Page 1 of Wanted :DVD Player with HardDisk recording and DIV X capability

I`ve seen a few of these on German ebay (Auvion brand) but was wondering if they were available in the UK? Also are the German models compatible for UK use?

example

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=28883&item=5726059573&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

The Auvion isn`t a DVD recorder.It`s a (removeable) hard disc recorder and DVD player. It is DivX, Xvid. MP4 compatible.

I got one off Ebay last month for about £140 (Including carriage from Germany) and it`s very good. I especially like the ability to connect the unit by USB to my PC and be able to transfer media either way. That means I can record to the hard drive, fire down the USB, edit and burn on my PC, or edit and return it to the hard drive for viewing. Alternately, if I`ve got a lot of editing, I just take out the hard drive from the Auvion and insert it into my removable rack in my PC.

In the UK, it goes under the Sigmatek name, and they are charging over 400 quid for them with a hard drive!! In Denmark, they are called NorthQ.

Like most things, it`s not perfect, it`s mainly slightly annoying things than anything out and out bad..It`s a bit on the noisy side, and the instuctions are in `Manglish` (You know, that type of English you only get in electrical equipment manuals where someone with a slight grasp of the lingo gets the job of writing it!!

For the money I`ve paid for it, and for what I got, I consider it a total bargain.

Auvion sell direct on ebay-look for one of the auctions they run rather than the `buy it nows` ..they usually sell between £130 and £180...Be careful though, a few older models minus the USB connection surface..it`s still good without that, but the USB feature is the USP for me. Al the ones Auvion themselves sell, they will be brand new.

If you do buy-make sure the hard drive you buy is either Maxtor, Hitachi ir Samsung...Others are not compatible..I bought a 120gb Western Digital in readiness for it`s arrival, but the Auvion wouldn`t recognise it...I then got a Maxtor, and it`s absolutely fine.

If you want any more info on it, let me know.