Freeview boxes sub £20 - Can you beat it?

catnatlady

simate wrote: »

Read it again, it says 'also with a twin-tuner, is available.' The twin tuner model is the Humax PVR-9200T, however it cost around £180.

Thanks for the warning about Iams and Eukaneba cat food. I had no idea. Will definitely boycott them in the future.

MINCER_2

DazzaMc wrote: »

2 people have posted a comment now telling people they should wait for Freeview Playback and noone seems to be paying the blindest bit of attention.

I doubt they'll be that cheap to be honest - but normal freeview record boxes will go down I bet. So wait!

And I bet you are nursing a Betamax, just until they sort out the new Bluray standard!

Anyway - http://www.dixons.co.uk/product.php?sku=738200

Techwood TWDFV2 Digital TV Receiver

£23.98 delivered.

I know it's not as cheap as some - but worth a look if you don't hate DSG.

CJL

If you consider buying the 83.99 (incl. del) at HomeCinemaTV.co.uk: The Humax PVR8000 80GB Hard Disc Drive Recorder, with a single tuner.

Be aware that homecinematv.co.uk is owned by Hughes Electrical.
My experience of purchasing a Humax PVR9200 from Hughes Direct at their normal price was that I received a secondhand unit. If you buy a cheap Humax PVR8000, you may want to check that it is actually a new unit.

saintalan

L.S.D. wrote: »

Where can you buy this TV?

Any computer monitor (an example), you just have to use the Aver Digibox with a VGA cable instead of a SCART.

Alan

riocard

I got a great deal for my money from Richer Sounds.

They currently have in their clearence section:
Astratec TOPD2B (Click here for direct link)

It only costs £9.99 , has Top-up TV slot, and comes with a SCART cable. Furthermore, if you click on the page for your local branch it may have a voucher right at the bottom for free Sennheiser earphones when you spend £10 or more. The guy at the store was decent enough to throw them in for £9.99 though.

Also I have reason to believe from this forum posting that it is very similar to the Humax MG-TU1, the only major difference being it lacks a RF modulator (lets you 'tune in' to its output on old TVs). Since most TVs now have SCART which will give a better signal, this is not a real disadvantage.

Lastly, Ricability, an independent consumer research organisation, commissioned by the Department for Trade and Industry to produce independent consumer test reports on digital TV products, says:

'...Both the Humax F2-FOX T, £65.99 and the Humax MG-TUI, £64.50 set top boxes were also easy to use.'

on its Easiest to use set top boxes page.

From my own personal experience, it is a great box, able to pick up all channels (in London mind you) from a set top aerial (the one on the Ricability website - £20 Argos), and is quicker changing channels than the analog TV!

One note of warning: I think my box was ex-demo, the included-batteries had been inserted and run down, and the outside of the packaging had cosmetic damage. It does now work perfectly, after giving the somewhat-dirty remote control a wipe.

rc78

Sainsburys sell an Alba stb for £19.99 with a very low returns level, unlike some of the other budget boxes they have sold before.

They also sell a scart lead for £1.99

skyman_one

MSE_Martin wrote: »

16 April 2007

What's this all about?

Freeview is the set top box that relies on a normal ariel to give you digital TV and access to get 30 more TV and 20 radio channels. Prices have plummeted so for a one-off £20 you can now get it much cheaper than joining a monthly subscription package (to cut the cost of that see the Digital TV Cost Cutting article)

Check you can get it first

The official way to check whether you can get the signal is on the official site: Freeview. Yet that's not fool-proof, ask nearby neighbours for their experiences, or if possible borrow someone's Freeview box to try.

The cheapest boxes instore & online

Online

• £17.98 including delivery MedionShop (refurb): This refurbished Medion MD29292 is available, though it may have 'minor cosmetic imperfections'. To navigate to the item using the link above, click 'refurbished stock' on the left-hand menu, then 'refurbished electronics', and you should see it.
• £24.67 Amazon: The DIGIHOME DVB915* is available from Amazon, and as it's over £15, delivery is included.

Instore

• £19.95 Richer Sounds (Refurb): The cut price hi-fi retailer has a Mico STB235 as a refurb (called 'graded' on the site), with one year gaurantee. Availability is limited although, if there's a store near you, it's worth popping in to check out.
• £19.97 Tesco: The Digilogic DSTB1000 is available for reserve and collection in several Tesco stores.
• £19.97 ASDA: Instore, an ASDA own-brand box is available for just under £20.
• £19.99 Argos: Reservations for store pick up are also available for the Digi Home DV940B.
• £24.99 Woolworths: Some stores stock the Technosonic Set Top Box, though it's worth calling first to check availability.

Freeview Boxes with hard-drive

A hard-drive enables you to record the programmes, for instant playback (just like a computers memory does). The cost of these more advance Freeview boxes is dropping rapidly too; though I suspect if you hold off another six months they'll become really cheap.

• £58.74 in-store at Morgan Computers: A Ferguson FPVR1T 80GB Freeview Recorder is available in its four stores located in Greenford, London, Birmingham and Manchester, and comes with a six months warranty. Alternatively it can be delivered for an extra £11.75.
• £76.35 (incl.del) at Micro Direct Ltd: An 80GB DigiFusion FVRT200* is available with 1 year's warranty. It has 80 hours of storage a twin-tuner (you can record one channel whilst you watch another).
• £83.99 (incl. del) at HomeCinemaTV.co.uk: The Humax PVR8000 80GB Hard Disc Drive Recorder, with a single tuner, is available.

IF YOU FIND A CHEAPER BOX THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED ABOVE PLEASE REPORT IT IN THE THREAD BELOW

Martin

* Using these links helps the site stay ad-free and free to use, as they’re ‘affiliated links’ which invisibly take you via commercial price comparison services like Moneysupermarket or Find, which then pay this site per click. You shouldn’t notice any difference, the links don’t impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things I write) is NEVER impacted by the revenue. If it isn’t possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it is still recommended and still included. For the sake of transparency go to amazon.co.uk or microdirect.co.uk for an unaffiliated link. Click on the following link for more details on how this site’s financed.

CO-OP are selling an Akura freeview box for £19.99, this has 2 scart sockets and includes scart lead, great value and a great box...

sueseven

got one free . introducing a friend to freemans catalogue

System

can't beat free from freemans (sorry - pun alert), but i saw the post about dabs.com.

I have 2 refurbed hard-disk freeview recorders and an idtv from dabs - all perfect, easy to use (I gave my mum one) and spotless hard-disks.:beer:

also ref asda - FOUR freeview tv's in ONE month - ALL failed in same manner (duff digital tuners) - one within two hours of plugging it in - ONN? get off!:mad:

L.S.D.

saintalan wrote: »

Any computer monitor (an example), you just have to use the Aver Digibox with a VGA cable instead of a SCART.

Alan

It's not exactly a Freeview TV all in one. I already have a similar setup & it's a pain with two plugs, two switches & two remotes etc. No I'll go the cheap freeview box route until a REAL 19" or thereabouts widescreen freeview TV comes along at a realistic price.