Ordinary Gweilo

Since digital TV was launched in Hong Kong I have been waiting for a personal video recorder (PVR) that uses the electronic programme guide (EPG).

They are now available. I came across a curious device in one shop from Picazzo, which claims to “support digital TV recording”, but it lacks a hard disk and reviews suggest that it is not user-friendly.  At least the price is reasonable, unlike the other one I have found. 

This is the Magic TV MTV5000 box, which can record high definition TV, but at HK$4,900 for a single tuner PVR it seems awfully over-priced. 

In the UK, you can buy a dual-tuner PVR for digital TV for £150.  This will not have 500gb of disk, so we can add about £50 for that.  That’s £200 (excluding VAT), or about HK$3,100, though admittedly it does not support HD.  I therefore predict that the MTV 5000 will be reduced to less than HK$3,000 and they will come up with a dual-tuner version (so you can watch one channel and record another).

A cheaper solution is to use your PC – just buy a USB tuner for about HK$500, which should come with software allowing you to view and record digital TV, and maybe a bigger hard disk (internal or external).  Unlike the awful Windows XP Media Centre this combination will allow you to create a DVD to watch on your TV, or you could even attach the computer directly to your TV.   

Which, I suppose, also begs the question of whether anyone even needs this type of device when the future is in downloading (legal or otherwise).