ZMT-640 PVR), posted: 6-Oct-2009 13:24
The Zinwell ZMT-640 PVR unit that I received to review comes in a reasonably plain box with the standard red Freeview banner around it. The packaging is easy to get into meaning it can be retained for future safe storage and transport of the unit.
An HDMI cable is supplied, if you have an LCD or Plasma TV chances are it will have an HDMI socket and using this method of connection will yield the best results. If your TV doesn’t have an HDMI socket you can use the included composite video lead (with the yellow, red and white plugs on each end) but the picture quality won’t be anywhere near as good. There is a short (10cm) TV aerial lead supplied which you need to connect between 2 of the connectors on the rear of the unit, as indicated in the manual. Connect the lead from your aerial to the other aerial connector on the rear of the unit. Plug in the power, put the supplied batteries in the remote and you are away!
On pressing the power button for the first time the unit comes to life and after a short wait you are prompted on your TV screen to run through the setup of the unit. This only requires a few simple acknowledgements (made easiest by using the remote) and then the unit scans all available channels and stores them ready for use. Unlike the auto program feature on most TVs, another advantage of Freeview is the channels are saved in the correct order on the right channel number buttons eg TV1 is number 1 on the remote, C4 is number 4 on the remote, a very nice surprise!
The unit is now ready for use after a very simple series of steps. The above detail is probably a little longwinded but rest assured, this unit is far easier to install and get going than any video player I have ever had to deal with!
The Zimwell does take a short while to be ready to use when you power it up each time, much like a computer. This wait is however minimal, in the vicinity of 15s. I was impressed to notice that the unit changed its clock automatically for daylight savings time last weekend, another simple innovation that saves a couple of minutes of frustration and also saves any recordings being missed due to the time being set wrong.
Coming next is a guide to using some of the great features of the unit. Pausing live TV, scheduled recording and viewing the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) which tells you what programs are going to be on in the coming days, just to name a few.
About the author: Scott Palmer works in the emergency services field at a large industrial site south of Auckland and has previous experience in consumer electronics retail and IT distribution. As a shift worker he has plenty of time at home to watch TV but the shows he wants to watch inevitably aren’t on at a time he is able to sit down and watch them. Scott is looking forward to putting the MyFreeview|HD DTR through its paces and providing useful commentary to the readers of this blog.
Other related posts:
Introducing Scott Palmer, second MyFreeview|HD reviewer
An HDMI cable is supplied, if you have an LCD or Plasma TV chances are it will have an HDMI socket and using this method of connection will yield the best results. If your TV doesn’t have an HDMI socket you can use the included composite video lead (with the yellow, red and white plugs on each end) but the picture quality won’t be anywhere near as good. There is a short (10cm) TV aerial lead supplied which you need to connect between 2 of the connectors on the rear of the unit, as indicated in the manual. Connect the lead from your aerial to the other aerial connector on the rear of the unit. Plug in the power, put the supplied batteries in the remote and you are away!
On pressing the power button for the first time the unit comes to life and after a short wait you are prompted on your TV screen to run through the setup of the unit. This only requires a few simple acknowledgements (made easiest by using the remote) and then the unit scans all available channels and stores them ready for use. Unlike the auto program feature on most TVs, another advantage of Freeview is the channels are saved in the correct order on the right channel number buttons eg TV1 is number 1 on the remote, C4 is number 4 on the remote, a very nice surprise!
The unit is now ready for use after a very simple series of steps. The above detail is probably a little longwinded but rest assured, this unit is far easier to install and get going than any video player I have ever had to deal with!
The Zimwell does take a short while to be ready to use when you power it up each time, much like a computer. This wait is however minimal, in the vicinity of 15s. I was impressed to notice that the unit changed its clock automatically for daylight savings time last weekend, another simple innovation that saves a couple of minutes of frustration and also saves any recordings being missed due to the time being set wrong.
Coming next is a guide to using some of the great features of the unit. Pausing live TV, scheduled recording and viewing the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) which tells you what programs are going to be on in the coming days, just to name a few.
About the author: Scott Palmer works in the emergency services field at a large industrial site south of Auckland and has previous experience in consumer electronics retail and IT distribution. As a shift worker he has plenty of time at home to watch TV but the shows he wants to watch inevitably aren’t on at a time he is able to sit down and watch them. Scott is looking forward to putting the MyFreeview|HD DTR through its paces and providing useful commentary to the readers of this blog.Other related posts:
Introducing Scott Palmer, second MyFreeview|HD reviewer
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