Toshiba HDR5010KB/ Digital AV Recorder 500 GB HDD Freeview+ HD Box

First impressions were great, good picture, sound and EPG. As well as being very intelligent about managing clashing recordings (It would select an alternative time of a programme to avoid clashing)
But then the failings started to emerge - basically crashing, locking up and rebooting, rendering it utterly useless. I spoke to Toshiba support, who after a few questions opted to send me a replacement - collecting the duff one.
This is great I thought, obviously I had a duff one and the replacement would be fine?
No - the replacement behaved exactly the same way - so no change!
Then it was suggested that updating the firmware would sort it, it didn't!
Shame really - it's quite a stylish looking bit of kit and has some great features but definitely not a bit of kit where 'switching it off and back on again' solves any problems - more a case of switching it off and leaving it that way!

It consistently fails to record only 1 out of 8 last night.
it continually jumbles programming so there are time clashes thus recording nothing - why doesn't it stick to my workable settings.
Last night set 8 to record - it's VERY difficult to set plus1 timers jumping back to clashing - why does it think I chose plus1.
Having done this at 1800 only one program recorded by 2100 it had altered my settings to clash - I kid you not it had jumped back the plus1 thus recorded nothing by 2200 it had done similarly and by 2300 too.
Often it fails to record for no discernible reason but shows it so in timer and trying instant recording says it's already recording - power cycling is the only cure cutting the second recording of course.
Other times when programs are split it only records half as again it jumps back from plus1 to a clash for one half - it will NOT record plus1 setting.
What works one week will definitely NOT work the next as it jumbles programs to clash
As with plus1 so with serial recording being jumbled to clash.
Day after day it refuses to respond to the remote although the response light flashes, requiring to power cycle.
It's unbelievably slow in responding to the remote - turning into a game of getting the right item selected - it can take seconds to move in a menu and can take 30 yes thirty minutes to set 6 programmes.
Last night it took 18 min. before the timer menu came up
The USB seems to do nothing likewise the Ethernet and using the HDMI switch often stops recording as does viewing a recording.
Week after week I set it to update firmware but there has been none.
The display is so dim even in a dark room it's not readable.
There are no firmware updates and the device doesn't even appear on Toshiba site when searched.
The remote - if designed at all - must have had a committee with a brief to produce the worst possible one to get into the Guinness book of records.
Do not use plus1 or serial and you may get some recordings mostly it is just an HD set-top box.
By the way there is nothing wrong with my setup as my old recorder run in parallel works faultlessly just is not HD and I am using a mains filter

Was getting a bit of flickering initially from the unit when watching TV, but after a firmware update from the Toshiba website via the handy USB port on the front it seems to have cured it. Not 100% on the quality of the HDMI inputs/outputs using the in built switch so have ordered a seperate switch as I think some quality was being lost from my Xbox and PS3 which were going via the Toshiba unit. Menus are easy to use and recording functions seem to work well so far.

A few weeks ago,I bought an Icecrypt Freeview hd box,and I was impressed with the HD picture quality from a normal TV aerial..So much so that I decided to go the whole hog,and buy this Toshiba with its 500gb memory and recording facility..Set it up and had no problems..recorded two programmes in HD simultaneously to test it and again no problems,Another plus is that you can plug 2 HDMI items such as a blu ray or dvd player,and a USB into it,and use them through the system..So that's hi def,
500GB recording facility,two channel simultaneous recording,and as mentioned the facility to use it to channel other things through it..True it can be a trifle sluggish compared to some others but at just over 100 quids I got a bargain.
SKY is a thing of the past for me..I was just recording too much rubbish..here there are fewer channels but more than enough.
Don't know if you can record the HDMI & USB stuff onto the harddrive,bonus if you can..not important if you can't.

I purchased this three days ago and am still finding new things but overall I would say the picture quality is very good (I use it with my Philips 40 inch HD TV). It takes quite a while to start up and changing channels is ponderous too. After my Sky+ EPG the guide on this one seems very basic. I set it to record two programmes, one recorded fine but it said after the set time had come and gone that it was unable to find the second one - so not sure what is going on there? maybe that is a Freeview thing? Very easy to set up, it finds all the channels itself. It recommends that it is left on standby all the time but the standby LED is rather bright and annoying. Will be interested to hear other people's opinions.
After using this for a few days a lot of problems have surfaced, freezing screen, if trying to rewind or fast forward a recording the sound cannot keep pace and comes out distorted. Have returned and now have a Humax Foxsat - no comparison the Humax is outstanding on every level.