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Lynn
27th-January-2006, 12:29 PM
I was thinking of getting one of those box thingys for digital TV but have a few queries if anyone can help...

- Do I just buy the box and plug it in or are there any other costs extra to the cost of the box itself?

- I have seen boxes from £25 upwards - is there is any extra features that the dearer ones have that I should be looking for? Any recommendations? Or is the cheapest just as good?

- I have an inside aerial - its fine for regular TV but will it be good enough for this or will I need to get another aerial?

Thanks!

Missy D
27th-January-2006, 12:32 PM
I was thinking of getting one of those box thingys for digital TV but have a few queries if anyone can help...

- Do I just buy the box and plug it in or are there any other costs extra to the cost of the box itself?

- I have seen boxes from £25 upwards - is there is any extra features that the dearer ones have that I should be looking for? Any recommendations? Or is the cheapest just as good?

- I have an inside aerial - its fine for regular TV but will it be good enough for this or will I need to get another aerial?

Thanks!


Yes you just plug them in. First though call the number and make sure that you have good enough reception in your area. I myself didnt so had to have Sky. You can find the number in the Argos book in the digital box section.

Lynn
27th-January-2006, 12:41 PM
Yes you just plug them in. First though call the number and make sure that you have good enough reception in your area. I myself didnt so had to have Sky. You can find the number in the Argos book in the digital box section.Thanks - I did that last night and I have reception OK - but that's an important point!

drathzel
27th-January-2006, 12:53 PM
I think if you get the add ons its a bit more expensive and i think its a pay monthly thing, but your standard package is a decent one so you dont really need to add on unless (like me) you are mad on sport.

When i looked into it (last year) the only difference between the dearer ones and the cheaper one was the "name". I always tend to go for the cheaper option and i have never had a problem in the passed (my video is now about14 years old and wasnt expensive and the dvd player was free wit summit 5 years ago and its still works. I think if you go for it and are not happy with the service it provides, you will be less dissapointed with the cheaper one cuz you only paid £30 quid for it.

this of course is all IMHO

ToeTrampler
27th-January-2006, 12:54 PM
I was thinking of getting one of those box thingys for digital TV but have a few queries if anyone can help...

- Do I just buy the box and plug it in or are there any other costs extra to the cost of the box itself?

- I have seen boxes from £25 upwards - is there is any extra features that the dearer ones have that I should be looking for? Any recommendations? Or is the cheapest just as good?

- I have an inside aerial - its fine for regular TV but will it be good enough for this or will I need to get another aerial?

Thanks!
Any of the boxes available now will probably fulfill you needs. The key points (apart from checking your reception as already mention) are that the box lists "digitally interative" in it's features (this allows you to "press the Red button" and access interactive features available on digital) and wheather or not it receives DAB radio as well.

Some boxes also have a card slot for using with top-up tv ( http://www.topuptv.com/ ) if you want to subscribe to channels such as Discovery etc.

(Oops cross post with Drathzel, so what she says to :wink: )

CJ
27th-January-2006, 01:11 PM
Thanks - I did that last night and I have reception OK - but that's an important point!

Then you are good to go!!:waycool:

I did have an expensive box, but am about to use a £30 box in my new address. I think the main difference is quality of components but they should last a good while anyway:nice:

Enjoy!!

Meantime, does anyone know if you can add NASN or FilmFour to a normal set-top box??:confused:

Lee
27th-January-2006, 01:18 PM
I was thinking of getting one of those box thingys for digital TV but have a few queries if anyone can help...

- Do I just buy the box and plug it in or are there any other costs extra to the cost of the box itself?

- I have seen boxes from £25 upwards - is there is any extra features that the dearer ones have that I should be looking for? Any recommendations? Or is the cheapest just as good?

- I have an inside aerial - its fine for regular TV but will it be good enough for this or will I need to get another aerial?

Thanks!

:eek: STOP :eek:

Can i suggesting spending a bit more (£170) and get the Fusion FVRT200 Freeview Twin Tuner 80GB Digital Video Recorder :worthy: :worthy:

I've got the 60gb 100model, showed it to my parents over Xmas and they bought the higher spec 200model, they love it :clap: :clap:

It is a twin freeview box, and can record up to 14 days in advance, so you can watch a channel and record a channel, or you can record 2 things at the same time (and even watch a previously recorded programme).

If you are a TV viewer rather than a DVD viewer, this is for you.

http://www.dixons.co.uk/product.php?sku=993036

or try John Lewis

Lee

PS....I've had a £30 box, and they allow you to watch tv but not record and also the cheaper the model the less functions you have, like sorting channels and selecting favourites.

I've done my research on this, i promise you won't be disappointed. This will replace all yours recording on VHS.

CJ
27th-January-2006, 01:51 PM
Does it take extra channels?!?

Thanks, though Lee.:worthy:

It looks cool, but it wont be this month!!:tears:

Lee
27th-January-2006, 01:54 PM
Does it take extra channels?!?

Thanks, though Lee.:worthy:

It looks cool, but it wont be this month!!:tears:

Not sure what you mean by 'take' extra channels, if the machine is left on standby it loads all of the channels each night to ensure it is up to date.

Lee

Lynn
27th-January-2006, 01:55 PM
PS....I've had a £30 box, and they allow you to watch tv but not record and also the cheaper the model the less functions you have, like sorting channels and selecting favourites. I was wondering about recording things off it - it looked like it would take the place of my VHS recorder in terms of sockets and I wondered how I could get round that.

I've done my research on this, i promise you won't be disappointed. This will replace all yours recording on VHS.I do actually need a new video as well as mine is woeful - just to record programmes I can't get to see. So I could use that for recording then?

And could I still have a DVD player plugged in to watch dance and rental DVDs?

Lee
27th-January-2006, 01:59 PM
I was wondering about recording things off it - it looked like it would take the place of my VHS recorder in terms of sockets and I wondered how I could get round that.
I do actually need a new video as well as mine is woeful - just to record programmes I can't get to see. So I could use that for recording then?

And could I still have a DVD player plugged in to watch dance and rental DVDs?


Yep, tv cable goes to Freeview box, then out into video and from that into TV. If you have TV with 2 scarts (at the back) then yes you can plus the freeview box & DVD player to it, else you get a scart splitter.

Lee

Dreadful Scathe
27th-January-2006, 02:15 PM
Personally I wouldnt go for Lees suggestion as it only records to Hard Drive, much better to have a DVD recorder as well.

Something like an LG product here (http://audiovisual.kelkoo.co.uk/ctl/do/drilldown~100304323/DivX,DVDpR) for about £199 with an 160gb hard drive and dvd writer to keep permanent backups - you need the £25 freeview box as well but its well worth it especially as they play DIVx files which there are plenty of on the net.

You can get dvd recorders with freeview built in but they seem to be more expensive, better off with the extra box.

drathzel
27th-January-2006, 02:17 PM
I think the cheapest and best option for people (like me) who cant afford all singing all dancing is to buy a cheap freeview box @£30+ a cheap video recorder £50 =£80, plenty of change and you can plug in dvd too!:clap:

Barry Shnikov
27th-January-2006, 02:20 PM
For full functioning, you need TV, video (or recordable DVD) and Digibox all to have two scart sockets, the three scart leads. (Available from Asda for about £3 and from Dixons for about £30:eek: )
If you have a DVD player and a video recorder, I don't know what you do...

plankton
27th-January-2006, 02:35 PM
I think the cheapest and best option for people (like me) who cant afford all singing all dancing is to buy a cheap freeview box @£30+ a cheap video recorder £50 =£80, plenty of change and you can plug in dvd too!:clap:


Do you have a PC ? because a freeview card is about £35 and you can then record direct to the hard drive at hi quality (almost dvd and much better than vhs but depends on what is broadcast) . You can watch on the pc or if you have video out plug that into your tv. oh and with a little bit of effort you can eliminate the adverts from the recording !


\geek mode on\
If you want to go mad you can link this to a Hauppauge mediamvp (another £40) and play your recordings over a network on a standard tv(or one in each room etc). (it will also play mp3s) but it can't yet stream live tv direct you have to set it to record and watch the recording (while its being made as it were) .

anyone using Mythtv ?
\geek mode off

Rhythm King
27th-January-2006, 02:39 PM
For full functioning, you need TV, video (or recordable DVD) and Digibox all to have two scart sockets, the three scart leads. (Available from Asda for about £3 and from Dixons for about £30:eek: )
If you have a DVD player and a video recorder, I don't know what you do...

Well I have both. All together now:

The antenna cable goes into the digibox
The digibox is connected to the VCR antenna socket
The VCR is connected to the antenna socket of the tv
The DVD player is connected to the scart socket of the tv
The foot bone's connected to the anklebone
The anklebone's connected to the kneebone
The kneebone's connected to the thigh bone
~snip~
The neckbone's connected to the headbone and the headbone watches the tv, video, or DVD.

See, quite simple really...

ToeTrampler
27th-January-2006, 03:10 PM
snip<<
Something like an LG product here (http://audiovisual.kelkoo.co.uk/ctl/do/drilldown~100304323/DivX,DVDpR) for about £199 with an 160gb hard drive and dvd writer to keep permanent backups - you need the £25 freeview box as well but its well worth it especially as they play DIVx files which there are plenty of on the net. snip>>

:yeah:
Would just add to this: Don't be tempted to go for a model that is only a DVD Recorder (£80+ ), these may seem good value but are a waste of money imo. They are a pain to use and end up costing more the the HDD versions when you take into account all the DVDR(W)s that it'll b*gger up using it.

Lee
27th-January-2006, 03:11 PM
:tears:

Don't listen to me then

Lee

drathzel
27th-January-2006, 03:12 PM
Well I have both. All together now:

The antenna cable goes into the digibox
The digibox is connected to the VCR antenna socket
The VCR is connected to the antenna socket of the tv
The DVD player is connected to the scart socket of the tv
The foot bone's connected to the anklebone
The anklebone's connected to the kneebone
The kneebone's connected to the thigh bone
~snip~
The neckbone's connected to the headbone and the headbone watches the tv, video, or DVD.

See, quite simple really...
that sounds pretty much how mine is linked up although i could have never explained it, being as i fluked it!:hug:

Lee
27th-January-2006, 03:32 PM
Personally I wouldnt go for Lees suggestion as it only records to Hard Drive, much better to have a DVD recorder as well.

Something like an LG product here (http://audiovisual.kelkoo.co.uk/ctl/do/drilldown~100304323/DivX,DVDpR) for about £199 with an 160gb hard drive and dvd writer to keep permanent backups - you need the £25 freeview box as well but its well worth it especially as they play DIVx files which there are plenty of on the net.

You can get dvd recorders with freeview built in but they seem to be more expensive, better off with the extra box.

But it's a twin freeview box, and can record up to 14 days in advance, so you can watch a channel and record a channel, or you can record 2 things at the same time (and even watch a previously recorded programme). Can this dvd thingy do that.

Girls, how many time do you want to watch/record two things that are on a tthe same time?

Do you ever really lend people your recordings?

Lee

Dreadful Scathe
27th-January-2006, 04:24 PM
yes they do :) Its only another suggestion, no need to get all huffy ;)

Chicklet
27th-January-2006, 06:11 PM
slightly off topic but this thread is attracting the right kind of nutters so here goes - any one know if there is such a thing as a bounce box that will send NTL cable upstairs to another telly without cables?

danke sehr.

Lee
27th-January-2006, 06:14 PM
slightly off topic but this thread is attracting the right kind of nutters so here goes - any one know if there is such a thing as a bounce box that will send NTL cable upstairs to another telly without cables?

danke sehr.

Erm thanks.....

Argos will take care of that - tv senders

Lee

Dreadful Scathe
27th-January-2006, 06:15 PM
yup you want a remote sender thingy like this (http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?go.x=4&catalogId=651&params=textlinkArgos&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fwebapp% 2Fwcs%2Fstores%2Fservlet%2FSearch%3FstoreId%3D1000 1&langId=-1&searchTerms=534%2F1135&referrer=COJUN&storeId=10001&go.y=11) - Ive seen them for less than £50 so shop around. They usually have the ability to send the remote control signal too, which is highly important i think you'll agree :)

Minnie M
27th-January-2006, 06:45 PM
I bought one from Tesco's just before Christmas for £27 and it is great - plug it in and go :yeah:

Trouble with me, if I record anythng, I never have time to watch it, or even worse forget what I have recorded :innocent:

So...... having so much choice of viewing NOW .... is brilliant, don't want anymore channels, too much choice could have the opposite effect

Go for it Lynn - get a cheapee you will certainly get your monies worth from it :clap: :yeah: :hug: :kiss:

ducasi
27th-January-2006, 09:56 PM
Not entirely on topic, but not entirely off topic...

My "Magic Box" (Philips PVR with 160GB hard disk and DVD+R burner) took a flakey on Sunday night, flashing its light on and off, and generally ignoring me. Even unplugging it and plugging it back in didn't sort it.

I've got loads off stuff on the HD that I haven't seen (including the last two months or so of Lost, plus in the DVD drive is a disk by a well-known fellow around these parts.

I don't want to lose any of these things, but I can't restore sanity to the poor, troubled soul... :tears:

Dreadful Scathe
28th-January-2006, 12:21 AM
Not entirely on topic, but not entirely off topic...

My "Magic Box" (Philips PVR with 160GB hard disk and DVD+R burner) took a flakey on Sunday night, flashing its light on and off, and generally ignoring me. Even unplugging it and plugging it back in didn't sort it.

I've got loads off stuff on the HD that I haven't seen (including the last two months or so of Lost, plus in the DVD drive is a disk by a well-known fellow around these parts.

I don't want to lose any of these things, but I can't restore sanity to the poor, troubled soul... :tears:
I can send you all of Lost, I still have it all :)

you could just rescue the hard drive, copy the data onto a pc and put it back in to get the thing repaired - i doubt the issue is the HD, but you never know :)

Lynn
28th-January-2006, 01:29 AM
Well I have both. All together now:

The antenna cable goes into the digibox
The digibox is connected to the VCR antenna socket
The VCR is connected to the antenna socket of the tv
The DVD player is connected to the scart socket of the tv
...

See, quite simple really... Thanks RK - that's almost the only answer on this thread I've understood! :flower: :rofl:

El Salsero Gringo
28th-January-2006, 02:08 AM
Burn your television.


You won't be sorry.

ToeTrampler
28th-January-2006, 11:09 AM
Burn your television.


You won't be sorry.
No, but Radio Rentals will be p*ssed off:wink:

ducasi
28th-January-2006, 12:15 PM
I can send you all of Lost, I still have it all :)

you could just rescue the hard drive, copy the data onto a pc and put it back in to get the thing repaired - i doubt the issue is the HD, but you never know :)
I doubt the issue is the hard disk too... I'm wondering what format it is in, and where I can find 160GB to copy it to...

I think I might attack it with a screwdriver this afternoon... Although there's no doubt a warranty issue here. (It's still in warranty, but I don't trust them not to wipe my disk and lose my DVD.)

David Bailey
28th-January-2006, 12:26 PM
Burn your television.


You won't be sorry.
I've got two TVs, two DVDs, a VCR, and Sky. And I've not watched TV for a couple of weeks now...

Lynn
28th-January-2006, 02:14 PM
Burn your television.


You won't be sorry.:rofl:

I reckon I wouldn't really. I've lived without TV for several months at a time and survived - oops no, I did pop in to my neighbour's once during that time to watch the opening of Stormont - OK almost without TV... (I did actually once live for a couple of months with no TV, radio, music, phone at all - just some old US Readers Digests and a jigsaw puzzle to while away the evenings :rofl: - and OK, I did get bored!)

And as for wanting a new video recorder - I video things because I have to miss them because I'm busy doing other things - I've no idea why I then think I will find time to watch them!

I only want a video for things I really, really want to see (like SCD and Dr Who...) Part of my concern in getting digital is that I will have more programmes that I want to watch and feel obliged to record...

CeeCee
28th-January-2006, 03:33 PM
Originally posted by ESG
Burn your television.


You won't be sorry.
Ah wise words indeed.
When the dance competitions are on we could take our folding chairs, flasks of hot tea, selections of sarnies and gather outside Dixons/Comet watching one of their screens.

Seriously though, I’ve got a problem and would love some help.

Firstly, I’ve hardly understood a thing on this thread with all the technical jargon that’s been flying around. I nearly gave up and went back to one of the Dance Shoe discussions.

Secondly, would anyone object if I extend the subject of this thread to Digital TV/Radio-help?

I was lucky enough to be given a digital radio for my birthday. I’m upset because I thought digital radio was supposed to make radio entertainment more fun and exciting with clearer reception, simple channel selection and fancy features like pause, rewind and replay. I must be missing something because so far my new digital radio is rubbish. Sometimes when I’m listening to a station, the sound crackles then disappears and I have to resort to analogue to be able to hear it at all.

I’m guessing that this isn’t right so does anyone have any suggestions or explanations?

ducasi
28th-January-2006, 03:48 PM
I’m guessing that this isn’t right so does anyone have any suggestions or explanations? Digital Radio is mostly just hype. The quality isn't always as good as FM, it (as you noticed) can break up and go silent where a FM signal would just become a bit crackly.

The main advantage is you can have more radio stations... Big advantage for the Government licensing them, and for the radio stations that are selling advertising.

That said, if you buy the right digital radio (like The Bug (http://www.thebug.com/)) you can do some clever things... Nothing though that wasn't theoretically possible with FM though...

CeeCee
28th-January-2006, 04:42 PM
Originally posted by ducasi
Digital Radio is mostly just hype. The quality isn't always as good as FM, it (as you noticed) can break up and go silent where a FM signal would just become a bit crackly.
Thanks for your response Duncan, you’re a star.
In a strange sort of way I feel heaps better now, as it's reassuring to know that the problem is with the radio and not me. Sadly, it doesn’t feel good to have been taken in by the hype. I was looking forward to the promised advantages of digital radio but I soon found that my old analogue radio is better, at least now I know why.

Originally posted by ducasi
The main advantage is you can have more radio stations...
I wish I’d know this before because I wouldn’t have bothered. This is probably an attraction for the teenage population but as I listen to the same few stations out of habit, this is about as useful as the plethora of unwatched channels offered by cable TV.

Thanks for the link to the Mars Bar and Chips story board, made me chuckle. The Bug sounds cool, might just check it out!

LMC
28th-January-2006, 04:53 PM
ooooh, we're in Chit Chat

<<< streaks through thread >>>

For 25 quid, it almost seems worth at least doubling the amount of pure cr@p available to me on the rare evenings I fancy slobbing out in front of the box. Does the TV have to be under a certain age for a set top box to work? Mine was donated to me by my aunt and uncle (I've never purchased a TV in my life) - it has SCART, so it's not that ancient, but is probably over 10 years old.

ducasi
28th-January-2006, 06:33 PM
it has SCART That's really all you need. :flower:

DavidY
28th-January-2006, 07:26 PM
Digital Radio is mostly just hype. The quality isn't always as good as FM, it (as you noticed) can break up and go silent where a FM signal would just become a bit crackly.:yeah: Rumour has it that the BBC didn't bid for enough bandwidth to hold all its stations properly, so they're forced to drop quality to fit them all in. Radio 4 for instance drops to low bit rates and they go from stereo to mono for some programmes. I think the technology can deliver decent quality if the bandwidth is there.
That said, if you buy the right digital radio (like The Bug (http://www.thebug.com/)) you can do some clever things... Nothing though that wasn't theoretically possible with FM though...I like my Bug - I can record to MP2 (on an SD card) and listen later. Only snag is that expensive MP3 player like iPods don't read MP2 format - so I need to buy cheap and nasty MP3 players which do.

* Waves at LMC *

Ballroom queen
28th-January-2006, 07:49 PM
But it's a twin freeview box, and can record up to 14 days in advance, so you can watch a channel and record a channel, or you can record 2 things at the same time (and even watch a previously recorded programme). Can this dvd thingy do that.

Girls, how many time do you want to watch/record two things that are on a tthe same time?

Do you ever really lend people your recordings?

Lee

I bought a Humax PVR9200T before Xmas and its FAB. I have 2 freeview tuners, so you can record 2 things at the same time - and yes things can overlap, you can watch something else while 2 things are recording, and you can then copy stuff you want to keep onto VHS or DVD if you have a VCR or DVD recorder, and yet I do borrow / lend recordings.
You never have to scrable around looking for a tape or the right part of the tape as you record onto a hard drive, you get one week in an elctronic program guide - just press record and its in teh timer, and you can program up to a year in advance if you know / can gues the time + date of program.
I love it.
I couldn't get a DVD recorder (yet) as my (old) telly has no scart socket.
However, in the future I will get a DVD recorder.
Hope that helps

ducasi
28th-January-2006, 07:56 PM
I think the technology can deliver decent quality if the bandwidth is there. Definitely, though they're always unlikely to use sufficient bandwidth to actually get the same quality as is possible with analogue FM. (But this is the old vinyl vs CD and CD vs MP3 argument all over again though...)

I think the biggest problem with digital radio is that it doesn't cope well with poor reception – most radio listeners are in cars, and many of them in big cities or rural areas, both places where reception can be very variable.

I like my Bug - I can record to MP2 (on an SD card) and listen later. Only snag is that expensive MP3 player like iPods don't read MP2 format - so I need to buy cheap and nasty MP3 players which do. Not sure I realised that. Is DAB based on MP2?

DavidY
28th-January-2006, 08:10 PM
I think the biggest problem with digital radio is that it doesn't cope well with poor reception – most radio listeners are in cars, and many of them in big cities or rural areas, both places where reception can be very variable.I remember reading an article years ago when digital radio was first being developed, when they were demonstrating how the reception was so much better in cars than an equivalent analogue signal. I think they had two transmitters with the same signal and drove away from them in a car with 2 radios - the digital signal was still audible many miles further away than the analogue one. Don't quite know why this translates into poorer digital reception when they started doing it for real. (Weaker transmission strength or too much being multiplexed into one channel?)
Not sure I realised that. Is DAB based on MP2?I think so - according to this (http://www.pure.com/Support/kb.asp?Reference=189&Product=VL-60715#Reference) anyway. A Bug will play MP3s but doesn't record to MP3 on the SD card. You can convert MP2 to MP3 but it's a pain and I've yet to find a utility which can cope when the BBC switches the bit rate in the middle of a recording. Cheap MP3 players can cope with this no problem though.