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| Freeview+ |
Freeview+, as well as Freeview, are consumer brands created in the UK by the DTG Group to "raise consumer awareness and promote sales" of Freeview-capable digital video recorders. Players which meet specified quality and functionality criteria are permitted to carry the Freeview+ logo, and benefit from joint marketing and consumer confidence.
Freeview do not manufacture the units, but they have awarded the Freeview+ label to manufacturers that are able to meet a series of specifications that have been drawn up by the UK’s Digital TV Group.
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The Freeview+ DVR combines a traditional DVB-T receiver with internal storage, giving viewers the ability to pause, record and rewind their digital TV.
Like any standard Freeview receiver, Freeview+ offers up to 48 free-to-air digital TV channels and 24 digital radio stations.
The number of channels you'll actually receive still depends on where you live in the UK. That said, the Digital Switchover process is now well underway and continues to boost digital coverage nationwide. |
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| Freeview+ Specification |
Recording programs is really easy – most devices have an EPG (elctronic programme guide) which allows you to select the programme you want to record from a tv guide on your screen. The latest improvements to Freeview + are the additions of Series Link and Accurate Recording.
If for example you want to record every episode of a programme, schedule one episode to record from the EPG and then choose the series link feature. Freeview+ will then record every time it shows, irrespective of day and time it is showing. It even knows when not to record repeats.
Accurate Recording then takes this a step further and automatically adjusts the timings to ensure you dont miss the start or end of your desired recording. This is particularly usefulwhen a programme scheduled to start at 8.00pm starts a few minutes early, at 7.57pm for example. Freeview + picks this information up from the Now & Next information and starts recording early.
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| It is also useful if the program you are recording follows a live sports event – these often over-run their allotted time. Again, your Freeview Recorder should be alerted to this, and adjust both the start and end times accordingly. |
| The vast majority of Freeview Recorders have twin tuners (some even have 3) which means you can record one channel and watch another, or simultaneously record 2 different channels and watch a program that has been previously recorded. Or, if you also have TV with built-in Freeview, record 2 different channels on your Freeview Recorder and watch a 3rd channel on your TV. These features are great when kids and adults clash over who wants to watch what, or when you want to watch 2 programs that overlap each other. |
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| Storage on Freeview+ |
A Freeview Recorder stores everything digitally, usually on a hard disk drive or recordable DVD.
Freeview+ receivers with a hard drive are able to store hours and hours of programmes, capacity dictated by the size of the drive. However, it is not always possible to directly compare devices by the size of the drive, each device uses compression technology to make the most of the space available. So some devices that use high-compression may be able to store more hours of television that a device that uses lower compression rates but has the same size hard drive. That said, you need to consider that the higher compression used, the lower quality the playback will be. For most people this will not be an issue, and some devices even let you choose what compression level you wish to record at, allowing up to 8 hours recording on one DVD.
Freeview PVRs all have their own way of showing you what is stored, usually in the form of an on-screen list of recorded progammes.
Because the content is stored digitally, there is no rewinding and forwarding to the right place. Usually, playback starts instantly, or within a couple of seconds at the very least.
Some devices allow you to start watching where you last left-off (useful for longer programmes where you watch one half one night, and the rest the following day) or alternatively to start watching after a certain number of minutes, skipping the first x minutes of the programme.
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| You can keep programmes for as long as you want, or at least until you run out of storage space. For most people this is not an issue as most Freeview+ PVRs will store hundreds of hours of programming. When you need to make more space, you simply use the same on-screen library to select the episodes (or series) you no longer need. It is also possible to setup your device so that it automatically records over the oldest programs when it runs out, you can set programmes to '‘keep’ if you would like to keep them. |
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| Freeview+ Equipment |
| Freeview Hard Drive Recorder |
| Freeview Hard Drive Recorder, a hard drive recorder will record Freeview channels using a hard disk drive to store the recordings. What it means is that any recordings you make stay on that machine and can not be taken and played on another device. |
| Freeview DVD Recorder |
| Freeview DVD Recorder, instead of using a hard drive to store the recordings, these devices record programmes on to recordable DVDs. They have their pros and cons – for example you need to make sure you put a DVD in the machine before it will record, and it must have space on the DVD (similar to a VHS video recorder) although you dont need to worry about rewinding or forwarding to the right place – the machine does this for you. In addition, you will need to buy some recordable DVDs to use with it. The upside is that once recorded, you can play the recordings on any DVD player that will play recordable DVDs. |
| Freeview DVD/HD recorder |
| Freeview DVD/HD recorder, combines both of the above. Generally will record the Freeview channels on to the harddrive and then adds the ability to transfer recordings on to a DVD if you want to archive recorded material. |
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