320GB HD DVD Recorder in Lidl Thursday 31st

patto_chan

Next Thursday 31st.

http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20070531.p.DVDRecorder

Looks good. I got a 160GB Targa one from Lidl 18 months ago and it's been perfect.
Does anyone have any information about this particular recorder?

Sum1

Found this basic datasheet, looks the same just silver in the picture and has 320gb hard drive like the one on Lidl site.

http://www.targa.co.uk/index.jsp?SID=0&NAV=236&DOC=&PAGE=2032&PCAT=3&PROD=372&PTUBE=14&PARAMS=undefined&PARAMS2=undefined&SPCAREA=undefined

godtabh

saw it my self. will have to get up early for that

MisterAnarchy

Overpriced .

aidan_dunne

MisterAnarchy wrote:

Overpriced .

You think so? Because I've seen a lot of other similar machines around but with half the hard-drive capacity of this one and nowhere near as many features (especially a HDMI socket) for close enough to this price still.

Like patto_chan, I bought a previous 160GB model 18 months ago too and it's been almost flawless for me as well. That was going for €300 at the time and, as I said, I still see a lot of similar machines to that older model still being advertised for in-or-around the same price. This new one is double the capacity and also has a HDMI output. Personally, if I didn't have the previous model already I'd be rushing down to Lidl to get this new one first thing next Thursday for sure!

godtabh

MisterAnarchy wrote:

Overpriced .

wouldnt have thought so when you compare it to the likes of this

grahamo

Would this work in the same way as a sky+ box.? will it connect to my standard sky digibox? If so I'd be interested.

godtabh

grahamo wrote:

Would this work in the same way as a sky+ box.? will it connect to my standard sky digibox? If so I'd be interested.

Dont have either but i think it would

The_B_Man

possibly actually. once u can output the sky boz into this box, then u shud be good to go. then output from this box into ur telly. all the decryption would be done in the sky box first. only thing is that the menu for loadin them might not be as fancy as the sky one, but meh!

MisterAnarchy

Is there an EPG guide ,like Guide Plus + ?

qwertz

VPS, ShowView (in UK and Ireland VIDEOPlus/PDC), Timer programming, TimeShift (HDD only), Simultaneous recording and play (HDD only), copy funktions from MP3, JPEG and movie files without copy protection from CD/DVD to HDD or back.

MisterAnarchy

qwertz wrote:

VPS, ShowView (in UK and Ireland VIDEOPlus/PDC), Timer programming, TimeShift (HDD only), Simultaneous recording and play (HDD only), copy funktions from MP3, JPEG and movie files without copy protection from CD/DVD to HDD or back.

No Guide + so.
The other timer fns are pretty standard .

MarkR

MisterAnarchy - Can you suggest a better value one if this one is overpriced?

godtabh

MarkR wrote:

MisterAnarchy - Can you suggest a better value one if this one is overpriced?

I dont think he can.

I tried looking and what I posted seems to be standard. And that was on special

positivenote

hi folkes,
i'm in the market for something like this and am a tad ignorant about what it can actually do... what im looking for is a dvd/hdd player with the hdmi and the capability of playing back avi files that i have downloaded from the web. Does this have the capability to do this? and will it along for copying of what you have recorded onto dvds?
Thanks a bunch

godtabh

positivenote wrote:

hi folkes,
i'm in the market for something like this and am a tad ignorant about what it can actually do... what im looking for is a dvd/hdd player with the hdmi and the capability of playing back avi files that i have downloaded from the web. Does this have the capability to do this? and will it along for copying of what you have recorded onto dvds?
Thanks a bunch

Yeah it will do all that

cgarvey

I got the Targa one before Christmas from Lidl (smaller capacity HDD). It died (no power up) some 3 days later, with little or no usage, so once bitten twice shy for me. It was a little on the noisy side (but was on an open stand, so might be fine in a cab, or behind glass), UI was OK for a cheapo.. wasn't offering much feedback (like an acurate progressbar) when doing stuff, but it was fine. Did everything I asked it to do. Noise was my biggest gripe, UI being second and neither would be a deal-breaker for me (and I'm fussy). However the dying after a few days is!

positivenote

having just read your post i think i might give it a miss so... has anyone any other ecomendations, pref decent name, for a machine that will allow me to do what this one will....
Thanks again

Darthrodney

I got the unit from LIDL around x-mas ... i LOVE it ... i'd recommend it to anyone ... worked perfectly for me ... it does exactly what is says on the tin folks ...

godtabh

cgarvey wrote:

I got the Targa one before Christmas from Lidl (smaller capacity HDD). It died (no power up) some 3 days later, with little or no usage, so once bitten twice shy for me. It was a little on the noisy side (but was on an open stand, so might be fine in a cab, or behind glass), UI was OK for a cheapo.. wasn't offering much feedback (like an acurate progressbar) when doing stuff, but it was fine. Did everything I asked it to do. Noise was my biggest gripe, UI being second and neither would be a deal-breaker for me (and I'm fussy). However the dying after a few days is!

Why not get a replacement?

The odd one will die. You could have been unlucky

aidan_dunne

kearnsr wrote:

Why not get a replacement?

The odd one will die. You could have been unlucky

I agree. As I said in my previous post, I've had one of these (Lidl/Targa models) now for almost 18 months and, apart from just one niggling problem with splitting ads on a recording once, it's been flawless for me. As kearnsr said, cgarvey, you were probably just unlucky and ended up with perhaps the only duff one in the bunch at that time which is something that's bound to happen with any range of electronic equipment from time to time.

Based on my own experience with the previous model of these Targa machines, I wouldn't have any problem recommending the new one that's going on sale next week to anyone.

KStaford

Lidl are great to refund you your cash. They never argue. They either replace or refund immediately upon presentation of a faulty unit and receipt. If any of you do buy this unit, keep the receipt for as long as you can.

Skyuser

Dont get HD (High Definition) and HDD (Hard Drive) confused.

aidan_dunne

Skyuser wrote:

Dont get HD (High Definition) and HDD (Hard Drive) confused.

Don't worry, I don't think any of us here are getting confused.

Whilst this new model has a HDMI socket, I think we all know it's not a HD (High Definition) player, i.e. a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player. I presume that, seeing as it has a HDMI socket, it probably has upscaling built in but, as I said, it's not a fully-fledged Hi-Def player.

Though, I can see where you're coming from alright, Skyuser. Whilst I'm sure everybody here knows that (seeing as Boardsies are all so techie-minded! ), there probably will be less technically-minded people out there in the general populous who'll see this advertised and think it's a HD-DVD player as well. Boy are they gonna be in for a shock if they buy this thinking that! :rolleyes:

horseflesh

Is it multi-region out of the box?

horseflesh

Also, does anyone know (even theoretically) how this would compare to my almost NINE year old Sony DVP-S725P??

murphaph

I've seen the odd standard DVD player returned faulty (though only a handful given the quantities sold) but never have I seen a recorder unit brought back faulty. You won't get any agro from us if you do bring it back faulty, especially with your receipt. Most store managers are flexible and will refund a faulty unit with receipt for a long long time, typically a year or more. After that they may tell you to go to the manufacturer to claim your warranty. I can tell you these recorders will sell out in my store in an hour or less. If you want one, get to the store before it opens.

dahamsta

Does Lidl do the same thing as Aldi does with PCs, taking orders for another batch? When does Lidl open?

cgarvey

Lidl don't do replacements. They do swaps (if there's another one in stock), but they don't replace items, just refund you. I got a refund no questions asked. I presume I was unlucky, but it's a point worth bearing.

dahamsta

What's the difference between a replacement and a swap cg?

Hornet

dahamsta wrote:

What's the difference between a replacement and a swap cg?

I guess cg means that when they are gone in the shop, Lidl won't replace a faulty one with a new one by ordering it in for you. So: Swap with another one still available in the shop. Replacement: Get a new one for you from "somewhere" and then do a swap ;-).

If that was the intended meaning, he is right, BUT keep in mind that Lidl offers a 3 year warranty on these DVD Recorders. So even if the local shop doesn't carry out the replacement you will get your unit repaired or replaced through the warranty. (Only downside: You might have to send it somewhere within Ireland and it could take a little while until you get the unit back.)

--Hornet

dahamsta

Ah right, ta.

Does anyone have an answer to my question above, about batch orders?

adam

Hornet

dahamsta wrote:

Ah right, ta.

Does anyone have an answer to my question above, about batch orders?

adam

Lild does usually NOT offer the option of ordering once the shop supply is gone! So you have to be there early. Yawn. The shops open now from 8am. :-/

Here you can double check for your local shop: http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.service.s.sts.index

by the way: Be aware that Aldi has for recent offers not offered the ordering option either! I had assumed they always offer that at least for PCs but missed out on a Laptop offer, because the option was NOT there and they only had 10 per shop.

--Hornet

DublinWriter

Looks good, I was thinking about upgrading my beloved KISS box.

But does the Targa have an ethernet port?

Hornet

DublinWriter wrote:

Looks good, I was thinking about upgrading my beloved KISS box.

But does the Targa have an ethernet port?

DEFINITELY no Ethernet port!

And according to the leaflet no Firewire or USB port either (just before someone asks ;-) )

--Hornet

horseflesh

positivenote wrote:

and the capability of playing back avi files that i have downloaded from the web. Does this have the capability to do this?

kearnsr wrote:

Yeah it will do all that

Is this easy to do??

godtabh

horseflesh wrote:

Is this easy to do??

Burn it on to a DVD-RW is how I do it (have since got a media HDD so dont do that any more)

Not sure if it has USB (I thought it did but some here posted it didnt) but if it did you could play it off that as well

horseflesh

kearnsr wrote:

Burn it on to a DVD-RW is how I do it (have since got a media HDD so dont do that any more)

Not sure if it has USB (I thought it did but some here posted it didnt) but if it did you could play it off that as well

Yeah, I was hoping to be able to connect my exteral hard drive to the player.
No USB means I can't though I guess

blastman

Hornet wrote:

DEFINITELY no Ethernet port!

And according to the leaflet no Firewire or USB port either (just before someone asks ;-) )

--Hornet

I got the 160GB version about 18 months ago and it has a firewire port. Maybe they removed it though.

Mine has worked brilliantly for all that time. The only quibble I would have is the audio level is a bit low.

ch750536

^^

Just in case you missed that, the above is a big flaw.

I'm out on this one now.

uforia98

Can anyone answer this one:

Is it multi-region out of the box? And if not, is it difficult to make it mutli-region ?

Thanks.

Hornet

uforia98 wrote:

Can anyone answer this one:

Is it multi-region out of the box? And if not, is it difficult to make it mutli-region ?

Thanks.

I expect that it is NOT multi-region out of the box, but I expect it can be "sorted" relatively easily.

Regarding USB or Firewire:

The leaflet does NOT contain any information about ports at the front of the Recorder and the back definitely has neither USB nor Firewire. However, I expect strongly that a Firewire and Composite port IS indeed at the front of the Recorder. NO USB though and I am quite certain about that.

However, keep in mind that for recorders in that price category the Firewire port is usually IN only. You can NOT connect another harddisk to it to play from and you can NOT save anything on the harddisk (the recorder doesn't know what do to with the harddisk, i.e. can't control it). All you can do is connect a video camera and transfer onto the harddisk (or DVD Recorder) by PLAYing from the camera while RECORDing on the recorder.

This assumption is based on experience with another (Aldi) recorder previously and by a large amount of reviews that I read about low priced DVD-HDD recorders. I can't promise that it will be as described for the Targa DRH-5500x, but I would be VERY surprised if my description turned out to be wrong.

--Hornet

Alun

You can download the manual for the DRH-5400x, which as far as I can see is just the same recorder with a 250GB disk instead of the 320GB one, from the Targa website.

According to that, it does have a Firewire connector for transferring stuff from camcorders under the flap on the front panel, but no USB.

ManAboutCouch

I'm interested in one of these, primarily for time-shifting, and pausing live TV. I'll be passing my local Lidl at about 8am tomorrow too..

However I have a couple of basic questions that I'm hoping someone can answer for me, apologies if these are a bit basic, but this particular technology is new to me.

Firstly, would I be correct to presume that this yoke works with NTL Basic Cable, or do I need to upgrade to NTL Digital (which I'm considering, in any case)? If so, I also presume that recording is like on the VCR of old - enter time & channel in advance.

Secondly, and this is the deal-breaker, does this device record subtitles (teletext p888)? My hearing is fairly poor and I rely on the subtitles a lot. I know that some of the Humax HDD recorders offer this capability, but they only seem to work with Freeview. Can anyone who owns one of the 160GB versions of this device confirm that it can do this?

Ta muchly...

Hornet

Hi All,

I bought one this morning. The queue at 7:50 was only about 10 deep. ;-) In the shop they had approx. 15 recorders on the shelf, but later on brought another 20 or so. So there still could be a chance for anyone who is a little later at the races.

My expectation was right: Firewire + Composite + S-Video at the front under a flap. Further analysis reveals that the DVD-HDD Recorder is manufactured by Lite-On and could be the "Lite-on HD-A970GX". It could be the same product or a machine with somewhat reduced features, at the moment I get the impression that it might be the same recorder as the Lite-on one.

http://www.liteonit.eu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=217&Itemid=103

I didn't get a chance to test it, but just had a look at the set-up menus and am impressed. Im comparison to a recent Aldi player, it seems to be significantly more user-friendly.

So, first impression is positive. More later if anybody is interested.

--Hornet

Hornet

And to get rid of the region code follow the instructions here:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/lite-on-hd-a970gx/7725

I tried it and it works.

--Hornet

The tax man

Picked one up in Rathfarnham this morning around 9.30. They had loads(30+) of them left in silver. I got the last black one.:D

murphaph

App 15 units left in Grange Road, Rathfarnham. Pottery Road is sold out. Much bigger allocations than in the past, which sometimes saw people let down.

mobby

Like most Lidl/Aldi Stuff over hyped and overpriced. That’s just my opinion

Hornet

mobby wrote:

Like most Lidl/Aldi Stuff over hyped and overpriced. That’s just my opinion

Interesting statement considering that Argos, PC World, Dell, DID Electrical etc are in nearly all cases more expensive than the specials you get in Aldi and LIDL. But I am sure you have some further information that you base your statement on. Maybe a few examples?

For how much less would you be able to get a DVD HDD Recorder with 320 GB HDD and HDMI? And how much would you pay for a Lite-on HD-A970GX elsewhere?

--Hornet

The_B_Man

does the HDMI do 1080p? and does the firewire port go both ways, or just IN?