Digifusion: FVRT200

Andy, on July 4th, 2010
Had my box for about 5 years and it's still going strong BUT the scumbags at 4TV are going to stop broadcasting updates to the EPG (thanks guys). Given that it depends on an EPG for programming this seriously compromised its usefulness. It now becomes as difficult to programme as an old VCR.Bear that in mind if you're looking to buy a 2nd hand job.

Dan, Dorset, on November 14th, 2009
we have had ours for about 5 years or so. it was in daily use for about 3 years. it still works perfectly. the power supply broke when it was a year or so old but it was replaced and hasnt gone since. it has never lost a recording or had any other problems. 80gb might not seem like much nowadays, when compaired to our 300gb sky hd box downstairs. but for recording sd tv its is plently. i heard somewhere that loss of recordings is caused when compression is enabled on any of the recordings. none of ours are compressed. the remote is decent, i have definatly come across cheaper ones. and the menus are definatly better than the ones found on most freeveiw boxes

Alan, Northampton, on October 4th, 2009
The Digifusion FVRT200 is easy to use, and gives great recordings, but really it's not reliable. We've lost the entire recorded library twice in the last year - it just disappeared overnight - and the machine hangs quite often, always after an overnight update. We've just lost the recorded library for the third time, but this time it's the hard disk that has failed. Of course it's out of warranty, but it's easy enough to replace the disk, so we are still using the recorder, but it's definitely not to be trusted.

Gary, on September 6th, 2009
I used my FVRT 200 for about 6 months and all of a sudden it started taking forever to do anything. Even going up and down a channel took 30 seconds. The guide comes on about 5 minutes after you press the button. Unfortunately I stopped using it forgot about it and its now out of warranty. Is this a problem with out of date software ?

Steve, Buckinghamshire, on August 5th, 2009
I am surprised to see so many negative comments. I suppose happy users do not bother to write. I have had my FVRT150 for about two years. I think it's great, and in all that time I have had perhaps two freezes and no data loss.

Chris, Wrexham, on January 24th, 2009
I bought a digifusion fvrt 200, second hand, about a year ago and have to say that generally this has been a great machine. Last week, the sound has gone very faint, both when watching live tv through the digibox and watching recorded programmes. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to cure this problem?

Linda, Hull, on December 1st, 2008
I have had the FVRT200 for nearly 3 years now and have been really happy with it. It has frozen up 2 or 3 times and lost programming. But hey its no different from any computer that freezes up from time to time. But on the whole I find it very reliable and I've certainly had my moneys worth. It works well with my Samsung LCD freeview tv as I can record 2 programmes and watch digital tv at the same time at no extra cost, fab! The annoying thing about it is that you can't see or hear the telly when viewing the tv guide or programming and of course it doesn't do series link recording. But other than that I cannot really knock it. Just hoped I've not jinxed it by putting this review on.

Peter, Oxford, on January 10th, 2008
I commented here on October 31 2005 when I had recently bought the FVRT200, and now that I've owned it for over two years I'd like to update my review. In short, it's been brilliant! We use it daily and it has transformed our viewing habits. It has only encountered problems twice, when a simple power off/on has restarted it. Otherwise we have frequently recorded on both tuners simultaneously, watched playback while recording another programme, used it in chase play etc. etc. It gives a better playback picture quality than our Sony DVD purchased at the same time, and the various aspect ratios etc. work fine with our Panasonic TV, the TV automatically changes ratio when the Digifusion box is selected/turned on. I still hate the hideous screen colours - really stupid, and I find the remote pretty cheap and nasty too. Both things I can live with though. The only thing I would suggest is keeping the amount of recorded material to less than half the disk capacity. The times it froze for me was when the disk was over half full, and I have read other reviewers comments that suggest it isn't as reliable once the disk fills up. Again, this isn't a problem for me, it imposes a useful discipline to watch and clear off stuff I've recorded. I heard recently that this product is no longer made, which is a pity, as it's been fantastic. (Fingers crossed that this review doesn't jinx things and it gives me trouble-free service in the future!)

Baz, Northants, on November 25th, 2007
I have owned my FVRT200 for about 18 months now and in that time its fair to say that I have had a few issues with it locking up, the HDD becoming full but on the whole it is generally quite reliable, and has seemed in some ways to get more reliable as it has got older, whether this is due to software upgrades that are transmitted though the night I don't know. What I do know though is that having brought a Thomson DTR6300 the other day as a present for the parents and then took it more or less straight back for a refund due to a number of issues with it (jittery pic, live and on playback, buttons on the box itself that stick in, and out of focus menu screens) I have come to the conclusion that The FVRT200 is far better in the areas that count.

Chaz B, Wilts, on June 23rd, 2007
I'm about to return my second one. Both have wiped out all the programs I had stored and I can't get colour through the AV socket. If only they got it right as it could be a good system. My money is coming back so I'm on the look out for something similar.

Don Smith, Burton on Trent, on June 14th, 2007
I bought the Digifusion FVRT200 two years ago. Took it back the next day because of total errors on second tuner. Curry's replaced it the next day. The replacement worked for about a week and then took over a minute to execute any of the requests from the remote. Eventually it started freezing. Curry's replaced it the next day. This one worked well for about six months with just the occasional freeze, mostly around 0300 in the morning. Figuring it had a cheep power supply I suspected a dirty mains supply (I live on a canal boat) so I ran it on a modified sine wave inverter. It still kept freezing but now it became random. Powered it via a timer switch so that it would reboot at 0400 every morning which allowed the recording of early morning programs before I got up. And then the freezing started to erase the hard drive. Took the thing to pieces, took out the HDD and fitted it into my PC as a slave drive. The rest is junk and I would never touch another Digifusion. I now have the Humax 9200, far superior. I have noticed a great many Digifusion PVR's in a local Pound Stretcher Shop! but none in Curry's

John, Wokingham, on June 9th, 2007
Bought this nearly-new on eBay. Lasted about two months, noisy, but otherwise no problems except it often chopped the last minute from recordings. However last week it started freezing, fixed this a few times by rebooting, but today it froze permanently and I've just binned it. Avoid!!!!!!!!!!

Jason, Newcastle under Lyme, on April 5th, 2007
Had the unit for approximately 16 months. Good sound and picture. ITV2 aspect ratio was fixed with an overnight update but since a reformat following a system lockup 4 months ago it has failed to update itself again. Has locked up and cleared the library twice so far - seems to be a link with using the long play facility. Planning to replace with a Humax in the near future.

Dave, Guildford, on March 25th, 2007
After my previous posting(s) the FVRT200 finally became totally erratic, and I managed to get it back to Dixons just in time to get a replacement machine. The replacement, a Humax 9200 was highly recommended. About the only good thing about it is that it actually works. The user interface is absolutely rubbish, and when the clocks change, as on 24-25th March it doesn't record scheduled programmes. I couldn't understand why reviewers said the Digifusion was so good - although with a simplistic interface. Technically the Humax is better, and it is a quieter machine, but the interface is poor. OK - one of my friends says that it is better than his VCR interface, and when I say that the interface is poor he reiterates his statement. That VCR interface must be really dreadful. There is very inconsistent use of keys on the Humax. Sometimes one has to press Exit to return, and sometimes simply toggle the key already pressed. I think an HCI specialist could write a PhD about how poor this user interface is - though there may be others which are worse - sadly. I'd like a machine with a good interface - such as the Digifusion mostly had, but with technical reliability, which so far the Humax has demonstrated. Sadly I'll have to downgrade my recommendation for the Digifusion, because of reliability issues. I don't know what has happened to the company (Digifusion) - if they can overcome the reliability problems, they could otherwise wipe out the opposition.

Andy, Malvern, on February 20th, 2007
Stopped working after 15 months use with PLS WAIT displayed. Have 5 amp power input so dont belive this is the problem. Before it went I was very pleased with it. Sadly once broken its about as much use as a SKY+ Digibox.

John Bx, Barnet, on February 18th, 2007
It's cute when it works but it's buggy. Every few months the software corrupts the library - your recordings disappear, and the display shows "197% free space". Whatever is going on in the library takes 99% of the processing capacity of the box - no only can't you record, but every command takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r: literally hundreds of times longer than it ought to take. My first box did this and went back to manufacturers - now replacement has gone the same way. Don't buy this, spend a bit more and get something better engineered.

Colin, Suffolk, on February 3rd, 2007
Had my FVRT200 for about 16 months. It HAS changed the way we watch TV - we now rarely watch anything "live" (so we can skip the ads and plan our own schedule). The unit very occasionally freezes, but switching off the mains for a few seconds cures it and all is then well. Great bit of kit and if you CAN get one for £80 off eBay with a warranty I'd say go for it.

Alastair , on January 23rd, 2007
I bought the FVRT 200 and i can't get it to switch on since i had to unplug it. Should i just go out and buy the 5amp fuse? Can anyone help?

Boyoo, Cardiff, on January 9th, 2007
Had my machine FVRT200 for just under a year Dec 2005. Box froze and locked up so I was sent a replacement 5Amp power supply. The problem was not resolved so it was set back to Digifusion as the hard drive had failed. When I sent it back it took them two weeks to tell me they had received my box and send out a replacement when I sent it to them first class recorded. I was told they had been busy over Christmas probably replacing units!! Finally got my replacement with new 5Amp power supply. It worked for three days before having problems with the EPG running over night. The box works fine until the EPG running and then the next morning the unit is slow to respond. I phoned them several times about this and try different methods of resetting the unit. But every time you do you lose your recordings and schedule recordings. I was then told to check my signal on channel 300 4TVinteractive was between 70%-87%. Any higher or lower and you will get problems with EPG. My signal was between 75-79% and I never had a problem with my old box for 10 months!! I asked if i could delete the channel and manually program but this can't be done. I have been told there will be a software update Jan 07 for the FVRT200. But I will be surprised if this works!!! I have lost confidence in the machine and bought a Humax 9200. This is a much better unit it works!!!! The FVRT200 was great until it fail and the customer service is not the best. If you really want a FVRT200 you can get them on ebay for around £80. £100 cheaper than retail.