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View Full Version : Which cheap Freeview box?



kingoo
18-09-2012, 10:53 PM
My mother has 3 non digital TV's. We lose analogue signal in Oct. As she only watches TV, not worried about recording etc, can I get some suggestions for good reasonably priced set top boxes or is there a way to connect all 3 with 1 box.

Magnu420
18-09-2012, 11:01 PM
if you mother a oap,or on benifits she may quallify for a free box also depends on
what area you in

http://www.helpscheme.co.uk/en/eligibility/index.php

cactikid
19-09-2012, 12:16 AM
are you in southern ireland?as cut off is october,boxes are saorview or mpeg 4 needed,best bet would be a box for each tv,you would need an aerial for each or what i did was run cables from attic to each room for tv,should be plenty availabe,better if you could go for the hd boxes as if you did change tv to digital you could use hdmi [scart socket also on box ]

just to add saorview boxes will only give you irish channels,if you want bbc and itv you will need a combi box irish dtt and freesat but you will need a sat dish to receive them.

kingoo
19-09-2012, 12:41 AM
Thanks guys,

In Northern Ireland. She cant get free box. Aerial sockets are in various rooms in house.

cactikid
19-09-2012, 12:58 AM
google ebay in uk plenty of things there even a freeview digital tv receiver tuner,depends how much is worth spending and how close to a transmitter to pick up signal.

ShaLo
23-09-2012, 05:50 AM
My mother has 3 non digital TV's. We lose analogue signal in Oct. As she only watches TV, not worried about recording etc, can I get some suggestions for good reasonably priced set top boxes or is there a way to connect all 3 with 1 box.Theoretically you can connect one box to three TVs, but they'll all show the same, selected channel.

You might want to consider a box with a decent EPG. Crappy EPGs are one of my biggest bugbears with Freeview boxes, like ones that only display the programmes for a single channel at a time, or only have a 'now-and-next' for each channel, and require a button press to view later times. The Dion box from Tesco is pretty decent, but it doesn't support RF - only SCART. I think Tesco has sold out now, but you can still get them on eBay for ?12 - ?15.

irishbadass
24-09-2012, 12:47 AM
Hi can anyone tell me if a freeview box will work in the south of Ireland?

kingoo
27-09-2012, 01:06 AM
You might want to consider a box with a decent EPG. Crappy EPGs are one of my biggest bugbears with Freeview boxes, The Dion box from Tesco is pretty decent, but it doesn't support RF - only SCART. I think Tesco has sold out now, but you can still get them on eBay for ?12 - ?15.

I agree, I hate crappy EPG's also. I did see that Freeview box in our local Tescos (?16.97), so might try it at that price......... :thumbup:

ibb7
27-09-2012, 11:30 AM
i am also looking for a cheapish freeview box but is the quality of the box worse or better than the in built ones in tv's. as i was just thinking of buying a new tv.

CypherX
02-10-2012, 01:44 AM
I'd have to say stay away from cheap freeview boxes!
We had gone through 3 different cheap boxes as my mum didnt want anything expensive as its just to watch TV and if a cheap one works why get a more expensive one.

Well each of them had problems, 1 just completely stopped working one day, another restarted itself all the time, the last one was just plain slow and didnt always respond to remote presses.

From what i remember 2 of the boxes were from Argos, and one from a supermarket.

Just my own experiences with cheap freeview boxes, i'd recommend to pay a bit more and get something that will work and stay workign from more than a few weeks/months.

Donny7
16-10-2012, 11:55 PM
You may be right, but I reckon all the chips are the same, just the boxes are different.

The best box I ever got was the cheapest too (~?15 from Argos a few years ago).