Page 1 of Freeview Boxes

Which is the best to buy? I need to get one for my parents but have no idea what the difference is between the cheap ones and more expenive ones.

I`ve seen a pansonic one at littlewoods.co.uk which i was thinking about getting (£15 off) but don`t know if its any good.

Any suggestions and comments welcome...

Thanks,
Ross.

If you mean the Panasonic TUCT20, it`s excellent - well worth getting in my opinion, and an absolute bargain if you can get it for £15 below RRP. The only downside is the remote, which looks as though it was designed for a dwarf.

The Pace DVTA is pretty good as well, though it`s a little lacking in connection options. I found that the Panasonic was less fussy about signal strength than the Pace, so that might be something to consider if you live quite far from the nearest transmitter, or if you intend to use the box with a set-top aerial.

The very cheapest boxes are refurbished OnDigital ones. I would avoid those, since they tend to be slower and less reliable than the more modern Freeview boxes, and may lack features such as digital text.

Mike

how do I get £15.00 off?

i have a panasonic TUCT20, not bad but the EPG is crap and also it only has one scart, i also have a goodmans gdb2, £80 thats a good box and can be updated via a computer with new software available from Goodmans via DigitalSpy, the last box i have is the Thomson DTI1000 and i would safely say this is the best box i have, the EPG is superb and it is a great box, lovely remote and also a nice sleek box (same size as the panasonic) but it has a built in mains adaptor, instead of the external black think the panasonic has!!!, it is £89 from empire direct or comet sell it at £100 and also if you see a Grundig GDT2000 this is a clone, infact all of the grundig Set top boxes are made by thomson, just incase you wanted to know, anyway if you need any more info dont hesitate to email me or contact me on msn at the following address "ytsrihgib[at]moc.liamtoh" i hope this post was useful to you.

PS. The Thomson DTI1000 is now manufactured with an RF Modulator, if you manage to get a recent model (last 2 months i think) mine hasnt got one but is still a brilliant box, the best i have seen!

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Dan...The CyberHome Man

Are there any boxes out there with a twin tuner - or something that will let you record one channel, whilst watching another?

If so, anyone know how much the price difference is?

Are Sky and the Cable companies planning to distribute twin tuner boxes too?

This item was edited on Sunday, 11th May 2003, 01:02

Pace now have a PVR (hard drive recorder) with a twin tuner. The other way of course is to buy two boxes :-)

Hopefully, this will become less of an issue as analogue switchoff draws closer. I expect manufacturers will start to provide digital tuners as standard in all new TV sets and video recorders - so you get the same functionality as you currently get from analogue transmissions, without the need for boxes cluttering up your room.

Mike

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

oojason - just seen this on the specification on a box johnlewis.co.uk are selling:

*TV aerial `analogue loop through`, watch a digital channel and record an analogue TV programme or vice versa

Is that what you`re after?

I`m probably going to order one today, any last minute suggestions on what to buy or where to buy one?

Thanks again.

Thomson DTi1000 - COMET

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Dan...The CyberHome Man

Went to COMET, bought the DTi1000 - Very pleased with it so far.

The two scart sockets was the main reason over the Panasonic.

Thanks for your help Hirsty and everyone else.

yeah the DTi1000 is a nice box!!!!!!!!!!

Nice remote, sits nice in hand!

DOES YOURS HAVE THE RF MODULATOR???

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Dan...The CyberHome Man