Toshiba HDD-J35 HD set top box

Photo gallery: Toshiba HDD-J35 HD set top box

Design
Looking somewhat like a big DVD player, the Toshiba HDD-J35 isn't the most petite of components, measuring in at 430x302x82mm (WxDxH) and weighing in at 3.7kg. Decked out in the traditional metallic silver of most AV gear, the HDD-J35 certainly won't stand out because of its design, but its clean looks will mean it'll be an unobtrusive fit in most living rooms' home entertainment set-ups.

The front of the unit is generally clutter-free, with only about half a dozen thin buttons present for controlling some basic functions (beware those with fat fingers). A nice design touch is the star shaped button layout on the HDD-J35's right side for menu navigation. It also sports a large LCD screen in the middle of its face, which should make it easy to check the unit's mode from across a room. The HDD-J35 comes with quite a large remote which, with its more than 50 buttons, can look quite intimidating at first. You'll probably need a bit of practice to memorise the layout of this one, particularly as some of the most used buttons (such as play, stop, fast forward etc.) are the same size and shape, meaning identification by feel alone is impossible.

Features
The HDD-J35 can probably afford to be a little wide, considering the grunt it holds inside. This Toshiba is the only high definition set top box out in the market right now with a built-in hard drive and HDMI connectors, so if you're one who likes to stay ahead of the curve then this unit's for you.

The HDD-J35 is a true HD set top box, supporting 1920x1080i, 1280x720p, 720x576p, and 720x576i (PAL) resolutions. Considering the different shades of HD being broadcast in Australia, the Toshiba's multi-format capabilities come in handy, plus there's a neat auto-detect feature that will automatically recognise the quality of digital signal being broadcast and change the unit's output accordingly. It also comes with twin tuners, meaning you can watch and record at the same time, or record two different shows at the same time, or use picture-in-picture functionality.

The unit's 160GB hard drive is good enough for roughly 18-22 hours of HD recordings, or more than 50 hours of SD shows. The HDD-J35 automatically detects the quality of digital signal and records it in the appropriate format quality - users have no option to set the level of recording quality themselves. This Toshiba also gives you Time Slip (allowing you to pause live TV and watch from where you left off) and Chase Play functionality (allowing you to start the beginning of a show while the end is still being recorded).

When it comes to connectors, HDMI is the star of this particular Toshiba, giving you an all digital audio and video connection to your HDMI-capable television. Unfortunately, an HDMI cable doesn't come standard, so you'll have to fork out some extra cash if you want the best quality signal. There's also a component and RGB out, as well as a digital coaxial audio, digital optical audio and two analog audio outs. The Toshiba also allows you to connect to another device (such as a VCR or DVD recorder) for archiving any recordings stored on its hard drive. Unfortunately, the unit only allows this through separate S-Video or composite outs.

The HDD-J35 also comes with a couple of inputs (component and composite), allowing you to hook up two other devices such as your Foxtel box, DVD player or VCR. And in a plus, the Toshiba will upscale its component input signals to 1080i resolution, but only if you have the HDD-J35 connected via HDMI (yet another reason to go buy that cable).

Performance
We connected the HDD-J35 set top box to Toshiba's big screen rear pro the 62JM9UA via a HDMI cable, and found the initial set-up to be a relatively pain-free process. (As an aside, it's still a small thrill to have only one cable - HDMI - to connect between components. Everything should be this easy.) After an automatic program scan process that took a few minutes, the HDD-J35 was ready to go. The HDMI cable we used was a Sheric HDMI "Digi-cable" connector, which retails for AU$99 for 3m. Sheric is distributed in select AV stores by Toshiba's distributor Castel.

The HDD-J35's auto-detect feature worked well, automatically adjusting the resolution to suit the incoming signal (as well as telling you with on-screen graphics exactly what quality signal - HD or SD - you're watching). The pictures it produced were predictably high quality, particularly any HD signals we viewed. Images were sharp and detailed, with colours being vibrant and realistic.

But that chunky 160GB hard drive is this particular set top box's point of difference, and it has to be said that recording, for the most part, is seamlessly integrated into the HDD-J35's functionality. Recording is as easy as pressing one button on the remote, with the Toshiba's two tuners meaning you can surf channels while recording one program, or record two programs at the same time. Stopping recordings can be problematic though, as the only way you can stop is by going back to the channel you were recording and pressing the stop button there. That may be a simple thing when you only have five analog channels, but when you've got dozens of digital channels to choose from it's sometimes easy to forget exactly what number channel you were recording. It would have been nice to be able to stop a single recording from anywhere, or if you have two on the go having a pop-up screen that asks you which one to stop. The HDD-J35 also incorporates an easy to use recording scheduler, which won't take you long to master.

Pressing play during a TV broadcast will play the last program recorded, but the Toshiba has a nifty Library function which is the central management point for all of your recordings. Pressing the Library button on the remote will bring up your archive, which shows the channel, duration and digital quality (SD or HD) of the programs you've recorded. This Library screen also has a small window where you can preview recordings. Library is also where you'll find how much recording time you have left. While the unit's LCD screen also displays how much hard drive capacity is left (in percentage terms), accessing the Library breaks it down into HD and SD durations. Since there's no way to set recording quality preference (and therefore no one set figure to show how much recording time is left), users will have to keep an eagle eye on the HD and SD durations to make sure they don't inadvertently run out of space. And when you're recording in HD, 22 hours worth of space dries up pretty quickly.

Quibbles aside, recordings made on the HDD-J35 lose no quality at all, and remain as sharp and vibrant as the original digital broadcasts. Once you're playing a recording, it's as simple to control as any VCR or DVD player, with the ability to fast forward, rewind and pause all there as normal. Toshiba has also added a handy Instant Skip button, which when pressed will automatically skip forward a preset number of time (30 seconds, one minute, three minutes or five minutes). It may not be TiVo, but we see excellent ad-skipping functionality written all over this one.

Pausing live television is a breeze - just press the Timeslip button on the remote and the HDD-J35 will 'pause' the image while simultaneously recording the program. Pressing play will start the show from where you first paused. This function works well enough, but does take about two or three seconds before the recording actually starts (which means you better not be pausing just before a big try is scored, or the lag may result in you missing it). Be aware though that the HDD-J35 doesn't automatically cache programs you're viewing (a la Foxtel iQ), so rewinding live TV is not possible.

And speaking of Foxtel iQ, while you can hook up a Foxtel box to one of the Toshiba's inputs, the HDD-J35 doesn't actually allow you to record anything from external sources. So throw any thoughts of using this as a default iQ box out of your mind.

At AU$1599, the Toshiba certainly isn't cheap, but it does offer functionality and specifications that's ahead of anything else on the market right now. As a set top box it produces great pictures, and as a hard drive recorder it's easy to use. Throw in the fact that it has a HDMI connector and the Toshiba HDD-J35 becomes the HD set top box of choice for those who want to stay ahead of the technology curve - until Toshiba's competitor's catch up at any rate.