See at the end for info on December 2012 firmware update. A few features changed which helps a bit. (added Jan. 2, 2013)
Have been using this for about 24 hrs, so I am quite the novice with it. I own a Magnavox 320GB DVR, which recently quit working. It had spoiled me. Really liked that DVR. I ordered the PHD-VRX to take the Magnavox's place.
This device's two tuners seemingly do a very good job. The hi-def channels are sharp, clear, and bright. Both tuners receive ATSC and QAM signals. Only tuner one receives NTSC channels. I would have liked for both tuners to be able to receive NTSC channels since I live a good distance from TV station towers and am stuck with a cable system which does not offer many hi-def channels. Most of the shows that I watch are still delivered over cable in the NTSC standard. As a consequence, one of the two tuners on this device probably will not serve me well.
What really bothers me about this machine is the fact that it will not record NTSC channels. That was either not made clear in the information about the machine or I completely missed it. I did not see that information really spelled out until I was reading the "Quick Start Guide" that came with the tuner/recorder. The lack of that feature really lessens the value of this tuner/recorder for me. I know that I cannot be alone in wanting a digital recorder that will record NTSC broadcasts. With the dearth of television recording devices since the nation's going to ATSC broadcasts, it seems to me to be a no-brainer to make a recording device to record in all three standards. That may be the deal breaker with this machine.
I have recorded and played back a couple of shows so far. The playback picture is excellent. I am using a 640GB Western Digital Elements external drive. I have found that the fast forward and reverse feature does not work well. It could be the fault of my USB drive. The 20 second skip forward or backward does seem to work just fine however.
The Magnavox, when tuned to a channel, immediately started recording that channel and would record continuously a six hour block of time. It allowed one to timeshift back to any point within that six hours. I could let the recorder run while going and doing something else and when I was ready to watch the television again, I could easily jump back to any point within that previous six hour time span. This PHD-VRX is not nearly so flexible. First, one has to select a time between five to sixty minutes for timeshifting [Dec. firmware update extended to up to 4 hrs.], and then hit the record button. One is then stuck with that amount of time. I noticed that when I tried the timeshift option that the optical sound feed from the tuner to my receiver ceased functioning [Dec. firmware update apparently fixed]. Once I quit timeshifting, the sound through the optical cable worked perfectly. Perhaps some oversight in the tuner's inner workings or firmware.
Overall, the tuner works well. For my money's worth, both tuners should have been able to receive all three broadcast standards. It should also be able to record NTSC channels and the optical sound output should continue to work when timeshifting. The sound through the HDMI cable was not affected. With the Magnavox, one could edit a recording and then burn it onto a DVD. An edit feature with a USB output for a disc recorder would be a great touch for this device also. Just a few changes and they could have had an excellent HD tuner/recorder. As it is, I am going to knock off a couple of stars. If I choose to keep this, I may add more later. If otherwise, I will not update this review. Of course, if you live in an area that only has hi-def stations, then my concerns about the NTSC capable second tuner and NTSC recording will be of no moment to you. This machine does an excellent job with hi-def broadcasts, both viewing and recording.
As an aside, I purchased this company's PHD-8VX Media Center in Dec. 2011 to use as a tuner as I had a LG 47 inch TV that would not tune all the HD channels on my cable system. It worked well until around the first of August, then it stopped working. I contacted the company about repairing it and they immediately gave me a RMA number. It only cost me to ship it and they repaired it under warranty and returned it to me. They do stand behind their products.
Jan. 2, 2013 update --
Firmware was updated in December. The following changes (see below) were noted on epvision's website. As I noted above, this recorder needs a way to edit recordings. It also needs to be able to edit titles assigned to recordings. Titles are assigned by broadcast supplied information and if the recording starts before that info has changed, then the title of the previous show is supplied to the recorded program. Makes it hard to find the program one is looking for when there are a number of recordings to go through.
Adding a new "Recordings"section for dedicated TV Shows Playback
Yellow Hot key for directly accessing Recordings Playback
Resume playback from the previous viewing point
Ability to sort out TV programs in "Recordings"section by time, title and channel#
Now can display closed caption (CC) during TV shows playback.
Adding different forward skip and backward skip durations (20, 30, 60, 120 sec.)
Adding more FF and RWD speed options (x2, x4, x8, x16, x32, x64, x128, x256)
Timeshift buffer durations are changed to 5 min (default), 30min, 1hr, 2hr, and 4hr.
USB Pop Up screen when USB connected now can be set ON (default) or OFF.
Optional channel video lock or unlock(default) during Guide screen channel browsing
Unify time format to 12-hr AM/PM format
Release "PHD-VRX TV Show Playback Features Guide"for new features
I rated this DVR 3 stars for the product, but I'll give 5 Stars for the seller as when I requested a return telling them I was not happy with the user friendliness of the machine, I quickly received an RMA# from them and when I sent product back, the seller quickly issued a refund.
My reason for purchasing this DVR was to replace my DTVPal DVR. I love the DTVPal, but it has some quirks like sometimes recording programs in Spanish and recording programs with no volume. I had hoped this DVR would make a good replacement.
The picture quality of this machine is great. But there were several dealbreakers which made me go back to just continuing with my DTVPal.
After setting up and trying this DVR, in the end I decided to return it and use my DTVPal DVR (bugs and all) instead.
Among others, the following were three dealbreakers for my decision:
1) Pausing live TV takes several steps. Instead of just pressing a pause button on the remote that automatically puts the live program in time shift mode, one presses a button on the remote that then prompts you if you want to timeshift. If so, then you choose for how long. I like 60 minutes so select that. But then when viewing and timeshifting another program in the future, the process starts over again, defaulted to 5 minutes 2) no skip forward or backward 30 seconds to go past commercials. Instead only use of the forward and worst of all 3) When viewing a recorded program, there is no resume option. That is, if in middle of a program I need to stop the recorder, I can't continue by pressing the play button of that program. Instead the program starts again from the very beginning.
There aren't too many OTA DVRs to choose from and for some, this machine may be fine. But the dealbreakers mentioned above had me longing for the simplicity of my DTVpal DVR.
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This is an edited version of the review originally submitted on Nov 21, 2012.
I upgraded the rating from 2 to 3 stars.
It turns out that some of the CONS points previously stated are not actually CONS. So I removed or modified them. Either I overlooked some things or after installing a firmware update, the flaws were corrected.
**************************************************************
I'll get to the point by mentioning the Pros and Cons and make a conclusion.
PROS:
*) Versatile Tuners: It can tune and record both Over-The-Air ("OTA") channels and unscrambled cable TV channels ("QAM"). Some HD DVR's can record only OTA channels.
*) Two tuners: So one can record 2 channels simultaneously, record one channel while watching a recorded program simultaneously, etc.
*) No subscription fee. After one buys it, there are no more fees. But one must also obtain an external hard drive (more on this in the CONS section).
*) Fast Forward feature: When watching a recorded show, one can fast forward very quickly by holding down the "NEXT" key. The NEXT key, when pressed without being held down, skips forward about 25 seconds. So, when seeing commercials(typically 3 to 4 minutes), one can press this key about 6 to 8 times to get back to the show/movie. When this NEXT key is kept held down, it "flies" to any part of the recorded program.
*) Customer Service good: I called on 3 separate occasions during weekday business hours and someone answered the phone without any waiting time and answered my questions to my satisfaction. However, when I called on one weekend night and left a voicemail, nobody returned my call.
*) Favorite Channels: One has to first create the favorites list by assigning the channels he/she likes into it. Once done, one can go directly from one channel to another without any delays. Without using favorites, browsing channels takes a long time. One can create a 2nd favorites channels list.
CONS:
*) Missing built-in Hard Disk: The DVR does not have a built-in hard disk. The product description does not explicitly state this fact. It only implies it by stating it records shows to external hard disks.
So one must obtain and attach an external hard disk to this DVR.
Since every other DVR I ever looked into has a built in hard disk, an ordinary customer would think a built-in hard disk would be included, unless otherwise stated.
It's not a big deal to me since I had planned to add an external hard disk anyway.
*) Flaw in Delayed watching of a show while it is being recorded:
This point is a bit technical & detailed: You may skip it.
After one has been recording a show (say a football game, or Grammy Awards) for an hour, and then starts to watch this recorded game on time delay while the game is still being recorded, then one should be able to watch this game for say 3 hours on time delay, because the end-of-recording point gets later as one watches game. For example, after one watched the game for 30 minutes on 1-hour time delay, the "end-of-recording" time point should be 1.5 hours. However, when one enters into a currently being recorded show, the end-of-recording time point freezes and one can watch the game for only 1 hour in this example.
In order to watch this game for more than the 1-hour on time delay (in this example) one has to exit the currently being recorded game, and then enter back into it, which gives a new (which is the current) end-of-recording time point.
This DVR has a separate but similar function called, time-shift mode, but it is limited to 1 hour. I need time-shifting for 3 to 4 hours for sporting events.
*) When one watches part of a recorded show, stops, and then watches it later, the DVR starts from the beginning of the show and does not have the ability go back to where one left off.
*) Very Minimal TV Program guide info. Since we do not pay a subscription, I should not complain about this. Titan TV's website has good TV show listings. I have an android app for this on my smartphone. Thus I do not need to go back and forth from my desktop PC to my TV/DVR.
*) Default color is bit off: One needs to manually adjust video setting. Even then, color is still slightly unnatural.
*) Cryptic naming of recorded shows: If the show has Electronic Program Guide ("EPG") data, then the program name will be part of the file. If no EPG data, then name will consist of channel number, date and time, in cryptic format.
*) No days of week displayed in timer recording: When one schedules a recording, the dates are displayed without displaying the day of the week. For example, it may display "Beauty and the Beast" on Nov 29th, but it does not display Thursday, Friday, etc. So, one has to get a calendar to create the timer recording.
*) No closed captions: I'm not deaf, but I want captions for various reasons.
For example, some documentary shows have scientific names, obscure places, etc. that are easier to understand when written.
I guess captions on recordings (& internet shows) are not yet mandated by law. Disabled people have been lobbying for captioning ...
*) While recording a channel, when one uses the favorite channels function to change to a different channel (in the same tuner), the recording stops.
Just to clarify, while recording, if one attempts to change the channel, without using the favorite channels function, the DVR does not allow the channel to be changed and displays a warning message, and the recording continues.
*) RECORD NOW flawed. When one decides to record a program that is on right now, the DVR does not have increments of 30-minutes or 1-hour. It continues to record until one manually presses the STOP button, which could be on the next day!.
In other DVR's, one would press the "REC" button once for 30-minutes, press it again for an additional 30-minutes, and so on.
*) The tuners assigns some channels incorrectly and inconsistently for Comcast Cable TV. Most channels are assigned correctly, but a few are not. For example, my ABC is channel 7-1 in my TV, but this DVR assigns it to channel 24-1. Also, tuner #1 assigns CW to channel 11-1, but tuner #2 assigns it to some other channel number.
*)Volume not stable: While watching a recorded show, each time one hits the fast forward or NEXT button, the volume gets lower. The volume gets back to normal within 15 seconds. It's possible that this issue is caused by my TV since other reviewers have not mentioned this issue.
*) Time consuming to install firmware updates: To install this, one has to perform a series of procedures. To give you an idea of the tedious process, one has to download firmware files from their website and copy it to a usb flash drive and unzip the files. Then one has to plug the usb drive into the DVR. Then DVR has to be turned off, unplugged. The DVR (both tuners) has to scan the channels again, etc, etc.
In other devices, one simply connects the device to the internet by connecting an ethernet cable from a router to the device and uses the menu to hit "update firmware", and the installing is done!
Customer service mentioned that future firmware will add many features such as remembering where the DVR left off from a previously viewed show, etc.
NOTES: (Neither PROS or CONS)
*) The product description states it will support disks up to 2 TB. So 3TB hard disks will not work on with this.
*) The PC format, NTFS, works well recording 1 show at at time, but when recording 2 shows simultaneously, recorded shows have stutter. One must use the DVR's format utility to format hard disk to "ext2" format. This is a fast format and can easily record 2 shows simultaneously.
CONCLUSION.
In general, this DVR lacks some features that are standard on other DVR's that I have used. Even with some flaws, one learns to work around them.
So one must ask, are there any other good HD DVRs without subscription fees?
Unfortunately, I am not aware of any. There are some decent SD DVR's and subscription DVR's, but those are not what I'm looking for.
So lacking any better alternative choices, I'll keep it.
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----UPDATE----
As of 3/6/12 another new firmware update is available. There have been reports of locking up and getting stuck in "boot".
This has addressed a few more issues including the ability to access the Manual Recording screen directly and a new Conflict management screen. With this and the previous update last December, I have raised my rating to 3 stars. Though that is still generous, but this shows that they are trying to address the problems.
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If you never owned a DVR before, or have low expectations, it will probably suffice as long as you can deal with all the shortcomings. If you have had or had experience with a TiVo Moxi, or Sony, it won't.
It's too bad a small Asian manufacture can't communicate better with people that have extensive DVR experience knowing what is required to have a good user experience.
It's a great tuner, but only a fair recorder, until more of the numerous "issues" posted elsewhere are resolved.
Pros;
1. Two tuners (ATSC for OTA and QAM for CATV) with two separate inputs that most don't have. This also allows using two antennas pointed different directions vs using a rotor. Analog enabled only in one tuner, but see below,
2. Tuner performance is one of the best I have seen yet. I have problems with a mix of extremely strong and weak stations from the same direction. This handles them better than the other 5 or 6 tuners I have or have had,
3. The ability to add individual channels one at a time something TiVo fails miserable at. Also, the ability to skip the scan process and just enter known physical channel numbers of just the stations you are interested eliminating the hassle of deleting all the others you don't want. This is especially nice for CATV as long as you know the physical channel numbers,
4. Record two programs at once while watching a previously recorded program,
5. Very low 1 watt standby current and low 'on' current; 15 watts w/o HDD, 22 watts with 2.5" HDD attached,
6. Attached HDD does spin down during standby unlike most DVR's, but runs continuous while 'on',
7. Ability to add an external hard drive in an enclosure and transfer recording to a Windows PC (with proper drivers installed),
8. Ability to play certain types of files from a PC or from a USB drive,
9. Front panel controls duplicate many remote functions, also a channel or record mode display (depending on what mode it is in),
10. Manual, station based & Internet time settings. There should be little worry about having a correct clock setting (other than a power failure),
11. Firmware updates, new and past are both available on their site.
Cons;
1. No integrated Guide for both tuners. You must switch back and forth to program the tuners.
2. Existing Guide is limited PSIP data which is station dependent. Not all stations have this and if so, it can be as little as a few hours. It's best to use TitanTV for listings, writing them down through the week and manually programming your choices VCR style. Guide has problem displaying data that extends out more than a couple of days. Comparing this to the older DTVPal, some stations that show data out many days, only show a day or so here,
3. Excessive false contouring/banding in dark areas depending on program content (lower bitrate material),
4. Childish use of icons causing one has to guess what they are and what they mean instead of plain text for the menu sections. Confusing menu structure,
5. No ability to record analog stations (no encoder included for cost cutting). Analog tuner only enabled in tuner 1 (even though both tuners are identical),
6. No component output for older TV's or TV's with all HDMI inputs occupied, even though provision was made for same (holes in rear panel and circuit board space for chip),
7. HDMI audio is only stereo PCM (optical has 5.1),
8. Audio adjustments are only through the HDMI output. Analog & optical can not be adjusted, even mute & volume,
9. Slow channel changing even with no HDD attached or recording,
10. Default video settings are off. Contrast is too high, brightness is way too low. Settings have to be re-initialized while in the Video portion of MediaPlayer for them to take effect even though they have been set previously,
11. No provision for a internal HDD, but it can easily be modified to do so,
12. Internal format utility requires bare drives to be initialized first. Since that has to be done in a PC, you might as use EaseUS Partition manager to also format it to ext2. If you buy one of those 'all in ones' where the drive & enclosure are one, you risk the chance of not being to remove or replace the drive or enclosure separately when it dies,
13. No hard drive included,
14. Remote control is small and buttons close together. Layout is also lacking, with one button mislabeled and others in wrong locations.
There is a dedicated thread at AVScience forums under HDTV Recorders on this. I posted chassis photos of the internal HDD I installed there.
