Freeview HD PVR - Digital Stream DHR8205U

[professorhat]

tom_mk:I assume that once it's been 'archived' off onto an external USB device you can probably do pretty much whatever you like with it once the said external USB device is then attached to a computer (which I'd be more than happy to do) as opposed to the Digital Stream device. My guess is that the only potential issue of moving something using the PC is if the Digital Stream device somehow creates an archive library index of what's on the external device, and by moving stuff around you corrupt the index, but then that would answer the question of whether the archived recordings could be managed through the Digital Stream device itself.

Kind of - essentially you can't access these recordings directly from a Windows PC or Mac, you need a version of Linux to do it. I've written a guide on how you can actually get SD recordings off the disk to a Windows PC here though, so it's possible, just a bit fiddly.

tom_mk:Out of interest, will the Digital Stream device play recordings that have been archived off to the external device, or do they have to be re-instated onto the Digital Streams device's hard drive first. (Just thinking, you could increase capacity very easily and more than double the amount of storage far more cheaply than going for the 1TB DHR8205U device - you'd just have to archive stuff of to maintain the space on the device's internal hard drive.)

Again, not tried this, but it's certainly my understanding this is possible. I'll try and find out for sure though.

 

[professorhat]

Just had confirmation from another user that you can create and organise folders on the USB disk and you can also play recordings direct from them, so yes, this should allow you to easily expand the usable space on the machine rather than buying the 1 TB version.

 

[professorhat]

For those that are following the thread, the new update is now available here (the website still says 3.57 at time of posting, but you actually download 4.02).

One key difference is the method of updating. Because this is a Full Version upgrade, you don't upgrade in the standard way. Although there are now instructions on the MIT website, I personally don't think they're very clear so use this method which worked fine for me:

(N.B. - There is of course no obligation to update to 4.02 unless you want / need to! If you're happy with the box as is, and have just setup all your Christmas timers, it may well be sensible to wait!). I provide no guarantees on the below and everything you do is at your own risk.

1. The full version upgrade will reset all scheduled recordings, so make a note of them first as you'll need to set them all back up again after. It will also reset channels so you'll have to go through the initial setup process again to scan for them all. All your current recordings are preserved though, so no need to worry about these.

2. There should be 10 files in the downloaded zip file - extract them all to the root directory of a FAT32 formatted USB stick (as usual).

3. With your Digital Stream switched on, plug the USB stick into the top or bottom rear USB port (i.e. not the one on the front). After a few moments, you should get a prompt that this has been recognised.

4. Switch the Digital Stream into standby. Once in standby, switch completely off using the switch at the rear of the machine.

5. Wait about 30 seconds.

6. Switch on the Digital Stream using the switch at the rear. You should get the Digital Stream splash screen on the TV and it will say DIGITALSTREAM (rolling in) and then Loading on the front panel (roughly 30 seconds or so).

7. During the update, the front panel should read the following text: Updating . . . > 30% updated > 50% updated > 70% updated > update micom. > FINISHED.

8. During the update, on the TV screen, you should see the following: System Update (with progress bar below gradually filling) > Progress bar showing 100% complete > Black screen.

9. Once you've seen the above, the TV screen will stay black and the front panel of the Digtial Stream will just stay saying FINISHED. You can then power off again using the switch at the rear of the box.

10. Once switched off, remove the USB stick, then wait about 30 seconds.

11. Power on using the switch at rear. You should now see a different, black background splash screen.

12. The box will load and you'll then get the Welcome Screen as you got when you first bought the box. Run through the setup i.e. choosing the size of your TV and running through the channel scan.

13. Once this is done, go back into the Preferences and change any thing you prefer e.g. your resolution output, your Timeshift settings etc. and re-set up all your timers.

So what's changed?

Main things which have been updated in this release are:

New User Wishlist Features:

1. Instant Recording - Pop-up with options by pressing record twice - individual control of hour and minute length of recording time.

2. Direct Number Entry in EPG - no more scrolling around in the EPG, just enter the channel number you want to hop to and wait, or press OK to go directly without the wait (i.e. the same as changing channel).

3. Favourites List View - can now view your Favourites list in the EPG using the White Func+ button, but it's still clumsily implemented. Better implementation is apparently coming in the January update.

4. Bring up the file / buffer position banner at any time with the Play button.

5. Allows the PiP window when watching a recording.

6. Direct Number Entry in PiP - enter the channel number, then press the PiP button to go direct to that channel in the PiP window.

7. Transfer of both HD and SD recordings to a USB hard disk - HD files are encrypted, but they can now at least be archived. Will be looking into this to see how it changes watching these on a PC.

8. Hide the .trp extension from recordings - makes the box look a bit more user friendly and less "geeky"!

Others:

1. During the 3am housekeeping, the fan no longer switches on. Good if the box is in your bedroom!

2. Issues with audio level differences between SD and HD channels is fixed - not something I've personally seen, but good it's fixed for those that had the issue.

3. Media list (i.e. recordings list) now remembers your sort method (e.g. by time) and sort direction (e.g. last to first).

4. Bug fixes related to trailer booking (green button during adverts for upcoming programmes), MP3 and JPG playback, file management and USB hard disk access, plus recording and playback - essentially the underlying architecture has been completely revamped to make it even more stable.

5. The ethernet port is now enabled - plugged in and it's picking up an IP address from my router. I have the following info from one of the guys involved with the beta testing: "BBC iPlayer is built into the BoD 4.xx Update and will be available as soon as BBC start FreeviewHD MHEG iPlayer broadcast. You cannot see it is there yet. It will be an option from TEXT/RED Button. I have had an e-Mail from the BBC and they cannot give any date for it yet - Hopefully early next year. There is a BBC Blog post about FreeSat that mentions FreeView-HD MHEG iPlayer in the New Year" - see that blog post here.

Hope this all makes sense and improves your enjoyment of this box further. Roll on the next update and more wish list features!

 

[Clare Newsome]

Thanks once more, Prof, for your incredibly useful updates on this thread

 

[professorhat]

Clare Newsome:Thanks once more, Prof, for your incredibly useful updates on this thread

No worries, Clare. I have to say I owe a lot of thanks to the beta testers and users from other forums where I get a lot of the info, but I feel it's good to pass on here so as many as people as possible get the correct info.

 

[bob.g]

Thanks Prof.

One point - I understood that the very long time taken to delete recordings was going to be fixed in this update. Any idea if it was, or if not whether it is in the plan ?

 

[professorhat]

Yes, the change in the underlying architecture should have at least improved this. Straight after the update, I deleted a load of files which had been recorded prior to the update to see how it went and, though I reckon it was quicker, it was still a bit hit and miss in that some took 1 or 2 seconds to delete and others anywhere between 20 - 30 seconds. Now it's early days so I'm not sure if this is because they were all recorded prior to the update or if there's just a basic issue with this. In discussions with another user, he pointed out that file fragmentation could well play a part and this makes sense to me. Think of it this way:

1. Your box is in standby and it switches on to record one TV programme. The likelihood is this will be written to the hard disk as one large file. Deleting this would therefore be a very simple, quick process.

2. Your box is active and you're time-shifting live TV i.e. you've pressed pause and then play again to carry on watching, so information is constantly being written to the hard drive to allow this. The box then starts recording two things at once. Now you've got the time-shift recording going, plus two different files being written all at the same time. It's likely the files for the two recordings will be heavily fragmented because of the heavy disk activity, and therefore removing traces of these files could be a much more complex operation and thus take longer. Whether the files are SD or HD recordings will also make a difference on this, with HD recordings being a lot bigger and therefore needing higher disk activity still.

As I say, it's really too early for me to say at the moment if things will get better once I start watching and deleting new recordings made since the update, but we'll see over the next few weeks as Christmas should provide plenty of activity!

 

[Anonymous]

I've looked everywhere but cannot find out whether this box has the following feature:

Can you trim the recordings you make via the remote control and remove the rubbish either side of the program?

You can do this on my current Topfield PVR and this feature seems to be a must-have, as it saves disk space, especially when archiving as well as improving your viewing experience when you want to re-watch a program.

If not, are there plans to include this feature.

 

[professorhat]

Hi there - nope, definitely not a feature available at the moment and no one else has requested this feature as far as I've seen. In fact, I've not seen this feature on any of the current Freeview HD PVRs (maybe on the Panasonic ones with DVD / BD writers?). With Accurate Recording though, I find it's rare that there are long sequences prior to watching a programme - in fact BBC programmes tend to just have the BBC logo and then straight into it, so I think the requirement has fallen to the wayside a little now, compared to the days when you had to set recordings with 3 to 5 mins padding either side to ensure you recorded the whole programme.

Certainly were you to decide to buy the Digital Stream, you could suggest it to them as a feature improvement, though I couldn't in any way guarantee that it would be implemented (or if it was even possible to implement it).

 

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah. Didn't appreciate the Accurate Recording feature, so as you say, probably not required unless you do a manual recording.

Apart from the possible inconvenience of having an external USB drive, why would you pay the extra for the 1TB model instead of the 500GB model.

Is there any noticable difference playing recordings directly from the external USB drive and is there any size limit to these external drives?

 

[professorhat]

FunkyMikeB:Apart from the possible inconvenience of having an external USB drive, why would you pay the extra for the 1TB model instead of the 500GB model.

I wouldn't

However, I think the difference in price is reflected by the fact that John Lewis has been doing the 500 GB unit at a very cheap price of £199 for a while now so they must have sourced a good deal from somewhere on that particular unit - other retailers have had to respond to that. However, when I bought mine, the price was £299, which is why the 1 TB version is around that price as no one has made any attempt to reduce the price of this, presumably because it isn't as popular a model as the 500 GB version.

FunkyMikeB:Is there any noticable difference playing recordings directly from the external USB drive and is there any size limit to these external drives?

I don't really use the feature, but given it's an exact copy of the file which was on the internal drive, I can't see why there would be. Not sure on the size limit, but as you can see from the response on the other forum you're using, one person has used a 2 TB USB drive with it, so doesn't look like there is a maximum limit. However, the minimum limit is currently 160 GB (for some reason).

 

[Anonymous]

That's a done deal then. John Lewis here we come unless anyone else is beating the price.

Is the boxed unit heavy or cumbersome as the wife might have to carry it a short distance from the shop to the car park?

Regarding the future online streaming, what are the options for doing this wirelessly if there is no local wired LAN connectivity?

Many thanks for your prompt and very helpful responses, by the way. Much appreciated.

 

[professorhat]

FunkyMikeB:Is the boxed unit heavy or cumbersome as the wife might have to carry it a short distance from the shop to the car park?

Not overly - about the same as on old VCR I'd say. Manual says it's 4.34 Kg.FunkyMikeB:Regarding the future online streaming, what are the options for doing this wirelessly if there is no local wired LAN connectivity?

Local ethernet port was enabled in the latest update for wired LAN connectivity (see my post #545105 above). In theory you could use a wireless bridge if you wanted wireless though.FunkyMikeB:Many thanks for your prompt and very helpful responses, by the way. Much appreciated.

You're welcome!

 

[Anonymous]

Prof,

You mentioned you are using a harmony remote with the device. I've just bought a one for all remote to use with it, however I can't find Digital Stream in the code list. What code did you use for your harmony?

Cheers.

 

[professorhat]

I'm afraid the Harmony doesn't use codes - there's an online database provided by Logitech which contains the commands, so you just choose this when adding a new device. However, when I originally bought the DS, it didn't have it in this database (though it does now) so I just manually learnt all the commands. Is this an option?

 

[Anonymous]

I think it is possible to program it button by button from the original ds remote. I was hoping to avoid this though! I'll email One for All, see if they have anything to say about it.

Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

It seems to have gone very quiet on this, did you get a reply from One for All?

 

[professorhat]

Quiet from me as everything is working well

Not sure on the One for All I'm afraid...

 

[professorhat]

Unfortunately, I've found from another forum that the next update has been delayed until end of March now instead of end of February. However, what is nice is that DS-K has informed us of this - other manufacturers take note, your customers appreciate being communicated with! They've also provided the following information on what the update will contain:

Following will be the major improvements and changes in EoM release.

1. New Features

A. Auto Folder creation for series recording.
B. Xvid/Divx playback.
C. Schedule List backup/restore after SW upgrade

2. Bug Fixes

A. It's very unlikely but timer recording cannot be completed.
B. Two same events are listed when reserving a series (BBC HD programmes).
C. Bug fix for split series recording
D. Bug fix for MHEG-based BBC iPlayer (not yet being broadcast by the BBC).

3. Cosmetic Changes

A. Mute icon, 5.1ch multichannel audio icon, DD/DDP icon
B. Gray out the past programmes in EPG
C. Red dot indication for recording events in EPG

So looks good!

 

[bob.g]

Prof

Items 1a and 1c look great, need to have, others are also great but nice to have

 

[professorhat]

For me, 1C, 3A and 3B are the best ones (obviously the bug fixes are always good!). Not sure on 1A and I'm hoping they'll make it optional (this has been requested) - I use a lot of Series Recordings which I watch every week so it's easier for me if they're sorted in the main folder in date order rather than having to find each one in its own folder.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I'm new to this site after looking for reviews on this product. This has convinced me to get one. I do have one question though that I hope you may be able to help me with?

I currently have my sky+ box connected via HDMI but also sending the same channels to the bedroom and conservatory via two output cables. If I was to just disconnect this cable from the sky box and put it onto the DHR would it transmit the signal to my bedroom whilst still sending the picture through HDMI to my main living room television? (I'mmm not bothered about link to conservatory as it never gets used!)

If this is not possible, is their a way around this so i would be able to watch programmes from the DHR in my bedroom?

Thanks.

 

[professorhat]

Hi there! Can you let me know what kind of output cable is going to the bedroom?

 

[Anonymous]

Excellent review of the DS Professorhat. Thanks for this! I've been looking for an HD Freeview recorder with minimal bugs - and this really seems to fit the bill. Great value as well on the John Lewis web site.

I've got three questions:

1. If you are watching a live program - and you rewind it, so you are now viewing the buffer: can you record the buffer? - Or will it only record the live program?

2. In What Hi Fi's review they said the DHR8205U's recordings were a 'touch softer than original'. Have you noticed this?

3. Can it output Dolby Digital 5.1 over it's optical output?

 

[professorhat]

benbiggey:Excellent review of the DS Professorhat. Thanks for this! I've been looking for an HD Freeview recorder with minimal bugs - and this really seems to fit the bill. Great value as well on the John Lewis web site.
No probs, glad it's been of help.

benbiggey:1. If you are watching a live program - and you rewind it, so you are now viewing the buffer: can you record the buffer? - Or will it only record the live program?

Unfortunately not - this has been on the wishlist for a while, but my understanding from feedback from the developers is that implementing it is unfortunately unlikely.

benbiggey:2. In What Hi Fi's review they said the DHR8205U's recordings were a 'touch softer than original'. Have you noticed this?

Nope - if anything I find recordings actually look better than when watching live. However, remember there have been a couple of updates to the software since WHF reviewed the box.

benbiggey:3. Can it output Dolby Digital 5.1 over it's optical output?

It can indeed output DD 5.1 over optical (when broadcast), but not over HDMI though.