# What Freeview Box



## mervyncp

HI
I am on the verge of dumping Sky and going for Freeview as nobody in my house is interested in sport or films and it's costing me a fortune.
With a view to going for cheap but efficient:-

Are Freeview boxes compatible with TiVo?

Are there any features the box must have?

How is it wired and set up?

The Samsung from Argos at £29.99 seems good value. Is it any good?

Best regards


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## GarySargent

I've just purchased the Matsui DTR3 box from Curry's £29.99 - literally just got it home.

First impressions are very good. Current TiVo 20030 codes work fine. Works with radio channels. Has two SCART's and RF loop through.

I need to do more testing but if there are no issues I plan to have this as my recommended Freeview box on my website, since I can do my best to ensure the IR codes TiVo sends remain compatible through any software updates the box gets.


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## DazBarber

Please keep us updated on the Matsui Gary. I'm about to move house soon and that will require the purchase of a reliable Freeview box. Previous threads haven't really given enough info about other readily available boxes.

Any pros and cons you become aware of in the next few days (/weeks?) will be gratefully noted.

Thanks,

Daryl


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## GarySargent

Will do. Looks very good so far, providing it doesn't crash or turn off overnight it seems perfect for use with TiVo.

Picture and sound quality seem good too (better than the original Philips onDigital box it replaces).


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## mervyncp

Does the Matsui box have an RF modulator, so you can tune the tele into it via the RF aerial as well. 
I have a shortage of scart sockets on the television therefore I need this so I can watch a digital programme while TiVo records a terrestial channel through its own tuner. (If that makes sense??)
Mervyn


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## GarySargent

Doesn't look like it. The manual describes it as RF loop-through only, and there is no config screen to set an RF output channel.


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## mervyncp

I've just had a look at the Curry's web site and it doesn't mention an RF modulator. Interestingly though it states the DTR has only one scart


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## ywu

Gary - I've found that what seems to be one person's good Freeview box is often not the same for another, even if TiVo likes it. Although we don't care about 7-epgs etc, another factor to consider is tuner sensitivity, as reception can be quite patchy for many of us. More sensitive boxes favoured in discussions on other forums seem to no longer be made, so any light you can shed on th Matsui would be good.


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## GarySargent

Well it is working fine with the aerial I unscientifically put up myself in the loft (just by moving it until I seemed to get the best TV picture). I get full signal strength on most channels. At least as good as the onDigital Philips box it replaces.

Problem for some is that their aerials are not wide band - they pick up a strong signal for only the original RF channels for BBC1, BBC2, ITV, and CH4. Other signals can't be picked up, but tend not to be as strong.

If you have an ancient aerial getting a new one is a good idea.


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## Corrie

I'm on the verge of ordering a second Freeview box. My first has a loop through RF port which will go into the second box. The Scart output from the second box (I hope) will deliver all Freview channels which through a Scart connection I can feed into the VCR socket on my Tivo. That way I hope to watch any Freeveiw channel while record from my first Freeview box. hope this makes sense - has anyone else tried this?


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## manolan

I have a Matsui TUTV1. It very occasionally loses the picture and has to be turned off. Nowhere near as often as my old Nokia used to freeze and much easier to put right when it happens.


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## timjon

Thanks Gary - this is really useful. I just dropped Sky and went back to my old Philips OnD box, but it's occasionally crashing (overheating, maybe) so I've been looking for a replacement. Since it looks like you've upgraded from the same OnD box, I can probably expect similar results. 

I'll wait a few days before splashing out in case you find any problems, though!


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## dieselnutjob

I bought a Sagem ITD58 from Argos last week. Very basic but it seems to work fine with TiVo and only 29 pounds. It also pulls in a few channels that TiVo didn't think it would (from my postcode) during the setup ( you just put thiem in Channels I Receive manually.
Always put it on 16:9 though even if you have a 4:3 tele because on 4:3 it stretches the picture horribly. A slight odditiy is that it goes to 4:3 for a few seconds every time one changes channel though.


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## GarySargent

At least 4 crashes now from the Matsui DTR3 requiring a power cycle (which means pulling the plug as the cord does not come out of the box).

Back to the shop I think. Any suggestions for a replacement?!


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## GarySargent

Ok avoid the Matsui. Just took it back to Currys and they have had another 7 returned recently! Said they were going to speak to head office about it.

Have now gone for the Sony VTX-D800U which if people are to be believed is very stable.

First impressions are very good. I'll report back.


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## DazBarber

Crikey - thanks for the heads up Gary. I'm going to go with your recommendation whatever you decide to stick with. I'm sorry you appear to be playing the guinea pig!

Daz


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## Ian_m

I would still say SetPal boxes, despite them not being made any more. My mates just got a Daeweo box off Ebay for £25 for use on bedroom TV with set top aerial. He's disabled absolutely everything interactive on it (as I have for TiVo use) so it just provides a picture.

He reports it works 100%, where as the existing analogue was affected by people moving in the room this box has no problems. All signal levels (strength and SNR) are all too low (all are red), but no picture problems at all. Occasional on screen "your signal is too weak" display, but no breakup of picture.


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## GarySargent

Boxes that aren't readily available anymore aren't much use though to most people.

No problems with the Sony yet. Channel changing is very fast, and signal quality magnitudes better than the Matsui which after initially appearing good soon had picture breakup (especially when I walked behind it!). Some users on Digital Spy report the Sony has better signal quality than the SetPals.


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## pgogborn

GarySargent said:


> Boxes that aren't readily available anymore aren't much use though to most people.


That may be true, but it is rather a harsh thing to say about the UK TiVo.


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## Fred1

Gary.

How much was the Sony?

Hope you dont mind me asking.

I notice that Tesco has a box for £29.99, has anyone tried this?

Also this site has a good feature list for most boxes http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeviewreceivers.html


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## GarySargent

The box was just short of £100 but I did see Currys have it for £80 if you buy online (not in their stores).

Seems priced high, but if it is reliable I figured it is a price worth paying.


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## iankb

I've used the latest Bush (same as the Daewoo) box from Tesco (the one that came after the SetPal box) for several months, and I've never had a problem with it. I don't use it with a TiVo, but I can't see why the reliability would be any different.


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## Fred1

Thanks

I agree, it sounds like you get what you pay for and the "cost" of the cheaper boxes is higher than it first appears.


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## PatP

Isn't the main issue whether the Tivo can control the Freeview decoder? Everything else must come second to this, surely?


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## GarySargent

Not in my case as I can add support for any Freeview box


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## GarySargent

So far the Sony box seems orders of magnitude better than the Matsui DTR3 I tried, and the Philips onDigital box I used to have. Not one crash, and not one picture breakup!


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## PatP

GarySargent said:


> Not in my case as I can add support for any Freeview box


Is it a secret, or will you enlighten me?


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## GarySargent

No not a secret, I can capture remote codes with my Pronto remote, and know how to convert and upload them into my TiVo.


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## happy_red

Just out of interest, why don't they make SetPal boxes anymore?


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## the_hut

Gary,

I bought a sony box but was then put off using it because of posts on this forum that occasionally the sony box would show a screen along the lines of "select this channel again" when it encountered an error displaying red button/text displays upon selecting the channel.... that left the tivo recording pretty useless.

Has this been cleaned up?

Oh, and just one other thing, happy_red, Mrs Hut completely agrees with your sig!


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## GarySargent

Not sure. Certainly not seen that happen so far.

Might be possible to work around it with extra IR codes if it is an issue.


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## MrNoisy

happy_red said:


> Just out of interest, why don't they make SetPal boxes anymore?


I don't think there was any money in it - with all the competition...


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## misterbleepy

GarySargent said:


> Not sure. Certainly not seen that happen so far.
> 
> Might be possible to work around it with extra IR codes if it is an issue.


You will - it seems to get me when trying to record off BBC3 or BBC4 - but it is pretty rare. I have also had it happen when using the box 'for real' - i.e. watching through AUX bypass, and using the real Sony remote. I find the quickest way to get away from the channel and back again is with an up then a down press on the Prog + - button.

If you do work out a way of getting over the problem with IR codes, that would be great.

I'd be interested to know what Software level you have on the Sony - I think 1.12 is the latest, but not sure.


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## GarySargent

Yes I have 1.12 but thats just what it came from the shop with.

If there is a sequence of key presses that get rid of the error message from the box, and don't affect operation when the box is not there, then we could add it as the ENTER code that is sent after the channel change.


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## misterbleepy

to get rid of the error you just need to go to a different channel and then come back again - two easy ways to do this are:

1: go up one channel, then back down one channel (or vica versa) as if the prog up and then prog down buttons had been pressed on the remote.
2: go to the previously tuned channel, then back to the current channel as if the "switch between last tuned channel" button had been pressed on the remote twice

1: may have issues if you're on the highest channel number (or the lowest channel number if doing it vica versa) - I'm not sure what would happen in this instance, so 2 may be the better choice (as long as my memory is not playing tricks and there really is a "switch between last tuned channel" button on the remote.
I guess these commands would have to be reasonably spaced apart, to give the box time to complete the 3 channel changes.


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## GarySargent

That would look really clunky chaning channels and back again, and in the case where there wasn't a problem the first time, the issue may happen on the up/down!

I thought you meant the box was stuck showing a message forever, but from what you are saying subsequent recordings by TiVo will be ok so long as they are on a different channel.

I assume this is a signal quality too low issue? Maybe you just need a better aerial?


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## misterbleepy

GarySargent said:


> That would look really clunky chaning channels and back again, and in the case where there wasn't a problem the first time, the issue may happen on the up/down!


Agreed.



GarySargent said:


> I thought you meant the box was stuck showing a message forever, but from what you are saying subsequent recordings by TiVo will be ok so long as they are on a different channel.


That is correct, I normally only lose one recording, and because it is normally a BBC3 or BBC4 one, I can normally force it to record the repeat of the show in question if I spot the failed recording in time.



GarySargent said:


> I assume this is a signal quality too low issue? Maybe you just need a better aerial?


It has been noted as a software issue by Sony - see this thread:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=214189

but no sign of a fix yet :-(

If you're bored one day, try this experiment - tune the box to CBBC, leave it tuned into that channel past 'closedown' (7pm), then select the channel that it shares transmission with after 7pm (I can't remember the pairing here - is it CBBC and BBC4?). Doing this sometimes 'forces' this error in my experience.


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## GarySargent

I presume I could pull my aerial cable to force it?


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## misterbleepy

GarySargent said:


> I presume I could pull my aerial cable to force it?


that would cause a different problem.

It's hard to explain what happens - you have to see it really - but here goes anyway:

you (or the TiVo) change channels

The yellow numbers on the grey bar appear at the top opf the screen (correctly)

Briefly you see the picture (moving with sound) of the channel you just changed to

Then it is 'washed over' with red (on my box, translucent so you can still see the moving picture behind it, and the red overlay doesn't quite reach the bottom of the picture, so you can see real moving tv there) with the message " If you can see the picture behind this message, please tune out and back in again" (or something similar). You can still hear the sound OK.

Mild swearing as you scramble for the remote (or really really bad swearing if this is a TiVo recording of something that will not get repeated)

If you tune out and in again, no problem.

I'm convinced it only affects the first channel change to a timeshared channel following previous use of it's timeshared partner - i.e. subsequent changes to this channel will be OK until it's partner is used again (the following day), but this is only my theory - I've never been able to prove it by thorough testing (due to lack of time and effort on my part).

Next time I find an affected recording, I'll take a picture of it for you to see (unless of course it affects you first).

I think I'm vulnerable to it as I record from CBeebies, CBBC, BBC3 and BBC4 quite a lot, and they are two timeshared pairs of channels. I guess maybe ABC1 and FTN could be affected too, but I don't record from these ones.


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## the_hut

If this is true, then going up/down after each channel change would certainly solve the problem and ensure that the translucent screen doesn't appear.

Any chance of a "special" sony code being added so that we could give it a try? 

I wouldn't mind the channel changing being clunky at all, since the freeview box would be dedicated to the TiVo and any live TV I watch through a separate freeview box. Obviously, this wouldn't be suitable for everyone, though....


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## misterbleepy

the_hut said:


> Any chance of a "special" sony code being added so that we could give it a try?


I'd be prepared to test this


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## GarySargent

As I said that fix won't work, it may make the problem worse since you are changing to a channel twice effectively.


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## the_hut

Eh?

Mr Bleepy said:

"I'm convinced it *only affects the first channel change to a timeshared channel following previous use of it's timeshared partner *- i.e. subsequent changes to this channel will be OK until it's partner is used again (the following day), but this is only my theory - I've never been able to prove it by thorough testing (due to lack of time and effort on my part)."

On this basis, a quick up/down would always solve the problem!


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## GarySargent

Ah ok sorry missed that bit. Up/down is probably possible but would be very quirky. It would be good if one of you can see if there is a better way to do it.


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## misterbleepy

GarySargent said:


> Ah ok sorry missed that bit. Up/down is probably possible but would be very quirky. It would be good if one of you can see if there is a better way to do it.


I'll give it a go when I'm back at home next week


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## FJSRiDER

Interesting read as lock ups with my original ONdigital Pace box are becoming a bit of a pain, so am looking at a new STB too.

Has anyone used the JVC TU-DB1? It is available for 13,600 Nectar points, which we have(!) or for @£60 in the shops AFAIK.

Anyone use one? Any known disadvantages (or benefits?) Are there IR codes that work for the TiVo? If so it has got to be better than my aged Pace box which takes an age to change channels!


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## GarySargent

I had a few picture breakups today with the Sony - obviously getting a poor reception. What was interesting was that the Sony seemed to cope significantly better than any other Freeview box I have seen. Normally the whole picture freezes and often sound too. On the Sony, there were just some duff blocks in areas, but the programme was still viewable dispite this.


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## 1st thing

whats it like with channels carrying mheg stuff...my nokia 221s have been going down quite regularly on ITV channels since they started their teletext stuff...its better recently, but that could be because i haven't recorded so much from those channels.

its a real pity tivo cant be tricked into using a twin tuner...perhaps there's a way with certain ones of putting a tuner selection into the channel selection with a pronto, so the tivio always will use one tuner leaving another free...with a twin tuner panny + HD this could be the ideal solution...but im a bit sceptical if this is possible and of being a lab rat left with a box that doesnt have a good rep either.


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## dieselnutjob

Fred1 said:


> Thanks
> 
> I agree, it sounds like you get what you pay for and the "cost" of the cheaper boxes is higher than it first appears.


A week on I am still quite happy with my £29 Sagem / Argos box. Channel changing isn't instant (maybe 1 or 2 seconds) but has been completely reliable.

I think that maybe the screen resizing is the TiVo rather than the box, I really don't know. It does it on ads as well sometimes. Does a TiVo attempt to convert 16:9 to 4:3 or something ? Still it doesn't bother me because it isn't stretching the picture or anything nasty. I suppose that if I watch using the "aux" button then it would tell me what box is doing what.


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## sanderton

TiVo does no mucking around with 16:9/4:3 - whatever you send it it records and plays back.


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## iankb

sanderton said:


> TiVo does no mucking around with 16:9/4:3 - whatever you send it it records and plays back.


If I remember correctly, it checks both line 23 and pin 8 on input, but only outputs one of them. It would have a bit of problem 'recording' a pin 8 voltage in it's raw form.


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## GarySargent

I think it is the opposite - it outputs both even if only one is present.


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## mrtickle

It checks only pin8 status at record time (not as often as it should do, or the 1.5.2 software did, hence long annoying delays when switching on playback). You need scart control turned on in the set-top-box for this to work. It never checks line23 status.

(It stores this info somewhere. I'm hoping that an American restaurant is currently finding out where; I posted a DVD last week)

It then generates both of a line23 WSS signal and the correct pin8 voltage at playback time based on whatever is in the data. Turning off "TV scart control" in the menus for TiVo's output may stop it generate pin8 on the output, but there is nothing you can do to stop it generating line23 on the output.


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## misterbleepy

GarySargent said:


> Ah ok sorry missed that bit. Up/down is probably possible but would be very quirky. It would be good if one of you can see if there is a better way to do it.


I managed to catch the box tuned into BBC3 with the 'red mist' today, so I tried pressing the TV / Radio button twice - this worked, in that it forced a retune of the affected channel.

The thing is, the forced retune would have to be after the first channel change has completed and been tuned in. It seems if you tune to two channels in quick succession, the first is 'skipped', and so if the required channel was selected and then immediately another channel was selected, and then immediately the original channel was re-selected, only the last selection would actually be tuned, and could possibly have the 'red mist' problem. So for this approach to work, I think there would have to be a delay after the first selection.

Another idea would be to put the box into standby and then back on again, but this would seem to be a high risk strategy too, although I don't think I have ever had a problem with this box that relates to IR codes and channel changing...


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## the_hut

So the remote code would be:

[channel selection] [pause] [pause] [tv/radio] [pause] [tv/radio]?

It really would be great if we could get a code like that and, at last (?) a reliable freeview channel change which works with TiVo! Other than the red mist issue, the sony box does seem very stable....


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## GarySargent

How does this differ from changing the channel? Pressing the TV/Radio button has the same effect. We need a solution that is non-invasive to the user - ie they don't see any odd effects. I was thinking more along the lines of pressing the red button might clear the message or something.


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## the_hut

I guess it's not particularly different. As for needing something that is non invasive to the viewer, if you aren't using the box for "live" viewing, why does it matter if the box flickers at the start of a recording? I wasn't suggesting it would be the main code, just something that could be used by those who have a dedicated sony freeview box.

Oh, well - looks like we probably won't get anywhere with this.

To go back to the original point of this thread? Has anyone got any recommendations for a freeview box which reliably works with TiVo? We know that the sony one certainly isn't reliable.


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## GarySargent

I think it is worth contacting Sony about the issue to see if they can do something better in the next firmware release. Apart from this glitch the Sony box is excellent.


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## misterbleepy

GarySargent said:


> I think it is worth contacting Sony about the issue to see if they can do something better in the next firmware release. Apart from this glitch the Sony box is excellent.


I'll see if I can dig out their reply to my raising of this problem back in January so I can send a 'chaser' letter.

It is the only blot on this box's copybook - otherwise a nice piece of kit, and even more worth considering if you need a box to use 'live' all the time.


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## patelr08

Hi,

so.....(because I too am looking to move from Sky):

1. is the Sony VTXD800U compatible with an un-hacked Tivo or not? Gary seems to allude to having an ability that normal users may not have (being able to send any commands or something).
2. There is an issue with recording programs on channels that share the same channel number and the solution is still ongoing.
3. The cheap Sagem/Argos machine works fine - including changing channels?

There's soo many models in the shops now I would appreciate any advice!

Thanks

Rakesh


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## the_hut

1. Yes, some channel changes may be unreliable. Therefore it might not be as "compatible" as you would ideally want.
2. Correct. To date the only solutions identified have been deemed unsatisfactory from an aestetics/usability perspective
3. Don't know


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## dialanothernumb

My experience with 2 boxes...
Netgem iPlayer: very clever box but keeps freezing on chjannel changes so not good with TiVo
Sony 800U: excellent box, great picture and very few missed channel changes

HTH


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## tartan_haggis

I'm using the Thomson DTI2300 and (so far) it's been rock solid with the TiVo. Then again, I suppose they are made by the same company.

The DTI2300 allows you to specify power-on to last channel viewed, like the Setpal boxes - thus ensuring that TiVo will still have control of channel changes after a power cycle.

It also comes with a Top-Up TV slot, although I'm not using it just yet.


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## surrey lad

Hi,

I know others have reported issues but I've been using the Netgem iplayer for months now and it hasn't failed me yet (touch wood) best of all it has excellent sound quality, essential if playback is through a quality HT sound system.  

Before the iplayer I was using a digifusion digibox and had been wondering why it was sounding so cr*p in 2 channel and also in prologic, there was a total lack of bass on all channels. Switched to the iplayer and WOW! what a difference.


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## patelr08

Hi Surrey lad,

can you confirm that the NetGem iPlayer works well with TiVo? Dialanothernumb above states it does not work well.

Thanks

Rakesh


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## surrey lad

I used to use the original Pace Ondigi stb and it used to freeze sometimes once a month and at other times it could freeze as much as twice in a day. Picture quality was Ok and sound quality was also Ok.

Freezing started to get worse so I bought myself the digifusion, no freezing, ok picture and a very un-dynamic sound.  

I bought the iplayer along with the keyboard with the intention of usinf it the bedroom connected to our home network via the USB adaptor for surfing the net. On the off chance I tried it on my main system with TiVo plugged into a scaler and using a cine 7 to project on to a 7 screen, both picture quality and especially the sound were greatly improved. In the last say 4-5 months Ive been using the iplayer it has never let me down. I actually consider using the iplayer with TiVo a bit of a waste as this stb has so much more to offer!

My Tivo has just been upgraded by Tivoheaven (Steve youre the man!) to tivoweb and more importantly mode 0 and Wow, another hike in picture quality.  

Looks like Ill be buying another iplayer for use in the bedroom!


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## Phil B

Which of the above Freeview STBs is reliable and works well on 4:3 TVs? I'm still holding out against the push to widescreen.

I am looking for new Freeview box to replace my Goodmans GDB4, which has recently died. It was very reliable for 18 months, but became unreliable after an over air download a few months back. It worked again after I reverted it to an earlier version of firmware on the internet, but recently died altogether - I suspect perhaps dodgy flash memory.

As well as reliability, I want an STB that correctly (and automatically) switches output for my 4:3 TV (and TiVo) according to the Active Format Descriptor (AFD) sent in Freeview transmissions as described in http://www.dtg.org.uk/publications/books/afd.pdf . In other words, I would like it to output widescreen transmissions for a 4:3 screen according to the best compromise based on the protected area, as in analogue tranmissions. Typically, most widescreen programmes would be displayed (and recorded on TiVo) in 14:9, but films would often be in 16:9 postbox, and many sports programs would be in 4:3 full screen.

The Goodmans GDB4 has a Wide button which allowed me to manually switch widescreen transmissions between 16:9, 14:9 and 4:3 modes according to my preference, but that was obviously only useful when watching live TV. I used to leave it in 14:9 mode which was best for most programmes.

Before that, I had a Panasonic TUCT20, which clearly _tried_ to use the AFD, but displayed 14:9 transmissions (ie the majority) in a wierd squashed format. As far as I know Panasonic never sorted this problem.

Any recommendations or experience (+ve or -ve)?


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## dialanothernumb

surrey lad said:


> Looks like Ill be buying another iplayer for use in the bedroom!


I'm glad you have a good experience with the iPlayer. You know it could be that the Iplayer is more sensitive to overheating or doesn't like the signal where I live etc etc... I really like the fact that since I got it, I have had more than several significant software upgrades (and not all bug fixes)

My feeling is that for use with a TiVo,you should go for the simplest box. After all, theoretically, you wont be using any of the interactivity of the iPlayer through the TiVo (If you do you are in for a few seconds delay as websites are browsed through the TiVo buffer!)

If the cleverness of the Iplayer attracts, use it as a standalone (or frankly get a modified Xbox)


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## DazBarber

GarySargent said:


> So far the Sony box seems orders of magnitude better than the Matsui DTR3 I tried, and the Philips onDigital box I used to have. Not one crash, and not one picture breakup!


What's the latest on the Sony, Gary? Is it still behaving itself with TiVo?

Daz


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## ScoobyDooZ

Goodmans from argos. worked well with my tivo.

Ferguson - flickered  (have read this somewhere else on internet too)


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## Phil_Hoggins

dialanothernumb said:


> My experience with 2 boxes...
> Netgem iPlayer: very clever box but keeps freezing on chjannel changes so not good with TiVo
> Sony 800U: excellent box, great picture and very few missed channel changes
> 
> HTH


Used the iPlayer for 3 years without a single problem, never missed a channel change or froze once. Only time it has ever been rebooted was when adding network capabilities to it.


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## 1st thing

anyone tried one of these puppies?

http://shop.technotrend.de/shop.php...&sid=08868bc15b542054a31f5fa9526a75de&s=&id=1

made by bush


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## tartan_haggis

How about the world's smallest Freeview adapter? Wonder how/if this would work with TiVo?


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## patelr08

That is soo coolll!!! Can one of you early adopters let me know if its compatible with Tivo or not!!!

Raks


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## smiffy

Interesting thread this... for I am too think of dumping Sky for Freeview. I'm instalking a high gain aerial later this week and will then bee requiring a tivo controlable STB. Don't really want to shell out £80 on the Sony box though.

Are there many boxes that support this top tv lark?


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## FJSRiDER

smiffy said:


> Don't really want to shell out £80 on the Sony box though.
> 
> Are there many boxes that support this top tv lark?


Try this.


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## tartan_haggis

smiffy said:


> Interesting thread this... for I am too think of dumping Sky for Freeview. I'm instalking a high gain aerial later this week and will then bee requiring a tivo controlable STB. Don't really want to shell out £80 on the Sony box though.
> 
> Are there many boxes that support this top tv lark?


High gain aerial with amplifier cost me £130 but well worth it for signal strength and picture quality. I get virtually no picture break-ups.

Not many boxes that support TUTV. I have a Thomson DTI2300 which has the TUTV slot, although I don't subscribe at the moment as I'm not convinced it represents good value for money.

This site shows you which boxes support TUTV and (if you're using Sky as well) an RF modulator.


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## Trinitron

dieselnutjob said:


> I bought a Sagem ITD58 from Argos last week. Very basic but it seems to work fine with TiVo and only 29 pounds.


I know someone who has just bought one of these, only to find that the RF output is fixed on ch.38 and clashes with a regular terrestrial signal. Seems you can only change the RF channel in the more expensive Sagem boxes.


----------



## Anndra

I've just bought the Sony box to replace my old Pace unit that suddenly died. It's handy having two Scart outs, but only one is RGB. I was always impressed with the picture on the Pace box, and the Sony seems as good, the sound maybe a little better. Reception is better on the Sony box, I regained Sky Travel, but Channel 5 is still MIA (their signal has been getting worse over the past couple of weeks.)

All in all, very quick switch over, paid over the odds but no problems and quite content.


----------



## tivo_boj

Recently got a Daewoo DS700T ( non SETPAL), and seem to be very stable. I am in an area which they still say I cannot get Freewiew although I have had it since Ondgigtal started, and always used woth Tivo. The downside is I havealways prone to breakups and lockups ( mainly due to low signal strength). 

I also needed a settop box with a Modulator, as I use RF to link to TIVO ( Sky uses SCART) and thus was limited. The Daewoo only has loop though, so I bought a Univeral RF modulator from Maplins ( £29.99), which allow you to connect a scart to it, and output at any freg (Ch 21-60). 

I have found the big advantage of this is it does not mix with any other RF frequescy from the aeral, and thus can feed Tivo witkla very clean RF signal. Its the best recordings I have had with a set top box using RF

The Daewoo was 34.99 from tesco, so for about £65 got a good setup, the RF modulator can be used with future Settop boxes, so it future proofs me a bit. Also most Boxes with a built in RF modulator are around that price anyway.

I hope this helps anyone who may be looking for a new box.


----------



## kitschcamp

It does seem Tesco have found a load of the Setpal Daewoo, the one in Ashby-de-la-Zouch had about half-a-dozen this lunchtime.


----------



## Fred Smith

kitschcamp said:


> It does seem Tesco have found a load of the Setpal Daewoo, the one in Ashby-de-la-Zouch had about half-a-dozen this lunchtime.


More info here:

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=285768


----------



## TheBear

I have a BT (Dijam?) box and to be honest I don't think it's very good.

Software has a very amateurish feel to it and it's not very intuitive to use. Some keys on the keypad (eg "select") are too small and take some finding.

In addition the box features adverts! When scrolling through the epg these are highlighted isntead of it skipping to the next channel-really annoying!

<rant>
I'm a bit ticked off that when I bought the box there were no adverts. Then, Setpal decided to force them on me against my will. I didn't ask for them and never got the choice to decline them.

Under EU law it is illegal to send people email spam agaist their wishes. It is illegal to cold call someone on the phone against their wishes. However, Setpal think it OK to send spam to my telly!
</rant>

In all, the BT/Setpal box has an 'unfinished' feel to it (To me)

I also have a Sony box and it is in a completely different league. It's rock solid and works on weak signals that the Setpal box isn't happy with. The software is clean and straightforward and the remote is far better than the Setpal one. Having said that some key presses aren't intuitive and obviously it was twice the price of the setpal unit.

All in all a quality product.


----------



## worm

We got a Phillips DTR500

Setup was reasonably easy, despite them messing about with calling things different things when they feel like it.

Tivo controls the box fine. But there is one major drawback

Philips, in their wisdom, have decided that digital Radio and digital TV are different, and so you have to press a TV/Radio button on the remote to switch between the two.

Of course, Tivo can't do this, so we can't record any digital radio unless we are there to change it, and still there afterwards to change it back to TV

Pain in the proverbial....


----------



## Phil B

I got a "Durabrand" (used to be called Pacific) PSTB1 from Asda - £29.99. It's been running fine with TiVo for 2 weeks.

It's another "Vestel" box - interally, substantially the same as the Goodmans, Matsui etc, but software very slightly different. I previously had a Goodmans GDB4, which worked well for over a year then died recently.

Generally would recommend.

PS. Gary, for completeness, you might like to add Durabrand to TivoPortal. Looks identical to Pacific, and works fine with same code (20030) as Pacific, Goodmans etc.


----------



## patelr08

I have a Panasonic TUCT41 freeview box. 60 pounds in RicherSounds.

Easy to setup and no reception issues so far. TiVo can control the box ok. In the 2 weeks it has been running properly, I can say:

1. Once it has frozen but luckily did not lose any recordings.
2. I have ti use the slow seeting for remote control.
3. Alot of audio dropouts (upto half a second) but I think that is feeview (anyone confirm?).
4. Cannot use RF to access the freeview channels other than channels 1-5 (says its 'passthrough').

Not perfect but does the job. PQ is lovely and sound is good.

I also have Sky STB with Freesat but TiVo does not know about it (couldn't get it to control both becuase of the RF issue).

Hope that helps - would be good to know if anyone else has the audio drop out issue?

Thanks

Rakesh


----------



## benenglish

Just got this box delivered today -- fantastic picture quality, very fast text and very quick channel changing.

Will see how it goes over the next week but so far so good


----------



## DazBarber

benenglish said:


> Just got this box delivered today -- fantastic picture quality, very fast text and very quick channel changing.
> 
> Will see how it goes over the next week but so far so good


Mine came yesterday and it is working like a dream - the channel change is like lightning (unlike my old Sky Dodgybox) and the picture quality is superb!

Daz


----------



## stevensdrs

Just installed a Philips DTR200/05 purchased from Tesco for £49.95. Unit did auto install OK and reception is excellent.
I configured TIVOs set top box codes to the last one on the Philips list with fast switching.

Everything seems to be working as it should. One Two and Three digit channels changing without problems.

Replaced my old Philips ON Digital Box because it was starting to stick on a channel. Still using it though on another TV.

Will have to see how the new one goes with reliability but so far so good


----------



## manolan

benenglish said:


> Just got this box delivered today -- fantastic picture quality, very fast text and very quick channel changing.
> 
> Will see how it goes over the next week but so far so good


I've always been put off the Sonys because you have to do something special to switch to radio stations. Is that true on this model too?


----------



## GarySargent

No the new Sony switches to radio channels via direct channel number input, so is fine with TiVo.


----------



## WindyMiller

I've seen several references to a problem with TiVo and some Freeview boxes which go into standby following a power cut. Does the Sony VTX-D800U behave this way? We seem to have more than our fair share of power cuts, so I'm keen to get a Freeview box which will be able to cope with this.


----------



## Fred Smith

In that case get a UPS and protect your TiVo as well.


----------



## NickDvl

The Sony box handles powercuts just fine. I usually turn off all my electronic gear during a power cut to prevent the initial surge when it all comes back on again (assuming I'm around at the time). 

Never had to do anything special to get the Sony box up and running again, IIRC.


----------



## Captain Scarlet

WindyMiller said:


> I've seen several references to a problem with TiVo and some Freeview boxes which go into standby following a power cut. Does the Sony VTX-D800U behave this way? We seem to have more than our fair share of power cuts, so I'm keen to get a Freeview box which will be able to cope with this.


It isn't a problem that they go in to Standby after a power cut so long as they are of a type which would still spot Tivo sending the IR signal for the channel number on a recording start and wake up at that point.

My ancient Philips OnDigital coped pefectly well with any power cut as the channel change signal turned it back on. By Contrast my BT (aka Netgem) IPlayer+ boots up back on to the channel it was last on before the power outage when power is restored. So it also copes.

There are some set top boxes that require a specific on command after a power outage before they will turn back on. Those are the boxes that you want to avoid. Moral of the story don't buy a box that you can't test in the shop for this particular behaviour. Just turn the box off with the remote and then try to turn it on by just pressing a channel number and see what happens. My Philips DTX 6370 OnDigital box is still looking for a good home that will treat it with the love and respect it has become used to over the last 6 years. 

Staples have been selling their base model UPS for only £29.99 of late but it only gives 5 minutes standby time. I had a power cut in the summer that was nearly an hour long when they were working on the overhead lines near by. I have heard it claimed on this forum that if there is a power off during the daily database update cycle that its a full software reinstall job. How much truth there is in this claim I'm not quite sure. One of the biggest improvements of a Cachecard with 512MB of RAM is that it hugely reduces the length of the database update cycle after the daily call. I assume the update cycle must do a lot of random reading from the existing database using the Cachecard but perhaps then writes back to disk in one continuous organised sequence?


----------



## dallaway

One of the "interesting" features of Argos is that they do substitutions if they tell you they have one Freeview box in stock but actually don't. So after paying for a Sagem, I'm now the owner of a Bush DFTA7. Potentially a good deal, but in actual fact it looks unsupported by Tivo. I just called the UK support number and it's one they don't know about. Their suggestion is to.... ask here. So here I am. Anyone tried this box and had any joy?

I don't think I'm anywhere near to someone with a Pronto to capture the IR codes :-(

Cheers
Richard


----------



## RichardJH

I found with my Bush STB I ended up using ir 20030 listed under Freeview (1 of 2).
If not just try all of the Freeview codes I'm sure one will work ok


----------



## johala_reewi

dallaway said:


> One of the "interesting" features of Argos is that they do substitutions if they tell you they have one Freeview box in stock but actually don't. So after paying for a Sagem, I'm now the owner of a Bush DFTA7. Potentially a good deal, but in actual fact it looks unsupported by Tivo. I just called the UK support number and it's one they don't know about. Their suggestion is to.... ask here. So here I am. Anyone tried this box and had any joy?
> 
> I don't think I'm anywhere near to someone with a Pronto to capture the IR codes :-(
> 
> Cheers
> Richard


I get down to the Brighton area regularly (like this weekend) and have a pronto so a IR capture session is possible if required.


----------



## dallaway

Thanks for the help and the offer of an IR capture session... much appreciated. 

It's looking like 20054-Slow (under the Alba brand) is working out for the Bush DFTA7. 

Cheers
Richard


----------



## Captain Scarlet

dallaway said:


> It's looking like 20054-Slow (under the Alba brand) is working out for the Bush DFTA7.


Bush is another of Alba's product brands so that would make sense.


----------



## johala_reewi

Having a bit of fun finding a small cheap no frills STB for Tivo to replace Ondigital Pioneer which keeps crashing due to this new BBCi bug. Have tried Sagem itd58 which was the right size and switched channels no problem. Unfortunately, I have a 4:3 TV and came across the aspect ratio bug that a number of Sagem owners have reported. I also tried a durabrand from Asda but that keeps switching itself off and Tivo can't switch it back on. Channel changing was also not 100% reliable. Any other suggestions in the £30 area? It will only be used for Tivo so no need for EPG etc. Would be nice if auto-updates and/or MHEG can be switched off.


----------



## peterseventy

GarySargent said:


> I think it is worth contacting Sony about the issue to see if they can do something better in the next firmware release. Apart from this glitch the Sony box is excellent.


Sony's dedicated Freeview Helpline response today 27 jan 06 on 'red mist': 'It isn't a fault because you can get the picture back by changing channels' and they refused to log it as a fault, referring me to Customer Information Centre.

Sony's Customer Information Centre said that the new D800U box has the same software that they have been using for three years without any problems, and such a fault has never been reported (I wonder why!). However the operator confessed to having a colleague with TiVo and Freeview, who said that he had not experienced red mist himself but knew people who had. He also claimed that DVD and VHS recorders apparently don't suffer from this.

Sony refuses to log the problem as a fault, saying that if an engineer was called and made a report they would consider it. Sadly, the D800U is going back to the Sony Centre. Any recommendations on an alternative?


----------



## Ian_m

johala_reewi said:


> Would be nice if auto-updates and/or MHEG can be switched off.


A mates just bought a Daewoo SetPal box from Ebay (£20 + P&P) as he wanted a box for use on TiVo, that you can disable completely all MHEG stuff. When it arrived it looked like surplus stock rather than 2nd hand. I think it not got the latest SW (157 ?) but you can disable all MHEG in engineering menus and works 100% with his TiVo.


----------



## geekspeak

Don't know if this helps anyone but it looks like BBC have temporarily removed the "press red dot" on some/all? old ondigital boxes to stop the crashing.

Hopefully this will become permanent. 

For details search on bbc.co.uk for "Problems with my On-Digital box and loss of BBCi (red button)"


----------



## ash10

I have a Philips DTR320/05 which I purchased to replace my ageing OnDigital-branded Pace DTR735.

It worked very well for two weeks - but has crashed at least once-a-day for the past fortnight. Without fail.

Particularly annoyed as at 60 quid, it wasn't exactly the cheapest unit available - Not very impressive, Mr. Philips...


----------



## geekspeak

ash10 said:


> I have a Philips DTR320/05 which I purchased to replace my ageing OnDigital-branded Pace DTR735.


I have my 2nd Tivo connected to a Pace 735. I did have the BBC channels removed to prevent the problems but I have added them back in and all has been well recently ....

.....AND NO RED DOT - does life get any better than that ?


----------



## deshepherd

From personal experience I'd recommended checking to see if the Freeview box has a "reset to factory defaults" switch somewhere ... I have/had a THOMSON DTI550 which failed in an attempt at a software update and is now in permanent paperweight mode (don't suppose anyone has ani ideas how to resurrect it)


----------



## Podwin

I'm after a Freeview box for my 2nd Tivo and this thread has been an interesting read.

Can anyone tell a numpty like me what I should buy, so I can plug it in and it work the best a freeview box can with Tivo. 

No hassle, no capturing codes and the like, plug-in and go.

Thanks

Martin


----------



## DazBarber

peterseventy said:


> Sony's dedicated Freeview Helpline response today 27 jan 06 on 'red mist': 'It isn't a fault because you can get the picture back by changing channels' and they refused to log it as a fault, referring me to Customer Information Centre.


Does anybody know what I can do to avoid the red mist problem with my Sony STB? I had the problem for the first time the other night when recording BBC4. What could have caused it? I've disabled CBeebies and CBBC on TiVo in case that might affect things. Anything else I can do to prevent a repeat performance?

Thanks,

Daz


----------



## =CM=

My take on which box is best married to Tivo:

1. Can shut off graphics engines - SetPals win here, as do other models.
2. Can shut off overnight checks for new s/w: Philips is a right PITA since it goes off to mux 1 every night after telling Tivo to press any button to cancel. Yea right.
3. A biggie: all boxes crash, it's designed into all of them, more certain than death and taxes. The Daewoo Setpal, despite no longer being supported, has some sort of self-check and reboots after a short time of no response to the remote or if displaying crashed garbage. This tops the old Nokia which dies in all sorts of mysterious ways (but to its dubious credit has a reset button on its front!) and Philips DTR200 which needs power starvation in order to recover.
4. All of them fail channel control at some stage. This is a pity. There should be some sort of Scart-like mandatory interface for this. They do TV-STB integration far better in North America: own TV remote controls the invisible STB for cable for example. Your Tivo will record the wrong channel some time this month... I stick to analogue BBC-C4 etc because of this. 
5. The dumber the box is about mux changes, the better! Tivo can't tell a Daewoo to shaddup and go to More4 if the Setpal decides to offer a mux rescan.

So for shop checks: points 1, 2 ("show me the engineering menu now!"), 5.

IMHO


----------



## ash10

ash10 said:


> I have a Philips DTR320/05 which I purchased to replace my ageing OnDigital-branded Pace DTR735.
> 
> It worked very well for two weeks - but has crashed at least once-a-day for the past fortnight. Without fail.


Update: My supplier swapped the Philips for a new replacement unit, which behaved in exactly the same fashion - crashing several times a day, without fail.

Philips customer services didn't seem to want to know - I received a standard form reply to my first email, and they didn't bother replying to the second. You'd think that when an electronic design engineer who works in the industry flags up a potential problem with a product and provides supporting technical evidence, they'd at least be slightly interested...

The BBC, characteristically, were much more helpful - the onset of my Philips' woes appears to coincide with the start of the OnDigital MHEG fix being broadcast. They also disclosed that there has never been an off-air update for the DTR320/05, nor is one scheduled in the forseable future. I was also told that the OnDigital fix would become a permanent feature.

I returned the Philips box for a refund, and dusted off my Pace. Although its reliability has been hugely improved, I find that it still crashes occassionally - usually after having been on BBC2 for a while, when trying to tune away (ie: it would record a film on BBC2, but crash when TiVo tried to select a different channel for the next recording).

After reading some of the comments here, I've now purchased a second-hand SetPal box - a Daewoo DS608P to be precise. Although it's early days yet, I have to say that I am seriously impressed - reliability appears to be excellent, the user-interface is superb, and the ability to disable all the extraneous MHEG and EPG crap is a revelation.


----------



## slim

Are there any of the cheaper freeview boxes which should be avoided? I need to replace my old Philips OnDigital box, but I'm keen to avoid the situation in which I can't get the TiVO to control its replacement. Are all the current IR codes well supported as standard? Don't want to have to be hacking the TiVO to get it to support a particular freeview box.

The Durabrand is the one I have in mind - anyone using one with a TiVO?


----------



## RichardJH

see thread http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=258779&page=1&pp=30 
the Bush dfta box that I use and and happy with has been reduced in Tesco's to under £30


----------



## johala_reewi

slim said:


> Are there any of the cheaper freeview boxes which should be avoided? I need to replace my old Philips OnDigital box, but I'm keen to avoid the situation in which I can't get the TiVO to control its replacement. Are all the current IR codes well supported as standard? Don't want to have to be hacking the TiVO to get it to support a particular freeview box.
> 
> The Durabrand is the one I have in mind - anyone using one with a TiVO?


I tried a Durabrand from ASDA but it kept putting itself into standby and once there, Tivo couldn't wake it up.  Lots of black screen recordings  

Also had problems with Bush DTFA1000 (rubbish channel changing, no RF loopthrough) and Sagem itd58 (4:3 letterbox aspect ratio bug).

Currently using a 'Thomson 1002' which was £30 off of ebay. You can't switch off the MHEG but it doesn't crash on the BBC channels. It doesn't seem to put itself into standby but if if it does go into standby, Tivo can wake it up by sending a channel code. Although the first key press is usually lost when this happens, so set Tivo to always send 3 digits (medium speed) when changing channels (so you only lose a zero). If the Thomson powers off (power cut?), it has a hotel mode where it resumes showing the channel that was playing (when the power is restored). Works fine with 4:3 TV in letterbox mode. You can't switch off the auto update but since over air updates for the 1000 series are unlikely, it will probably never do an update. No slot for Topup TV if you wanted to do that. No RF modulator but has RF loopthrough.


----------



## RichardJH

The Bush STB I was referring to is sold as DFTA11 not DFTA1000 and it does have RF loopthrough and works fine with Tivo


----------



## johala_reewi

The Bush DFTA1000 is the 'freeview adaptor in a scart plug' device. Picture here...

http://www.tesco.com/electrical/product.aspx?R=8289499&bci=285|TV Stands, Accessories & Freeview


----------



## big_dirk

Hi all,

dont know if this is the right place to ask but I have a "digihome" http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...94338/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_2_1/202-8042746-5803003 Freeview box, does anyone know if this works with TiVo? I have no idea how I would go about setting it up at the moment to test - obviously I'll read into it I was just wondering if anyone had any joy with this one?


----------



## johala_reewi

Tivo has a large number of Freeview STB codes plumbed in and if none of these work, there is a mechanism for getting the new codes added. Check this post...

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=3756628&&#post3756628


----------



## big_dirk

great, thanks for the advice on that one johala. I hear that my Digihome box could be a rebadged "Vestal" so I'll give that a go.


----------



## johala_reewi

johala_reewi said:


> Currently using a 'Thomson 1002' which was £30 off of ebay. You can't switch off the MHEG but it doesn't crash on the BBC channels.


Isn't that just typical. After I post saying how the Thomson hasn't crashed or locked up, it goes and gets stuck on E4+1 and only a power cycle will fix it.


----------



## grum

The Sony VTX800 updates both software and new or changed channels automatically and "silently" - i.e. no annoying messages over your recordings and no channels out of sync when TiVo updates it's channel list.

Dunno whether any other Freeview boxes do this...


----------



## Mike Jones

I've got round my freeview box locking up at 7pm on cbeebies, by setting up a manual 5 minute record every night at 6.50 on bbc1. 

Combining this with a timer switch which turns off the freeview box every night for 5 minutes seems to keep the box trundling along without any problems.


----------



## stevensdrs

Following my earlier post #89 the Philips unit turned out to be a load of junk. At first it was OK but then the dreaded hang ups started and became a daily event. The other annoying feature was the automatic software update function which could not be disabled. So in the middle of your recordings the picture could be lost while the unit tried to update itself and then it would go to channel 1. There never has been a software update for this unit. :down: 

Took it back to Tesco today and got a full refund. Then I bought a Bush FTA D11 for less money and used a £4.00 Tesco voucher to make it even cheaper.

I got it up and running OK using one of Tivos Freeview codes and it is instantly better than the Philips. The channel change is much quicker and you can disable the software update facility.

Only time will tell if it is any more reliable though!


----------



## yadda

Any updates from anyone? As I'm looking at a dedicated STB for the TiVo it needs to be reliable, but doesn't need EPG etc...

Sony red mist problem sorted as yet?


----------



## simon

yadda said:


> Any updates from anyone? As I'm looking at a dedicated STB for the TiVo it needs to be reliable, but doesn't need EPG etc...


Like I said in the other post on this topic :

I can recommend the Bush DFTA11 - I went into argos for the 27.99 Sagem, but instead they gave me the Bush box.

It was installed about a week ago, and has never missed a beat (using IR code 20030)

HTH

Simon


----------



## big_dirk

johala_reewi said:


> Tivo has a large number of Freeview STB codes plumbed in and if none of these work, there is a mechanism for getting the new codes added. Check this post...
> 
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=3756628&&#post3756628


Hi all,

With reference to johala's post, I am going through guided setup at the moment and there isnt an option for Digihome, so which manufacturer box should I choose to try out some of the pre-installed STB codes?


----------



## simon

big_dirk said:


> Hi all,
> 
> With reference to johala's post, I am going through guided setup at the moment and there isnt an option for Digihome, so which manufacturer box should I choose to try out some of the pre-installed STB codes?


Google for the model nuimber of your box, and words like "same as" or "equivalent" and you may find that your box is the exact same as some other.

HTH

Simon


----------



## big_dirk

thanks simon, but my searches as you suggested yielded nothing, so i'm stuck at the "set top box brand" screen of guided setup - can anyone suggest anythign please?


----------



## simon

big_dirk said:


> thanks simon, but my searches as you suggested yielded nothing, so i'm stuck at the "set top box brand" screen of guided setup - can anyone suggest anythign please?


Did you ring TiVo tech support? Sometimes they can be helpful....

Simon


----------



## GarySargent

You need to select the FREEVIEW and FREEVIEW2 manufacturers. These contain very large lists, but are the codes for ALL freeview boxes.

Try all the medium speed numbers in the first instance, and then if you find a code that sends any digits, try the three speeds to find the best one that works with double digit channels.

If none of the codes in FREEVIEW or FREEVIEW2 work then TiVo doesn't currently support your box.


----------



## big_dirk

GarySargent said:


> You need to select the FREEVIEW and FREEVIEW2 manufacturers. These contain very large lists, but are the codes for ALL freeview boxes.
> 
> Try all the medium speed numbers in the first instance, and then if you find a code that sends any digits, try the three speeds to find the best one that works with double digit channels.
> 
> If none of the codes in FREEVIEW or FREEVIEW2 work then TiVo doesn't currently support your box.


thanks very much, that post is most useful. I actually ended up calling TiVo support who were *awesome* and told me the exact same thing.

To reiterate I was blown away with how good TiVo helpdesk staff were just (I spoke to two Roberts) they put the issues in a way which, working on a helpdesk myself, I found to be technically literate while easy enough for any to understand.

Thanks GarySergent, Rob, and Rob!!!


----------



## Dbollox

stevensdrs, you are talking bollox mate. Ive got a Philips DTR 200/05 setop box and it works fine. I can get all the TV channels including all the bbc radio stations. But the only channels the unit cant pick up for some reason are BBC 1, BBC2, BBC3 & E4+1, but my Dad has a Philips DTR 320/05 and he can pick up all the channels including the ones I mentioned I cant. Does anyone have any ideas why I cant pick up these 3 BBC channels?


----------



## Fred1

Dbollox said:


> stevensdrs, you are talking bollox mate. Ive got a Philips DTR 200/05 setop box and it works fine. I can get all the TV channels including all the bbc radio stations. But the only channels the unit cant pick up for some reason are BBC 1, BBC2, BBC3 & E4+1, but my Dad has a Philips DTR 320/05 and he can pick up all the channels including the ones I mentioned I cant. Does anyone have any ideas why I cant pick up these 3 BBC channels?


Cant see where you are located, so I cant check, but looks like you might be missing a mux.

Muxes are transmitted on a single (conventional) channel, so it could be that you have a problem with your antenna. Maybe misaligned or not enough gain at the mux channel.


----------



## Dbollox

I live in an old 4 bed house with my parents in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. My bedroom overlooks the back garden and my ariel, like the ariel my parents have connected to thir digibox, is a bog-standard mains operated booster ariel. My parents bedroom, however, overlooks the front garden and with there ariel they can get all the usual freeview channels from BBC1 to the ****ing shopping & quiz channels. Does this help a bit ? I do hope so.


----------



## AMc

Sounds like the local TV transmitter is on the other side of the house to your room. To get around it you need to use a loft or roof top aerial pointing in the right direction. You might get away with positioning your aerial at the front of the house and running an extension back to your Freeview box.


----------



## Fred1

I defintately agree, you need a better aeiral or at least one that is on the right side of the house or pointing in the right direction.

The BBC has some excellent internet pages on reception start here http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/factsheets/index.shtml and look at the "TV aerials and reception" link.


----------



## Dbollox

Thanks for the info lads.


----------



## Jo.Cassady

patelr08 said:


> I have a Panasonic TUCT41 freeview box. 60 pounds in RicherSounds.


Argos are doing it for £35 now! Thanks for the tip mate - will go out and buy one tomorrow

see http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5321007.htm

EDIT : went to argos today - THEY ARE SOLD OUT - the guy said SOLD OUT IN ALL STORES... jeez , that was fast..


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## TheBear

Why not continue to use the Sky box after your subscription ends? You'll receive far more channels than freeview has to offer and it won't cost you a bean!

If you are determined to go with freeview then I'd recommend the Sony model. In a word-excellent. They perform flawlessly, ime.

Personally, I'd avoid Setpal as I have had nothing but trouble with these.


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## rwtomkins

The Sony is a very good box but with respect it isn't flawless, it has a well-reported and serious flaw when using to record Freeview's "shared" channels ie BBC3, BBC4, CBBC, CBeebies, ABC and one other I can't remember. If you switch between them it records the sound but not the picture (see earlier in this thread). This problem still hasn't been fixed by Sony and if you regulary record the above channels, you could lose a lot of recordings if you use this box. I've lost three in the last 5 days.


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## Jo.Cassady

TheBear said:


> Why not continue to use the Sky box after your subscription ends? You'll receive far more channels than freeview has to offer and it won't cost you a bean!
> 
> If you are determined to go with freeview then I'd recommend the Sony model. In a word-excellent. They perform flawlessly, ime.
> 
> Personally, I'd avoid Setpal as I have had nothing but trouble with these.


actually Freeview gives you more4 and e4 (not that anyone really cares!), freesat(from sky) doesn't


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## TheBear

Jo.Cassady said:


> actually Freeview gives you more4 and e4 (not that anyone really cares!), freesat(from sky) doesn't


..and freesat gives you Men & Motors, Real Estate TV etc..etc:

http://www.silvertv.co.uk/aerial/freesat tv chans.doc


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## TheBear

rwtomkins said:


> The Sony is a very good box but with respect it isn't flawless.


In my experience I haven't come across any problems..


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## TheBear

FWIW, Tesco.com are doing the Sony for a tad under £80.

If you use the ecoupon code on hotukdeals.co.uk you should also get a bonus of 500 clubcard points.


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## rwtomkins

TheBear said:


> In my experience I haven't come across any problems..


I think this problem mainly affects anyone using the childrens' channels CBeebies and/or CBBC. If you never use these you may be OK (but someone may correct me).


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## TiVo_Lad

I've had the Sony box for a couple of weeks now courtesy of Tesco and so far I've not had any problems at all. Been very impressed with the speed of the channel change and the Interactive content is significantly faster than the old Setpal / Labgear box that it replaced. Plus it's gotten rid of the most annoying problem with the Setpal - dodgy channel changes so you wanted an hour of C4 and got an hour of something completely different. Oh and the downloads in the middle of a programme at night, and the scanning for new channels....  

So far I've not experienced the "Red Mist" problem...

On a related (but hopefully not off) topic, I have an annoying problem with my Panasonic TUCT20. It is the only box in the house that thinks BBC1 and 2 from Belmont should be assigned to C1 and C2 when the others put BBC1 and 2 from Waltham on C1 and C2. It's *&%!£[email protected] annoying since Belmont is twice as far from the house as Waltham is and the aerial is pointing at Waltham! Is there any way I can tell the stupid box to ignore the Belmont signal and use the stronger one (which it assigns to C34/35 instead).


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## Anndra

rwtomkins said:


> I think this problem mainly affects anyone using the childrens' channels CBeebies and/or CBBC. If you never use these you may be OK (but someone may correct me).


I have red mist problems on BBC4 also, and now and then I get sound but no picture.


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## Ian_m

TheBear said:


> Personally, I'd avoid Setpal as I have had nothing but trouble with these.


Not had any issues with mine, on a heap on the floor behind the TV. channel changing is 100% using the IR wands. Mods made are, using both IR wands (one either side of front window), sheet of paper folded around box to block all other IR, all MHEG disabled (no press red button) and all during the night updates disabled.

Basically it generates a pictiure for TiVo and thats all.


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## rwtomkins

Anndra said:


> I have red mist problems on BBC4 also, and now and then I get sound but no picture.


Yes, but what no one here is saying is whether they record the children's channels. I'm fairly sure the picture freezes happen on BBC3 and BBC4 when, and only when, the BBC children's channels have previously been in use. I agree the Sony box is otherwise very good and if you never use the BBC children's channels you may be ok (please tell me if I'm wrong). Otherwise, TiVo_Lad, I have to warn you that my Sony box seemed to be ok for the first couple of weeks, too - then the troubles began!


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## Corrie

Hi

With a good reception and the price of Freeview boxes falling, I have fed the aeriall through signal into a second Freeview box and the output from this into the VCR socket on my Tivo. This way I can record one channel while watching another. Also the signal is better on my plasma from the second box as i don't have Mode 0 (yet). Agree to watch out for drop out with Phillips but my Bush is fine for recording through Tivo.

Corrie


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## TiVo_Lad

TiVo_Lad said:


> So far I've not experienced the "Red Mist" problem...


I spoke too soon....


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## rwtomkins

Brave of you to fess up. Others be warned.

I lost yet another BBC3 recording last night. I think the problem is, the kids watch CBeebies every teatime so I'm doomed never to get a BBC3 programme that I've set the TiVo to record in the evening, unless I fiddle around with the Sony box changing channels up and down beforehand.


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## bigwold

Can anyone confirm that if CBBC and CBeebies are not used then there shouldn't be a problem with the Sony on BBC3/4 please.


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## karl101

I used to use a Humax MG-TU1 but occasionally it'd give be a black screen, not tuning into the station properly. The Tivo would change the channel OK, but the box would have problems.

So a month ago I replaced it with a Humax F2-FOX T for £80 and now it works perfectly.

K.


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## DazBarber

bigwold said:


> Can anyone confirm that if CBBC and CBeebies are not used then there shouldn't be a problem with the Sony on BBC3/4 please.


Nope - I've removed CBBC and CBeebies from 'Channels I receive' so, as a result, the Sony box never tunes to them but I still, albeit rarely, get the Red Mist problem.

It may have something to do with late night programmes being recorded on BBC3/4 (either set or as a suggestion) and then TiVo leaving the Sony on that channel for so long that CBBC/CBeebies appears in the background. This may be unrelated though.

Daz


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## worm

I have this issue, but then sometimes the red overlay appears and disappears a couple of minutes later.


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## DazBarber

Actually - a total coincidence has just occurred...

I TiVoed the Paul Merton Silent Heroes programme on BBC4 last night. I set the recording to start a couple of minutes early and about 3 seconds in the dreaded red mist appears. I was all set to delete the programme in dismay but then, as the BBC4 announcer started to announce the programme I wanted, the Red Mist vanished! It's the first time I've seen it do this. Have the BBC started sending out some sort of 'flag' at the start of programmes which gets rid of the mist?

Hope so!

Daz


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## GarySargent

Isn't the issue that you can't change channels away from the mist without first acknowledging the message? So you get stuck on a mist channel until the mist disappears when the channel comes back on air.


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## Anndra

GarySargent said:


> Isn't the issue that you can't change channels away from the mist without first acknowledging the message? So you get stuck on a mist channel until the mist disappears when the channel comes back on air.


Not on mine, the only way of getting rid of it is by selecting the channel again.


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## GarySargent

Maybe you should both post your firmware versions to see if there is a difference.


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## peterseventy

Our two Thomson DTI 2300 Freeview receivers have performed perfectly with their TiVos since installation almost a year ago, never missed a program and never been adjusted in any way. 

We dumped the Sony VTX-D800U after Sony refused to accept that the BBC3 and BBC4 red mist problem was a fault and would not log it. The Sony Centre where we bought it was equally unhelpful: having provided them with a videotape of BBC4 in red mist mode, their best offer was 'to speak to the buyer next time he visited'. It seems that he doesn't visit very often.


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## maken

I'm using a Humax F2-FOX T and it keeps giving me a black screen when it should have recorded programs and then tivo locks up and won't change channels.

I've tried taping up the spare ir and soft rebooting several times without success, it always seems to get stuck on ch4 for some reason.

Unless anyone can give any help I think I'm going to change the Humax for something else, it looks like the Thomson DTI 2300 Freeview is favourite but spoke to John Lewis and they tell me it isn't made anymore so any other suggestions?

thanks


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## djs42

I also have a Humax Fox and used to get the dreaded 'black video' effect. I thought it had gone away after I upgraded the Humax via the last over the air upgrade, but got the fault again last week. My theory is that it is related to the quality level of the signal you receive. During the winter I was getting all channels with only a very occasional glitch, but recently the ITV channels have been very bad. I suspect that the Humax eventually gets into a bad state in the software and somehow or other the video output latches up. Annoyingly it still appears to be working and shows the expected channel number so unless you keep looking at what the Tivo is recording a number of blank programs are recorded. I have decided to try running the Humax via a mains timer switch, set to power off once per day for a 15 minute period to see if that helps.

--Dave


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## maken

is there any way to boost the signal at all, say with an amplifier box? Or doesn't the digital signal work this way

thanks


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## djs42

I use a masthead amp to give me a bit more signal level. I can't get much to work without the amp. I live in a marginal Freeview area, Stony Stratford (North Milton Keynes) and have my aerial pointing at Oxford.

Role on analog switch off, the extra dBs will make all the difference !

--Dave


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## CH1

Sorry - I'm relatively new to this but dedicated to TiVo & initially posted on another thread but I think this is the right one. My Bush STB (which TiVo identified as a Goodmans anyway but the IR blaster worked) recently packed up, now I have an Astratec which I know several readers on here have but can't recall which thread it was on & this seems the best. I have read that it is synonymous with the Matsui & Humax models (I don't think the astratec has a code no but I can check). The helpline didn't know of it at all. I can get the IR blaster to work on 20046 on Matsui, Fusion, Freeview AND Humax but only intermittently.
Having read GAry's helpful into all the way through, I wonder if this is because I didn't realise I had to cover one of the two IR emitters (I always had both over the detector on my old STB & amazingly never had a problem) - anyway, just wonder if any astratec owners out there could confirm what IR code & settings they are using (I also find the handset with the box seems to work with & without leading zeros & although enetring OK effects the change more quickly its not essential so it makes it difficult to put in the answers to the set up questions!). Thanks!


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## NickDvl

DazBarber said:


> Does anybody know what I can do to avoid the red mist problem with my Sony STB? I had the problem for the first time the other night when recording BBC4. What could have caused it? I've disabled CBeebies and CBBC on TiVo in case that might affect things. Anything else I can do to prevent a repeat performance?


'fraid not. It's not a problem with TiVo but with the STB itself.

My Sony box actually crashed for the first time about a month ago when there was all that lighting about (black screen, high-pitch whine). Wasn't too surprised really - a simple restart got things going again. It did give me a heart-attack though: I thought my TiVo had bought the farm!


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## NickDvl

rwtomkins said:


> The Sony is a very good box but with respect it isn't flawless, it has a well-reported and serious flaw when using to record Freeview's "shared" channels ie BBC3, BBC4, CBBC, CBeebies, ABC and one other I can't remember.


I may be wrong, but I think FilmFour suffers from the problem as well.


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## ageorge

Personally I would recommend the Digihome DVB915 freeview STB available from amazon.co.uk for 25 quid.

Had it for 2 months now, and has only needed 1 reset. Yes the picture breaks up from time to time, but I live in a very poor reception area (freeview.co.uk says: "Unfortunately, FREEVIEW is not currently available in your area").

If you do buy one, look at another of my posts regarding the IR codes:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4198801&highlight=logik#post4198801


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## CH1

This site is wonderful - all it took is a piece of tape around the second IR emitter & now the blaster works fine with the astratec, the "read this first" thread is really useful. Thanks  :up: Gary!


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## ALanJay

Hi,

What are the current best recomendations I got a Philips For my mother 18 months ago and it has just dies after being unreliable for the last 3 months or so.

Looking at the recent postings there is praise for the Bush DFTA11 (though I can only find a DFTA12 is that the same model?) and the Digihome DVB915 and Thomson DTI2300.

It would be good if there was a thread which had an updated first post whick tracked peoples views on various STBs for TiVo as the manufacturers stop and replace their models regularly someones recomendation from last year isn't nescessarily that useful.

Anyway the search goes on.


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## Fred Smith

Two recent threads here with possible suggestions:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=312888

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=311439


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## rodr

I am thinking of replacing my STB (Labgear setpal). It does not fare as well as the Panasonic DVB when sharing the signal out of a +10db amplifier, Only BBC chanels are reliable but TV gives any chanel. Also chanel changing is slow. 

So pushing this thread to the top. Can any one recommend a good STB for Tivo in a weak signal area?


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## AMc

My Wharfedale DV832BN(2) does well in a very weak signal area (20dB masthead + 20dB booster).
Cheap as chips from Argos and hasn't needed restarting at all in a year.
BUT there is an issue where you get sound drop outs of 1/2 to 2 seconds on a reasonably regular basis (maybe 4-5 times in an evening' viewing) this has been a deal breaker for many.


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## Pete77

The Netgem IPlayer+ is a very reliable Freeview box that never crashes with the last software provided and has far more features than the Wharfedale box. It is also very good in weak reception areas as it has a Sony Freeview tuner chip and it doesn't suffer with the sound drop out glitch that affects the Wharfedale.

If you type in iplayer on a certain well known auction website you will see there is currently an iplayer+ for sale with a keyboard that also lets you use email and basic web browsing on your tv over your broadband connection if you buy a Belkin USB to ethernet adapter to go with it (otherwise it will do this over a dial up internet connection as sold but the Belkin adapters are only a tenner or so if you hunt around).

This is really a Rolls Royce Freeview box and current Freeview boxes are only of this quality at the PVR end of things such as the Humax or the Topfield but they are much more expensive and obviously you don't want to use one of those with a Tivo. Current cheap Freeview boxes always put price ahead of quality.

If you do bid on this item I would suggest you bid at the last moment as these boxes aren't widely known about and the other guy may think he is safe but if you put a higher bid in now you may start a bidding war if they are a Netgem Iplayer enthusiast.


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## Pete77

I see a couple more Netgem (also branded as BT) Iplayer+ units are now for sale 
on a well known auction website.


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## Ashley

I have a BT branded Netgem which I'm very happy with.

There was a problem with early software which caused lockup. This I believe was caused by not going into standby regularly which resulted in a memory allocation error. This I got round by turning it off for a minute at 05:00 every morning by using a timer.

A software update cured it.


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## Pete77

Ashley said:


> There was a problem with early software which caused lockup. This I believe was caused by not going into standby regularly which resulted in a memory allocation error.


This was actually caused by the cache in the web browser filling up and not getting cleared. This was fully resolved by one of the later software releases that also added the 7 day EPG. Even so I still run both my Netgem box and my Sky Digibox on a timer that shuts them off once a day for 2 minutes as in my experience any digital tv box left on 24/7 will hang in the end. Another nice feature of the Netgem box is that it auto powers up back to the channel it was last on after a power out. There is no need to do a manual short recording daily to bring it out of standby.


> A software update cured it.


Anyone buying a BT Netgem box should check with the seller that ideally it is running software version 4.6.23c which is the last software version released by Netgem for the BT Iplayer (making it in to an Iplayer+ spec wise). The last version of the software for the Netgem boxes was 4.6.something slightly different.

Another point to watch out for. There is only one hardware version of the BT Netgem box which is the last hardware spec built by Netgem. Whereas there are three versions of the Netgem Iplayer. An early one with a slow processor, then a later one with a faster processor and a later one still with a card reader for TopUpTv. Whereas all BT Iplayers have the fast processor and built in card reader that can support TUTV and Setanta Sports.


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## rodr

I will follow up netgem and Warfedale as they must both be programed boxes in the tivo


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## Pete77

rodr said:


> I will follow up netgem and Warfedale as they must both be programed boxes in the tivo


Yes Tivo does already have IR remote codes for both these boxes.


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## ponto

AMc said:


> My Wharfedale DV832BN(2) does well in a very weak signal area (20dB masthead + 20dB booster).
> Cheap as chips from Argos and hasn't needed restarting at all in a year.
> BUT there is an issue where you get sound drop outs of 1/2 to 2 seconds on a reasonably regular basis (maybe 4-5 times in an evening' viewing) this has been a deal breaker for many.


I've just bought a new version of this box - LPDV832B from Argos and am taking it back as the sound problem is still there and it also affects the dvd scart pass through, it also doesn't have an RF output, only connects to TiVo with scart


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## nickharman

Got this panasonic DVD recorder with freeview tuner and it delivers an excellent picture from RF in, SCART to Tivo and SCART back to the telly via Tivo. The telly has built in freeview though and so I also have the RF out on the DVD/freeview going to telly to deliver a signal so I can watch other channels when Tivo is recording. Picture is rubbish though. Aerial straight to Telly delivers good picture.

So am I right in assuming that my RF out from the DVD is faulty? I have changed RF leads and its still the same. Or am i patching wrong?

Also and BTW Tivo cannot channel change the DVD/Freeview, not on the number given by Tivo and not with blaster or wand/dongle. And yet the DVD/Freeview is very IR sensitive, using its own remote control it will respond to a signal fired even in the opposite direction and round corners.

So is the Tivo number wrong? It would seem so.

N


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## TCM2007

Try some other IR codes.


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## bradleyem

Anyone any experience of these?
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Ele...tml?searchstring=bush+dfta1001&searchsource=0
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Ele...om-DVB-T-SCART-Freeview-Receiver/Product.html

hope I can post these


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## nickharman

TCM2007 said:


> Try some other IR codes.


Ive tried every code in the Tivo, I have RSI now but still cant get the thing to respond

N


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## laurence

Think I'm sold on the idea of the iplayer. Looks like a fun gadget. Does anyone know if it outputs RGB down the scart? Presumably if it doesn't I'd have to use composite and picture quality would suffer (I convert RGB from tivo to HDMI and I'm hoping the freeview will improve the picture)
Loz


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## Pete77

[email protected] said:


> Think I'm sold on the idea of the iplayer. Looks like a fun gadget. Does anyone know if it outputs RGB down the scart.


The Iplayer outputs RGB via SCART. Its only failing is not having its own built in RF modulator if you want to use it as a second program source in a dual Sky and Freeview Tivo setup.

I would say its safer to get a BT version of the IPlayer as the BT boxes were only supplied with the faster version of the IBM processor and also had the built in card slot for TopUpTv.

You want to check it is supplied with software version 4.6.23c installed as this supports the 7 day Freeview EPG. Unfortunately Netgem are not currently supporting further software updates in the UK (even though they are in their French homeland for French DTT boxes), even though these were always supplied online by phone or broadband and not via over the air broadcasts (which are expensive to run so its understandable when manufacturers stop doing them once they consider a box to be debugged). Having said that they have just provided free of charge descriptions on how all IPlayer box owners can enable the hidden audio description feature formerly only made available in the menus to those who purchased their Iplayers from the RNIB. But this is just revealing a formerly hidden key press sequence to make the audi description menu available and does not represent new software development.

You also want to make sure to get an IPlayer with the infra red keyboard if you want to take advantage of the Internet and Email facilities. Many marketed on Ebay have the keyboard as well as the remote but some do not.


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## mikerr

Bear in mind you can't use any of the iplayer's internet features while tivo is recording a programme, as tivo will just be recording your internet surfing instead...


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## Pete77

mikerr said:


> Bear in mind you can't use any of the iplayer's internet features while tivo is recording a programme, as tivo will just be recording your internet surfing instead...


This is true but if the OP doesn't use Suggestions then there will be plenty of Off Peak times when Tivo is not recording anything.

Also in my case the Tivo is a secondary Freeview source to a primary Sky Tivo source and I hook the Scart output from the IPlayer to an external RF modulator and then to the Tivo RF In and then use the Aux/VCR Scart on the IPlayer direct to the VCR Scart on the Tivo. This allows me to view the IPlayer when it is not being recorded from (by pressing the Tivo remote VCR button) without experiencing the annoying 3 or 4 second delay inherent in the RF modulated output being sent via the Tivo.


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## pemills

GarySargent said:


> No not a secret, I can capture remote codes with my Pronto remote, and know how to convert and upload them into my TiVo.


Does anyone know what the Aldi sold Tevion Freeview box uses as it's remote code? I have tried all sorts of combinations but to no avail -(


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## gwynnej3

I've just bought a second hand Sony box of ebay (£55 + £10 postage) and so far it is superb, just works. Looks good on top of the Tivo and behaves itself working with the front IR blaster.
There are other Sony boxes on ebay for less if you're prepared to watch and wait.


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## jed

Having had problems with an assortment of boxes from the usual suspects (Comet , Currys, Agros etc.) I went to the Freeview website for a list of manufacturers which also has links to who sells boxes and very usefully it includes a list of independents.
I phoned my local independent who had a Humax DTI 2300 in stock at £40.

As has been mentioned before the box performs excellently with Tivo although TBH I'm not 100% convinced with the picture 100% of the time, I've noticed on a few programs with lots of deep colour (e.g. Jonathon Woss, Al Murray) there is something funny going on - like the colour is rolling - slightly weird, but I've only noticed it on a few programs so I'll put up with it for the sake of a box that works and well with Tivo.

My recommendation is therefore as above - forget the big stores with all their differently branded identiboxes and check out your local independent.


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## Jo.Cassady

Hi

I'm back on the forums. Have been away for aaaages.

Right, it appears that my freeview box (2 years old) has died.

There is a vast selection at john lewis & argos. I've read this thread. Thing is.. the model numbers change all the time (when new models are released etc.) *There's almost too much choice(!)*

I am tempted to buy http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5321076/Trail/searchtext>FREEVIEW.htm for approx £35.

BUT for only £80, you can get a built in HDD - http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5321272/Trail/searchtext>FREEVIEW.htm

(only 80GB but that's enough)

I *love* my TiVo, especially it's interface. I can't ever see myself using the Digihome PVR, but should I buy it anyway? (It's only £80 - that's only £45 extra and could be a useful *backup*)


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## Jo.Cassady

I opted for a Philips set-top box for approx £34 - http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5321076/Trail/searchtext>FREEVIEW.htm -










*- works a treat.
- It's tiny. *

The only sucky thing about it is the remote control is a bit small, but since the IR blaster on my TiVo will be doing most of the work I don't care.

Other advantages

- it changes channels really fast.


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## warrenrb

I've been meaning to go on record and say my mum and dad got the above Phillips box (DTR220) for their Tivo a couple of weeks ago, and seem happy with it so far.

I also agree it's tiny, and I was able to conceal it behind their telly, where the last one had to sit on top of Tivo.

Recommended.


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