Buying a Freeview Digibox

[Panic Button]

What do I need to know?

Why shouldn't I just buy the cheapest one on the supermarket shelf?

[Tichfield]

If you are going to want to subscribe to subscription services that are otherwise encripted, then you need a box with a card slot.

[Panic Button]

Ta for that.

I have used my Mum's old Panasonic one and it is very fiddly and annoying.

I borrowed my In Laws digital TV to confirm we get a signal her now, which we do. The info provided on the screen and ease of use seemed much better, but for the moment I need digiboxes as the TVs don't need replacing.

[hammersgirl]

We bought the Durabrand one from Asda, and it is fine. What I miss on the cheap ones are the menu of programmes. With so many channels, it is best to have the programme list on-screen.

[Buenchico]

As Tichfield states, if you want to subscribe to Setanta Sports you'll need a box with a card slot. (There are a few other subscription services, e.g. for 'adult' channels, but Setanta is the only one using the card-based system which has a large number of subscribers).

If you've got a very old TV, which doesn't have a Scart socket, you'll need a Freeview box with a built-in 'modulator' so that you can connect it to the aerial socket.

If you're going to be connecting lots of devices together (e.g. VCR, DVD recorder, etc) it might be useful to choose a Freeview box which has got two Scart sockets.

If you've got a TV set which is 'HD ready', you might want to select a box with 'HDMI upscaling'.

However, if you're not a sports fan, your TV has a Scart socket but isn't HD ready and you don't need to connect lots of things together, you can just buy the cheapest box available. (The only other significant difference is with the 'electronic programme guide' which tells you what's on. Nearly all boxes now offer a 7-day guide as standard but there are one or two still around which only display 'now and next').

Chris

[Panic Button]

Thanks Chris, very useful.

My Mums old one is the now/next type, so now I see why this integrated one seemed so much better.