Quality player
Programmes chosen from the app’s TV guide can be either viewed on the device, using the ‘Watch Here’ button, or selected on the TV via the ‘Watch on TV’ icon. Unfortunately, that’s about as far as control goes. You don’t get total control of the box, so you can’t ferret around in the settings menus. Neither can you use it to stream content to the device if the DVR itself is playing BBC iPlayer.
Content library
The DVR’s image quality is extremely good. Recordings appear transparent to source, so the real test is the quality of the upscaling in the box. There’s a choice or fixed 576p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p output settings. There’re no obvious deinterlacing artefacts in SD content should you opt for progressive. Recording can be padded by up to 5 minutes. The unit also proves to be exceptionally quiet in operation.
Bizarrely, I noted that the View21 box reacts to IR commands from an LG TV remote when it’s in Stand By. Pressing a button on the LG zapper causes the orange Stand-By lamp on the View21 to momentarily flicker blue and the hard drive gives a little spin. It’s a bit like poking a sleeping bear with a stick. No other branded controller appears to have the same effect.
View21 remote, although others might influence its behaviour
Verdict
Overall, the View21 can be considered a well-equipped step-up TV recorder. Performance is solid and its (admittedly limited) IPTV services welcome, however it’s the app functionality which really adds lustre. iPad owners should go out of their way to give it a whirl. ®
Thanks to Vodafone for the loan of the iPad.
More AV Reviews |
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View 21 IPTV Freeview+HD DVR review
COMMENTS
I've said this before ...
DVD players, VCRs (remember them?), AV receives ... All rectangular boxes that can be stacked.
Set-top boxes, routers, etc ... all shaped like an alien's handbag collection.
Manufacturers, please get over your pretensions to creating objets d'art. You just don't have the design skills. Make nice, simple boxes we can stack under the TV with the rest of the gubbins
Re: Why would you buy this...
A fine advert. Not as good as some of your other ones, but nicely pitched.
Re: Why would you buy this...
And BTW, all "youview" and "yourview box" give you on Amazon is a short list headed by a Humax box, so I think you're a little premature with the £29.99 line.
USP
From several years' experience of various different PVRs, a USP to me would be reliability - that's to say, the certainty (barring mechanical failure) that a recording set will in fact record at the appointed time, and not instead be forgotten about because of some arbitrary system reset, re-scan or lock-up the unit decided to initiate just to be bloodyminded. Sadly that kind of knowledge only comes from extensive use, so never makes it into reviews, only retrospective support forums.
I rather have a Humax
At least you know what you are getting
