StarHub Smart TV

Features
Under the hood of the DVR settop box is a 120GB hard drive-equipped recorder, a cable modem and a set of digital tuners integrated into a single compact package. It varies from past StarHub settop boxes and other non-digital tuner-enabled DVRs by wedding advancements in digital cable infotainment and communication with the image superiority of digital video recording. That said, it lacks advanced playback controls, video-editing functions and the hard drive maintenance (disk defragmentation) of standalone recorders.

While most recording enthusiasts should be familiar with the time-shift function--the ability to pause or manipulate a recording program--Smart TV has brought this to a completely new level by extending the capability to live TV broadcast. Utilizing dedicated hard drive space, it enables a live program to be automatically recorded with a maximum 2-hour buffer, all at the touch of the remote's pause button.

	Get the up-to-date broadcast schedule with a built-in electronic program guide. (Click for larger image)

With this digital settop box, you also gain access to an electronic program guide that stores and displays three days worth of program schedules. This can be expanded to display helpful information such as program synopsis and multilingual support. Recording your favorite show is also made easy with the Record by Show feature, making it a straightforward browse-and-select recording procedure.

For chatterbugs, StarHub is also throwing in ICQ-style SMS and text-based emailing functions to enable you to keep in touch with friends and family. These messaging tools would have been an enticing deal sweetener if not for a number of restrictions. For one, the SMS is open only to the company's mobile subscribers, while an i.Mail subscription is mandatory in order to access the Smart TV's emailing feature.

The telco has rectified its past offerings' connectivity deficiency by outfitting the DVR settop box with a set of high-performance A/V outputs. At its rear is a PAL-format component-video output, two sets of composite-A/V sockets, a 10Mbps network port, a digital optical audio jack and a USB terminal. Though there is no official documentation on the USB port functionality, we were told that the port is being reserved for future expansion needs.

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