Review: Maplin Barebone Twin Tuner Freeview DTR
Posted on February 27, 2008
Filed Under Vnunet |
Tom Royal, Computeract!ve, Tuesday 26 February
2008 at 00:00:00
Digital TV? Do it yourself
Although some people enjoy the challenge of sloshing paint around and
wrangling with tiles, the attraction of DIY for most is that it can cost less
than hiring a professional. Similarly, those with a lot of technical know-how
sometimes like to build their own computers, as doing so can be much cheaper
than buying a complete system. The same people might be tempted by Maplin’s
latest product: a hard disk Freeview recorder that buyers must put together
themselves. The recorder costs just £60, but in order to use it you’ll
also need to buy a hard disk to go inside. It uses 3.5in hard disks, the kind
found in most desktop computers. Confusingly, though, there are two kinds of
hard disk: IDE and Serial ATA. This recorder only works with the older IDE type
but the good news is that these are cheap: a 160GB disk costs around £35.
Fitting this disk inside the recorder was impressively easy: there’s a hatch on
the bottom of the device, and after fixing the disk into place with the
provided screws it was as simple as plugging in two cables. After screwing the
hatch back into place, the recorder is ready to use. Unfortunately, this was
where our troubles started. After turning on the recorder we were surprised to
hear the hard disk inside starting to spin - we assumed this would stop
momentarily, but instead it kept going. And here’s the problem: most desktop
hard disks are noisy. Inside a PC case the sound is usually muffled, but this
recorder’s thin case does little to block the constant whining sound. This is a
shame, as the recorder itself works reasonably well: there’s an electronic
programme guide (EPG) to schedule recordings and select programmes to watch,
and with two tuners it’s possible to watch one show while recording another.
Ultimately, though, the biggest problem with this device is that it’s not
particularly good value. When a ready-made Top Up TV 160GB recorder can be
picked up for about £100, there’s just no reason to build one yourself.
To read our review of the product, click here.
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