RE : Joseph Lord10:49 GMT
Regarding your non-DSO compliant TV, I presume that you understand that it met the agreed specification for UK Digital Terrestrial TV and it was a later decision by the DtG that was largely driven by the broadcasters to change the specification and the broadcast modes in a way that it was known would prevent early digital products from working.
I sold it when the tube started to go dull now have a W series LCD.
The old PVR to which you referred was by all accounts a very poor product and should not have been allowed out of the door. I seem to recall that it appeared in Basingstoke as essentially a finished product for testing without earlier input and it wasn't regarded as very impressive.
That was the Beko job, it to be honest was a joke.
Some of the old Bridgend people are still in Sony in Basingstoke and while there is no longer much development and design work done by that team they specification and testing work. The Basingstoke team certainly contributed to the development of the Freeview + HD box.
Those early IDTVs were VERY WELL rated and were the best tuners of the early DTTV days, knowing the same team is behind the new PVR is more important than I think Sony realise.
A lot of us who like Sony goods do not buy because of the badge, but because of the quality. I thought the Wega tube was fantastic, my old Sony 950 was the best domestic 1/2" tape product in the UK, my old Sony portable VCR still works, went with it because Beta was better than Vhs. My LCD current TV was one of best at the time.
But I went Pioneer for DVD player no 2 as they do both SACD and DVD-Audio.
As to Sony badged, well I was given a Sony Vhs recorder and it is the worst VCR in my collection, only used it to transfer to PC, actually it is a bit shoddy, also it was not much newer than my best VCR the SLHF950. Want to see cheap and well made - look at the early Sanyo VCRs - as your format partners, they did some great decks, my VTCM40 HiFi still works!
Suffice to say I have had quite a bit of Sony stuff but you had to work at it.