Freeview rebrands Playback DTRs as Freeview+

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Freeview has announced that its Freeview Playback service will now be called Freeview+. It’s something Chris thought would be a better name back in 2006 when the service launched, because any DVR with the feature does for Freeview what Sky+ does for Sky, or V+ does for Virgin.

According to Freeview’s Director of Marketing Communications, Rob Farmer, there are already over a third of a million Freeview digital TV recorders in UK households, with the market growing 76% each year. Manufacturers include Humax, Goodmans, LG, Sony and Sharp and Tvonics.

Top Up TV+ DTR now available with 250GB hard drive

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The Top Up TV+ digital TV recorder (DTR) isn’t a new concept — we were talking about it last year and it’s been on the cards since late 2006 — but now Top Up TV has announced a 250GB version, meaning even more space to record Freeview programmes.

By now, I’m assuming everyone knows what the main features of a DTR are (if not, go back to that last article and read). Suffice it to say that this model does all the things you’d expect a dual-tuner Freeview DTR to do. It also continues to give you access to the PictureBox service for £5 a month, offering a choice of seven blockbuster movies each day, plus the usual benefits of the Top Up TV service.

IFA 07: LG DVR Pause and Play TV and PC users

lg_lcd_dvr_range.jpgFor those of you into your pause and play TV, LG also had new 160GB DVRs with dual digital tuners on display. Each will naturally allow you to watch one program while recording another. They’ve got Freeview Playback Certification from the UK’s Digital TV group, so you can record subtitles and closed captions, in addition to video and audio, as well as intelligently schedule recording times in case a TV programme over-runs.