Open Skies

I've finally taken the plunge into the world of DVR (Digital Video Recorders).  Being naturally mean I've held off splashing out until I saw this little beauty at Maplin. The NIKKAI A52HF.

 Although it says NIKKAI on the front it does say Maplin on the back...is Nikkai an own-brand?  Anyway, at £49.99 without HD, but with twin tuner its an absolute bargain if you have an old IDE hard drive knocking around. 

After I bought the unit I started having a look round the web, and my heart sank when I came across this thread but all I can think is that there has been a firmware update as I'm chuffed with mine.  As I was unsure whether or not Maplin would be having it back I threw an old WD 40Gb (which should be good for approx 20hrs TV) in for test purposes...I'll be getting a 250Gb one shortly...probably from Stafford IT Services, who have some good deals.

Ok, here's the unboxing and setup for your delectation...

	Here it is...as it comes from Maplin.
The beast itself...
	2 Co-ax in and 2 out..more of that in a minute.  All the normal stuff including an RS-232 under the power lead...for updating.  RS-232?  You might as well have specified punch cards for all the good that is to me Maplin....
OK, now we see why there are 4 co-ax sockets...so you have somewhere to put that weird little link cable.... I have not a clue why they chose not to do this internally.
	HD goes under here..
In that grey plastic tray...
	Player is about 3/4 the width of a standard VCR and pretty thin.  The front panel, BTW, glows amber. The remote is pretty small as well
Channel scan went smoothly, as did drive format.  Then you can access the main menu.  Which was designed by a nine year old. In 1988...yack..  Creepy old man is optional.
	Things get better - the poor picture is my TV, not the box.  Picture quality actually seems better than my cheapo Asda digibox.

There it is.  The remote is basic, too small, badly laid out and not very user friendly, and some of the operation is distinctly odd.  For example, when Booking a program for recording you're told to press OK to store.  Pressing OK does not store a booking.  First of all you have to press OK on the Booking On/Off field and turn it on.  Its a minor annoyance, but nothing I personally can't live with.  I've yet to see how the timed recording goes, and the 7-day EPG only shows today so far (apparently this updates at 3.00am - we shall see...)

Its no Bang Olufsen, but the price is great.  Its not opensource either, but with a HD you can choose yourself its at least part of the way there.