UK Digibox: Classic or Dud

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"ooh, these sandals are fantastic! (for 1/2 hour. Not that I waited...)

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 30 April 2004 07:21 (nineteen years ago) link

six months pass...

Arrgh! We bought a shiny new freeview box last night, hooked it up, started searching for channels and found... bugger all. We should be able to receive all the usual free-to-air stuff in our postcode according to the DTG website.

We get pretty good reception through our aerial but the lady at the DTG suggested it needs an upgrade cos it can't receive the digital frequencies - is this likely to be the case? Should we just give up now and beg Argos to take the box back?

― robster (robster), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 10:35 (nineteen years ago) link

Argos are quite tight nowadays. I am semi-boycotting them, when it suits me.

Will Digiboxes work with a set-top aerial?

I would persevere a bit, all these things are a bastard to get working.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 10:58 (nineteen years ago) link

> Yes there is, this mention:
> Top Up TV Channel 60 11pm - 5am
> Television X - The Fantasy Channel (Adult Only)

this morning i came into the room with the tv to find the digibox was on channel 60 when i could've sworn i left it on 70 last night before going to bed (to tape 'peel'). the tivo is capable of turning the digibox over but doesn't know about channel 60. poltergeists, obviously.

robster, don't you have 14 days grace with argos? i'd give it another go. try a signal booster.

― koogs (koogs), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 11:00 (nineteen years ago) link

don't you have 14 days grace with argos?

In theory, but not always in practice. 'Oh, you've broken the seal!' etc.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 11:03 (nineteen years ago) link

I was wondering if a signal booster would do the trick - DTG person didn't think so. Haven't tried the set-top aerial yet but our reception's pretty poor through it usually.

I used to have a digibox that worked fine with a portable aerial so I could give it a go.

― robster (robster), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 11:06 (nineteen years ago) link

'Oh, you've broken the seal!' etc.

You peed on your set top box?

― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 11:10 (nineteen years ago) link

Was that a bad idea then?

― robster (robster), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 11:16 (nineteen years ago) link

buy the signal booster AND better aerial from argos too, then if it don't work you can take everything back all at once

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 11:42 (nineteen years ago) link

or just get broadband and digiTV all at once like a responsible internet person should :)

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 11:43 (nineteen years ago) link

Don't get me started on broadband...

Actually I would quite like to get started on broadband - we've yet to establish quite what all the holes coming into our living room do.

― robster (robster), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 12:32 (nineteen years ago) link

They are for broadband mice.

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 12:50 (nineteen years ago) link

You may need to upgrade your ariel, and the down cable from it. I spend some of last night fixing the 80s vintage ariel cable and we still only got the BBC bouquet. Go for the highest gain ariel you can get (£40 from homebase, Maplin etc.) Get double screened cable and use distrbution amplifiers whereever you split.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 13:02 (nineteen years ago) link

also.. is sky one on freeview? (otherwise is it worth it?)

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 13:07 (nineteen years ago) link

no sky one, don't know about top up though

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 13:08 (nineteen years ago) link

No, sky 1 isn't on freeview, but yes, it is worth it. FOr the sake of £60, you get top-bopmbing terrestrial channels + bbc3 and bbc4, which is a def. plus.

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 13:28 (nineteen years ago) link

Top up is shit. It costs about £7 a month or something and all you get that's any good is E4. Also you need one of those new boxes that take decoder cards (or an old OnDigital one, I think).

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 13:29 (nineteen years ago) link

I find the Light Programme to be more than sufficient.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 13:37 (nineteen years ago) link

I forgot: ITV 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 13:40 (nineteen years ago) link

'The ITV News Channel is currently undergoing engineering work on Freeview and will return in February 2005'

What can this possibly mean (when ITV News is still available on other platforms)?

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 13:41 (nineteen years ago) link

ITV News was still there last night (and was the source of entirely misplaced optimism early on) - I think some transmitters can fit it in and some can't. That sounds like rubbish though, doesn't it?

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 15:12 (nineteen years ago) link

Boots are selling a Digibox for 39.99. It is called Technobox or something. Looks a bit like one of their foot spas or some kind of inflatable pedicure aid.

What is the difference between an expensive Digibox and a cheap Digibox?

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 17:43 (nineteen years ago) link

Bugger all really, there are only about three chipsets out there. It comes down to CI slot or no and number of scart sockets.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 17:45 (nineteen years ago) link

What is a CI slot?

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 17:52 (nineteen years ago) link

Yeah, but the remotes and user interfaces vary a lot, as far as I can see. Which does make a difference, esp. when you're arsing around with interactive. Doubt it's as simple as 'you get what you pay for' but the speed of flicking through channels also seems to vary.

Maybe consult a WHICH? guide and your local library...?

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 17:53 (nineteen years ago) link

Also, if you've got £150 or so to spend, then consider stretching to one of the digiboxes with internal hard disc recorder. Like a budget Tivo/Sky+! I want one, to automatically store up the good stuff from BBC3 and 4.

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 17:54 (nineteen years ago) link

we might get tivo. i had it once, briefly, in new york. it's probably a plot to rot brains and keep people zombies in their own homes, but my god is it fun.

― lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 17:56 (nineteen years ago) link

You are my WHICH? guide. Do you want me to turn into my dad? Besides, I won't be getting one until we can extricate ourselves from evil Tele"Fred"West and their horrible 12 month contract.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 17:57 (nineteen years ago) link

FTN is cool, though they always seem to have the same documentary about realistic (not very) sex dolls on.

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 18:21 (nineteen years ago) link

eleven months pass...

I still don't know what a CI slot is. Why do I want lots of scart sockets? Why are some digiboxes interactive, and some not?

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:30 (eighteen years ago) link

back in the itv digital days you had to subscribe and use a card to verify this. so the boxes hard a smart card slot in them. then freeview came along and you didn't need a card so they stopped making them with card slots. only some of them didn't, just in case...

you probably only need one scart socket. you can get multiple tuners now so you can watch one channel and record another, which probably needs two scart 'out'. having a scart 'in' would allow you to chain your dvd player / video / ps2 through the digibox, which is useful if you have more boxes than your tv has inputs.

― koogs (koogs), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:47 (eighteen years ago) link

You need a CI slot if you want to subscribe to Top Up TV, but you don't, cause it's rubbish.

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:57 (eighteen years ago) link

Thank you both.

Just the interactive question to go. I assume this has something to do with the notorious red button.

I think I like this one, but it's a bit pricey:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000TEV88/ref=wl_it_dp/026-1079273-2068421?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=IN2ICUPK4RHZR&colid=2B1C4OVP871PI

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 07:38 (eighteen years ago) link

the steadibot has an identical (or very similar) one.

i haven't heard of non-interactive digiboxes. mine (an old nokia itvdigital box) is dog slow. fuck jenson button and his bbc adverts.

― koogs (koogs), Friday, 21 October 2005 07:58 (eighteen years ago) link

Thank you for listing your favourite programmes, Koogs. I will look out for them.

I think the Steady One is too stressed out to contribute.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:00 (eighteen years ago) link

my remote semi-broke, and the only solution is to buy another frigging box.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:03 (eighteen years ago) link

On this model? Cos one of the reviews says it's a big liable to breakages (not the remote though).

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:08 (eighteen years ago) link

no, my model was the cheapest possible (echostar), it has NO BUTTONS on the actual box.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:10 (eighteen years ago) link

I don't think my Panasonic has any buttons on the box either.

― Alba (Alba), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:12 (eighteen years ago) link

This is a whole new can of worms.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:15 (eighteen years ago) link

> my remote semi-broke, and the only solution is to buy another frigging box.

what about a universal remote? might be cheaper. might be an idea to take advantage of argos' no-questions asked returns policy though. (i have a six-in-one but the digibox is the one thing that i don't use it for)

― koogs (koogs), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:20 (eighteen years ago) link

They ask questions now, sadly.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:22 (eighteen years ago) link

Since I am now incapacitated and therefore anticipate spending a great deal of time home alone over the next few weeks, if anyone could tell me which didgibox to buy I'd be very grateful I'd prefer it if it was cheaper rather than expensiver. Like, I was hoping to pay downwards of £60 rather than lash out the sort of ackers Mr Hoity Toity PJM is thinking about.

― Tim (Tim), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:32 (eighteen years ago) link

You'll get a decent one for about £20 - £30 in Asda Tim.

― Rumpie, Friday, 21 October 2005 08:37 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm sure you will have many people coming to see you, Tim. Note clever avoidance of the obvious word to use there.

I would prefer to pay less too, but I have never heard of Humax or Digifusion and everything cheap I've ever bought has been shit.

There is a Philips one at £60-ish.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000A0D8HM/qid=1129887698/sr=1-30/ref=sr_1_0_30/026-1079273-2068421

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:42 (eighteen years ago) link

i think they are all 'much of a muchness' -- in what ways are the cheap ones less good? £30 minimum in argos.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:43 (eighteen years ago) link

When we finally get a Freeview box, it will have a harddrive.

I like the Topfield TF5800PVRt, which lets you record two channels while watching a third, records 90 hours or recordings, and perhaps just as importantly allows you to transfer those recordings over to your PC for archiving.

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:51 (eighteen years ago) link

The Simple Life: Interns is the only thing worth watching really.

― jel -- (jel), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:53 (eighteen years ago) link

According to my limited research, some have a better chance of getting more channels than the others and of working with a crappier aerial. And then there is all the fancy stuff, like programme guides.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:54 (eighteen years ago) link

mine works pretty well of an inside ariel, the only channels I'm missing are QVC, bid-up, price-drop and channel 5. The channels go funny sometimes, but oh well.

― jel -- (jel), Friday, 21 October 2005 08:56 (eighteen years ago) link

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