Philips HDT Freeview+ HD Recorder
Best Price: Philips HDT8520 Freeview+ HD Recorder
Philips HDT8520 Freeview HD Recorder Review
While you may not have seen many Philips branded Freeview devices in the past, you would be wrong to assume that this is a ‘first-effort’. This device is actually designed and manufactured by Pace – the electronics giant that provide many of the Sky+ devices.
This could well be the very first Freeview+ HD device to hit the UK retailers and is now available to buy. This means you can receive High Definition Freeview channels as well as the standard definition channels used by millions of UK viewers over the last few years.
This model packs a 500Gb hard drive – one of the larger drives amongst the new Freeview+ HD recorders, with enough storage space to hold 125 hours of high definition recordings (from the likes of BBC HD and ITV HD) or probably 2 or 3 times that in recordings from the other standard definition Freeview channels that can also be recorded from this model. What is more likely is that you will find you record a combination of both SD and HD, so you will get somewhere around the 200 hour mark for capacity.
The integrated twin DVB-T2 tuners means you can record two different Freeview HD channels at the same time (or SD Freeview channels for that matter). You get the usual 8-day EPG, ability to record & rewind live TV, chase play, Series Link etc etc.
Power consumption is very good considering it is a recording model. In standby, less than 0.4 Watts power is used. This consumption increases to 12 Watts in standby and 16 Watts in full use mode. It isn’t clear what Philips define as Active Standby, however you could assume this is when a programme is being recorded but the TV is not on. Added to this, the HDT8520 has an automatic power saving feature which puts the unit in to Standby mode after it has been inactive (i.e. no channel changes or remote-control inputs) for 3 hours.
Philips HDT8520 Freeview+ HD Recorder Specifications & Features
- Twin Freeview HD (DVB-T2) tuners for simultaneous recording of 2 different SD or HD channels
- 5000Gb hard drive - enough for 125 hours of Freeview HD recorded programs
- 8-day on-screen EPG
- Series Link, Chase Play, Record & Rewind Live TV
- Remote control including batteries
- HDMI cable
- RF cable (for aerial loop through to television)
- Sockets:
- Aerial in
- Aerial out (RF loop through)
- Optical S/PDIF digital audio output
- USB 2.0 connector
- RJ45 ethernet port
- Scart socket for connecting to non-HD ready TVs
- Digital co-axial audio out
- Left/right analogue co-axial audio outputs
- HDMI out (for connection to HD TV)
Philips HDT8520 Freeview+ HD Recorder Quick Start Guide & User Manual
If you would like to know more about the features of this Freeview+ HD recorder before buying, the quick start guide and full user manual are available to download here:-
- Quick Start Guide – Philips DHT8520 Freeview+ HD Recorder
- Full User Manual – Philips HDT8520 Freeview + HD Recorder
Philips HDT8520 Freeview HD Recorder Price Comparison & Stockists
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I bought one of these in June 2010, initially it seemed to be OK, but soon problems became apparent.
After software updates over the air last October and again in December it is still giving problems. Even after it has been professionally checked, had the disk wiped, and a factory rest done. Although some of the original faults have been fixed by the software updates, now it occasionally won’t come out of standby and therefore won’t do scheduled recordings. As that’s the main reason for buying it I’ve arranged a refund from the supplier and will buy a different Freeview HD recorder.
Viewing anything recorded on an HD channel is like watching a robotic film. It is very jerky after about 2 minutes so you need to pause & play continually. I have had to resort to recording in SD instead.
I am taking mine back for a refund.