Brite View BV-980H HD Digital Video Recorder

Comments about Brite View BV-980H HD Digital Video Recorder:

Important notice : concerning External HDD compliance I tried the 2 well-known Major Brands 2TB models of External HDD but the BV-980H does NOT accept over 1.5TB, this contrary to the BV product's sheet that indicates it supports / is expandable up to 2TB, which does NOT allow to use the Auto-Programmed TV Recordings, so that it immediately fails ! PS : the BV device always goes back to 480i setting !

Comments about Brite View BV-980H HD Digital Video Recorder:

OK the ATSC HD tuner Picture is outstanding ! But not the use ! An illuminated front DISPLAY is really missing ! After we click PLAY / STOP / PLAY the Resume-Play doesn't work ( even if it is activated in the settings ) and it returns back to 00:00:00 and it takes as many menu steps to go back to the recorded file ! The selected favorites channels list always get erased ! The EPG window takes a long moment to load and we cannot close it until it is finally completed ! The device mostly go back to 480i and must be set again at 1080i ! Playback functions buttons are definitely too small ! But the biggest inconvenience is that there are no efficient REPLAY-SKIP buttons ( only REW-FF )! TIME must be set either Manual & Automatic to name the recorded files correctly ! There are no convenient 30-60-90-120 min preset recording times ! After a completed programmed recording session, the device itself turns OFF after 4 hours ( sleeping mode only )! So nice picture but so not friendly use ! PS : hope an UPDATE can correct some of all these inconveniences !

Comments about Brite View BV-980H HD Digital Video Recorder:

I had high hopes for this device, but am disapointed.
1. The built-in harddisk drive was defective. I insalled a new disk, but it needs the codes installed before it can be utilized. I'm getting by using an external USB drive, but having it workiing correctly would be much nicer. I accidentally discarded the packing for the product, so I seem to be stuck with it.

2. All of the commands to the unit are VERY slow. They are so slow that I think it has not responded and repeat the command. Then it reacts to both inputs. Not good at all.

3. The channel scan is horrible. It cannot remember the available channels to set record schedules. It simply does not recognize the scanned channels

Comments about Brite View BV-980H HD Digital Video Recorder:

Used for HD video recording off the air.
Very good resolution and flexibiity. Permits many programs to be entered on a weekly basis.
No time display on front panel, so after power interruption, one does not know status of clock.
A little difficult to operate from remote, aiming quite critical.

Comments about Brite View BV-980H HD Digital Video Recorder:

Works as it should,records from the guide or timed settings. The drawbacks are,time shifting live tv has a info box covering the bottom of the screen. The guide does not save any info so it reloads every time you page up or down. To playback recorded shows you have to go through 4 menu steps just to get to your recordings.
I think when they get a software update this can all be resoloved.

Comments about Brite View BV-980H HD Digital Video Recorder:

The BV-980H is an interesting misstep that just requires a little more product development to be really attractive to over-the-air HDTV viewers. This is unfortumate, because it actually records OTA HDTV broadcasts very well.

The problems reside in its firmware and its user interface.

The unit uses a 24 hour military time standard, which is strange and requires some getting used to. It also automatically drops its resolution to 480i after it finishes recording a program. You have to manually reselect 720P or 1080i for your HDTV each time you record to watch your recordings or monitored programs in HD.

Lastly, the tuner loses channels, even after being auto-selected. As a result, programmed recordings fail because the selected channel can't be found.

I hope BriteView takes these concerns seriously, as the product will not be successful in its present state.

If the firmware for this unit gets upgraded in the near future and these issues are addressed, perhaps the 908H would be make a great choice for cable and satellite-cutters who wish to go OTA but need a DVR.

B&H has an alternate product listed, but it's uncertain when that other product will be available for shipping.

Comments about Brite View BV-980H HD Digital Video Recorder:

Unit has excellent recorded programs with terrific clarity just by being connected directly to digital cable & using HDMI to the TV.. The drawback is the manual that comes with it leaves much to be desired as far as instructions for set-up & usage. They are just not much! Getting to the programs that have been recorded to watch them takes far too many steps.

Comments about Brite View BV-980H HD Digital Video Recorder:

We decided to get this unit when we disconnected our cable and returned cable DVR. Quality of the product is fairly good, recording is excellent but it does take some practice to even find a recording as the files are located in sub-menus. Depending on where you are located, the Electronic Program Guide provided off-the-air can be nil so that you need a second source of information to find TV shows to record. The pause and play feature is probably the easiest to use as it does not require access to the recorded files. I suspect that given the number of proprietary systems in North America that this small company may not be able to provide an easier guide or menu (ie. in view of IPR conflicts). I'm using the unit now more for long recordings 2-3 hour movies as opposed to specific scheduled TV shows. For that I use my Elgato EyeTV product, my Mac, Apple TV and iTunes.

Comments about Brite View BV-980H HD Digital Video Recorder:

The BV-980H produces decent High Definition recordings of over-the-air broadcasts. The tuner in this product delivers a picture that is not quite as sharp as what my Sony TV delivers but it is acceptable. Recorded material looks as good as what the tuner delivers when viewed "live."

Recordings may be saved to an external hard drive or flash drive, allowing you to remove the drive and view the recordings on another device, such as your computer. Of course the files may also be played on the BV-980H. Files are recorded in the .ts format, which may be played using such programs as Media Player Classic, a program available for free download.

The recording menu allows programming of numerous recording events.

Playing recorded programs is not intuitive. You must access the record menu and then work your way through additional menu choices before you'll arrive at the recorded material. They should have included a quick access button on the remote to eliminate this.

My player records exactly what it is programmed to record. However, when it is finished with the recording, it does not shut off right away but continues to remain on, doing nothing, for a couple of hours. That's not a big deal but it seems odd.

When viewing recorded commercials, the fast play button is nice as it allows you to zip through the commercials at high speed.

Additionally, you may use the device to pause live programming and then resume the program when you are ready.