Beyonwiz DP-P1 / DP-P2
Verified21 reviews
Probabaly one of the best on the market ? – I bought one of these new in 2012 after a DP-S1 machine. Both are still going strong although, like most other people I have had to rebuild the power supply. Beats me why they use such crappy capacitors - no wait -it's to save them money ! No big deal, for me anyway. If you upgraded the firmware each time one became available you got a better… Read more
machine (for the most part ) each time. I replace the Hdd once because I wore it out. I tend to record everything because I HATE the ads every 4 ~ 5 minutes and just fast fwd them. Rarely do I watch live TV which gives you some idea of the amount of use it gets. Just a hint - IF you have a DP-S1 and don't use the DVD player in it, you can get a firmware that will allow it to receive the new MPEG 4 programs. Search the forums for the details. In short I can highly recommend both these Beyonwiz products.
Great features, terrible execution due to insufficent testing before putting out to market – Glitchy firmware. Even the very last firmware that was distributed didn't fix the unacceptable bugs. Corruption of hard drive will occur (despite the hard drive itself being faultless). The 'check hard drive' feature, which is meant to 'fix' up corruption issues (when it happens, but shouldn't happen) is a waste of time in many cases, since using… Read more
this disk-check feature would often result in 'checking failed' messages, or the checking routine would just become stuck half-way through the process, and never complete (no matter how many times you try it).
As mentioned, the user features of the system are excellent - such as great user-interface. Very convenient to use. However, all of these great ideas are completely undone and offset by inadequate testing before the unit was introduced to the market. The thing is, I have other kinds of personal digital video recorders at home, which doesn't have the same great user features, but at least they work without serious flaws.
Once hard drive file error accumulated up to some point, various video files on the drive would be rendered useless - as some would be playable for a while until some amount of time is reached, and playback would just halt (cut-out) due to the corruption. And, in order to avoid more corruption issues, it would then be necessary to back-up whatever files are uncorrupted, followed by reformatting the hard-drive. Thereafter, the unit would then work properly for a few weeks or so until the next bout of corruption starts to set in.
So, for the dp-p2, reliability is very poor in terms of sustained regular operation. Beyonwiz have obviously got a new model of personal video recorder out now, such as 'T4'. However, I would think many times before wanting to take a punt on that new model (eg...... see whether they did a 'proper' job with the T4 testing and development before pushing it onto the market), after having seen (witnessed) the poor execution with the dp-p2. If I had one thing to say to the Beyonwiz design team, I would say to them - "pull up your socks, and test your product adequately before pushing your product out to market.". The issue here is that - not only were the customers the guinea pigs for feeding back the issues, but also - the issues were never treated in firmware upgrades; or those issues may not have even be treatable (and hence were never fixed). The issue is - strong/great ideas. Poor execution.
Brilliant and totally reliable ! – Easy to set up and connect to network, totally reliable and bug free for many years, one of the best purchases I have ever made, does not like h264 files ,but apart from that it is an excellent pvr!!!!.It has never let me down ,so I cannot comment on the after sales service.
Lasted only 14 months – expensive to buy and when it worked it works well but it's very unreliable and it broke down 14 months after paying around $800 very disappointing . Will not buy this piece of rubbish again for their sales dept customers vote with their feet and I will buy a Panasonic or topfeild.
Good machine, but buggy and dies too soon – My third DP-P2 just died. I like this machine but the life seems to be getting shorter. I am tossing up whether to buy another one or not. It allows me to tape from Foxtel, which is the main attraction and does a good job when it works. Periodically though it corrupts files and old timers persist which then buggers the subsequent timers. My… Read more
first one lasted about 3 or 4 years, the second one about 2 to 3 years, and the latest one barely 2 years. So the quality seems to be getting worse. a big pity. I am now looking at other options.
I love my beyonwiz dp-p2 – This is an excellent machine, but there can be issues, according to my research on whirlpool forums, and Beyonwiz forums, in the original DP-P2 they used cheap capacitors causing overheating issues, including EPG drop out like mentioned in another review here. I had an ERROR 0000 fail on my DP-P2, and had only had it for 2 months (2nd hand and… Read more · 1
out of warranty) so I did major research, because I just loved this machine and really didn't want to part with it. On whirlpool forums I found someone to fix it at a very cheap price. If you have any problems please read the forums at whirlpool (under beyonwiz repairs) and beyonwiz forums and find out the best way to deal with this problem and get it fixed.
Problematical - save yourself the trouble – Ive had the DP-P2 for around 3 years now. Unfortunately the box did not live up to expectations for me at least. It frequently misses program recordings, which turns out to be because it doesnt get the recording list downloaded from ICETV. This in turn is because old timers (ie past the record date) appear in the timer list, which according to… Read more
Beyonwiz, is known to prevent correct synchronisation of timers.
So I have to regularly manually check for old timers. If I find them I must delete all timers, EPG cache and force download them again from ICETV.
Sadly there are often times when I dont notice the missing timers, so programs get missed. And of course it means when I go away on holiday Im virtually guaranteed to miss recordings.
Ive returned two boxes under warranty due to this exact same "fault", but I gave up with this latest box after Trading Standards advised Id have to take Beyonwix to small claims court if I rejected their offer of returning it for a third time (which I didnt want to do - it means 6-8 weeks without a device, and had not worked twice before - isnt it a sign of insanity to try the exect same thing releatedly expecting a different result?).
So unfotunately I cant recomment this box, nor the previous 2 identical boxes I was given by Beyonwiz.
Beyonwiz, they were quite helpful although ultimately not solving my problem and nor would they give me a refund despite all my problems. They also suggested that something about my internet connection (Bigpond cable) or other hardward could be causing the problem. All I can say to that is I have several internet connected devices, including TiVo, which run alongside the Beyonwiz and have never once had any issue whatsoever. So it isnt unreasonable to assume there is either no issue with my internet connection, or that if there is TiVo, Squeezebox, a web server, VOIP and several other devices are all oblivious to the "problem". No, I think the problem is deep inside the Beyonwiz, if you were a gambler that would be the bet to place dont you think?
Aside from that there are little niggles that pale into insignificance, but worth mentioning if you still want to try your luck despite my review.
Things such as the placement of frequently used buttons on the remote, made worse by the remote not being backlit. Or the use of the Exit button, which is easily found, in all screens except for playback of a recording when you can only use a small button midway along the bottom third of the remote. Try finding that in the dark when you are used to using the Exit button for everything else.
There are similar niggles with the screen navigation in general, which frankly could be more user friendly with a bit of effort. It's almost like the designer didnt actually use the device.
And there are strange omissions, like the device is permanently connected to the internet but it cant tell when daylight savings has kicked in. You have to tell it manually, and if you are away then that's tough luck.
Ive also had the disk fill up despite autodelete being enabled. Of course the solution (have you guessed it yet? would be a factory reset and a hard disk format. Even windows 98 didnt need you to do that.
I personally believe the niggles above are indicative of a good device which is poorly quite executed. You have to wonder when the official manual says "if yoour device misbehaves perform a factory reset". I thought those days were left behing with Windows 98. Or when Beyonwiz tell me that "leaving the device in a menu" is known to cause old timers to appear. Imagine if your PC didnt work if you left Control Panel up and running!
Very poor execution. After all how hard would it be to get the time from the internet - it's a pretty important feature to have the correct time. Or with Beyonwiz obviously being aware you can get old timers stuck in your timer list which prevent correct recording schedules - how hard would it be for the device to know it has old timers and to request a resend? Or to time out a menu if you walk away while setting up a recording?
The answer, in case you hadnt guessed, is "not very hard at all".
In the meatime it's missed so many recordings that my wife thinks Im technically inept and has threatened to kill me!
My advice is to look at a Humax instead. I know I did (and it has possibly saved my life and certainly my reputation) :-)
Excellent – I have had a DP-P2 for over 5 years and it has been excellent, I back up anytime from the PVR to a external hard drive and edit films & clips on internal or external hard drive. I have recently brought another DP-P2 and stream recordings between both machine as they are networked. I have had Topfield & Dgtec before purchasing the Beyonwiz and when… Read more
be used through an AV amp the passthrough work fantastic and the Beyonwiz always sends out the higher possible sound signal. I feel sorry for people who have had issues but either they are very unlucky or have they got some settings set up incorrectly. Editing, picture quality and networking Picture in picture not working
Rubbish! Constant trouble – Only can be repaired in Sydney & it takes 4 weeks then plays up again within a few weeks.My friends is the same & both are less than 14 months old.The stores we got them from will not sell them anymore due to too many complaints.. Do not buy a Beyonwiz. Believe me they are rubbish!
I've got a DP-P2 2TB version and it's just as bad as yours.
Well worth the effort – I was going to buy the Topfield, but went with the Beyonwiz DP-P2 due to the slightly better remote. Though, I have since bought a Logitech remote which is brilliant. The EPG is absolutely, sensational. Very fast, brings up all channels, immediately (even when you search days, ahead) & very user-friendly. Not slow like all others(Samsung,… Read more · 4
Panasonic, etc) that I have come across. When you select a program in EPG mode, it doesn't just boot you out of the EPG & onto the program (which can be very annoying when channel surfing). It updates the preview window at the top of the screen with the selected program & if that is the one you wish to view, just hit OK & you are there. Otherwise, select the next program, etc. Configuration - allows you many options, such as exactly how long to skip (smaller for fine adjustments) or jump (for commercials) timeframes of recordings. Once you get the setting right, you'll never look back. I am quite picky & my only possible criticisms would be: 1. the menu path to the recording is a little inefficient, but you come to terms with this quite quickly. 2. you can't copy recordings for use directly in other apps. Though, I still haven't found a need to do so. 3. The remote could be better. 4. The Topfields have the ability to record > 2 programs simultaneously (of course only if on same 2 tv networks) & this doesn't. I have had the odd time this has occurred, but quite rare. Brilliant, fast, effective EPG Big, very bright blue circular button on the middle of the machine.
Post review Now encountering issues with weak signal compared to all my other devices & an annoying software message. Looked to see about current models - buy waaaaaay too & unreasonably expensive
Great unit, very user friendly – I have two different units the Beyonwiz DP-P2 HD PVR and the Strong SRT 5495 PVR. The Beyonwiz is far superior, much easier to use and has much more functionality. This applies to the remote control as well. Ease of use and remote controls.
Satisfied Until Wanting to Backup Recordings to an External Hard Drive – We bought our DP-P2 about 3 1/2 years ago and was satisfied with it until I wanted to back something up to an external Hard Drive. Opinion of the PVR lost big points and resulted in changing to a Topfield. We had issues at first setting the unit up regarding sound. At first I thought the PVR was faulty then discovered the volume level from the… Read more
PVR settings is so low. I had to turn the sound volume way up on my TV to operate sound through the PVR.
We had the odd freeze up problem in the first few months. The only way to restart it was to turn it off at the power point. At about the 6 month mark during one of these freeze ups the PVR let out a large pop and that wonderful cooked electronics smell was noticed. The PVR was dead. We called Beyondwiz tech support straight away. They were most helpful and organised for the PVR to be picked up all at their cost. After 2 weeks we received the PVR back all fixed and working fine
They advertise being able to backup recordings as a feature of the machine. Sounded like a great idea until I tried to do it. It failed to work on a external drive I had already so I purchased another one and it failed again. The PVR error message gave no indication as to why it wouldn't work only a simple error message. The operation manual was no help either.
After some cursing a swearing at what was made to sound such a simple process, I went on line and after a bit of searching found out why. The DP-P2 files are recorded as FAT 32 which only allows for about 30mins to be recorded. The file I wanted to backup was 2 1/2hrs. There were some suggestions on how to break the file up into smaller components and get it off that way but it sounded all to complicated and beyond my level of computing. There was no mention in the PVR manual about this problem (very disappointed)
If the Beyondwiz recorded in NTFS format it would be a great machine and the high cost might be worth it. The backup feature is useless and holds this PVR back IMHO. If you don't ever want to backup recordings and only want to record and erase off the internal Hard Drive the DP-P2 is a good choice. Remote is easy to use. Many good features for editing file play back and organisation. Expensive. File backup function to external Hard Drive is useless. Volume setting on PVR is out of wack to TV and stereos
A liberating device! – A PVR is like a dishwasher - once you have had one, you cannot not have one. We've had our DP-P2 for 2 years now, and have not had any problems. It has enabled us to watch our favourite TV programs on our own terms - at times that suit us, and without adverts (programmed one of the buttons on the remote to skip forward 180 seconds). Having 2… Read more · 3
tuners means that programs on different channels can be recorded simultaneously. The Beyonwiz EPG is much faster than the one on our TV.
The Beyonwiz is not the most user-friendly device to use - the on-screen menus and functions take a little getting used to, as does the remote.
Changing the time (and ensuring that the EPG times are is correct) when daylight saving starts and ends is always a complicated affair.
Notwithstanding its "clunkiness", it does it's job as a PVR very well. And it can be connected to a home network (Ethernet or WiFi with an adapter) quite easily, which allows you to watch video clips stored on your PC on your TV - e.g. your own home movies or video clips downloaded from the likes of YouTube. It plays most video formats.
I have not had occasion to contact Beyonwiz for support, however the questions I've had regarding the PVRs use have been answered on the forum which is on the Beyonwiz site, and which is frequented by a few "gurus".
Overall, we would not be without our Beyonwiz. We have probably saved hours and hours by being able to skip through adverts. Reliable, flexible A little clunky to use
Find out how Beyonwiz DP-P1 / DP-P2 compares to other Set Top Boxes / PVRs / DVRs
Know better, choose better.
Excellent – A great unit. Best off-the-shelf PVR available in Australia. I looked at Strong, Topfield, LG, Panasonic, Sony & Digitec and the Beyonwiz ticked all the boxes. It was a little more expensive than the others but was worth the extra money for the additional features it offered. Twin HD tuners means you can watch one program whilst recording… Read more
another or record two simultaneously.
Supports a wide variety of video, audio and photo formats.
Can access my multimedia files on a networked HDD.
Skip over adverts. Remote is a little awkward.
Noise from HDD and fan can be distracting.
Good – The unit is really stable and excellent for streaming network video, I've used it for about 6months and haven't had any problems. The only thing I can recommend for those buying this PVR is to pay a little extra and buy a new remote, I bought the Logitech Harmony 525 and it's 1000% better then the one supplied! DP-P2 HD, quick channel changing,… Read more · 1
time bracketing for EPG recording, easy network file play, ability to use IceTV. Lousy remote, EPG doesn't update without manually scrolling through all the channels.
Excellent – I love the features of this pvr. It has a programmable 10 sec to 2 min skip button to skip ads (unlike freeview models), it has 'time shift' on all the time so you can easily rewind the live to air televsion, it does not require internet access like tivo, you can easily move and edit the file names of the reordings you have made and best of all it… Read more
records av input (pay tv, videos and dvds)to the hard drive. ad skip button, 2 tuners, easy editing of file names and can record from, av input to hard drive more expensive then others, remote is not erogonomical, instruction book is not very user friendly.
Excellent – Simply The Best Media Player/PVR available in Australia All I can say is if your looking for a PVR this is the one to buy. PVR and VIdeo File Playback is superb. Phot Slideshow & Music Playback is a little rudimentary.
Excellent – A great personal video recorder (PVR) that blows away what Tivo offers. Don't be fooled: reports are that Tivo will require PAYMENT to enable network streaming, whereas this machine does it FREE out of the box! Being able to skip ads altogether (instead of just fast-forwarding them like Tivo) is another major plus. Can record 2 x HD programs while… Read more
you are playing back a third. Connects via a network to your PC for playback of (supported) media files via streaming. Has an ad-skip function during playback to avoid seeing ads (something that Tivo doesn't!). Can copy recorded shows to your PC via the network or USB device for permanent storage or for burning to DVD. Has a 7-day electronic programme guide (EPG) which is now available free (thanks to the competition brought on by Tivo?) or paid via IceTV (Google it). Has a great support forum on the Internet where people can help you if you need it. Has regular firmware updates that add new functions and fix any bugs. Hard to set up networking if you're not an expert, but help is available at the official forums. Other than that, it's very easy and intuitive to use.
Good – This Beyonwiz has all the features I could possibly ask for and has performed flawlessly for the past 4 months. To just be able to open the EPG, highlight an upcoming program and press the record button is fantastic. No more manually entering times and channels. The menu system for finding recorded content is easy to use and file transfers… Read more
are no hassel.
All in all a great unit with good strong Twin HD tuners which give a very good pisture througn my Bravia TV Being able to record 2 HD programs whilst watching one I have already recorded. Unit does not get hot like others on teh market. Easy to use Wish the epg would seach for programs autoamtically to save having to watch each channel for a second. Other than that, nothing
Terrible – a reasonable unit but the Beyonwiz product support is a joke - sent pictures of the faulty remote with the sticking LH button, I offered to pay for 2-way freight and even offered to buy a remote and get a refund later so that we wouldn't be without a PVR, all to no avail - they are determined to see us without a PVR for a week on a $1000 unit for… Read more
a lousy $20 junky remote - go figure - their bloodymindedness re customer support has lost me forever regardless of how good the product is. it's a good unit but can be quirky service is a disgrace ; won't output component at all (to an AV Sender for example) if you have a HDMI cable plugged in - useless, as all the others will.
The remote control build quality of the dp-p2 is next to junk quality. A lot of people report… Read more
Good – I am overall really pleased with the DP-P2 and like the fact that it is easy to use and intuitive. You should consider this product in in the market for a PVR. When buying it is important to get the price down to between $700 and $800 (Perth area) as the ticket price of $999 is unrealistic. Great interfact. Regular firmware updates. Ease of… Read more
operation. Dual program recording in HD. iceTV interface. Multi format reading of files and H264 format compatible. One remote to control TV and PVR. EPS not refreshing automatically. Only available in Australia so no worldwide community input. The remote control is not backlit and has a cheap feel to it. Price too high to be competitive.
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Well after 4 years, the BeyonReason (as Ive renamed it) has finally given up. Today it greeted me… Read more