Whats the story with Magic tv?

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › Whats the story with Magic tv?

Wills1

710 posts

Ultimate Geek

#110078 2-Oct-2012 18:55

Looking at their website you can buy the unit from

Noel leeming
Bond and Bond
Harvey Norman
Freeviewshop just to name a few.

None of these retailers have the product listed on their websites. Am I missing something here?

Cloudy

150 posts

Master Geek

#695068 2-Oct-2012 19:03

You can get them through the DishTV web site. $649 with free shipping NZ wide

Wills1

710 posts

Ultimate Geek

#695070 2-Oct-2012 19:08

Cloudy: You can get them through the DishTV web site. $649 with free shipping NZ wide

Thank you, I wonder why they have links to retailers that don't stock the product.

Are the magic tv units good? We have had bad experiences with a Teac freeview hd and a JC matthews my frieeview device. Both were freeview approved and both were nothing but trouble.

I want to cancel sky, but my wife is reluctant to make the change given our bad track record with " Freeview approved " devices. The one benefit with mysky is that it has been rock solid for us.

Cloudy

150 posts

Master Geek

#695077 2-Oct-2012 19:18

I have no experience with the magic TV, I have two dishTV terrestrial units, a T1020 and a T1050. Both work pretty good the odd little glitch with recording now and then. But the bugs seem to be getting ironed out with time. Theyre pretty good value if you can get one of thier refurbished ones

Cloudy

150 posts

Master Geek

#695080 2-Oct-2012 19:25

Cloudy: I have no experience with the magic TV, I have two dishTV terrestrial units, a T1020 and a T1050. Both work pretty good the odd little glitch with recording now and then. But the bugs seem to be getting ironed out with time. They're pretty good value if you can get one of their refurbished ones

Just a note, I do wonder if the odd issue now has more to do with the EPG guide not have the correct data for programs than anything else though

bfginger

1268 posts

Uber Geek

#695620 3-Oct-2012 16:15

There are existing threads for discussion about the Magic TV
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=83&topicid=89464&page_no=9
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=83&topicid=43120&page_no=77

JBHifi is selling the Magic TV 3700. $487 sale price, ends today.

The retailers listed on the website are the ones that sold the Magic TV 3600. The 3600 was very buggy when it was on sale and the firmware didn't reach release quality until about the time it went off the market. The remote controls for the 3600 seem to have all failed or are doomed to fail. Those experiences and the price of the 3700 relative to other options and the lack of interest in non Sky PVRs haven't made it a hot ticket item with retailers.

The DishTV T1050PVR 500GB is much cheaper at $344. I've seen it on sale for $298.

This Panasonic looks like the most able unit, at $888.
http://www.panasonic.co.nz/products/home-entertainment/dvd-and-blu-ray/dmr-bwt720/

Freeview approved doesn't mean anything in the quality front.

I've had the rare crash with the Magic TV since the firmware stabilised but I think that may be down to the heat from the hot HDD more than software.

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#695741 3-Oct-2012 18:23

bfginger:

Freeview approved doesn't mean anything in the quality front.

Yes, it does. It means that the unit you are buying comes with a certified iron-clad guarantee than many potentially useful features have been removed!

Wills1

710 posts

Ultimate Geek

#695764 3-Oct-2012 19:08

JimmyH:
bfginger:

Freeview approved doesn't mean anything in the quality front.

Yes, it does. It means that the unit you are buying comes with a certified iron-clad guarantee than many potentially useful features have been removed!

Well if they put their name to it and test them, as they say they do on their website then there should be no issue with quality. Why do they put their name to products that are of poor quality?

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#695766 3-Oct-2012 19:19

JimmyH:
bfginger:

Freeview approved doesn't mean anything in the quality front.

Yes, it does. It means that the unit you are buying comes with a certified iron-clad guarantee than many potentially useful features have been removed!

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#695767 3-Oct-2012 19:21

Wills1:
JimmyH:
bfginger:

Freeview approved doesn't mean anything in the quality front.

Yes, it does. It means that the unit you are buying comes with a certified iron-clad guarantee than many potentially useful features have been removed!

Well if they put their name to it and test them, as they say they do on their website then there should be no issue with quality. Why do they put their name to products that are of poor quality?

Because they are not the retailer so it's no skin off their nose!

Freeview approved means sod all in the quality stakes but is a guarantee that it has been crippled as JimmyH said.

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#695796 3-Oct-2012 20:02

You should be able to pick up a Panasonic DVD recorder for a good price.. and frankly, they're more capable than the MagicTV units.
DMR-XW390GN is the model code, and it's worth a nudge.

scuwp

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#695815 3-Oct-2012 20:46

If you can find one, how about a TiVo?

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

Wills1

710 posts

Ultimate Geek

#695840 3-Oct-2012 21:19

scuwp: If you can find one, how about a TiVo?

I was interested in those too, but I've also had trouble finding them. Don't want to buy a second hand one off trademe

Wills1

710 posts

Ultimate Geek

#696324 4-Oct-2012 18:39

Further to my last post, I contacted Tivo support and got the following email reply. Looks as though Tivo is a dead duck. No point in purchasing one now.

Thank you for contacting TiVo Support.

The TiVo Media Device is no longer available for purchase in New Zealand. However, we would like to assure all our customers that there will be continued support of TiVo in New Zealand for years to come. Both Hybrid Television Services and Telecom NZ remain committed to supporting the TiVo brand in New Zealand.

We will continue to provide the TiVo service to all our customers; this includes the TiVo Electronic Program Guide, firmware updates, customer support, warranties, TiVo Genie as well as the sale of TiVo accessories.

For any future enquiries related to this issue please reply to this message leaving the reference number in the subject.

Regards,

TiVo Support

Wills1

710 posts

Ultimate Geek

#696326 4-Oct-2012 18:42

Thank you for contacting TiVo Support.

The TiVo Media Device is no longer available for purchase in New Zealand. However, we would like to assure all our customers
 that there will be continued support of TiVo in New Zealand for years to come. Both Hybrid Television Services and Telecom NZ
 remain committed to supporting the TiVo brand in New Zealand.

We will continue to provide the TiVo service to all our customers; this includes the TiVo Electronic Program Guide,
 firmware updates, customer support, warranties, TiVo Genie as well as the sale of TiVo accessories.

For any future enquiries related to this issue please reply to this message leaving the reference number in the subject.

Regards,

TiVo Support

Had to format the message as the geekzone forum cut it off

wklie

191 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

MagicTV

#702685 17-Oct-2012 21:13

Some of the advantages of Magic TV 3700 are:
- support for MHEG HD which is required for the HD version of Freeview EPG
- support for recording and export to multiple external 3.5" USB HDD (up to 2TB each)
- actively maintained firmware - latest official firmware in September, beta firmware 10 days ago

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=83&topicid=89464&page_no=10