We first reviewed Thomson's 40GB hard-disk-based Freeview receiver in August 2004. However, like many set-top boxes and hard-drive recorders, it accepts new software via aerial,so you wake up one morning and effectively get a new product for no extra charge and without going back to the shop.
In the case of the DHD4000, you get an alert after an upgrade has happened and an onscreen message that you can keep and refer to for details. Meanwhile as features go up, prices comes down. Once £300, the DHD4000 is now available for well below the £200 point.
Obviously from the outside the DHD4000 is unchanged and its appearance is the only real letdown. It's horribly dated and looks more like an engineering prototype than something suited for your livingroom. The ring of blue LEDs that rotates during playback may seem natty at first - and inspired by the Sky front panel - but after a while it's distracting.Thankfully, like Sky , you can tone it down so it doesn't look like a Christmas tree at night.
The DHD4000's basic specs are good.It has two built-in digital terrestrial tuners so you can record one Freeview channel while watching another,or record two overlapping programmes at once,even if you're playing something from the hard disk.
Crucially, it has a full onscreen digital radio and TV guide (EPG) to make choosing and identifying programmes easy.The new software version (coded 1.7.7) adds a fullscreen guide option and expands the EPG to 14 days in advance, better than Sky digital boxes and equal to the current DigiFusion Freeview range.You can also set up regular daily or weekly recordings based on a given timeslot,though this does not follow any actual programme around the schedules like TiVo or,to some extent,Sky .
You can still set the timer manually if preferred and there's a new automatic 'guard time',which adds up to five minutes to all recordings in case of overruns.
It also has a live broadcast buffer to store up to 30min of the current channel and a new instant record feature,which grabs a live programme - including buffer content - when you hold down the Record button. The calendar function enables you to set personal reminders,for months or even years ahead,so it's good for birthdays or anniversaries.
