Philips DTR5520 Freeview HD Box - made by Pace, this is sure to be a popular model to rival the Humax

Best Price: Philips DTR5520 Freeview HD Box

Philips DTR5520 Freeview HD Receiver Review

Earlier in the year, electronics manufacturer Pace said that it’s profits were set to soar this year with HD take-up likely to increase dramatically in time for the World Cup. Sure enough, they have released this Philips-branded DTR5520 Freview HD receiver.

Visually, this model is up there with the best, a shiny black unit with a very low profile and rounded corners. Unlike the Philips HDT8520, this unit does not record, and will not playback of media files (pictures, music, videos) stored on a USB stick or portable hard drive. However, take nothing away, it is priced competitively and available from a host of major UK stockists.

One feature that is still sometimes absent in cheaper entry-level models, but is included with the DTR5520 is is favourites. Especially with Freeview, where there is an abundance of channels that the majority rarely watch, so this allows you to create a favourites list of only the channels that you are interested in. With favourites activated, you can skip through channels without having to browse through all of the shopping channels (unless of course that’s what you are looking for!). This can also be useful as a parental tool to hide the adult-type channels from the eyes of younger audiences. Alternatively, you can have as many as 4 different TV favourite lists, and 4 radio-favourites. So in theory, you could have a favourites list for each member of the house according to their own viewing  preferences.

On the power consumption front, this unit consume less than 1 watt while in standy and less than 6 when in full use. The manual states that based on 4 hours full use and 20 hours standby each day, this equates to 15 KWh per year.

Philips DTR5520 Freeview HD Box Specification

• Single Freeview HD (DVB-T2) Tuner
• Includes HDMI and Co-axial cable
• Remote Control and 2 x AAA batteries included
• 8-day EPG and now & next on-screen displays
• Up to 4 TV favourites lists and 4 Radio favourites lists
• Parental control – child lock feature
• Sockets
  • 1 x TV aerial in
  • 1 x Aerial out (RF loop through to TV)
  • 1 x HDMI output
  • 1 x RJ45 ethernet port
  • 1 x USB 2.0
  • 1 x Scart
  • 2 x analogue audio out (left/right)
  • 1 x coaxial digital audio out (for use with Dolby Digital surround sound systems)
• Upscaling of standard definition Freeview channels to high definition of 1080p at 50Hz
• Digital audio output sockets as well as analogue left/right audio outputs.
• ‘Auto-eco’ mode – turns your Freeview HD receiver off automatically after 3 hours inactive
• Power use: under 1 watt in Standby, 6 watts when in use.
• Dimensions: Width 290mm x Depth 160mm x Height 37mm

Philips DTR5520 Freeview HD Box User Guide & Manual

If you would like to find out more about this device before you buy, the Quick Start and full User Guide are available to download from the Philips website.

Philips DTR5520 Quick Start Guide

Philips DTR5520 full User Manual

Philips DTR5520 Freeview HD Box Stockists and Price Comparison