rennmaxbeta

Another reason I no longer watch FTA, except for the occasional movie.

Have you seen EzyDVD's hilarious "MARCH MADNESS. $1 OFF EVERYTHING. THIS WEEKEND ONLY" advertising? One lousy dollar, seriously?

Nice to see some new movies on FTA. But Inception on 99 had some bad sound issues, at least for me. Apart from the movie not being in its OAR (still, in these days of digital widescreen...), the sound levels rose and fell constantly throughout the transmission. Don't know if it was just my equipment, but it wasn't very good. Usually, movies sound OK on FTA in stereo. I guess you get what you pay for. Good movie though.

The original movie posters for Once Were Warriors were nothing special, but that "Limited Edition" cover is very poor. The regular Blu-ray cover design is fine:

This is the Sony model I was looking at for $398 - Sony HD Twin PVR - SVRHDT1000 The cheaper Strong brand ones look like junk to me. At least the Sony looks well designed and probably has a nice user interface.

I mentioned VHS recorders because I liked knowing there was more or less an established standard for the technology. There just seems to be a lot more variation in the quality of product and supposed features when it comes to PVRs. I mean I'm not into glossing over the negatives of VHS and videotapes, but it was a good technology that worked reliably most of the time for recording things from TV.

I'm a bit concerned those online stores only deliver by standard post. Something with a hard disk drive inside a box would probably get bounced around inside a van (I've had laptops and other similar items delivered the same with varying damage).

Yeah, I have to say it's a bit of a minefield unless you have a fair knowledge of the different PVR technologies. And the product descriptions themselves are often not entirely accurate or misleading. Luckily we have places like this forum where the information can be found and questions asked. I've definitely learned a thing or two more since I posted and appreciate the help from everyone

What are the warranties like on those refurbished models? I mean in a bricks and mortar store you can get a 3-year extended warranty. I will have a look at that Topfield one on eBay though, thanks for posting the link.

What's the opinion on the Topfield TRF2100 from JB Hi-Fi for $246?

That's what those tabs and sticky tape are for on VHS cassettes.

Thanks again. Well there was limited budget for this purchase, but it seems it's necessary to spend the extra dollars to get something decent. The Sony model looks nicely designed and probably has a good user interface (something many set top boxes lack). All the trouble makes me wish for the relatively simpler and reliable VHS days ...

The Thomson JL8006A model has the same features (or lack of) as the other one, except it has half the storage capacity. I think I'll be avoiding the Thomson brand for now. In the end, my friend and I decided to take the unit back to Dick Smith for a refund. It sounds like it's definitely a 1.5 version. Also, we found it had a software bug or something where recordings cannot be stopped even though you cancel it. You can't turn the thing off either once this occurs. Another reason to return it. We are now considering a Sony 500 GB twin recorder for $399 we saw at Big W.

You're a fountain of information. I appreciate the help I finally found the website for the Thomson PVR (the Thomson Group is now renamed and under the Technicolor umbrella). The model is JL8006. Its key features description only says "Record program while watching other channel at the same time."

I will try that, thanks. I've also noticed using the EPG to set timed recordings is a generally a waste of time since programming rarely starts and finishes on time (even worse than the VCR days).