Vestel Freeview HD Recorder
Vestel PVR Unofficial Information (UK)
20 Aug 2019 T7655 v1.29.0 software update (Part 3)
9 Aug 2019 End of the line at Argos?
2 Jul 2019 T7655 v1.29.0 software update (Part 2)
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Freeview HD:  T7675T7655T7650T7300Freeview:  T836T835T845RT825T816T810Saorview:  T7660Top Up TV:  T845
Vestel T7655 Freeview HD Recorder (Project Amber2 & Emerald)
Freeview HD Recorder The T7655 model became available in July 2013. Just like the T7650 was much smaller than the T7300, the T7655 is again even more compact than the T7650. Like the T7650, it is DVB-T2 equipped Freeview+ HD recorder built around the Broadcom chipset, although the mainboard has obviously had a redesign to make it smaller. One significent difference with the T7655 is that it has moved away from using Sony CXD2820R DVB-T2 demodulator chips and now uses Broadcom BCM3461 DVB-T2 demodulator chips instead.

As with the T7650, the T7655 has an external PSU, and the reduction in size is helped by the use of a 2.5" SATA HDD, rather than the 3.5" drives used in previous models. The new Project Amber2 software is very similar to the T7650's Project Amber software. The internet portal functionality has returned, last seen on the T7300, which has a handful of "apps" present. The MHEG version of BBC iPlayer is also present, accesed via the red button on the BBC channels as usual.

In July 2014 a new iteration of the T7655 was introduced, namely the Bush B320DTRN and B500DTRN from Argos which supercede the previous Bush T7655 boxes. These feature the new Project Emerald software with new look user interface and no longer have the MHEG version of BBC iPlayer and instead have the new BBC Red Button+ service, which includes the latest HTML5 based BBC iPlayer (HD playback available) and BBC Sport and BBC News apps. Also, at the same time the Hitachi HDR5T01 began shipping with the Project Emerald software, having previously shipped with the Project Amber2 software. In February 2015, a new Hitachi HDR10T01 model became available with a 1Tb hard drive. Argos phased the Hitachi branded models out in 2018, with the HDR10T01 replaced by a 1Tb Bush branded box. In late 2018, Finlux branded 500Gb models became available at various retailers including Hughes, Amazon and Very.

Available Models
  • Bush 320GB HD Digital TV Recorder* (Argos)
  • Bush 320GB Smart Digital TV Recorder* (Argos)
  • Bush 500GB HD Digital TV Recorder* (Argos)
  • Bush 500GB Smart Digital TV Recorder* (Argos)
  • Bush B320DTRN Freeview +HD Smart Digital TV Recorder (Argos)
  • Bush B500DTRN Freeview +HD Smart Digital TV Recorder (Argos)
  • Bush B1000PVR (Argos)
  • Finlux T7655-500GB (Hughes / Amazon)
  • Hitachi HDR5T01 500GB Freeview+ HD Smart Digital TV Recorder (Argos)
  • Hitachi HDR10T01 1Tb Freeview+ HD Smart Digital TV Recorder (Argos)
* Note that these were introduced in January 2014, and should not be confused with
the older Bush Freeview+ HD box from 2013 which was not manufactured by Vestel

Known Software Builds - Project Amber2 (units manufactured until May 2014)
VersionDateRelease TypeNotes
2.462013-06-05 18:02:07Factorywith "Smart" / Internet Portal
2.502013-10-31 19:00:55Factorywith "Smart" / Internet Portal
Known Software Builds - Project Emerald (units manufactured from June 2014 onwards)
VersionDateRelease TypeNotes
1.022014-0?-?? ??:??:??Factory
1.052014-0?-?? ??:??:??Factory
1.112014-07-02 16:27:58Factory
1.152014-07-24 ??:??:00Factory
1.20.2
Hitachi -
2015-03-11 12:24:45Factory / Internet / USBChanges in this release include, and note that this is NOT an exhaustive list:
  • Fixed broken series recording functionality
  • Fixed audio glitches/pops/clicks on HD channels and DVB-T2 SD channels, triggered by encoder changes at broadcast level
  • Fixed EPG population issue where programme descriptions were not available for the full 8 days
  • Fixed accurate recording start signal from being ignored when programme starts late (recordings no longer start too early)
  • Fixed video quality issue affecting SD and 1080i HD broadcasts (1080p was ok) which caused flickering and ghosting due to apparent deinterlacing artefacts
  • Fixed aspect ratio not changing when playing recordings containing mixed 4:3 / 16:19 material
  • Fixed case where recordings could change channel mid-recording or were missing parts of the programme (could happen if you are actively using the box whilst two recordings are in progress)
  • Various cosmetic user interface fixes
1.20.2
Bush -
2015-03-11 17:11:47Factory / Internet / USB
1.21.3
Hitachi -
2015-05-11 18:32:06Factory / OAD / Internet / USBNew Freeview logo, no longer crashes when selecting favourites filter in EPG with no favourites set up, and various other minor fixes
1.22.1
Hitachi
2016-03-03 20:06:35Factory / OADChanges in this release are not known, other than fixes for various recording issues present in previous releases.
1.22.1
Bush
2016-03-11 11:11:16Factory / OAD
1.25.0
Hitachi -
2017-11-13 15:28:36Factory / Internet / USBThe exact changes in this release since v1.22.1 are unknown apart from a fix for the BBC apps which had stopped working. Presumably, there have been quite a few other fixes due to the jump in version number.
1.25.0
Bush -
2017-11-13 16:03:33Factory / Internet / USB
1.27.02018-??-?? ??:??:??FactoryShipped with Finlux branded boxes.
1.28.0
Hitachi
2018-11-05 ??:??:??Factory / InternetSome of the changes in this version are the introduction of an EU compliant GPDR cookie permission confirmation screen during First Time Installation and a channel breakdown screen that appears after an automatic channel scan which shows the number of TV, radio and text channels.

More importantly, this version started randomly deleting existing recordings from the recordings library, which were lost forever, hence this update was pulled from the update servers once this was reported.

1.28.0
Bush
2018-11-05 ??:??:??Factory / Internet
1.29.0
Bush -
2019-03-18 14:28:50Factory / Internet / USBThis release fixes the recording library deletion bug present in v1.28.0.
1.29.0
Hitachi -
2019-03-18 15:02:33Factory / Internet / USB

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