Sony RDR-HXD870B

Like it or not, Freeview TV is coming - that's the over-the-air digital TV that bit by bit will see off analogue TV, and in fact the process has started, with the whole country slated to be 'cut over' by 2012. Just being able to watch it, assuming you can (I'm conveniently forgetting any aerial upgrades that may be needed), merely requires either a set-top box or a TV with the digital tuner built in. Try recording it though and your options get slimmer. You can either buy a set-top box that also contains a hard disk drive and two tuners, (aka Personal Video Recorder or PVR), or buy a machine like the Sony RDR-HXD870 which can not ...  Read the complete review

This device from Sony serves a number of very useful purposes: 1. It can act as a digital or analogue tuner 2. It can act as a DVD player (with HDMI up-scaling) 3. It can act as a digital recorder 4. It can act as a DVD recorder I bought this for the primary purpose of recording digital TV, burning it to DVD, and sending it to my girlfriend who is currently without a digital tuner. At this task it excels. My existing HD-Ready TV already has a digital tuner, so I don't use the RDR-HXD870 to watch TV live. Although the tuner is excellent, the on screen display isn't as fluid as the one on my TV, so it's not as comfortable for ...  Read the complete review

~ Overview ~ As I am a massive film and TV lover I had to buy myself a DVD recorder which would do an all-round job of recording movies and TV shows which I enjoy on a regular basis. ~ Price ~ This little recorder will set you back around £240 including deliver (tends to be around £10 if you order online which I did). I bought my DVD Recorder from Amazon for £237. ~ Strengths & Weaknesses ~ This little beauty has lots of features to delight any technology enthusiast. After using the recorder (using the manual of course) I found it quite easy to navigate around the menus and settings screens and changing the ...  Read the complete review

This is a great recorder if you already have Freeview with your Tv or a set top box. That will make it possible to watch a Freeview channel on your Tv while recording a different Freeview channel on the DVD. The fact that it's a dual tuner doesn't make it possible to do both with the DVD recorder alone and you can only record one channel at a time, so really the whole dual tuner aspect is pointless. However if you're not bothered about that, it's a good way of receiving Freeview. On the upside, it's even better than just having a set top box alone, because with a set top box you can only record whatever channel is set on your Freeview, and then it won't ...  Read the complete review

I have read through Nibelung's review of this Sony machine and he does make some valid points about it. I also own this DVD recorder/hard drive/freeview tuner and I have to say that it is an absolutely superb piece of kit. I do have to state that I am running it through a HDTV that displays at 1080p and the freeview signal is very crisp and clear. Initial set up is very straightforward and quick to do, again as Nibelug states the A5 manual is 150+ pages and lets be honest most people will not read it. I must admit I did not read it all but after a setting it up I have refered to it on several occasions when I have needed to (which I think everyone does when ...  Read the complete review