Jamie_B

As title I'm considering getting a freeview box, I've seen a list of channels but is there anything worth watching on them???

mike1210

the choice isnt as good as good as sky but its a one off payment and so is certainly cheaper. is the reception good on your tv already as analogue will outperform a digtial box. you do have more choice obviously but if you don't think there is anyhting on there worth watching then....... have a look on the extra channels and see if anything takes your fancy

Jamie_B

Thanks mike, the reception here is cr4p so i'm hoping a digibox will improve things.

scoobyster

I'd try a digibox before you commit to buying, if you're in a dodgy reception area for digital it may not work at all or be unwatchable. Ideally you need a top notch aerial on the roof (or in the loft if needs be) to stand the best chance. A poor digital signal is unwatchable, the pic and sound go out of sync and you got pixelated pictures and pops in the sound - much harder to live with than a bit of a snowy analogue image IMHO.

I'm suffering like this until I get the chance to put up a decent aerial with decent cable down from the loft (the positioning of my lead from wall to box makes a big difference so I think the interferance picked up at this point is critical). Setpal based boxes and the Humax box I have are meant to give good results in weak signal areas.

I think freeview is worth it for the radio more than tv, 6music is a gem.

See what the postcode checker on the BBC digital site says about your digital signal quality.

Good luck with it.

mike1210

yep i agree. Digital distortion is terrible but digital is far more forgiving with regard to signal strength. used to work for panasonic R&D where we used to test this stuff and making the singal weaker would make no difference to the digital signal whereas the anolgue was unwatchable. but as said above you need to check your postcode out first for availability in your area. worth looking at the cheaper sky packages too if you can stretch a little extra

Twohats

iTrader: (3)

Baywatch Hawaii! Nuff Said!

sti555

Freeview is good value for money...

some ok channels, few music, some shopping, ITV2, BBC 1/2/3/4, C5, sky sports news etc etc so well worth having...

see http://www.freeview.co.uk for more info...

Buy a box with a card slot then pay £7.50 a month, no contract or commitments etc, & get E4, Television X, loads of normal sky subscription channels...

more info at http://www.topuptv.co.uk/

Hope thats helps

James Neill

iTrader: (1)

Just got a FreeView box only the other week for my new flat. Have a freeview card for a satellite box at my old place. The channels are slightly different but the ones that are different are pap anyway so who cares.

Anyways I actually got the Matsumi freeview box and it's wonderful. Its the cheapest of the bunch but has 2x scart and a 2 channel audio out for wiring up to my amp and speakers. It's actually more feature rich that most of the more expensive ones.

Picture quality is much better (it supports RGB out), less fuzzy and colour is more consistent. Also, the guide feature works well too so you know what's on. BBCi is good too.

Things to try with your freeview box

1) Watching UK History on a Satursday morning
2) Putting the Jazz channel on over dinner (to impress the GF)
3) Baywatch Hawaii - as noted above

Regards
James

mattstant

You will be amazed the difference a proper soldered connection on the coaxial will make as well.
i got this tip from my father inlaw who is an electrical engineer and ex raf signalman.
I did it to my aerial which is split into 5 different rooms and the improvement was very impressive