August 2nd, 2010
1,116 
0 The Toshiba HDR5010 is Toshiba’s first Freeview HD DVR and it’s a stunning debut with tonnes of advanced functions and features to help you get the most from your TV watching. Here’s a quick guide to the features you’ll find hidden beneath its sleek outer shell…
Twin tuner smarts
With twin Freeview HD tuners, the Toshiba HDR5010 won’t make you choose between your favourite shows. You can watch one channel while simultaneously recording another. The built-in 8 day TV guide makes it easy to find shows and schedule recordings.
Heroic HDMI hub
As well as HDMI out for hooking the Toshiba HDR5010 up to your HDTV, it features two HDMI inputs. They’ll allow you to hook up other devices like Blu-Ray and DVD players and games consoles with the HDR5010 acting as an HDMI switch and freeing up your TV connections for even more devices. The signals from other devices can still get to your TV even if the HDR5010 is switched off.
I’m sticking with USB
Two USB ports built-in to the Toshiba HDR5010 mean you can view images straight on your TV which is great for photo slideshows. It also supports MP3s played straight from a USB stick and DivX videos so you can grab clips from your PC’s digital library. The USB ports also mean it’s simple to install software upgrades and access new features.
Staying compatible
While the Toshiba HDR5010’s got the future covered with an Ethernet connection for accessing interactive services and HDMI for hooking up to HDTV, it’ll also play nice with your older tech. A SCART socket means you can also connect it to older TVs if you need to (though you won’t get HD) or make use of an ageing but still useful VHS or DVD player.
Everything can be upscale
Pair the Toshiba HDR5010 with a Toshiba TV with Resolution+ and all of its output including normal Freeview shows will be upscaled. That means that all everything you watch will be shown in near HD quality or if you’re watching a Freeview HD channel, full 1080p true HD.
An almost endless appetite for telly
The Toshiba HDR5010 can record, rewind and fast forward live TV and really comes into its own is recording shows you want to watch later. Inside there’s a huge 500GB of storage, enough to gobble up 120 hours of HD video. If you just record standard definition shows you’ll be able to grab stacks more and it gives you plenty of space to record whole series.
Never cut short
If you love recording your favourite shows but hate running the risk of missing a bit when they start late, the Toshiba HDR5010 keeps track of when programmes begin and end. With the Accurate Record feature it’ll make sure you get the whole episode even when the schedule gets snarled up.
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