LG Electronics has finally made the transformation to the Freeview bandwagon with their first crack at the format in the form of the RHT399H DVD/HDD Recorder. The device, despite being the first from the company ranks, has all the manifestations of making it a great buy, especially if you take into account features like series recording and pause live TV which makes the digital TV viewing a really rewarding experience. The current range comes combined with three Freeview+ combis, and the only difference is in their hard-disk size, with the top range having a mammoth 320GB capacity, and is well supplemented by the 250GB and 160GB versions.

The mammoth hard-disk is capable of holding an amazing 935 hours’ worth of MPEG-2 recordings, and supported by a innovative multi-format DVD drive that has been incorporated with the device it is also capable of recording or copying most of the popular disc formats, including DVD-RAM. Though DVD-R DL format isn’t supported by the unit it is hardly a matter to despair, as you get the competent DVD+R DL instead that is more than capable of taking care of dual-layer duties.

Design wise it is pretty good looking and combined with its fine build quality it is highly probable that you might instantly fall in love with the unit. However, the slim design means that up-close controls have to be compromised for lack of space, and have all but only four buttons on the fascia. The design has a negative on the display panel as well, as you get to know only a couple of important information like the elapsed running time, and that too in TV mode.

The device comes equipped with a good array of connectivity options that should definitely save you unnecessary hassles, especially when it comes to AV inputs. The LG RHT399H 320GB recorder includes DV, composite, stereo audio and USB, which allows you to source video, music or photos from a flash memory device or transfer them to the hard-disk.

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