If you select all the available channels for Anytime to download from then the box divides up the available drive space in such as way as to leave you with just 16 hours' worth of space for your personal recordings. The only way to free up more room for your own recordings is to reduce the number of channels you want downloading, which rather takes away the whole point of the system to start with, and also is not actually much of a remedy. After pruning the channel download list quite ruthlessly we were still only left with 31 hours of personal space and that is still really not enough.
The Sky-like UI
This box needs a fair bit more disk space or a more fluid method of dividing up the available space, perhaps by allowing you to alter the length of time the system stores downloaded content. As it is, programmes downloaded will erase themselves after six days unless moved into the personal storage - so exit the 31 hours, stage-left, at a gallop - thereby ensuring the hard drive always has space for the following period's downloads.
Fortunately, the box is smart enought to automatically check that no programmes downloaded overnight match any of the programmes already recorded to avoid doubling up on content.
Choose what you want to download
Verdict
Assuming the available content appeals then the DTI 6300-16 is not such a bad old Hector. As a DVR it performs perfectly adequately, though £140 is perhaps a lot to pay for adequacy, perfect or not. If the content doesn't put it's hand up your kilt then our preference would fall with one the of the many other DVRs currently on the market such as the 150GB TVonics box which can be bought for £150 with no subsequent monthly payments.
Thomson DTI 6300-16 TopUp TV Anytime DVR
COMMENTS
This box sucks
We've got one, and it's been nothing but trouble since the day we got it. It crashes every damn day, the only solution is to pull the power and wait for it to reset.
We waited with baited breath for the first software update, TUTV were good enough to write to us explaining that they had experienced troubles with a lot of boxes and the update would correct these issues. No, it didn't. It still crashes, it still sucks.
I have been sorely tempted to connect that USB port up to my *nix box to see what's hidden away. Perhaps an install of MythTV might do a better job.
Re What they don't tell you
I too was recording on the unit straight out of the box, but when you have used the unit with the tutv card and then remove the card you can not use it to record, unless you can do some kind of reset,
I have done a master reset, menu > help > green button > red button.
I have reverted back to the old software and also looked on the engineers page, menu > help > 1397.
And still no joy. So if you can use the device with out subscription I am All ears.
Any advice would to great so I can use this plastic box to do the job I got it for.
How do i delete the software
I recently got this box from Argos and would like to delete the Top Up TV software so I can use the whole of the hard drive for personal recordings. Can anyone enlighten me as to how to do this. So far all i've been able to do is de activate all the extra channels but that still only leaves about 60% of the drive for personal use.
Any help and advice appreciated.
SG
It's pretty good
Must admit having had this box since the service started last year, that it is pretty good. There were teehting problems with the software but on the whole I'm very happy with it. Would have liked a slightly larger hard drive but you can't have everything.
Re What they don't tell you
Sorry but that's total BS, I was recording quite happily on this piece
of kit straight out of the box and before I'd even re-registered my old
TUTV card to start the "Anytime" service. I'm also told by other folks
with this box that if you do buy the box from a 3rd party retailer and
decide not to subscribe to Anytime you can delete all the service
subscription listings and you do get all the hard drive space for your
own recordings. My own first impressions of this box have been
very good.
Neil
