Freeview boxes from £23.99 - Can you beat it?

Haldo_2

Lisa_H wrote:

I was told it's worth paying a bit more for your box as you get what you pay for but obviously I'm sceptical, can anyone confirm this this? Also, I've checked the Freeview website and it states I cant get Freeview but all my neighbours can so the site cant always be 100% accurate!!!

My daughter, who does not live in the same area as me, gets a good result from a cheapo box I bought, that didn't get many channels in my home.

My post code is officially not able to receive Freeview. I live in a block of flats with a communal aerial and some flats get it well and others do not, depending on which box they bought. I now have a box from Maplin which I bought on an offer since expired.

If at all possible I urge you to try borrowing boxes from pals and trying them on your own aerial.

jonisin

In my opinion the freeview web site is very innacurate. Far too many people have bought a freeview box on the say of this site and have then found that they cant receive the channels. The BBC adverts are a distortion of the truth and are probably based on the southeast.
I would recommend that you should borrow one or buy from a shop that will give you your money back if it doesnt work. My local Comet store said that they had hundreds returned because they couldn't get the signal.

If you want a decent box I would search the re-sellars that sell off these boxes at around £20 which retailed at £50+.

The whole freeview thing is a governmnet led project and they are desperate to get everyone off analoge so they can sell them off and make stacks of cash.

That is why the web site tells you virtually everybody can recieve it when they clearly cant. By that time the customer has already geared themselves up to getting digital so they then have to fork out around £200 to get satalite installed.

If they had organised it properly, the BBC/Government should have arranged to have experimental boxes available in all stores so we could test the signal first before buying one.

JS2006

I just ordered the DIGIHOME DVB915 from Amazon at 24.99 with free delivery. Plus I found an old gift certificate in my emails so i got a tenner off! I was thinking about getting a Freeview box for my room anyway and the certificate expires at the eotm anyway!

Did-dad_saves_the_day!

Lisa_H wrote:

I was told it's worth paying a bit more for your box as you get what you pay for but obviously I'm sceptical, can anyone confirm this this?

Normally, you do get what you pay for, and the ability to record 2 channels whilst watching a 3rd, plus the ability to record onto a hard drive is something you'll pay an extra £100 (or so) for. Personally, I think it's worth it! However, the more "extras" you have the more 'buggy' the thing becomes. My Freeview box is the Inverto IDL7000PVR, found here at less than £150, :dance: and soooo easy to use!

Lisa_H wrote:

Also, I've checked the Freeview website and it states I cant get Freeview but all my neighbours can so the site cant always be 100% accurate!!!

My mother-in-law who is 84 y/o and lives in Cromer, Norfolk enjoys a perfect reception on hers, even though she's supposed to get no signal (according to the freeview website) and CAN'T get channel 5 without the freeview.

Hope this helps.

louisecoatesuk

The freeview website still says I can't get Freeview from my house, but knowing we don't have cable round here and when I had Sky out to do an installation I was told I would get no signal for that either (due to some trees out the front) I got desperate and tried a digibox from the local Argos being sure they would take it back if it didn't work.
Anyway it worked and many other people in my area also have working freeview.
The issue with the freeview website is the fact that the local antena only transmits Channels 1, 2, 3 & 4 anybody pointing their ariels there don't even get Channel 5. But if you get a more powewful ariel and point it at Sutton Colfield (60 miles away by road) then you can get Channel 5 with analogue TV and you can also get the majority of the Freeview Channels.
So I don't know about other places but the general rule around here is if you can get Channel 5 you can get Freeview even though Freeview say you can't!!! I'm also sure that Freeview will say there is no signal round here until the analogue switch off actually happens.

Love
Louise

Gavel_3

Lisa_H wrote:

I was told it's worth paying a bit more for your box as you get what you pay for but obviously I'm sceptical, can anyone confirm this this? Also, I've checked the Freeview website and it states I cant get Freeview but all my neighbours can so the site cant always be 100% accurate!!!

Bought the Aldi box on Sunday - it's excellent and will be buying another for a bedroom when I can get back there (just hope they don't sell out).

Stuartli

My best mate runs an independent audio/visual/appliances outlet and has sold many a Freeview set top box over the years.

Because the postcode test is so unreliable, just as with Freeview reception in certain areas even though it might be fine even a few yards away at another property, he used to sell these boxes on a simple basis.

That was for customers to be able to take them home, try them out and, if they wouldn't pick up Freeview properly using the correct wideband TV aerial even though Winter Hill is only about 15 miles away, then all they had to do was return it for a full refund.

Returns were not all that common, mainly because he sells quality products.

bixbarton

Luzerntech on EBay regularly sell Alba STB2 Freeview boxes from £0.99.

I've seen them go for £5.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/LuzernTech

Lee73

I have an NTL cable feed in my bedroom but no box, I don't want to pay the extra £11 per month fee for multi room as I hardly ever watch tv in bed, does anyone know if a freeview box will work on the NTL cable feed???? Thanks

millie3333

Hi
am really interested in this discussion because my husband came home to say he had seen a Freeview box for £30 at Woolworths and should we get one. Can anyone answer this question though? We are on NTL cable because where we live - standard analogue through a rooftop ariel doesnt get a reception, so will this likewise prevent us having Freeview?
Also - if it was to work - and we were to get it, would it mean yet another TV remote to get lost down the side of the sofa???
thanks