Hitacki HDR162

I purchased an Hitachi HDR162 PVR last April from ARGOS and found it excellent in every way until the Digital Switchover this month.

I have read reports on this Unit, but didn't suffer from any of the problems. The price was excellent and that was why I purchased one. In short, I only wanted it as a second DVD recorder, to replace my VCR after Digital Switchover.

Now, after the Digital Switchover, I can watch all Freeview Digital Channels as usual; no problems whatsover.

When I select RECORD, I have no problem recording BBC Channels, but if I try to record any ITV Channels, then the picture freezes for one second, about every ten seconds consistantly. There is no break-up of the picture as would indicate poor signal strength. In addition, whilst recording an ITV channel, the picture and sound does exactly the same thing (freezes) whilst watching the same ITV channel live, or any other ITV Channel live.

To make it simple to explain, I can receive and watch all Freeview Digital Channels live if I am not recording, but can only watch and record BBC Channels without any problems.

I have inserted attenuators (up to 10dB) in series with the aerial coaxial cable without success. [This reduces the signal to the same strength as it was before the Digital Switchover]. I have also tried the unit on a different Aerial and receiver without any success.

My Panasonic DVD Freeview Recorder and Television works as normal, without any problems. My aerial is an Antiference digital Aerial, and the signal strength shows full scale deflection (10) on the set-up scale of my Panasonic DVD recorder.

I am waiting to see if the problem settles down, before returning it under guarantee in due course.

It is possible that an Over-air Download will be sent, but I am not expecting one. The software on my Hitachi HDR162 is V.2.8 dated 2007-11-13 @ 18.12.13.

My local Transmitter is Winter Hill, Bolton.

Channels: 55; 58; 59; 61; 62.

My HDR162 was working perfectly before the Switchover on 2nd December 2009.

One thing I like about the HDR162 is the ability to 'Start the recording at the start of a programme and end when the programme finishes'. There is nothing worse than missing the 'Start' and 'End' of a film.

The Hitachi HDR162 is one of a growing number of Freeview PVR's all manufactured by the same company, namely the Turkish manufacturer Vestel. The HDR162 is a Vestel T825 machine and is also sold under other brand names such as Alba, Tevion, Sharp, Wharfedale, Digihome and others. Most are sold by Argos in the UK but they can also be found in some of Tesco and Asda own brand products too. All brands have almost identical features and even use the same remote control, although some manufacturers do disable some features they consider superfluous. On this unit Hitachi have removed the ability to pad recordings set via the EPG with a few minutes either side. 99% of the time this isn't a problem as the unit has accurate recording, which starts a recording when a time signal is received from the channel and stops it when the end time signal is sent after the program ends. However, at present broadcasters will occasional mess this up resulting in the loss of a few minutes from the start or end of a recording. It doesn't happen often (twice in the past 5 months it has happened to me)but it should be considered if purchasing this unit. Overall the machine is very easy to use and performs well but like all T825 Vestal PVR's it has the occasional glitch. A large number of timer recordings set will cause the EPG to slow down over time. The unit suffers from occasional lock ups requiring a power cycle (posh name for pulling out the plug). It seems though that all Freeview PVR's currently have problems like this, even premium brands like Humax have minor issues. Having said all of that I would not be without the machine now as the benefits outweigh the occasional glitch. The ability to record one freeview channel while watching another, the ability to record two different freeview channels at the same time while watching a recording, the EPG which populates fast and allows you to quickly set a timer just by pressing the record button, the picture and sound quality are excellent too, it has both accurate recording and series link allowing you record a whole series just by pressing a button or two. All of these features outweigh the issues as far as I am concerned. The Vestel T825 units are now being replaced by Vestel T845R units but models like this one can now be picked up from online discount retails for half the price they were a few months ago so I would definitely recommend buying one if you can live with the occasional glitch.