"Strong" Competition for DP-H1

[Paul55]

The following has just been released by Strong.

http://www.csvav.com.au/strong_srt5429.pdf

Looks similar to the DP-H1 and includes a built in (only 160GB) HDD. Advertised on line for $199.

[tonymy01]

am in japan reading on my mobile, does it do streaming etc like the h1?

[bonson]

No networking, so not really an H1 competitor for some (many?) people.

[Paul55]

No networking, so not really an H1 competitor for some (many?) people.

The H1 is a good fit for those with another BW. However, the Strong would e a good choice if you didn't want/need the BW interactivity - especially at around half the price of the H1. As more users start to keep files on portable storage, the networking ability isn't quite as vital.
With the number of single HD tuner models from the competition, maybe it's time for DPG to revisit improved marketing and more attractive pricing for the H1. The price hasn't changed since I bought mine while everything else has dropped markedly.
I've had my H1 for a few years now and I'm very happy with it. However, I struggle to recommend it at the current price for what it does.

[IanSav]

Hi Paul55,

As more users start to keep files on portable storage, the networking ability isn't quite as vital.

Speak for yourself. My experience and observation indicate that NAS type devices are becoming far more popular and common. People want a central well connected repository to store all their media. Shuffling through a range of USB devices looking for a media file is no fun and quite time consuming. NAS devices have come down in price and are becoming a viable reality for many people.

Another significant advantage of many NAS type devices is the offer of hard drive redundancy where the failure of a single drive does not render the entire contents of the device lost. (NOTE: having drive redundancy is not and excuse or an alternative for backing up your data.)

Larger NAS devices also offer far more storage capacity that even the largest single hard drives available today.

Regards,
Ian.

[download]

The H1 IMO is really only for people that have already bought another BW model. As a standalone unit its generally too expensive and not powerful enough. As with many BW products they seem to largely to canabalise an existing product to create a new one (ie the p1 => h1). Nothing wrong with this but it means its hard to find some real cost savings.

The Strong IMO looks like a very good stand alone unit for people that need to replace the VCR, want access to HD but don't really watch a lot of TV. They'd also likely have no interest/capability in setting up networking. At $200 that's a very nice price for a unit that should also be very easy to operate.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[netmask]

I read on their page that it supports subtitles and will record on an external USB drive. I am wondering if you can transfer files off the internal drive via the usb port or via the external drive to your pc for demuxing etc..? It would be ideal for a pensioner friend. The H1 is too expensive for him.