DISTINGUISHING YOUR Freeview recorder from the crowd is not easy, so View21 (a brand from Goodmans maker, Harvard International) has made the VV107ZRH32W unusually small, crammed in a twin-tuner recording HD Freeview receiver with a 320GB hard drive (or 500GB for £20 more), and added streaming TV via Wi-fi to apps on your phone or tablet.
This is the second streaming Freeview recorder in the View21 stable, after the WV11FVRHF50 and it’s both better and cheaper.
Build and connectivity
The recorder is very slim and as deep as it is wide. All black, with only the power button/light on the front, it’s a lot prettier than its predecessor.
Around the back is the aerial input and loopthrough output. An HDMI port is partnered with a coax S/PDIF digital audio output and the only other connections are a USB socket for software updates and an
Ethernet to link to your network and the internet (Wi-fi is built in).
The remote control is reasonably classy looking; a decent size, and not over busy with buttons, it has a nice shiny black front and chrome trim around the arrow key cluster.
It sits in the hand comfortably and is slim enough to operate one handed. There are some anomalies in the layout; the mute button is almost uniquely at the bottom of the button array and the playback controls are strewn around the cursor cluster (which is not very positive in action), while the section access buttons (Menu, Library, Guide, Back, Exit) are huddled together where it’s less easy to stab at the right one.
However, you soon get to know the handset’s foibles and using the View21 is not seriously aff ected.
Setup
This receiver is almost plug-and-play. A wizard leads you through the process in a couple of minutes.
Alarmingly, the onscreen message warns the channel search will take eight minutes, but we found that it actually took only about 2.5 minutes to fi ll its Freeview channel list.
The View21 detects a wired Ethernet connection and the DHCP automatic settings take care of initialising the network, otherwise Wi-fi setup is started. Either way, you’re up and running in seconds (although entering the Wi-fi security code could be a less tedious process).
Basic use
The View21 is simple in everydayuse. Not only is there an excellent Sky-like information banner and pop-up synopsis panel, with which you can browse what’s on the channels, but it also provides a decent Guide (EPG) and Library (for recordings and online content).
There is no simple channel list –and you don’t really miss it.
The channel order in the EPG cannot be altered, but the format can. You can have three, seven or 11 channels on the grid, with a synopsis displayed with the seven-channel option and available as a pop up on the others. The Guide button cycles through the formats and the default can be set elsewhere.