Digifusion FVRT100/145/150/200 Tweaking

!! WARNING !!

All files and advice on this site are provided in good faith,
but you use them at your own risk.

Nothing provided here comes with any warranty or guarantee.

This site is dedicated to the Digifusion FVRT100/145/150/200 Freeview PVR recorders sold in the UK.

There is a great deal of useful information relating to these units contained within the Digital Spy Digifusion Forums and they are a great place to visit and search if you've got a specific question. However, the sheer amount of information can make it difficult to digest and find what you're looking for. This site picks out some of the most frequently asked questions and provides answers, or links into the forums. It also hosts files relating to the boxes.

Links

The ST20 Disassembler
DigiFusion Firmware Patches

Frequently Asked Questions

Can that background be changed?

The default background for the menu screens, guide and dialogue boxes is generally regarded as pretty awful (although of course some people like it!). Digifusion themselves say "the intent was to make it vivid and eyecatching" - they certainly managed that, unfortunately it's also pretty hard to read the text over the top of it.

The default Guide background.

If you don't like it, or can't read it, then you can update your box with one of three new themes that have been prepared by forum members, or even design your own. Click on the images below for large versions. (Note that these images are JPEG compressed, the real backgrounds have smooth shading!)

af123's theme craig_16's theme dave101's theme
A guide on how to replace your backgrounds is available here.

How can I get recordings off the PVR disk?

You need to open the PVR box, connect the hard disk to a PC and extract the recordings using one of two utilities. Easy enough if you're familiar with PC hardware or taking things apart™. See the Data Extraction thread for (lots) more information.

How do you archive recordings to DVD?

The general principle is to process the file produced by the data extraction tools with ProjectX and then multiplex the output from that into a DVD compatible video file.

I use the following tools to achieve this, there are other options:

Can I disable the there are new scenes to generate dialogue?

Yes! You can patch the software to disable automatic scene generation.

See the software patches page for more information.

How can I upgrade the hard disk?

A lot of people have successfully upgraded their hard drive to one with a bigger capacity. The greatest success has been with Samsung drives. The maximum disk size that the PVR can use is 128GB even if the actual hard drive capacity is greater.

The best place for information on doing this is the Upgrading Fusion Hard Drive thread on Digital Spy.

Can I make it easier to regularly transfer recordings from the PVR?

A couple of people have modified their PVRs and installed a permanent USB socket and switch on the rear panel so that they can transfer recordings without having to remove the hard disk at all.

Links to descriptions/pictures of these modifications are here: