BBC Red Button channel 301 won't ever be Remote Recordable

With the Formula 1 season only weeks away, I was keen to see if there was any possibility to be able to remote record the Friday practice sessions which air on the BBC Red Button channel 301, because I might forget to set a recording via the local EPG on the 8320HD before leaving for work.

As some of you may know, channel 301 is present on the 8320HD's EPG, but bizarrely missing from Fetch TV's Web-based EPG (the one that lets you remote record). I lodged a ticket about this with Fetch TV's support, but got this unsatisfying response:

"Unfortunately the EPG data providers who supply the programme guide do not include the red button channels as the BBC doesn't provide the programme information  for them. So even if we added the channel itself in the listings it would have no programme information."

So what they're saying is that the Web EPG has a different data source than the 8320HD's EPG (the former is collated by non-geniuses TV Genius and the latter is taken from the Freeview on-air signal). Surely there are two obvious ways to fix this - the first is to get TV Genius to supply the channel 301 data (I find it difficult to believe that the BBC wouldn't supply it to TV Genius if asked) or secondly, simply add the "missing" channels by merging the TV Genius EPG data with the on-air signal data.

It's disappointing that Fetch TV haven't even thought of considering either course of action, especially when channel 301 isn't the only missing channel in their Web EPG. As it stands, you can forget ever Remote Recording anything on the BBC Red Button - another thumbs down for the Web EPG/Remote Recording facility then.

Tesco Direct drops the 8320HD's price to £185

As reported last month, the 8320HD returned to Tesco Direct, albeit surprisingly at the original price. This month, however, they've dropped the price a further £20 to £185 (including the £5 delivery charge) and this finally undercuts Fetch TV's price by £4.50.

Potential new purchasers should be aware that there at least two serious issues with the latest 8320HD firmware: repeating the previous remote control button press instead of obeying the latest press and no auto-padding facility causing regular losses of the start or end of programmes that don't run exactly to the EPG schedule unless you manually pad them.

8320HD returns to Tesco Direct

When Tesco stopped selling the 8320HD, it was natural to assume that it was a 6-month contract that had expired and Tesco - because of early issues including an Emergency Product Recall - weren't renewing the distribution contract. Less than a month later, however, it's back for sale at Tesco Direct again! It's the same price as before (£205 including postage) and is still undercut by the seemingly long-lasting Fetch TV offer (£189.50 including postage).

New stable firmware available

Only a week after the "leaked" beta firmware download, Fetch TV have released a new stable version, 4.8.03-01. I've installed it on my 8320HD and it seems to have mostly cured the repeat remote control problem (it still happens, but not as frequently). More details are on the Latest Firmware page.

New beta firmware available

Thanks to Jacko at AVForums.com, we now have a new beta firmware release to play with, namely version 4.8.01-20. Apparently it improves recording accuracy (hopefully not chopping off ends of recordings due to using the EPG end time like the current stable firmware does), but I haven't yet applied it to my 8320HD. Check the Latest Firmware page for instructions on how to install the new beta firmware.

Beginning of the end for the 8320HD?

It was always rumoured that Tesco had a short-term distribution deal (6 months from the World Cup 2010 onwards?) with IP Vision for the 8320HD and it's now official - Tesco have discontinued the box. It doesn't really come as a shock with the high rate of returns due to horrifically buggy firmware and Fetch TV selling direct to the public and undercutting Tesco by almost £20 for a few months now. What's worrying now is that the 8320HD might be abandoned completely by IP Vision - we still need firmware updates to fix outstanding bugs and these look less likely to appear now...

8320HD price increase due to VAT rise

Although Fetch TV's end-of-year offer of £185.95 delivered for an 8320HD has ended, the £20-off page remains. It's just that the VAT increase has made the normal price £205 and the discounted price £185. You can also get 48-hour delivery for £4.50, making the delivered/discounted price now £189.50. Tesco is still at £205 delivered for the moment.