Toshiba HDR5010KB 500GB Freeview+ HD Digital TV Recorder

Reviews for these products tend to be in comparison to other freeview/tv recorders, but unfortunately I do not have much experience with other freeview boxes! The last one I owned was about 6 or 7 years ago so would probably not compare favourably with probably any newer, modern models. However, I do have a subscription to Sky HD; and having frequently come close to filling up the memory on the Sky HD box, I had been thinking about getting an extra tv recorder for a while, so finding this was ideal for me.

I also thought it would be a little different for people to read how a freeview HD box like this compares to a subscription service - specifically Sky HD. So first of all, I'll start with a few pro's you get from the Toshiba Freeview+ HD recorder that you don't get with Sky HD, I'll then go on to state what you might miss out on, and finally what other pro's you get from the Toshiba. I won't go into specs of the machines etc as you can find those on the amazon product details/sky website, so this is purely a "personalised" review of my experiences with the two products.

Pro's of the Toshiba over Sky HD:

* PIP (Picture in Picture) - A nifty little feature that you don't have on Sky. Whilst watching one channel, you can have a little box appear on the screen which shows another live broadcast from a different channel. At the push of a button, you can then switch between the two channels effortlessly! I find this is ideal for watching things such as the football when two matches are being shown simultaneously on separate channels. When a goal is scored in one game, just press the PIP button and you can go live to that channel and still keep an eye on the previous game in the corner of the screen! You can also move the picture box to any corner of the screen easily. A great feature that works really well.

* Recordings clash - On both the Toshiba and Sky HD, you can only record two programmes at the same time. However, the Toshiba will scan alternative channels/times to suggest recording a programme at another time if the timings of any programmes on your planner are set to clash. Sky has a habit of just "part recording" programmes or just not recording them at all if there is a clash.

* USB Port - There is a USB port on the front of the Toshiba which allows for easy accessibility when wanting to view pictures and other media. As far as I'm aware, there is no function for this on the Sky HD box at all! In fact, there is even an extra USB port at the back of the Toshiba.

* Display screen - On the front of the box there is also a digital display which tells you what channel you're watching and even the name of the programme itself scrolls across the display! Very snazzy! The front of the Sky HD box is very boring in comparison.

* HDMI ports - If your tv doesn't have many HDMI slots, this function would be very handy. You can plug up to 3 extra devices into the machine and choose which to view very easily as each port has its own button on the controller, saving you from having to tirelessly scroll through which input you want to view.

There are other functions too that I haven't actually tried yet, such as creating a playlist of your recorded programmes, which I can imagine being very useful in the future. Also, if you go to record a programme on, say, BBC1, if the programme is also available in HD, a little message will appear on screen that tells you this and at the touch of a button you can record the HD version instead. It is a very intuitive machine.

Now, onto the con's. And I have to admit, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel slightly here.

* Channels - As with my old freeview box, there still doesn't seem to be a great range of channels available. That's not necessarily a criticism of the box itself, but it is something that you wouldn't get with a subscription to a major provider. It's also something that could easily change in future and isn't always important to everybody.

* Speed - The Toshiba takes a little while to start up, and "channel surfing" can be quite frustrating as it doesn't glide through the channels very quickly at all. However, using the handy Guide will render this habit pointless as it is simple to use. Even more so if you organise the channels into the order of your choice (which you can't do with Sky!)

The other great pro's of this machine are that it's very easy to navigate/use, it's lightweight, it looks slick and makes virtually no noise at all. The picture and sound quality seem to me to be fine and it has a very large hard drive so can record a LOT of TV! The set up was very simple; if I think back to my last freeview box, I had to go through about 2 or 3 different menu's to tune the channels. This was a case of switching the machine on and pressing "ok" and it does all that for you!

The functionality of the Toshiba is probably its main asset over a subscription to something like Sky HD. In fact, I never knew how basic my Sky box was in comparison to other products on the market. I'm not sure I'm quite ready to give up my subscription just yet, however! But the Toshiba is a very welcome addition to the TV stand in the front room and will most likely stay there.

Decided to take the plunge and buy the Toshiba HDR501KB 500GB Freeview+HD Digital TV PVR unit as the price was right and the fact that I have an excellent 42 inch Toshiba Regza LCD HDTV and my existing, excellent Humax PVR isn't HD. As usual, Amazon delivered in record time although only used standard free delivery. Unit set up ok found all the channels and the picture & sound are very good on HD & non HD. I don't think that the controls are as easy to use as the Humax and some buttons on the remote are very small and sometimes require pressing twice. However it is a bonus that it also controls my Toshiba TV so I have one less remote! The Toshiba PVR has frozen on me a few times which requires removal of the power supply to reset. I seem to recall that my Humax often did this until a firmware update resolved it. Also, when forwarding a program, more than a few times, it has jumped to the end. Very annoying! I miss some of the functions of the Humax such as the slow motion forward/back, the ability to select different forward/back times. I don't like the look and functionality of the channel guide as much as the Humax and the PIP is only 1 box where the Humax splits into 2, albeit on a separate screen. One annoying feature of the Toshiba is the time it takes to start from switch on and the time lag between changing channels. However, on the plus side, the Toshiba is quieter than the Humax and a very useful function is it's ability to offer alternative channels when recording clashes occur. I assume that the larger 500GB drive is required to handle the increased data of HD TV, Therefore, as at the moment there are only a few HD channels, it should provide more non HD program recording. All in all I consider it a good buy and definitely recommend.

Hi folks,
I want to keep this short and simple. I can validate much of the critic given by several of the other reviewers. That said, I've only had the unit a few days, and I haven't much free time to watch, so I haven't had a chance to assess the quality of the HD channels.
What I can say is that the unit was very easy to set up. It self-boots very well, tho it takes a while to find the channels on the first scan. The guide screen I have found to be excellent. I was entirely happy with this function on previous recorders, but I do think that this guide screen is very easy on the eye and pleasant to work with. Nice large print that fills up the screen. You can hardly see the channel running in the background while you are doing this ...but you can hear it. This is fine for me. I love the fact that you can select a program to record (be it a whole series or an individual program), but after selecting, you are not forced back to the start of the process, so I can continue on thru the same week exactly where I left off in my search. That's brilliant for setting up recordings at the far end of the advanced schedual. I haven't had this function before, and it's a big deal for me.
The unit is stylishly understated and whisper quiet. So. First impressions: very pleased.

Update: A few weeks on and no glitches. Delighted with it's performance.