Sagem's latest Freeview PVR, the DVR6400, is a strange-looking digital TV recorder. The front of the lightweight plastic case is completely devoid of any front-panel controls, ensuring that even the most basic of operations requires recourse to the remote control - a rather tacky affair that better befits £20 DVD players.
In fact, the only indication that the DVR6400 actually works is a four-digit display that indicates channel number, recording-mode or time.
The backside is a bit more revealing.There's no HDMI output or upscaling - long-overdue on PVRs - but you do get a pair of Scarts. A dedicated analogue audio output is absent, but Sagem has at least attempted to compensate for this with both coaxial and optical digital outputs.
They're Dolby Digital-ready, too - hopefully Freeview broadcasters will start exploring this area, then the DVR6400's digital outputs, like those of countless competitors, would come into their own. And when I say Freeview I mean it. There's no TopUpTV CAM, and no means (like a CI slot) of adding one in future. You have been warned!
Super storage
Thanks to twin tuners, you can simultaneously watch one programme while recording another, or record two while watching previously-recorded material. Sagem has generously included 250GB of hard-drive space - enough for around 120 hours of digital TV.
A timeshifting buffer allows you to instantly-rewind the current channel by up to two hours. Furthermore, the buffer's contents can be preserved as a permanent recording should you decide they're worth keeping. Chasing playback - viewing the current recording from the beginning - is also allowed.
The Sagem supports a seven-day EPG, from where a 30-event timer can be programmed. Setting this, and the largely-automated initial setup procedure, is easy enough.
Also friendly is the DVR6400's quiet running. A fan is fitted, but even on a hot summer's day the whirring of neither it nor the hard drive was obtrusive.
With so many Freeview channels, the presence of a favourites list (seven of 'em, actually!) is welcome. Picture-in-picture functionality is also onboard.
Recordings are shown in a list with EPG-derived programme details. Editing functionality is good. Recordings can be merged, divided or partially-erased (as well as deleted altogether), and if there's a programme you want to keep, you can eliminate the adverts (or the unwanted bits of other programmes) and reclaim hard-drive space into the bargain.
