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Thomson Top Up TV - 250Gb Freeview Twin Tuner Digital TV Recorder | 
 enlarge | Brand: Thomson
Category: CE
Buy New: £116.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 10703
Media: Electronics
Shipping Weight (lbs): 7.8
Dimensions (in): 17 x 10.8 x 5.1
MPN: TUTV+ DTI6300-25
Model: TUTV+ DTI6300-25
EAN: 3244480299548
ASIN: B0014DPECQ
Release Date: February 19, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 VERY NOISY! Sort this out and a good DTR July 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having owned an Inverto PVR for about a year (which has been ultra-reliable), I looked around for a newer model with freeview 'Playback' compatibility to no avail. I also wanted a model with the Invertos 14-day EPG. Having searched the net, it seems that the only available model is the Thomson Top-up TV box. I bought one and like most buyers found the set-up extremely easy. Picture quality (on a 32" widescreen CRT) is very good-not as good as the Inverto though. The EPG and other menus are first class. Setting recordings is very easy and the series-link function works well. Overall impressions of the box therefore is good. HOWEVER!, the hard-disc and/or cooling fan is constant, even on stand-by and is very noticeable. The TV volume has to be turned up to ridiculous levels to drown out the noise. This shouldn't be the case. When watching films with sections of very quiet tense scenes, the noise is unbearable. This problem has been noted before and is ruining what is basically a very good piece of equipment. Thomson, take note! My box has been returned and I am back to my Inverto and still searching. Another point worth mentioning is that if you ring up Topup Tv for your first months free trial, you have to give your bank details. At the end of the free months trial Topup Tv then take TWO months payment from your account. When I queried this, they said that if I ever cancel the service, I will get a refund of one month. This effectively means that you pay for the 'free' month which is then refunded if you ever cancel. However, if you never cancel, then the 'free' month is paid for! An absolute con-Beware!
DO NOT BUY THIS! July 4, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Without a doubt possibly the biggest piece of technological crap I've ever owned. True, it's very simple to set up. The good points end there. The unit constantly freezes, meaning you have to unplug it and wait for it to boot up again. When it freezes, any planned recordings are missed. If the recordings were part of a 'series link', then no other episodes will be recorded (unless you set it to do so again). I saw a reviewer comment on how quiet it was. My only thought is that they live next to a heavily industrial area or are completely deaf, because this actually keeps me awake at night. It makes a constant whirring sound that would grate on you anyway, but coupled with how utterly useless this product is, it merely increses my rage! The amount of channels is also very poor - my 15 unit picked up more (no Film4 is a massive ommission). I live in Cumbria, which is already nearly completely digital, so there are no issues with living in a poor reception area. I have a mains powered booster ariel. There are no problems at any other level apart from with this total pile of rubbish. I would give it 0 stars if I could. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
 STAR BUY - GREAT ITEM July 3, 2008
really happy with this product, looks stylish, very quiet, easy to use - everything you need.
Awful May 23, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
I was extremely disappointed with this item. Firstly the picture quality was appalling on a 32" flat screen TV. Comparing it to the TV's own built-in digital receiver it was clear to see that the box was causing all sorts of artefacts, still areas in the picture due to poor compression, and garish colours.
Because the TV and my Mac both produce fantastic pictures from the same signal, there's obviously a problem with the box.
Secondly the hard drive seems to be spinning a lot, as does the fan (I'm assuming that's what the noise is). The volume is so high I had to turn up my TV to neighbour-annoying levels.
The interface is not very good - I tried to set some recordings but for some reason series were not recognised meaning I had to go through several repeated operations to record episodes. The process for adding a recording is convoluted too.
Finally the remote control is difficult to use. It's made of a very smooth plastic which slips out of your hand unless you use your other hand to steady it, the buttons are tiny (try pressing pause on this!) and it feels very cheap.
The Top-Up TV trial can only be initiated if you ring a call centre and give your bank details - no online activation, despite what it says in the booklet.
So all in all, not good. This is going straight back, I'm afraid.
Excellent product April 22, 2008
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
This was amazingly easy to set up! I just plugged in all the cables and turned it on and, after going through all the information screens, it was working. I didn't want the Top-Up TV option, so I followed the instructions on one of the included sheets which explained how to free up space on the disk which would otherwise be used up by this feature - increasing the capacity to around 120 hours.
The process of recording programmes is very simple - just choose it from the guide and press the record button. The series link option allows you to automatically record every episode and the picture quality and sound are both excellent (DVD quality).
I have only two small complaints: the box itself - and the control buttons in particular - is very flimsy (although this isn't that important because you never need to touch the box once you've configured it); and, the hard disk spins continuously making a small amount of noise, which seems completely unnecessary.
Overall, I'm very impressed.
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