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Sony RDR-HXD890 Freeview+ 160GB Hard Disc Drive DVD Recorder - Silver
Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
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Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Sony RDR-HDX890 160GB
(5 out of 5) by Jas on Feb 9, 2009 (Manchester)Great product. Sound and picture quality are superb, especially via HDMI.
Have no hesitation in recommending this product.
Have no hesitation in recommending this product.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Great machine - highly recommended
(5 out of 5) by Bagpiper on Feb 9, 2009 (UK)I've had my Sony RDR HXD890 48 hours and I'm really impressed with it so far.
Just over 2 weeks ago I purchased a Philips DVD/HDD. I was really disappointed with it, particularly as I couldn't get the TV Guide+ to work. I spent a week or so trying and even had an engineer come out to try and resolve the problem. No joy. I returned the Philips machine to the seller and was offered the option of choosing a replacement from another manufacturer. Having read a number of very positive user and media reviews of the Sony RDR HXD890 I decided to spend a bit more money and go for it. I'm glad I did.
The TV Guide+ mystery is solved. There's a big yellow instruction sheet taped to the top of the Sony machine ... it's the first thing you see when you open the box. This sheet explains that if you're using only Freeview (as I am) you should use the alternative digital Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) NOT the TV Guide+. As an experiment I set the machine up for TV Guide+ anyway, just to see if it worked on the Sony. 24 hours later, no TV Guide+ info had downloaded. I immediately reset to digital EPG (a straightforward process using the "Setup" menu) and the TV listings appeared immediately. Wow! Happily recorded 2 programmes using the digital EPG and all seems well so far.
The Sony comes across as a quality piece of kit. Although the instruction book is a little daunting at first (aren't they always?) I'm not a techie and set-up is pretty straightforward, particularly as there are helpful on-screen prompts. Ok, it's more expensive than some, but I'd rather pay a little bit more than compromise, as I would have been doing if I'd stuck with the Philips ... particularly without any EPG!
Highly recommended.
Just over 2 weeks ago I purchased a Philips DVD/HDD. I was really disappointed with it, particularly as I couldn't get the TV Guide+ to work. I spent a week or so trying and even had an engineer come out to try and resolve the problem. No joy. I returned the Philips machine to the seller and was offered the option of choosing a replacement from another manufacturer. Having read a number of very positive user and media reviews of the Sony RDR HXD890 I decided to spend a bit more money and go for it. I'm glad I did.
The TV Guide+ mystery is solved. There's a big yellow instruction sheet taped to the top of the Sony machine ... it's the first thing you see when you open the box. This sheet explains that if you're using only Freeview (as I am) you should use the alternative digital Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) NOT the TV Guide+. As an experiment I set the machine up for TV Guide+ anyway, just to see if it worked on the Sony. 24 hours later, no TV Guide+ info had downloaded. I immediately reset to digital EPG (a straightforward process using the "Setup" menu) and the TV listings appeared immediately. Wow! Happily recorded 2 programmes using the digital EPG and all seems well so far.
The Sony comes across as a quality piece of kit. Although the instruction book is a little daunting at first (aren't they always?) I'm not a techie and set-up is pretty straightforward, particularly as there are helpful on-screen prompts. Ok, it's more expensive than some, but I'd rather pay a little bit more than compromise, as I would have been doing if I'd stuck with the Philips ... particularly without any EPG!
Highly recommended.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Sony HDD/DVD recorder
(5 out of 5) by Mr. J. D. Turner on Feb 1, 2009 (UK)Great product!
Easy to use and stylish. Very quiet running and excellent quality recording to HDD! Easy to back up to DVD.
Easy to use and stylish. Very quiet running and excellent quality recording to HDD! Easy to back up to DVD.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Yvonne
(5 out of 5) by Mrs. Yvonne Cole on Feb 18, 2009 (England - Gloucestershire)I ordered this product for my husband, he thinks it is marvellous, it is easy to use and very quick. A very nice looking product as well.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Good in most areas...
(4 out of 5) by T. Jones on Feb 7, 2009 (UK)It's a good product, feeling well made in that 'Sony' way. Freeview performance is excellent, with no quirky 'freezes' as with our Philips Freeview STB. Once you've worked out how to set it up, it works very well indeed. However, it took my daughter and I a couple of days to do this; the instruction manual is comprehensive, but quite fragmented and confusing. And now we realise that it does a daily 'update' in the middle of the night. Don't install one of these in your bedroom, unless you want to be woken by whirring machinery every night!