I've now spent a week or so using my new HD PVR 2P as a secondard decoder in Xtraview mode. For anyone interested, I think I can offer some pointers on the main differences between this new model and the original one.
Note both models are from PACE which I am happy about. I thought the new HD PVR 2P might be from a different company because of 2 other models I have seen in recent times (UEC and Altech?).
Here is a list of the primary differences:
Original Pace TDS 850 HD PVR
* More visually attractive
* More front panel functionality
* Unit runs very hot
* It has 4 tuners and can rack up recordings very quickly
* Suffers from lip sync problems
* i-Plate can be a bit sluggish at times
* Need to run HDMI and Toslink to make sure Dolby 5.1 always works
* Fast forward and rewind has finer control but can lock up sometimes
* Takes quite a while to power up and get going
* Unit is expensive - around R2800 I believe
Latest model Pace TDS 865IMC HD PVR 2P
* Not as attractive as the TDS850 but quite easy on the eyes
* Basic front panel functionality
* Unit also runs hot which I hoped would not be the case
* Only 2 tuners which causes plenty of recording conflicts if you like to record a lot
* No lip sync problems experienced thus far
* i-Plate is very quick BUT the TV Guide seems buggy when trying to fetch daily programme info
* Only running HDMI and Dolby 5.1 seems to always work
* Fast forward works fine but rewinding is buggy. Mostly jumps right back to the beginning index marker.
* Very small unit! I suppose this is a plus when space on your AV rack is limited.
* The CatchUp / On Demand service seems to be taking its time but that may be because 2 HD decoders are now trying to download and have to share bandwidth
* Unit requires a "laptop" power brick - again I suppose this is a good thing as the modular nature makes this part easy to repair.
* Unit powers on VERY quickly - huge plus
* Much cheaper at R1399 - R1499 depending on specials
I hope this helps someone.
Note both models are from PACE which I am happy about. I thought the new HD PVR 2P might be from a different company because of 2 other models I have seen in recent times (UEC and Altech?).
Here is a list of the primary differences:
Original Pace TDS 850 HD PVR
* More visually attractive
* More front panel functionality
* Unit runs very hot
* It has 4 tuners and can rack up recordings very quickly
* Suffers from lip sync problems
* i-Plate can be a bit sluggish at times
* Need to run HDMI and Toslink to make sure Dolby 5.1 always works
* Fast forward and rewind has finer control but can lock up sometimes
* Takes quite a while to power up and get going
* Unit is expensive - around R2800 I believe
Latest model Pace TDS 865IMC HD PVR 2P
* Not as attractive as the TDS850 but quite easy on the eyes
* Basic front panel functionality
* Unit also runs hot which I hoped would not be the case
* Only 2 tuners which causes plenty of recording conflicts if you like to record a lot
* No lip sync problems experienced thus far
* i-Plate is very quick BUT the TV Guide seems buggy when trying to fetch daily programme info
* Only running HDMI and Dolby 5.1 seems to always work
* Fast forward works fine but rewinding is buggy. Mostly jumps right back to the beginning index marker.
* Very small unit! I suppose this is a plus when space on your AV rack is limited.
* The CatchUp / On Demand service seems to be taking its time but that may be because 2 HD decoders are now trying to download and have to share bandwidth
* Unit requires a "laptop" power brick - again I suppose this is a good thing as the modular nature makes this part easy to repair.
* Unit powers on VERY quickly - huge plus
* Much cheaper at R1399 - R1499 depending on specials
I hope this helps someone.
