DM600 So what can a DM600 do?

[uczmeg]

Now the DM600 is getting cheaper, I'm getting interested. But what can it do?

I know it can take an internal hard drive which I assume you can use to record stuff selected in the EPG.

But my real question is, can it replace my Tivo?

I don't really use series links any more, as I've usually downloaded and watched the stuff I want long before it makes UK TV, but there are a few things that would be great...

Can you watch something saved whilst it is recording something else?

If yes, can you watch something from the beginning whilst you are still recording it?

Can you pause live TV?

Thanks.

[alliv]

Now the DM600 is getting cheaper, I'm getting interested. But what can it do?

I know it can take an internal hard drive which I assume you can use to record stuff selected in the EPG.

But my real question is, can it replace my Tivo?

I don't really use series links any more, as I've usually downloaded and watched the stuff I want long before it makes UK TV, but there are a few things that would be great...

Can you watch something saved whilst it is recording something else?

If yes, can you watch something from the beginning whilst you are still recording it?

Can you pause live TV?

Thanks.

hi, there is no series link that i know of but it will do the rest of what you ask no problem. hope this helps m8.

[uczmeg]

Great. Thanks.

A few more questions:

Is there a limit to the length of the pause? Or can it be configured?

Does it buffer, so even if you haven't paused you can skip backwards? (in the case of Tivo up to the last 30 mins you've been on that channel).

Is there a disk size limit?

Is the recording quality variable?

How much can you store per gigabyte?

Sorry if this information is somewhere, I haven't been able to track it down searching.

[caveman_nige]

I don't pause live TV, do not use this feature (if it actually has it).

Disk size is limited at the moment the manufacturers production of 2.5" IDE disks, mine is a western digital 250GB.

Recording quality variable? - Not sure what you mean here. I recorded the same quality as I can receive on the transponder, can't see it being any other way. But quality on the DM600 is great, I have no issues with that at all.

How much can you store per gigabyte? - well 1080mb if you want the narky answer, but i would say an average film takes about 2.5 gig, i.e. Lostboys 2008Mb and De ja Vue 3598MB.

[uczmeg]

By variable recording quality, I mean can you set the level of compression it uses.

On Tivo You Can choose, Best, High, Medium....

So I can record films in the best quality and use a lot of disk space, but use a whole let less space when the misses wants Big Brother recording by using medium where quality of picture (or content) doesn't matter.

Sounds like we're talking a little more than a 1000Mb per hour, so a 250Gb drive is going to store way more than I need even if it is only at one quality level.

<--uczmeg added 4 Minutes and 58 Seconds later...-->

Will this HD do the trick?

Western Digital 250GB 2.5 Hard Drive IDE 5400rpm 8MB Cache - OEM - Ebuyer