ALDI Bauhn 250GB Twin HD PVR

Garbage – Continually freezes,also misses recording too hard to navigate absolute piece of junk .Aldi replaced the first one after about 6 months ,this one has the same problems..Rang TEPMPO found them no help at all it now sits under my faulty 55 inch BAUHN T.Y which has a color problem for 7 to 10 minutes after it is turned on  Show details

Spare Parts – The problem when you purchase any Aldi electronic goods, spare parts mysteriously are unavailabe after the warranty period is finished. I search for hours looking for the actual manufacturer to see if I can get spare parts for Aldi electronic products,still no luck. If anyone can tell me how to contact tha actual manufacturer it will be most appreciated. Thanks.  Show details

Taken for a ride – Bought one for myself was working great. So went out and bought two more, one for my dad and sister. Once warranty ran out all three units started freezing on channel 9. Have to reboot all three repeatedly and stay away from 9. One now showing issues with channel 10.  Show details

The Bauhn ulimate Rubbish – Same problem here. Got the Bauhn PVR and when it stopped working, I took it back and got another. It worked fine for about a month and then GAZAM!! Same crap. I also got the wireless headphones and it crackled so much that I could not enjoy a single movie wearing it. I took it off and threw it against the wall. Bauhn products are the Worst lot of… Read more

rubbish ever. I often visit Aldi stores and tell people NOT to buy their electronics. CHEAP for a reason!!

1 Tb model – My Topfield box has died. I saw this on sale at Aldi, so bought one. Huge mistake. They have the most user unfriendly interface on the planet, limited features and, half the time no EPG exists... for days at a time! I thought the unit was faulty, took it back got another one. Same faults, it's going back tomorrow. Aldi is a reputable store, they should not be selling junk like this.

A mistake you can avoid – I have the shiny new 1gb PVR. It has the worst user interface possible. The EPG stopped working after day 1. I am normally a big fan of Aldi but now I have burnt I will never buy electronics from Aldi again. Very short term vision on the part of Aldi where they simply trash their reputation by sourcing poor quality goods for a quick profit.

Dreadful, don't buy one of these under any circumstance – Continually "forgets" to record things that are in the list. Very frustrating,if you are recording a series you WILL miss a couple of episodes. Periodically you have to delete everything in the record list and then recreate the list. It will start recording again, but then a few weeks later it stops recording or only records some of the things in the list. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED DON"T BUY ONE OF THESE.

It works solidly but gives no information – I agree with previous review. The item is taping well BUT there is little room for adjustments or program shifts or changes. It gives little information - so once programs change you end up with anything. Struggles to give little or no information on programs to tape. If you have a consistent 1/2 to 1 hour show that you watch and not much… Read more

else, it will work brilliantly. Also needs the extra time added on as it misses endings (due to channel timing) but this is not flexible. If adding time, then it is across the board to all tapings - thus stops back to back taping of shows. Could be good but just as an extra for spare TV.

Cheap but nasty – menu is a difficult to navigate. Freezes up alot when trying to play back recordings sometimes. Sound stops working and you have to restart it to get it back. Stopped working completely just before warranty ended. Aldie claimed it was working on inspection and wanted me to pay $45 to have it returned. I refused. My advice Spend a bit extra and… Read more

get a brand you can trust that works and last a while. It will save you alot of frustration. Offered all the whistles and bells I wanted Does not deliver. To many bugs some fixed with an updates

Haven't even been able to use it, Customer support non existant – Thought it was a good buy at $199 but you get what you pay for I guess (which isn't always the case). Set up as per instructions over and over again and recognizes the USB but when you press to play it, it says there's no content - kept trying with half a dozen USB's with movies on them and nothing. Rang customer support 4 times, left call back… Read more

details (as requested), sent email - received email back the next day advising that our query requires tech support and we need to call them for that!! What a joke...TEMPO is the parent company here by the way so check that if you buy anything else. Any way called again, no answer and asked to leave details for a call back.. Hung up. Will be returning to Aldi today. Terrible item and non existent customer support. Disappointed as now have to save up more to buy another (better) one. Also found you have to scan for channels randomly as sometimes it saves them and other times there's nothing there. Cheap & Nasty. Inconsistent, doesn't play USB or hold channels, Customer support doesn't answer phone or call back.

A Waste of money !! – Thought we had a great bargain with the huge hard drive capacity and ability to record 2 channels at once. But, what's the point of that if you can't record one programme while watching something previously recorded. While recording something, the menu is totally locked, so you can't schedule any recordings or watch anything in the recorded… Read more

list.

We updated from a Topfield, which after a LOT of use, finally broke down. However, we are going shopping tomorrow to buy another Topfield, which was SO MUCH BETTER, and worth the extra cost. Nothing

Don't buy it, you get you moneys worth! – Works fine until it it locks up, every couple of days, have to pull plug to reboot. Also locks up on record screen, have to pull plug to reboot. Aldi did replace it so we see how this one goes, if the same I'll just look for a refund and learn a lesson. The specification and warranty back up (It needs it) Unreliable

Good – Generally the unit performs well. Hard drive is of sufficient size to record a lot of programs. It is a shame that the Tech support is totally lacking!!! What great value, almost one third of the cost of a similar performing unit. Being able to record 2 channels at once and the best of all one touch recording. Am having to frequently re-tune… Read more ·  1

channels (mainly channel 10). Having booked a recording, the program name will appear in the recorded program list, but on playback, it has recorded a completely different program on a different channel.

With one touch recording, which program these days starts and finishes on time????. So unless you are recording SBS or ABC it is best to set recording manually.(not just a Bauhn problem).

Occasionally the unit will freeze and needs to be re-booted(typical computer).

Terrible – A poorly designed and performing product. After the first problem I had, where service was required it ook 6 weeks to get the unit back. It did not work (Read Error) but a call to service gave me a suggestion (which involved opening the unit) which worked. It then ran ok for about 4 or 5 months. There were some minor problems such as setting it to… Read more

record from say 8.30 and finding it started at 8.36. Then I again got "Read Error". This was on all files, those I had previously watched and new ones. I could record, delete but not view. It was still a good (but expensive) set top box. I opened the machine and performed the same operation as had worked above. After this no luck with the recordings but the unit, when watching tv would freeze after about 4 or 5 seconds and stay frozen until turned off (and freeze again when switched back on. I made a call for support and got a recorded message that I would be contacted within 48 hours. After 10 days I still wait. Price Service nonexistent - you get a message that they will get back to you in 48 hours. I am at 10 days and waiting. Reliability poor.

Bad – Try and find a firmware up date to attempt a fix Good luck If you know how to get a firmware up date I would like to Know it was a good idea and should work OK it developed a fault and wont record or watch a @nd chennel

Good – Since the introduction of high definition signals from our TV station, I couldn't be happier to get this cheap PVR to record and play back my favourite programs in HD quality. Yes, there are limitations, such as less flexible recording time intervals and cannot download program to another unit (eg: my PC) but after 18 months, it had compiled loads… Read more ·  1

of my favourite programs in PVR's HDD in HD quality.

If I compare this unit's cost with what's available in the market, I am reasonably happy with it. Cheapest on the market, HD audio and video output, Can set pre-recording up to 1 week ahead. programs do not freeze. My unit can only record the channel I'm watching. The recording automatically stops if I tune to another station. I need another TV to watch a different program.

Good – Great value - and very reasonable performance for the price. I just wish the networks would stick to the times they publish in their EPGs. It was fantastic value - at least $150 cheaper than its nearest competitor. Great recording from the EPG Poor english in the software. Hard Disk is a bit small.

Bad – You get what you pay for. This device is great value for $299 at Adli - but is far from perfect and has some major drawbacks as listed in "Cons". This device has great potential and is in urgent need of a firmware update to try and address many of its flaws, however as at 25/11/2008 there is no firmware update available. Can record 2 HD channels… Read more

at once

Can Pause and rewind live TV

Recordings are high quality

HDMI, component and optical audio output All recording timings are lost if the power is turned off!

Can only set recording timer in 30 minute blocks to a limit of 2 hours!

Occasional loss of Audio during playback

EPG does not consistantly populate