PVR twin tuners review 2008

They're still on their training wheels, but at around $1,000, you'd expect more.
 
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  • Updated:29 Jan 2008
 

02.Results

What to buy

Brand Price

  • LG LST5402P - $899
  • NEC NHD-3000VR - $799
  • Beyonwiz DP-P1 - $1099

About the rest

  • Timeshift recordings of the Philips, Topfield and Strong need to be manually started and all units had poor remote controls with small, closely spaced buttons.
  • The Strong also had a poor standby energy score.
  • The Philips was easy to set up and tune.
  • The timer recording was very easy to set on the Topfield .
  • The reception performance of the Grundig was significantly worse than the other models in the test and its standby energy use was also excessive
 

 

Results table

  Performance
Brand / model (in rank order) Overall score (%) Ease of use score (%) Reception score (%) Standby energy score (%) Price ($)
LG LST5402P
www.lge.com.au 		69 70 73 50 899
NEC NHD-3000VR
www.nec.com.au		 66 54 75 90 799
Beyonwiz DP-P1
www.beyonwiz.com.au		 65 58 73 70 1099
Philips DVR7100/75
www.philips.com.au		 60 51 70 70 749
Topfield TF7000HDPVRt
www.topfield-australia.com.au		 60 51 73 50 1049
Strong SRT5490
www.strong-technologies.com		 57 50 73 30 1085
Grundig GPVR 3250HD
www.grundig.net.au		 54 59 53 30 799
 


  Features Specifications
Brand / model (in rank order) Simultaneous timer recording of two channels One-touch recording HDMI USB Card reader Timer limits (programs / period) Dimensions (mm, H x W x D) Hard disc capacity (GB)
LG LST5402P
www.lge.com.au 		• 20 / month 76 x 430 x 348 160
NEC NHD-3000VR
www.nec.com.au		 • ns (C) / year 65 x 335 x 280 250
Beyonwiz DP-P1
www.beyonwiz.com.au		 • • F, R CF, MMC, MS, SD 100 / unlimited 65 x 390 x 310 200
Philips DVR7100/75
www.philips.com.au		 • • • 40 / month 75 x 430 x 300 250
Topfield TF7000HDPVRt
www.topfield-australia.com.au		 • • R ns (C) / year 64 x 430 x 270 250
Strong SRT5490
www.strong-technologies.com		 • • (A) R (B) ns (C) / unlimited 77 x 360 x 305 250
Grundig GPVR 3250HD
www.grundig.net.au		 • • 8 / unlimited 69 x 370 x 290 250
 

Table notes

  • ns = not stated
  • (A) = DVI to HDMI adapter supplied
  • (B) = USB 1.1. Does not support an external hard disc drive
  • (C) = Should be able to record at least 10 items.

USB connection Connections are USB 2.0 unless otherwise noted. F = front, R = rear.

Card reader CF = Compact Flash, MMC = MultiMedia Card, MS = Memory Stick, SD = Secure Digital.

Scores The overall score is made up of:

  • Ease of use: 50%
  • Performance: 40%
  • Energy on standby: 10%
  • Features For an explanation of features, see What to look for.

Price Recommended retail price in December 2007.

Program and period limits Most models tell you how many recordings you can cue up at once (in our tested models, the range was from 8 to 400). Some models allow you to set a timer to record a program years into the future, while others only allow you to plan ahead by a month.

How we tested

  • Our testers connected the PVRs to a regulated power supply and power meter and recorded standby energy consumption.
  • For ease of use, testers looked for an auto-tuning system that was informative and simple to use. They made instant and timer-set recordings and checked the menus for ease of understanding, navigation and clarity. They also played back recordings to check the quality and the range of functions that were possible.
  • Testers looked at the remote control and determined how easy it was to use for common functions.
  • Each unit was also subject to various electrical safety tests.
 

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