M'enfin! - David Delabassee's blog David Delabassee's blog

Hard disk and consumer device

Since a year, I am using a Digital Set-Top box (DVB-S) with a built-in PVR. I think I won't be able to live without the PVR... Well, I would be able to live without, but I won't be able to watch TV anymore without a PVR! Time-shift is just so convenient! It is on all the time! Being able to pause or rewind a live TV program is just great. The pure recorder functionality is also way better than traditional recording (no more juggling with tapes, no more waiting to rewind tape, no more crappy VHS low quality, etc). My only concern is the ambient "noises" produced by the STB hard disk! There are always some subtle "ttrrr" (head movements) and some "zssszzsss" (disk spinning) polluting noises! The bothering level directly depends of the program I am watching: almost null for an action movie, acceptable for a TV movie, annoying for a suspense movie! I am not a die-hard audiophile, but the noise is there,subtle but present! So that is annoying! And of course, once you have noticed this... well, you'll concentrate to make sure you hear those annoying noises; just to check that they have unfortunately not disappeared! I have replaced the original HD with a more silent one. It is already better. But noise factor is not really a feature for hard disk! The other issue is that I need IDE HD, and IDE disks are scarce those days! Tags: HD disk PVR ( août 17 2005, 12:03:07 PM PDT ) Permalink Comments [0]