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Freeview PVR (Fusion FVRT100) (merged)
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Fusion FVRT100 due to arrive today from Unbeatable so starting separate thread from Thomson. I will post as soon as I have any news.
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If you haven't already spotted it, there is a user manual available to download for the Fusion. It might wet your appetite for when the real thing arrives.
http://opennet.co.uk/FVRT100_User_Guide.pdf
The end of the thread I've been following can be found at:
http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=123718&page=30&pp=25
First appearance is favourable. It is smaller than I expected, and has an external power supply which may obviate the heating problems other machines encounter.
The manual says it does EVERYTHING ... but watch this space!
John
I always dread a Citylink delivery as the local depot is 25 miles away and are never very helpfull. The last time I had a delivery from them it took over 4 days to get my hands on it. The ironic aspect is that my wife was home all day on Monday, if they had only not stopped the shipment.
Having owned the Thomson for 4 weeks I will be a hard customer to please, the main feature I am hoping for is the watch while record one as the half an hour pause buffer isn't always enough.
The external PSU, as mentioned in the Thomson thread, sounds like a really good idea as it certainly seemed responsible for the majority of the heat. Perhaps Thomson should consider this for theirs.
I didn't get a chance to play with it properly and I wasn't able to leave it overnight to download the EPG. On first impressions the build quality is good and it's relatively quiet, no more noisy than the small vibrations that come from my Sky+ box.
Channel changing was quick and the guide was easy to navigate, once it's got more information in it that may change of course. I used the now and next to record the upcoming program and it did so, dead on the start of the programme and right to the end. Changing the compression ratio of the recording to increase disk space was simply a case of pressing one little button, nice and easy.
Once someone has had a proper play with it I'd appreciate the feedback!
Most important thing to me is how noisy is it?
And when does it make noise: All the time (like the Thompson), when switched on, only when recording/playing (like a VCR)?
I can't recall noticing it while I was flicking through the channels so I don't think it was that bad. Perhaps if you were actively trying to listen to the box you'd notice it more than I did.
Also, how big is it, WxDxH? And, what's the remote like to use?
My two sine qua nons were the ability to a) record subtitles; and b) watch recordings from the start while they are in progress.
The first of these it will NOT do. According to the instruction book this is a feature that is coming someday in a future upgrade. No doubt this future upgrade was what enabled the manufacturer to assure me by e-mail that the (then) forthcoming product would certainly record subtitles. He didn't say when it would get around to it, and I didn't think to ask. If the updates take as long to come on stream as the machine did, I will not hang by my unserviceable ears! :mad:
The second it will not do, either. Recordings do not appear in the library until they are finished, and until they do you can't watch them. Like the Thomson, it does have the "thirty minutes replay " feature - but only if you happen to have had that channel selected for the last thirty minutes and the machine out of stand-by. I have not had an opportunity to test this fully, but you can certainly pause live tv and rewind the program you are watching. Whether or no the full thirty minutes are available I cannot yet tell you. I expect they are, and I will know when I sit me down to watch "Littlejohn" at 7.30pm
One big plus is that you can record two programmes at once; and you can do this while watching a third programme you recorded earlier. I haven't tested this second feature yet, but it certainly records two programs at once.
The picture quality is good. And when it breaks up from time to time - as my setpal also does in this area - it does it in a quiet and gentlemanly fashion. Generally the sound quality seems excellent, but when there is pounding background music (as at the beginning of the news) the speech-over seems distorted. My setpal was the same. Maybe this is a "feature" of digital broadcasting. (Or a feature of being a DOF (deaf old fool)!)
I am trying to swallow my (huge) disapointment over the subtitles issue. Is THIS what I have been waiting for since February?
And I can't,. for the life of me, see why you can't start watching a recording while it is in progress. The Pace does this very well, and while I had it I thought this the best feature of the machine.
However, these two moans apart, this seems like a very nice little machine. It is compact, neat in appearance (like the picture on the website, BTW) and the functionality is not bad. although there are things I would have done differently.
The Fusion could have been worth the endless wait ... but it wasn't , and isn't! Grrrrr! :mad:
It's a shame it doens't support the features that you specifically wanted, perhaps it's not the box for you after all. Who knows, the updates may happen sooner than we anticipate.
For a PVR (or DVR as Fusion refer to it) I think it does the job for me nicely. It certainly does everything the Sky+ box does but for Freeview users. The only problem I'd like to see addressed is the fact you cant watch a programme while it's being recorded. I haven't personally used the Thomson but for me that looks a bit to much like a piece of military equipment, I'd much rather see the Fusion sitting under the TV.
The size is surprisingly small - it looks a lot bigger in it's photos. Dimensions listed in the manual are: 360mm x 47mm x 245mm. If I could find where the kids put the ruler, I would check that.
More info soon.
I feel very let down by the subtitles issue, but as no other manufacturer even intends to add this feature, I shall stick with my fusion and keep my VCR in service a little longer.
Another discovered lack is the complete absence of any simple archiving procedure, and the dismaying lack of RGB output on the VCR Scart.
My VCR and DVDR will both accept RGB input, and a PVR ought to be able to provide it.
But I still give it eight out of ten. It isn't BAD. It could just be BETTER!
it sounds like you are a little peeved at the box for you personal requirements, but how do you rate it as a general product ?.
Subtitles are nice but not a feature that most will discard the player on, although I grant you, it is essential for the hard of hearing. At least they have acknowledged its need and suggested it will arrive at a later date.
I wish it could play from the beginning but to be fair, I've not seen anywhere ever suggest that it would. I guess its only ex-Pace owners that would initially notice this. What you've never had, you never miss !!.
Picture and sound distortion. Well, by your own admission this happens on your Setpal box. I too have a setpal box (Daewoo 608P) and suffer the occasional ear-piercing scratch (usually live BBC sport) but it certainly wouldn't have me running back to analogue.
I'm not trying to fly the Fusion flag, just playing devil's advocate in order to compare it to the Thomson. Can all those of you lucky enough to have one to trial, I await your valuable unit-specific feedback. Questions such as:
How good is the best recording quality ?.
How bad is the worst recording quality with compression ?
How fast is menu navigation ?.
How useful and up-to-date is the 7 day EPG ?
Any issues with noise in standby ?
Any issues with heat on the player (not the external power) ?
Any issues with unit hangs ?
Thanks.
To my mind these devices are DVR's because they only do what you tell them. PVR to me implies something that can record things for you based on preferences - ie. TIVO. But that's me being pedantic and I'm sure the marketeers will establish PVR as the name for these things!
I wouldn't have said that was pedantic, that's a good point .. but I notice Sky use the term PVR and as yet haven't introduced any intelegence into the Sky Guide except for "Series Link".
Anyway, as far as a few points go on that list of questions:
- Highest recording quality is as good as the original broadcast
- Menu navigation is quick and easy, with quick access to things like the "Guide" and "Library" from the remote
- I didn't notice any noise at all during operation but then I wasn't listening out for it. If you try and hear something, you probably would
The Fusion manual claims that there is S-video output (p37) but the diagrams suggest otherwise. Can someone confirm?
I would like to either pass my DVD signal through the PVR using RGB scart or use S-video for the PVR as I only have 1 RGB ip and 1 scart ip on my telly. Can the Thomson or the Fusion do this?
TV (AV2/SVideo) to VCR (AV1/SVideo) to VCR(AV2/Composite) to Thomson (VCR Scart) to Thomson (TV Scart) to TV (AV4).
I've tried a few recordings. You can choose SP, LP, or EP at time of recording (I think with the Thomson it records in SP and you have to convert it later - correct me if I'm wrong). All recording qualities were good.
I have problems with analogue reception, so I was worried that the freeview reception would not be good, but it is perfect (as it was with the Daewoo Setpal; my old OnDigital was a nightmare comparatively).
If you are recording two things at once, and try to watch another, it gives a polite "Sorry you can't do that" type message with easy instructions how to get out.
I got myself stuck in the technical menu - could not find a way out, so I just went into standby. Hopefully no one else in this house will be messing around in the technical menu, so it shouldn't be a problem.
I'm finding the guide a bit hard to read, mostly because of the background of it, especially if the foreground letters are black. Once the EPG arrives, it might be better.
I can hear the unit (it is not in a cabinet), but it it not that noticable, and it doesn't seem to make less sound when it is in standby, so sounds quite similar to the Thomson in that respect.
That's all so far...
I assume it must work this way but it would be nice if someone could confirm it.
Thanks for all the info so far, keep it coming.