Technika Smartbox 8320HD...Tesco's very own Freeview+ HD recorder

Full news story here; review sample on its way to us early next week (the PVRs are arriving in Tesco stores/online in batches).

We'll review it and get the review online ASAP - the test will appear here before it does in the magazine.

Tesco's Technika is a brand to watch IMO. I've noticed some of their TV sets have been getting a LOT better of late.

I think Tesco's intentions in the CE industry are getting increasingly serious and this Smartbox could be a break-through product for them.

It's still a little hit-or-miss with the Technika kit - depending on where they source the products, probably - but they've had some strong showings of late. Their new DAB-108p portable DAB radio, for instance, is great for the money (review in our latest issue).

Oh, without doubt they've got some way to go to compete consistently with more mainstream CE brands, but it is interesting that they seem to be coming out with more decent products than ever before.

I think most brands are hit-and-miss to a greater or lesser extent these days, particularly with the amount of outsourcing that goes on even with the big brands (albeit in their small TVs or budget offerings).

Your not wrong about the "hit-or-miss".  I've got a Technika DVD player for use on holidays - to keep the kids amused - and the quality out of it is not good, but it did only cost £20...

tesco direct have sold out of these already!

We've been told they are arriving in batches - more shipments due this week.

And for those of you who have managed to get hold of one, and are having problems with audio playback on HD recordings, there's a software upgrade on the way to fix it. Update here.

So you're impressed with the picture and sound quality, too?

Oh, you beat me to it, Pindi.

Do you have anything positive to say about this box?  what is the picture like? the sound?

well, i did mentioned the positives in my earlier thread. but if you want to know...

 1. picture is excllent. i set my resolution to the max 1920x1080p50 and so far no major fault.

BBC HD looks equal to what i used to have on my Freesat a few months ago. sharp details indeed.

ITV HD looks an "upscaled" transmission of their SD counterpart but i would expect programmes such as music or sports event would look stunning. especially with the world cup. 

Channel 4 HD doesn't look upscaled to me but almost in comparison to the BBC HD broadcast.

2. audio wise i am staisfied. i have a 5.1 surround system. my set-up is via a normal audio/RGB (yellow-white-red) system. (which is connected to the TV)

havn't tried via the headphine jack or the digital out ports at the back of the box but i'm sure the audio will be  better if i do it that way.

3. audio on recorded programmes are now accesible

Negatives:

1. after the upgrade the box crashed 5x. and the HD channels was nowhere to be found. but listen.

i had to re-scan the channels 3x then had to reboot then had to completely turned it off, removed the power plug, re-inserted the power plug, turned the box on and voila..the HD channels are back. so far so good thereafter

2. noticed some "hiccups" in the audio of BBC HD and ITV HD channels. so far. i would describe them as a millisecond interruption/cut in the audio. i have emailed FetchTV and so far no reply. i dunno if this is something to do with my audio set-up but i would be happy to take in any advice or sugestions.

 all the otehr negatives and/or bugs are on my previous message.

so, anybody else experience these problems with the box? 

We've now had it officially confirmed that a second firmware upgrade for the Technika SmartBox 8320HD will be released 'within the next 48 hours'. As before, details will be published on the Fetch TV website. It's hoped this second upgrade will fix the remaining bugs.

As for stock availability, more boxes are on the way and should be on sale next week. I've put in a call to Tesco HQ to clarify exactly when they'll be available.