When I buy my 'Freeview Ready' LCD TV -what type of hard drive recorder do I need?

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › When I buy my 'Freeview Ready' LCD TV -what type of hard drive recorder do I need?

lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 27

#62313 3-Jun-2010 15:50

OK thanks to all the advice on this thread I will probably buy a 32" LCD TV with a non-shiny surround and HD

Now the whole point of the exercise is to be able to pause, rewind live TV and record one freeview channel while watching another one. Do I need a specific freeview HD recorder for that - or will any one do as the TV has the tuner?

I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

1 | 2

457 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 53

#337897 3-Jun-2010 15:57

any of these will do the job:
http://www.freeviewnz.tv/products/listing/myfreeviewhd

patatrat

261 posts

Ultimate Geek

#337907 3-Jun-2010 16:09

The ones listed by Butlerboy have two tuners and the PVR functionality in the box.

If you get them, you will not use the freeview tuner in the TV. And that is fine. The TV will only have one tuner. The two tuners in the box will allow you to record up to two different channels and watch a third *(if on the same MUX).

bazzer

3438 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 267

Trusted

#337909 3-Jun-2010 16:11

You will end up not using the tuner in your TV probably.

lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 27

#337922 3-Jun-2010 16:28

patatrat: The ones listed by Butlerboy have two tuners and the PVR functionality in the box.

If you get them, you will not use the freeview tuner in the TV. And that is fine. The TV will only have one tuner. The two tuners in the box will allow you to record up to two different channels and watch a third *(if on the same MUX).

Thats what I was thinking too - thanks for clarifying it!

I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

minimoke

750 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 132

#337940 3-Jun-2010 17:02

butlerboy: any of these will do the job:
http://www.freeviewnz.tv/products/listing/myfreeviewhd

Agreed. Simple solutions for lizzies needs. So Lizzie don't get a tv with a built in Freeview.

But Lizzie, I'm going to push you a bit on this one. You haven't mentioned Blue Ray nor have you mentioned home theatre or 5.1 sound or gaming.

So what your needs sound like is:
To watch TV on a wide screen TV with the ability to record / stop start the TV.

To watch widescreen you need Freeview. So now you need a wide screen telly and a freeview box.

Freeview does not broadcast in 1080P so you do not need a 1080p TV. Indeed most broadcasts (like 99.9%) are not even in 1080i so getting a freeview box that does 1080p is a waste. TV1 and 2 broadascst in 780p. (and 780p is arguably better than 1080i). TV3 is the only station in 1080i but upscales most stuff to 1080i and there is very little content actutally in HD.

Essntially you HD needs are very small because virtually nothing you will watch is in HD- a 780P TV will be fine for you. This is of course assuming you are in a HD area and not living in the wops or a place that cant' get Maoiri or Prime TV. If you cant get a UHF signal to your new lounge then HD aint a happening thing.

So now you need a Freeview box that will send a signal from the box to your TV. You will need an HDMI cable for this. Do not buy an expensive one from Harvey Norman or the like. A Jaycar or Dick Smiths one will be just fine. You'll also need a two strand audio cable to take the sound from the Freeview box to your TV - these are cheap as chips.

Now you need a freeview box that can send a picture to your TV and record on a sperate channel. The JD Edwards, Zinwell, Magic boxes will do this as well as TiVo. The question now is "how big is your budget?" Basically the more features you want the more it will cost. I'd be inclined to look for "ease of use". Do you need a Degree to understand the Manual or fingers as fine as needles to work the remote. I suspect "less rather than more" is what you're after AND a simple to use remote.

Your TV should last for ages, I'm not so sure about the freeview / recorder box. Say 10 years for the TV (if you get a good brand) and five for the Box - (technology will outrun you here)

lissie

495 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 27

#337943 3-Jun-2010 17:14

Hi minimoke,

If I want surround sound I go to the movies - so no I don't want home theatre and multiple speakers all over the room. I'm going to be in central Johnsonville so expect a uhf aerial should be pretty good.

I've not really watched blueray - because I don't have a TV that can display it - I should I suppose hire a DVD and watch it on my PC and see if I can see the difference (on a 21" screen)

Can you actually buy a LCD TV without an inbuilt tuner?

I help authors publish their books - DIYPublishing.co.nz

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80652 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41037

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#337947 3-Jun-2010 17:37

You can buy LCD without the Freeview tuner - my three years old Sony has the old analogue tuner for example.

Remember that Freeview (digital) will replace current analogue sometime in the future. A new TV these days should come with Freeview tuner to guarantee it's not obsolete in three years time (no, we don't know the roll out plans for the switch off yet). My previous TV lasted about ten years before we bought a new one, so think of it.

Now, if you want to buy a recorder - it's just like a VCR, but digital. The VCR has its own tuner. The main difference is the higher quality, and obviously they mostly come with two tuners, to allow watching programs in different channels while recording.

One complements the other.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

1gkar

722 posts

Ultimate Geek

#337956 3-Jun-2010 18:03

lissie: Hi minimoke,
...I've not really watched blueray - because I don't have a TV that can display it - I should I suppose hire a DVD and watch it on my PC and see if I can see the difference (on a 21" screen)...

Just to clarify, Lizzie, when you say, "hire a DVD and watch it on my PC" are your referring to Blu-ray or plain DVD? Because unless you have Blu-ray (BD) drive in your PC, it won't play. Plain ol' vanilla DVD has a resolution of 720x576, & BD is 1980x1080, which is where the 1080p comes from.

You don't have to understand the technicalities of it all to realise the latter figure above is a lot larger than the former, meaning the image quality is one heck of a lot better. But don't go & hire a BD movie, if your PC won't accept it

And no, most experts agree that Blu-ray playback on any fullHD screen smaller than 40" is pretty much wasted, as stated in your other thread. Although the price separation between fullHD (1080p) & HDready (720p) is getting less by the month.

Silverstone LC14 HTPC Case/Intel E4600 CPU/GA-EP35-DS3 MOBO/Asus EN9500GT graphics/2GB RAM/total 2TB HDD space/HVR-2200 & 2X 150MCE tuner cards/LG GGC-H20L BD Drive/MCE2005/Mediaportal/TVServer 1.1.0Final/LG 55"3D LED-TV/Denon AVR-1803 receiver/X1 projector

minimoke

750 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 132

#337970 3-Jun-2010 18:26

Can you actually buy a LCD TV without an inbuilt tuner?

May be not - you'de have to check. The manufacturers are masters at making things you don't want and Retailers masters at selling you things you don't need.

richms

29098 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10209

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#337971 3-Jun-2010 18:27

If you have a PVR, the only time you will use the TV tuner is when both in the PVR are occupied. A real possibility since there is prime on the third MUX.

Consider how often that will happen you want to record something on 1/2, and record something on 3/c4/c42 and watch prime (or any combination of those)

If it is "never" then dont worry about getting a HD tuner in the TV. That will open up the market of the sub $700 TVs which may free up some cash to get something else you want.

Richard rich.ms

Brunzy

2019 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 241

Trusted

#338025 3-Jun-2010 20:03

http://www.scottstv.co.nz/Home.aspx

One of these would do at a fraction of the cost.

Single tuner PVR ,record two channels and watch a third form the same mux.
Middle announcement RHS.
PM Me if interested

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

Regs

4066 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 206

Trusted

Snowflake

#338096 3-Jun-2010 22:49

lissie:
Can you actually buy a LCD TV without an inbuilt tuner?

No such thing as an LCD TV without a tuner. What you're looking for there is a LCD Monitor :P

Problem is, a LCD Monitor at 32" would probably cost more than an LCD TV at the same size, and have less features.

The cost difference is then also not typically a difference in the quality of the unit - more a marketing exercise. They're selling a lot more 32" screens to the TV market, so in the Monitor market it would be a 'premium' product and therefore they can afford to raise the price.

LED TV's are a funny beast too. If you buy an LED TV, you'll typically pay more than you would for the equivalent regular LCD model. If you buy an LED computer monitor you're paying about the same as for the regular model. In this case the TV product is a 'premium' upgrade and they charge more because they can - not because it costs them more to build them (it probably costs less to make LED TVs).

Sales Engineer
Snowflake
www.snowflake.com

about.me/nzregs
Twitter: @nzregs

richms

29098 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10209

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#338101 3-Jun-2010 22:57

not seen a 32" LCD monitor, but plenty of 30" ones - way more expensive because they use non crap panels and have a decent resolution since you will be sitting under a meter from them.

Some of them are very droolworthy, but I cant afford them so am sticking with the geriatric old CRT beasts. know a couple of people who have tried small LCD TVs as monitors and gone back to their smaller LCD monitors because the TVs are just so bad in comparison.

Richard rich.ms

bazzer

3438 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 267

Trusted

#338153 4-Jun-2010 08:45

minimoke:
butlerboy: any of these will do the job:
http://www.freeviewnz.tv/products/listing/myfreeviewhd
Agreed. Simple solutions for lizzies needs. So Lizzie don't get a tv with a built in Freeview.

But Lizzie, I'm going to push you a bit on this one. You haven't mentioned Blue Ray nor have you mentioned home theatre or 5.1 sound or gaming.

So what your needs sound like is:
To watch TV on a wide screen TV with the ability to record / stop start the TV.

To watch widescreen you need Freeview. So now you need a wide screen telly and a freeview box.

Freeview does not broadcast in 1080P so you do not need a 1080p TV. Indeed most broadcasts (like 99.9%) are not even in 1080i so getting a freeview box that does 1080p is a waste. TV1 and 2 broadascst in 780p. (and 780p is arguably better than 1080i). TV3 is the only station in 1080i but upscales most stuff to 1080i and there is very little content actutally in HD.

Essntially you HD needs are very small because virtually nothing you will watch is in HD- a 780P TV will be fine for you. This is of course assuming you are in a HD area and not living in the wops or a place that cant' get Maoiri or Prime TV. If you cant get a UHF signal to your new lounge then HD aint a happening thing.

So now you need a Freeview box that will send a signal from the box to your TV. You will need an HDMI cable for this. Do not buy an expensive one from Harvey Norman or the like. A Jaycar or Dick Smiths one will be just fine. You'll also need a two strand audio cable to take the sound from the Freeview box to your TV - these are cheap as chips.

Now you need a freeview box that can send a picture to your TV and record on a sperate channel. The JD Edwards, Zinwell, Magic boxes will do this as well as TiVo. The question now is "how big is your budget?" Basically the more features you want the more it will cost. I'd be inclined to look for "ease of use". Do you need a Degree to understand the Manual or fingers as fine as needles to work the remote. I suspect "less rather than more" is what you're after AND a simple to use remote.

Your TV should last for ages, I'm not so sure about the freeview / recorder box. Say 10 years for the TV (if you get a good brand) and five for the Box - (technology will outrun you here)

So much misinformation here I don't know where to start!

Nety

2584 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#338164 4-Jun-2010 09:29

Think the first post has your answer. Do not over complicate things.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

1 | 2