Nextwave PVR-3690

[Ext User(Justin)]

Anyone had a go at one of these yet?

I'm testing one for a mate who's thinking of stocking them in his shop. It's
a mixed bag so far. It's no Topfield, but then again it's at a lower price
point.

Pros:
Twin tuner
120 gig hard drive
2 scarts
Extra set of composite and L+R outputs
Programmable time on f-skip r-skip buttons (10-60 seconds)
Reasonably sensitive tuners
Pretty simple interface - easy to become familiar with
Stunning picture
USB2 port (haven't had a go at this yet)
Digital audio out (optical)
RF Modulator

Cons:
Only 1 scart offers all outputs (2nd only has composite & s-video & L+R)
Only 1 tuner has timer ability (2nd can be time-shifted while 1st is
recording with a capture option at the end)
Will only change channel after the info banner is off the screen (slows down
surfing) - banner time can be reduced to 1 second or turned off completely
Noisy hard drive (especially when recording & time-shifting, but in general
it's pretty loud)
Manual is pretty light on (hey, aren't they all?)
Sound dropped out once on time-shift while recording on other tuner
IMHO the worst oversight - during playback, you can't just slide the cursor
to any given point.You need to ff or f-skip

I've little doubt that it comes from the same factory as my "un"faithful
Strong SRT-5290 - the remote buttons, case & rear of unit are pretty
similar. Given that, the playback options (or lack of) are a bit surprising.
The Strong can slide the cursor & the number keys also represent percentages
of the recorded program (so you can jump to 50% of the way through the
program by pressing the 5 key).

Overall, I think the main annoyances can be sorted out with software
upgrades (banner channel change delay & playback cursor) & a quieter hard
drive. If so, it would be a pretty nice unit. As stated, it's no Topfield,
but I don't think it's trying to be. I'm not kidding about picture quality,
it really is stunning. Probably the best I've seen from an SD box. It's just
so sharp. I A/B/C/D'd it with 3 other units (a Teac 400, Foxtel DS420 & the
Strong) & it was like watching 3 SD signals & an HD one.

If you have any questions, I'll try & answer them over the weekend (before I
have to give it back).

Justin

[Ext User(Gary Slater)]

Hi Justin,

I have just posted the message after yours stating some problems with a
Strong SRT5390.

Are these similar symptoms as your "un-faithful" Strong PVR?

Any comments would be appreciated!

Would you consider an upgrade to the nextwave box you mention? if so, any
idea on price for one of those?

Thanks in advance,

Gary....

To reply direct remove the "dots" and whats between! Cheers...


"Justin" <justin.nospam@spamfree.logicalfusion.com.au> wrote in message
news:42f33933$0$25201$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> Anyone had a go at one of these yet?
>
> I'm testing one for a mate who's thinking of stocking them in his shop.
> It's a mixed bag so far. It's no Topfield, but then again it's at a lower
> price point.
>
> Pros:
> Twin tuner
> 120 gig hard drive
> 2 scarts
> Extra set of composite and L+R outputs
> Programmable time on f-skip r-skip buttons (10-60 seconds)
> Reasonably sensitive tuners
> Pretty simple interface - easy to become familiar with
> Stunning picture
> USB2 port (haven't had a go at this yet)
> Digital audio out (optical)
> RF Modulator
>
> Cons:
> Only 1 scart offers all outputs (2nd only has composite & s-video & L+R)
> Only 1 tuner has timer ability (2nd can be time-shifted while 1st is
> recording with a capture option at the end)
> Will only change channel after the info banner is off the screen (slows
> down surfing) - banner time can be reduced to 1 second or turned off
> completely
> Noisy hard drive (especially when recording & time-shifting, but in
> general it's pretty loud)
> Manual is pretty light on (hey, aren't they all?)
> Sound dropped out once on time-shift while recording on other tuner
> IMHO the worst oversight - during playback, you can't just slide the
> cursor to any given point.You need to ff or f-skip
>
> I've little doubt that it comes from the same factory as my "un"faithful
> Strong SRT-5290 - the remote buttons, case & rear of unit are pretty
> similar. Given that, the playback options (or lack of) are a bit
> surprising. The Strong can slide the cursor & the number keys also
> represent percentages of the recorded program (so you can jump to 50% of
> the way through the program by pressing the 5 key).
>
> Overall, I think the main annoyances can be sorted out with software
> upgrades (banner channel change delay & playback cursor) & a quieter hard
> drive. If so, it would be a pretty nice unit. As stated, it's no Topfield,
> but I don't think it's trying to be. I'm not kidding about picture
> quality, it really is stunning. Probably the best I've seen from an SD
> box. It's just so sharp. I A/B/C/D'd it with 3 other units (a Teac 400,
> Foxtel DS420 & the Strong) & it was like watching 3 SD signals & an HD
> one.
>
> If you have any questions, I'll try & answer them over the weekend (before
> I have to give it back).
>
> Justin
>
>

[Ext User(Justin)]

Hi Gary,

Just replied to your message!

I'm not convinced about this unit yet. I'll post a final "would I or
wouldn't I" on Sunday. The sound has dropped out a few times while watching
the cricket & the footy tonight, so I'm beginning to have doubts.

Justin

"Gary Slater" <gka.-pls remove.-@bigpond.com> wrote in message
news:6gIIe.72478$oJ.32671@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Hi Justin,
>
> I have just posted the message after yours stating some problems with a
> Strong SRT5390.
>
> Are these similar symptoms as your "un-faithful" Strong PVR?
>
> Any comments would be appreciated!
>
> Would you consider an upgrade to the nextwave box you mention? if so, any
> idea on price for one of those?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Gary....
>
> To reply direct remove the "dots" and whats between! Cheers...
>
>
> "Justin" <justin.nospam@spamfree.logicalfusion.com.au> wrote in message
> news:42f33933$0$25201$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
>> Anyone had a go at one of these yet?
>>
>> I'm testing one for a mate who's thinking of stocking them in his shop.
>> It's a mixed bag so far. It's no Topfield, but then again it's at a lower
>> price point.
>>
>> Pros:
>> Twin tuner
>> 120 gig hard drive
>> 2 scarts
>> Extra set of composite and L+R outputs
>> Programmable time on f-skip r-skip buttons (10-60 seconds)
>> Reasonably sensitive tuners
>> Pretty simple interface - easy to become familiar with
>> Stunning picture
>> USB2 port (haven't had a go at this yet)
>> Digital audio out (optical)
>> RF Modulator
>>
>> Cons:
>> Only 1 scart offers all outputs (2nd only has composite & s-video & L+R)
>> Only 1 tuner has timer ability (2nd can be time-shifted while 1st is
>> recording with a capture option at the end)
>> Will only change channel after the info banner is off the screen (slows
>> down surfing) - banner time can be reduced to 1 second or turned off
>> completely
>> Noisy hard drive (especially when recording & time-shifting, but in
>> general it's pretty loud)
>> Manual is pretty light on (hey, aren't they all?)
>> Sound dropped out once on time-shift while recording on other tuner
>> IMHO the worst oversight - during playback, you can't just slide the
>> cursor to any given point.You need to ff or f-skip
>>
>> I've little doubt that it comes from the same factory as my "un"faithful
>> Strong SRT-5290 - the remote buttons, case & rear of unit are pretty
>> similar. Given that, the playback options (or lack of) are a bit
>> surprising. The Strong can slide the cursor & the number keys also
>> represent percentages of the recorded program (so you can jump to 50% of
>> the way through the program by pressing the 5 key).
>>
>> Overall, I think the main annoyances can be sorted out with software
>> upgrades (banner channel change delay & playback cursor) & a quieter hard
>> drive. If so, it would be a pretty nice unit. As stated, it's no
>> Topfield, but I don't think it's trying to be. I'm not kidding about
>> picture quality, it really is stunning. Probably the best I've seen from
>> an SD box. It's just so sharp. I A/B/C/D'd it with 3 other units (a Teac
>> 400, Foxtel DS420 & the Strong) & it was like watching 3 SD signals & an
>> HD one.
>>
>> If you have any questions, I'll try & answer them over the weekend
>> (before I have to give it back).
>>
>> Justin
>>
>>
>
>

[Ext User(Justin)]

Well, I can't recommend this unit.

It's a real shame as the picture is excellent, but it's just not up to the
job.

I think the main problem is the hard drive (not sure what it is - I might
have a look before it goes back). It's noisy as all hell & just can't cope.
When timeshifting alone, it tends to be OK, but if you timeshift while
recording from the other tuner, it becomes a real lottery - jerky frames,
sound drop outs, even a classic SRT-5290 style crash (except instead of the
flashing antenna, it was a low or bad signal message). It has been better
since I did a factory reset (which curiously appears in the menus as
"initialize STB") & full rescan, but there was still jerkiness & dropped
frames.

If a better hard drive sorted out the above, they'd still need to fix the
cursor issue outlined earlier before it was a viable option. The info banner
stopping you changing channels is very annoying too. The timer recording
seemed to be reliable, but longer term testing would be required before I'd
be fully convinced.

If you're in the market for a dual tuner PVR for around $600, wait a while &
save up the extra (approx.) $200 & buy yourself a Topfield. Considering the
pace of advances in technology, it really is amazing that in nearly 2 years
there hasn't been a product that surpasses (let alone matches) the PVR5000t.

Justin