I have a lot of old videos that I still use and was going to buy a MyFreeview yesterday, but salespeople in two shops told me that after the digital switchover it would be useless for recording. They said when another area in NZ went digital, people could no longer record video's, only play them. Because of that, I only brought the ordinary receiver. Can anyone confirm this please?
Not correct. MyFreeview is a freeview certified recorder that will record Digital TV and also generally has inputs for recording analogue as well. Your VCR will still be able to record Freeview Digital provided you have a STB with analogue (Composite video and audio) outputs. However if you want to get the best picture from Freeview HD you will need a Digital Recorder and HD TV set connected via HDMI. Your post is a little ambiguous but if I understand correctly you have bought a STB to plug in to your existing TV then you will be able to record to your VCR as well using the A/V outputs. The only thing your VCR won't be able to do is recieve Freeview Digital transmissions. A better idea would have been to buy something like a Panasonic Freeview recorder. Then you could record anything and still use the VCR for watching your videos. Providing your videos are not copy protected you could also transfer them to the digital recorder and burn to a DVD.
Some MyFreeview recorders would allow you to record onto a VCR if required... Why would you want to do this though?
A Panasonic DMR-XW390GN-K would allow you to record onto the Panasonic's hard drive (it has enough storage to keep over 150 hours of footage in HD), you can then copy the contents off onto blank DVD's if you want. OR, you could use the RCA outs to plug into your existing VCR, then copy the Freeview TV shows onto video tapes. Why you'd want to do that, well, that's up to you... but you can.
Some MyFreeview boxes like Dish TV and Magic TV won't allow you to do this, as they do not have any analogue outputs...
Mostly I just want to watch the old video's, but I did get a tech in yesterday to set everything up and I've been practicing recording of different channels. So far so good. I just didn't understand why they would not want me to buy the MyFreeview. It was way more expensive than what I got.
Meez: I just didn't understand why they would not want me to buy the MyFreeview. It was way more expensive than what I got.
Most salesdrones don't have a clue about the products they're selling, and this was probably easier for them than risking selling you something that didn't work and you coming back angry.
Meez: I just didn't understand why they would not want me to buy the MyFreeview. It was way more expensive than what I got.
Most salesdrones don't have a clue about the products they're selling, and this was probably easier for them than risking selling you something that didn't work and you coming back angry.
That is partly because they are poorly paid, so they won't attract the highest qualified staff. I would like to see some retailers specialising in technology, actually employing a professional with lots of experience, on a good wage. That could be a good point of difference over online stores. I never get any advice from sales staff becuase I know they have more of a interest in selling than advice, so I do my research first, find the best deal (not always the cheapest) and then buy.
Therefore it is possible to connect the Composite video output and the stereo output to the VCR for additional backup, if desired. However, unless you distrust HDD-based storage, you should just use Magic TV MTV3700TD built-in 1TB internal HDD for recording, and add additional USB 3.5" HDD for expansion if that's not enough.
LUMIN Network Music Player, Magic TV New Zealand and Australia firmware lead
Meez: Mostly I just want to watch the old video's, but I did get a tech in yesterday to set everything up and I've been practicing recording of different channels. So far so good. I just didn't understand why they would not want me to buy the MyFreeview. It was way more expensive than what I got.
If you get a non-Freeview certified device, please verify whether you can: - see next 7 or 8 days of programme names and times in the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) - book a Series Recording
LUMIN Network Music Player, Magic TV New Zealand and Australia firmware lead
Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly
to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.
Trusted
MagicTV
