LG’s MS400 series of high definition digital video recorders

The LG MS400 series of Network Twin HD Recorders not only record all your favourite TV shows, but also connect to the internet and share video, music and photos from your external hard drive, flash drive or PC.

Let’s take a closer look. Everything you want – and nothing you don’t – is listed on the screen when you’re ready to watch. Plus, with a super-quick 30x fast forward button, ads don’t have to be part of the entertainment. The Wireless Network Twin HD Recorder can also pause and rewind live TV. So if the phone rings or someone comes to the door, just press Pause, and then Play to resume watching where you left off.

If you missed a classic catch, or a critical piece of dialogue, press Rewind till you reach the part of the broadcast you want. Once you’ve caught up on the action, just fast forward to catch up to real-time. And because you can rewind up to two hours of TV, you can actually go right back to beginning of a show or movie and watch it from the start. You literally don’t have to miss a thing.

Storage options

The Network Twin HD Recorder comes in 250GB and 500GB sizes – that means up to 60 hours of high definition and around 175 hours of standard definition programming. Need more than that? Add a terabyte hard drive to this smart detachable expansion bay at the front for another 120 hours of HDTV.

Still need more? Connect a thumb drive to the USB 2.0 port, or add an external hard drive – again up to 1 terabyte. If you manage to fill all this space, don’t worry about the Network Twin HD Recorder deleting your shows to make space for new ones. It lets you know when it’s full, so you can swap out hard drives for new ones.

Networking

With the simple onscreen menus and the remote control, deciding where your recordings will live makes organising all those programs super easy too. Make the Network Twin HD Recorder a part of your home network, and you’ll also be able to copy any video, photo and music files you keep on your computer, meaning you can enjoy all that PC goodness on the widescreen TV and through the big speakers in the room with the comfy chairs.

File formats

Worried about compatible file formats? Forget about it – LG has this covered too. The recorder supports and plays back most common music, movie, audio and photo files – see below in Specifications the full list of playable file formats. An added bonus is that the recorder will also upscale standard definition video to high definition 1080p.

You’re not limited to computers when it comes to sharing the good stuff around, either. The Network Twin HD Recorder is DLNA-certified, which means it can access photos, video and music stored on other DLNA devices, such as digital cameras, camcorders, TVs, mobile phones, printers and music systems.For example, you could beam photos or video from a DLNA phone or camera to the Wireless Twin Network HD Recorder and then share it with other devices around the house.

Internet connectivity

Nothing to watch on TV or off the hard drive? With the Network Twin HD Recorder you have loads more exciting options to explore. Thanks to your broadband connection and home network you can now access the millions of video clips that can be found on YouTube, and with more than 65,000 new videos added every day there’s always something to watch.

And accessing the internet from your TV couldn’t be easier. Just click the YouTube tab in the Home menu, and you’re online. All this on your TV and in full screen.

You can also go online to view slideshows from your Picasa photo library. Setting up an account is easy, and allows the whole household to share moments and memories together from the comfort of the sofa. You can also share your pictures or slide shows with the world. Make them public for everyone to see or set up a password so that only invited friends and family can view them.

Easy to set-up

It’s clear LG’s Network Twin HD Recorder does a lot of clever things, but you don’t have to be a genius to set it up. First, loop your antenna connection to the recorder, then connect your TV. A choice of sockets round the back connects the recorder to virtually any TV, with HDMI or component being the best choice for full HD flat panel televisions.

Now, just a few more important connections to make. hould you want to boost the memory on either model, it’s a snap. The recorder has USB slot on the back and the front, which is where you add an external hard drive or a USB thumb drive.

Finally, connect the WiFi dongle and follow the onscreen setup menus that will help connect the Network Twin HD Recorder to your home network. Don’t have a wireless home network? Not a problem, there’s also an Ethernet connection. Once complete, you’ll be able to access You Tube and Picasa websites, share and transfer music, photos and videos between your PC and the Recorder.

Remember, you can also watch high definition TV, pause and rewind live TV, and record and archive mountains of your favourite shows to watch when you want, not when the TV stations want you watch it.

LG’s Network Twin HD Recorder has two high definition tuners inside, so you can record two HD shows, and watch something you’ve already recorded – all at the same time.

Specifications

  • Video playback in Full HD with 1080p up scaling (MKV, DivX HD)
  • Built-in DLNA and Wi-Fi
  • UCC streaming for YouTube and Picassa access with high speed internet connection
  • Integrated Twin HD Tuner
  • Time Shift function
  • 250GB/500GB built-in storage, detachable HDD Slot (3.5″ SATA), USB host
  • Video playback formats: DivX 3-7, Xvid (SD), FLV, MPG, HD DivX, WMV9 HD, MP2 TS, H.264 ts/avi, MKV
  • Audio playback formats: MP3, WMA, AAC, Ogg, PCM, AC3, M4A, FLAC
  • Image playback formats: JPEG HD, JPEG, BMP
  • Music photo slide show capability, Zoom View
  • X2 Sound Playability

Price and availability

The LG MS400 Series HD DVR will be available in two models, differing in hard drive sizes. The LG MS408 HD DVR includes a 250GB HDD for $849 RRP, while the LG MS409 HD DVR includes a 500GB HDD for $999 RRP.