ADB i-Can Easy HD Freeview HD Box with BBC iPlayer and TopUpTV capabilities

ADB i-Can Easy HD Freeview HD Box Review

The i-Can Easy HD 2851t Freeview HD Box (made by ADB) seems to be one-of-a-kind – that is a Freeview HD Box with BBC iPlayer and a card slot compatible with TopUpTV (for subscribing to Sky Sports 1 & 2 and ESPN without a satellite dish/subscription). Physically, this sticks out from the crowd when placed with other Freeview boxes – it is white for a start, and can be compared to a small broadband router in size and appearance. You can read more below the price comparison.

ADB i-Can 2851t Stock Finder and Price Comparison

Our price comparison tool automatically checks online and high-street retailers (including Currys, Comet, Argos, Amazon, Dixons, BestBuy, Tesco and more) to help you find the cheapest place to buy the i-Can Freeview HD set top box.

ADB i-Can 2851t Review

Don’t get confused – this box is not a Freeview HD Recorder – it is simply a Freeview HD Receiver, with the added benefits of BBC iPlayer and TopUpTV compatibility. So what does that mean? Let’s brake it down bit by bit.

Freeview HD – a built in Freeview HD tuner means you can watch subscription-free HD channels such as BBC HD, ITV HD and more through your standard television aerial (providing you live in range of a Freeview HD enabled transmitter – which most will be by mid-2011)

BBC iPlayer – by connecting this i-Can box to your home broadband internet connection (sadly no WiFi – only via network cable) you can access the BBC’s award-winning streaming service. Note that any one can access iPlayer on their computer, but watching on your laptop just isn’t the same as watching on your living-room TV. Best of all, other than your broadband (and TV licence of course) there is nothing to pay for this.. it’s completely free.

TopUpTV - this is a pay-service that brings additional channels to your Freeview box. In this case, TopUpTV allows you to watch Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2 and ESPN using this box. You have to pay for these channels, and it’s not all that cheap, but if you can’t have a satellite dish for any reason (or you don’t want to commit to a lengthy Sky subscription – TopUpTV can be as little as 1 month at a time), then this is ideal. You simply by your i-Can box from one of the retailers in the price comparison above, and then call TopUpTV to pay your subscription fees and get your special TopUpTV card.

So the price of this box at just over £100 wouldn’t be all that attractive for a simple Freeview HD box – there are others available on this site for not far off £50 – but pack in the BBC iPlayer and TopUpTV capabilities and you have a very able box, and at good value. Visit one of the retailers’ websites below and read the customer reviews – see how they rate it.

i-Can Easy HD 2851t Freeview HD Box Best Price

Can Sony regain some market share in the PVR market with the HDT500?

Sony have finally come to the party, bringing this rather flash looking SVR-HDT500. In my opinion, Sony devices often look a little clunky and ‘straight laced’ in comparison to other models from the likes of Humax, Philips etc. But this time, Sony have opted for a very clean look – sleek black surfaces that would compliment your HD TV very nicely.

The HDT500 boasts a 500Gb hard drive, with enough space for 300 hours of standard definition recordings, or 125 hours of high definition recordings. This should be more than enough for even the TV addict/enthusiast.

The review continues below the price comparison…

Sony SVR-HDT500 Freeview+ HD Box Price Comparison & Stock Check

Sony HDT500 Freeview+ Receiver Review and Specifications

The HDT500 is disappointing in that it has no show-stoppers – there is nothing that makes you think ‘wow!’. But what it does, it will no doubt do very well. Sony customers are loyal, and loyal for the reason that they know Sony devices are reliable and work well.

In summary, the HDT500 has the following:-

• Twin Freeview HD tuners (for simultaneous recording/watching)
• Picture in Picture (watch one channel as a mini-screen in the corner while watching the football!)
• 8 day electronic programme guide
• 2 x USB ports (for connecting a memory stick or similar to play music/videos)
• Bravia Sync – control all of your Sony Bravia devices from just the one controller, no need for 4 or 5)
• Series Link
• HDMI port (to connect to your HDTV) with HD upscaling for Freeview SD channels.

Sony SVR-HDT500 Best Price & UK Stockists

Our price comparison tool does the hard work for you – it automatically visits the sites of trusted UK stockists such as Amazon, Currys, Dixons, Comet, BestBuy, John Lewis and more, to find the cheapest price for the Sony SVR-HDT500 Freeview+ HD Box.

Sony KDL32EX403U Freeview HD TV with BBC iPlayer for under £350 with cash back

Is this on your wish list this Christmas? A Sony 32″ Full HD TV with Freeview HD and integrated BBC iPlayer, YouTube, LoveFilm and more internet content, all for under £350 after cash back.

Sony’s Christmas sales incentive is to reward cash back to the tune of VAT – you may think that’s equal to 17.5% but it’s not, it’s actually just under 15% off, but still not to be ignored. In the past, when Sony and other manufacturers have run similar promotions, they have only been valid on the very top of the range models which are out of most people’s budget even with the discount. So it is nice to see this time that the offer is applicable to a huge range of Sony products, including this 32″ Freeview HD TV.

This Sony KDL-32EX403U is one of the Bravia Internet Video TVs with integrated Freeview HD tuner. So, from the start it has a Freeview HD  - which is being frantically rolled out across the UK as we speak  and is currently available in more than 50% of the homes (use the Freeview HD coverage checker to check when it is available in your area).

On top of Freeview HD, this TV has Bravia Internet Video – essentially giving access to internet catch-up TV directly in your living room (or bedroom for that matter). Simply connect this TV to your internet router (via an ethernet cable, or the optional WiFi adapter which costs around £60) and you can use the highly acclaimed BBC iPlayer, as well as Demand Five, YouTube, LoveFilm and more. These catchup services such as iPlayer and Demand Five commonly offer instant playback of the last 7 days content (TV and radio) from that channel. Demand Five actually makes content from the last 30 days available at any one time. YouTube is straight forward and LoveFilm has an archive of over 1,000 movies which can be streamed to your TV over the internet (a subscription to LoveFilm is required for that part).

Overall this is a top notich TV of Sony quality with some fantastic features.

Free 5-year warranty from John Lewis

While price is commonly the biggest single  influence when choosing where to buy a TV from, it is worth considering ‘extras’. John Lewis and Marks and Spencer both offer a free 5 year warranty on all televisions. And contrary to what you may think,  prices are competitive, especially in the case of John Lewis. In the case of this TV, John Lewis is the same price as the next cheapest retailer, but offers the 5 year warranty free of charge.

How to get the cash back

The only small ‘catch’ to this is that you must pay the full amount upfront, and then submit a claim form and receipt to Sony who will reimburse the VAT element. The offer ends on Christmas Eve, 24th December, and you must submit the claim form and your receipt to Sony no more than 28 days after purchase. Sony will then send a cheque, or make a BACS payment, within 28 days of receiving your claim.

Sony KDL-32EX403U Best Price Comparison

Please bear in mind these prices are before the cash back. The cash back amount is dependent on the price you pay for the TV. John Lewis have a useful Sony VAT cashback calculator that tells you the final amount you will pay.



Our price comparison tool checks prices on a daily basis to find the cheapest and best price to buy the Sony KDL-32EX403U from leading UK stockists either online or on the high-street.

The Metronic Zapbox T2 Freeview HD Receiver is a little light on features, but for a bedroom or kitchen it's perfect and will sell by the dozen at under £70.

Metronic Zapbox T2 Freeview HD Box Summary

The Metronic Zapbox T2 is a straightforward Freeview HD receiver – no bells or whistles, no frills. It quite simply is a Freeview HD receiver, without other features such as internet connectivity or media playing that the other, more expensive models can perform. Currently available for under £65, this is sure to be a big seller this Christmas.

Metronic Zapbox T2 HD Freeview Receiver Best Price Comparison

Our price comparison system monitors cheapest prices on a daily basis to ensure you get the best deal from leading UK stockists including Amazon, Currys, Dixons, Best Buy, John Lewis, Argos, Comet and more. If you cannot find this unit in stock, you can find more Low Prices here.

Metronic Zapbox T2 HD Freeview Features & Specifications

Physically the Zapbox looks like many other standard definition Freeview boxes – a black plastic outer, with a basic, red-on-black LCD display on the front showing the channel number you are viewing.

On the reverse, there are both scart and HDMI sockets, so even if Freeview HD isn’t in your area yet, you can still  use this box to receive standard definition Freeview and Freeview HD after it is enabled without having to buy new hardware. There are also RF in and RF out sockets, allowing you to loop-through the television signal to your TV.

Besides the standard Freeview HD tuner, considering it is a budget box, there are some nice features to this Zapbox HD receiver. Small touches such as a favourite channel list, the ability to re-order channels and a parental lock facility to prevent children from accessing the less-desirable channels on Freeview are welcome additions to this box which will find its way in to many thousand bedrooms across the UK.

Overall this appears to be a fantastic value way to get on the Freeview HD bandwagon. It may not have the features of the Humax or the Smartbox, but at under £65, this is a perfect box for the bedroom, kitchen or even living room.

Metronic Zapbox DVB-T2 Freeview HD Box User Guide & Instruction Manual

If you would like to see more about this box before buying, you can download the User Manual here:-

Metronic Zapbox Freeview HD T2 User Manual & Instruction Guide

Metronic Zapbox T2 Freeview HD Box Price Comparison

Goodmans GDB300HD Freeview HD Receiver - the first Freeview HD set top box under £50

The Goodmans GDB300HD is an entry-level Freeview HD set top box. It’s fair to say that it will never compete with the likes of the Humax HD receivers in terms of functionality or build-quality, and neither does it claim to. However what it lacks in these areas, it more than makes up for in value.

At the time of writing, Comet are selling this model for under £50 – that makes it the first sub-£50 Freeview HD receiver that we are aware of.

For most people, this model will be ideal. It’s a Freeview HD Receiver, not a Freeview+HD Recorder, so doesn’t have any of the pause, rewind & record live television features that you get with a recording device. But what it does do is add High Definition Freeview channels to your HD ready TV.

At this price, we wouldn’t be surprised to find people who were looking for a standard definition Freeview box for a bedroom or kitchen, to make this their first Freeview HD purchase, even if Freeview HD isn’t available in their area until next year.

Goodmans GDB300HD Freeview HD Receiver Best Price

Our price comparison engine automatically checks prices from leading stockists such as Comet, Amazon, Tesco, Dixons, Currys on a daily basis to ensure you can buy this model at the best possible price.

Humax HDR-Fox T2 Freeview+ HD Recorder

Don’t be mistaken by the very similar name to Humax’s other HD receiver, the HD-Fox T2 , the Humax HDR-Fox T2 (note the R in HDR) builds on the success of arguably the most reliable and solidly built Freeview HD Receiver, adding a hard drive recorder in their first Freeview+HD device.

Humax HDR-Fox T2 Cheapest Price & Stock Check:

Humax HDR-Fox T2 Freeview+HD Features & Review

The first point to note about this device is that it is a Freeview HD Recorder, not just a receiver. It has twin Freeview HD tuners built in, allowing you to watch one Freeview HD channel and record another Freeview HD channel at the same time (both tuners also receive standard definition Freeview channels so you could watch an HD channel and record an SD channel at the same time, or vice versa).

300 Hours recording capacity

The built in hard drive is 500Gb, giving enough storage for up to 300 hours of standard definition recordings or 125 hours of HD recordings. They always say size is everything and it seems people are becoming obsessed with the capacity of the hard drive  -300 hours is equivalent to 12.5 days of continuous television. Who could ever want to keep that much TV? Lets face it, with most programs, if you haven’t watched it in 12 days then you will have missed the latest episode. This aside, it is useful if you are going away for a couple of weeks and couldn’t bare the thought of missing 2 weeks worth of Coronation Street and Homes Under the Hammer.

Series Link and Recommended Recording

As a Freeview+ certified device, it does all the usual things including pause, rewind and record live TV, series link and has an 8-day electronic on-screen program guide. It will also recommend what programs you may like to watch/record based on the programmes you have already recorded. How intelligent this feature is is yet to be seen, but it can’t be any worse than some of the suggestions other people make as to what I should watch.

Home Media Player, Internet TV and Radio

Apart from the obvious ability to view and record Freeview HD channels (currently BBC HD, ITV HD and Channel 4 HD), perhaps some of the fanciest features of this device are in the ‘media player’ department. Long gone are the days when a Freeview Recorder simply plays and records TV programmes. This device can also play music either from a USB hard drive or via your home network. Now strangely this device doesn’t offer WiFi compatibility, but it does have an ethernet port on the reverse of the box. When connected, it can retrieve and play media content (mp3, jpeg, xvid files) from your computer and play them through your television. Needless to say, the Humax is fully DLNA compliant (the new standard for home media sharing).

The second part to this is the internet catchup / BBC iPlayer functionality. At launch, this is not accessible on the HDR-Fox T2, however Humax plan to release it via  a free-of-charge OTA (Over the Air) update. When it is released, it is expected to add SkyPlayer, BBC iPlayer and other content, possibly to include LoveFilm etc.

Overall Summary

Humax was a little late in bringing this to the market – other manufacturers have been selling similar devices since June or July this year. However, judging by the customer comments so far, Humax have got this absolutely right – with the best (internet connectivity) still to come. Menus are great, responsive programme guide and quality you would expect from Humax. Stock is limited right now, and as this device just won the What Hi-Fi Sound & Vision 5 star award in October 2010, if you see stock, buy one while you can!

Humax HDR-Fox T2 rear panel specifications

Humax HDR-Fox T2 Freeview+HD Recorder Best Price:

Our price comparison tool checks all the major online and high street retailers for stock and cheapest price on a daily basis. We will add more stores in to this comparison as stock becomes more freely available.

Tesco's entry-level Freeview HD Box does exactly what it is designed to do - receive Freeview HD channels - and is priced at just £100 to compete with the Bush DVB680

Technika STBDIS2010 Freeview HD Set Top Box Summary

Alongside the Smartbox 83200HD, Tesco have launched this budget Freeview HD set top box – the Technika STBHDIS2010. Available for just £100, both instore and available to reserve online, it is surely aimed to rival the entry-level Bush DVB680 which is now available for £99.99.

Best Price: Technika STBHDIS2010 Freeview HD Box

Technika STBHDIS2010 Freeview HD Receiver Review

While you shouldn’t judge a product by its name, I hope Tesco have put more effort in to creating a reliable, easy to use Freeview box than they have with the name – it hardly rolls off the tongue and scores 0 out of 5 for creativity.  STB – set top box, HD – high def, IS – well, maybe internet services, internet streaming – who knows, 2010 – the year it was launched. Put them all together and you get STBHDIS2010 – whoever at tesco looked at that and thought – “I know, that’ll be a great model name” should be thinking of getting a new job very soon.

That aside, you can’t really call this box anything but no-frills. It doesn’t have any of he features of the IceCrypt or the Technika Smartbox 8320HD, but it should do a good job of what most people buy it for – receiving BBC and ITV HD via Freeview HD.

It doesn’t have a built in hard drive so will not record programmes, but it does have a 7 day Electronic Programme Guide, 2 scart sockets, 1 HDMI socket (although no HDMI cable is included in the box) and is simple to set up.

This model is probably aimed to be in your kitchen or bedroom and for £100 you can’t go wrong.

Technika STBHDIS2010 Price Comparison

Our price comparison tool regularly checks stocks and finds the best price to buy this Technika STBHDIS2010 Freeview HD Box. However, as it is only sold in Tesco, it will always be the best price to pay!

The Technika Smartbox 8320HD - Freeview HD, twin tuners and hard drive for recording, built in WiFi and BBC iPlayer. What more could you want from one box?

Technika Smartbox 8320HD Freeview+HD Recorder

Tesco appear to have gone and done it. Not only have they released a Technika branded model that does more than everyone else’s equivalent Freeview HD recorders, but it is also considerably cheaper, especially bearing in mind the hardware and features that it crams in.

Technika Smartbox 8320HD Best Price

This price comparison tool automatically checks the leading UK stockists of the Smartbox 8320HD on a regular basis to save you trawling the web to find the best price. As this Technika unit is a rebranded unit from FetchTV, it also searches for the FetchTV Smartbox 8320HD also.

Technia Smartbox 8320HD Freeview HD Recorder Review

For some time we have been waiting for the 3View Freeview HD box, boasting not only Freeview+HD but also ‘home media server’ capabilities, but this hasn’t (yet) arrived. In the meantime, Tesco have put their foot on the pedal, moved in to fifth gear and pipped them to the post.

The Smartbox 8320HD is actually manufactured by IP Vision and has been snapped up by Tesco to add to their Technika range which is usually aimed at the budget end of the market. However with this device, they could be stretching their target audience a little further.

The Smartbox 8320HD boasts twin Freeview HD tuners and a 320Gb hard drive, allowing you to record two different Freeview HD (or standard definition channels) at the same time. It also offers HD upscaling, taking those standard definition channels and ‘digitally enhancing’ them to make the most of your HD TV set. You also get the usual Freeview+ features – pause, record and rewind live TV, series link, 8-day on screen EPG (TV guide) etc etc.

In addition, the Smartbox has 2 USB ports, allowing you to transfer recorded programmes from your Smartbox on to your USB pen or removable hard drive to play on your PC at a later date.

Freeview & BBC iPlayer

Where the real interest lies is with the ability to view content from online on-demand and  catchup-TV services such as the BBC’s iPlayer and Sky Player. The Smartbox 8320HD comes with built-in ethernet port and WiFi (unlike other Freeview boxes that have ethernet port as standard but where WiFI requires an optional adapter).

Once you have entered the details of your home network, you can connect to the BBC iPlayer and similar services using the menu system on the Smartbox. This is perhaps the one feature that people have been asking for in a Freeview box for some time.

Content from the FetchTV movies on demand is often not free (movies are priced around the same as you would pay to hire from Blockbusters or similar). However, all of the content on the BBC iPlayer are free.

Sky Player also works in the same way as the BBC iPlayer, the only difference being you have to be a Sky television subscriber (or subscribe to the Sky Player service) to view. This is good if you have Sky in the living room, but don’t have it in the bedrooms for example.

Home Media Server

When you connect the Smartbox 8320HD to your home network (either via ethernet cable or WiFi), it will automatically detect any media files (photos, music, moves etc) and play them on your TV. (This requires Windows Media Player 11 and to enable sharing on each device on the network. This is a simple task to do and instructions are provided).

Technika Smartbox 8320HD Specifications

All in all this is a power-house of a device. Check out these specs:-

• Twin Freeview HD tuners (DVB-T2)
• Upscaling to 1920 x 1080p
• DLNA compliant Media Centre with support for mp3 audio files, MPEG4 video, jpeg, gif, png image files
• 320Gb Hard drive
• Built-in WiFI adapter (802.11n for fastest and greatest reception)
• HDMI output for connection to HD TV
• RF output for loop through of TV signal to television for analogue channels
• 2 x USB 2.0 ports
• Dimensions: 20.5 x 5.0 x 20.5 (cm) w x h x d
• Power usage: Standby 0.6w, In use 19w

Technika Smartbox 8320HD Summary

It is fair to say that some of the feedback from early buyers of the model from tesco weren”t all that positive (bugs with softwre etc) but on 21st June FetchTV released a software update that seems to have done the trick.

Expect this model to be in hot demand – with many Tesco stores you can buy online and choose to collect from your nearest store so they reserve stock for you. Not all stores allow this, but most Tesco Extra stores do. (Goods are usually available to collect the day after purchase). Alternatively, for £7 they will guarantee delivery to you in a specificed 2-hour time slot (operational 7 days a week).

Technika Smartbox 8320HD Freeview+ HD Price Comparison

Technika Smartbox 8320HD Freeview+ HD Video Review

This is a video made by an early buyer of the FetchTV system showing just how easy it is to use the Smartbox and view content from online services such as FetchTV, iPlayer etc.

IceCrypt T2200 Freeview HD Box & Media Player: small, quick operation and you get a lot for your money

The kind people at Icecrypt gave me one of their brand new Freeview HD boxes on loan for a few weeks. This hands on review is a result of using the box as my primary viewing device, so you’ll hopefully get a good idea of how I found it and the good and bad features.

Summary: A worthy contender to knock the current most popular unit, the Humax HD-Fox T2, off its perch. Intuitive menus, quick, responsive operation, and with the soon-to-be-added recording feature, has some nice add-on features to boot.

Like: small form factor, slick operation, excellent menus and EPG, USB media support, competitively priced, ethernet port for future use and TopUp TV compatible.

Could be better: slow to turn on, easier playback of multiple media files, slightly plasticky feel to remote.

Price: expect to pay around £150, use our Price Comparison to find the cheapest price.

Best Price: Icecrypt T2200 Freeview HD Receiver & Media Player

Icecrypt T2200 Freeview HD Receiver Review

Icecrypt T2200 Packaging and contents

This review device was sent to me by Icecrypt in dummy packaging, so it would be wrong to comment on the packaging and what will be included in the retail box. It’s a strange decision because even the dummy packaging looked good to me. Inside the box was the unit itself, a remote control (complete with batteries) and an HDMI cable. There were no instructions, however I am told these are currently being revised and will be included in future shipments.

Physically, the very first thing that caught our attention was just how compact this unit is. Much smaller than a Sky box or Freeview recorder, it is however still slightly larger than some of the standard definition Freeview boxes that are available.

The Icecrypt T2200 compared to a Pace Twin Freeview Recorder and a Nintendo Wii

Sockets & Connections

Setting up the IceCrypt T2200

The very first time I turned on our T2200, I was presented with a sleek menu interface – minimalistic with no text, and with a very web-esque feel to it with large, clear icons. Using the remote, you are able to scroll left and right, with the appropriate labels appearing when you hover over one of the icons.

As with all TV devices, the first thing to be done was to setup the channels. Going in to the setup screen allows you to start a manual or automatic scan, where you can choose to select either DVB-T (standard definition Freeview) or DVB-T2 (Freeview HD) tuners. Alternatively, choosing the automatic search scans for channels on both. Our search took around 5 minutes, and found the full compliment of Freeview channels (both television and radio).

Usability

The basic operation of the unit is very simple, with power on/off and channel up/down buttons on the unit itself, with the remaining functions controlled by the remote. Turning the unit on takes a seemingly long time – between 15-20 seconds, during which time ‘boot’ is displayed on the LCD. I don’t even consider myself to be impatient, but it did feel like a long time and became frustrating when you are trying to turn the TV on quickly to catch the end of the news for example. Once it is on, operation is speedy, with channel changes happening almost as soon as the buttons are pressed, menu screens loading in a flash and paging through the EPG is a breeze.

Both HD channels (BBC and ITV) worked very well – a clear improvement on the standard definition Freeview channels, which I thought were already very good. In my personal opinion, I don’t watch enough television to warrant paying for a Sky subscription just to get HD for a couple of channels. However, now that it is available free of charge over the Freeview network, especially with the World Cup in HD on BBC and ITV this summer, I would definitely go out and buy a Freeview HD box just for that.

Information bar showing the current program and description as well as signal strength and more.

The electronic programme guide on the T2200 is very easy on the eye, and conveniently jumps to the channel you are currently viewing when you load it up. Icecrypt have obviously put a lot of effort in to making this user friendly, with the green and yellow buttons used to skip back and forward a day at a time, and the << and >> buttons used to page up and down through the channels. Using the directional arrows on the control you can navigate your way through the programmes, and hovering over a programme brings the details up at the bottom of the screen.

If you don’t want to use the full EPG, there is also the ‘now and next’ on screen display which takes up a small band at the bottom so you can still watch TV while scanning whats on next. Again you can use the directional arrows to scroll through and the ‘information’ button brings up the full description. Whichever way you prefer, between the now and next and the EPG, the T2200 will not disappoint.

The unit has a small display on the front, which is used to show the channel number. When you turn the unit off, it does briefly show the time on the display, but this disappears after just a few seconds, presumably to save power. It is possible that this can be changed in the settings somewhere, but if you can, I couldn’t find it.

Media Player – audio and video playback from USB 2.0 storage

The USB port is nicely hidden behind the plastic cap on the front of the machine, making it very accessible.

Recording to USB storage

Auto-power off power-saving feature

You can configure the T2200 with multiple event timers to suit your exact requirements.

If you are more organised about going to sleep, there is a sleep timer which allows you to programme the device to turn off at a set time between 0 and 120 minutes in advance, in 10 minute increments. Working in reverse, the unit has an excellent timer feature that allows you to use your box as an alarm clock. Via the remote control, you can configure numerous different timers to work concurrently, each with different settings. Within each timer event, you have the ability to choose to turn on the box to and specific TV or radio station, how frequently the event occurs and at what time (with options for a one-off, each weekday, weekends, weekly or plain and simple every day). As you can configure as many timers as you like, it gives great flexibility. You could therefore set it to turn on the radio Monday-Friday at a certain time, and then turn on the TV each Saturday at a completely different time. The only area where I can see room for improvement would be to set the volume at turn-on – as it stands, it seems to start with the volume at the same level as it was the last time it was on. So you could have had the volume quite low when going to bed, but then it may not be loud enough to wake you up in the morning! The only other slight concern is that the TV I tested it with did not have a wake-up facility, and therefore this feature was completed wasted! Some TVs now have an auto-on function when it detects an active input (i.e. from the Freeview HD box turning on) but mine unfortunately doesn’t!

Multiple Favourites List

The T2200 allows multiple favourites lists for everyone in the household!!

While many people often comment about the favourites lists on many models, it has never been a feature that would be a deal-breaker for me. However, if you are someone who likes a favourite list, Icecrypt have added this too. You can actually have as many favourites lists as you like, with the ability to rename each one – perhaps one for each person in the house. When adding channels to your favourites list, you can use the up and down arrows to manually select channels from the list, or you can simply type in the channel number – great when one of your favourites is Sky Sports News on channel 83!

Common Interface (CI) Slots & TopUp TV

A feature which started appearing on even the first Freeview boxes was the ability to add a TopupTV Cam (conditional access module). While the services offered by TopUp TV haven’t exactly set the world on fire, a ruling by Offcom in early 2010 means that soon we should be able to get Sky Sports 1 and 2 also via TopUp TV. Currently you can get ESPN for £9.99 per month, which shows some Premiership football, and there are some early suggestions that you will be able to get Sky Sports 1 and 2 as well as ESPN for around £20 per month. Whether or not this will include Sky Sports 1 HD isnt clear (unlikely I would suggest), however, it is a good start. So if this appeals to you, make sure your next Freeview HD Box has a CI slot. Also, if you are buying the Icecrypt, if you buy from Turbosat (available through the Amazon marketplace) you will get the ESPN CAM (the card bit) free of charge and your first month free too. (Normally £9.99 for the CAM).

Ethernet port for Internet connectivity

Included on this model, as with most of the other Freeview HD boxes, is an RJ45 (ethernet) port for connection to your home router and internet. While there is no functionality to make use of this connection as yet, I would anticipate this could allow access to the like of BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, Sky Player etc,

Icecrypt T2200 Price Comparison

Icecrypt T2200 Freeview HD Box  Photo Gallery

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