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[B][U]Digihome DVB915 Digital Terrestrial Receiver[/U][/B]Beginning next year, standard television signals will start to disappear, and broadcast TV will no longer exist in the form that it does today. The old analogue TV signals are to be replaced with digital signals, meaning that to continue receiving TV, you’ve got to make the switch.
Freeview is the brand name for the replacement terrestrial service, and is operated jointly by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, BSkyB, and National Grid Wireless. To receive Freeview, you either need to purchase a standalone digital receiver box, or a TV with a digital receiver built-in.
The Digihome DVB915 digibox is just one of the many Freeview digital receiver boxes available today, and is probably best described as a budget range digibox. That does not, however, mean it isn’t any good, far from it in fact.
What do you get in the box?
The Digihome DVB915 comes complete with a remote control (batteries included), as well as an RF aerial cable and SCART lead, which pretty much gives you all that you need to get on your way, either via your TV’s SCART socket or aerial receiver.
It is unfortunate that an antenna lead is not included, which is used to plug your digibox in to your wall mounted aerial connection, but considering that the majority of people are probably upgrading existing TV’s to receive Freeview, this is an understandable cost cutting option, as most people will already have one.
Digibox!
The actual digibox is small and lightweight, and will sit perfectly on top of an older CRT type (non-flat) television, or VCR / DVD player.
On the front is a standby button, as well as channel up and down buttons. On the back is an antenna and RF TV out connector, two SCART sockets, and left / right audio connectors. The audio connectors can be used to plug in a stereo or headphone system that can either complement or replace a TV, which is handy if you only want to listen to the radio stations that are available, without wasting electricity powering you TV.
The digibox allows you to feed the old analogue signal directly through it, in the same way a VCR currently does. This enables you to continue making use of the old TV signals for recording or watching a different channel at the same time as using your VCR / DVD recorder.
For example, you could watch E4 via Freeview, while taping Channel 4 via analogue, or record More4 via Freeview while watching BBC ONE via analogue. Of course, this ability will be lost when the analogue signals are turned off, but it’s a handy addition while it’s available.
Once plugged in, it’ll ask you for a couple of settings, and automatically scan for any digital channels, and add them to the channel listings (EPG).
Remote control!
Not unexpected, a small and somewhat stylish remote control is included with the digibox, and comes with the usual numeric keypad and channel / volume up and down buttons. Access to the EPG and set-up menu is included, as well as quick access to subtitles, digital text and red button interactive features (where available). Also included is a wide button that lets you zoom in to a widescreen broadcast if you have a non-widescreen TV, or vice-versa.
For a widescreen broadcast on a non-widescreen TV, the two zoom options allow you to zoom half-way, so you only have a small black border at the top and bottom of the picture, or all the way, so you have no black border at all. Zooming in like this does cut-off the left and right of the picture, but most broadcasts are still done using the safe-area, meaning anything important should still be shown on your screen.
For a non-widescreen broadcast on a widescreen TV, the two zoom options allow you to zoom so you only have a small black border to the left and right of the picture, or all the way, so you have no black border at all. Again, zooming in like this does cut-off some of the picture, in this case the top and bottom, but you may find that broadcasts don’t cater to this type of zooming, and may see anything important partly cut of the screen.
Electronic Programme Guide (EPG)!
The EPG comes in two forms; as a full screen option, or as a small banner that overlay’s any TV channel you’re currently watching.
The full screen guide allows you to select any available channel, and lists the programme that is currently showing (displayed with the word “now”), or programmes that were on earlier and coming up later. The listings are provided in blocks, rather than one long list. You can look ahead as much as 7-days, although the channel listing information is dependant on each broadcaster providing that information.
From here, you can view a short synopsis and set a reminder of whichever programme you want to watch, and the digibox will let you know when it’s on if you are watching a different channel at the same time.
The small banner overlay displays the time, current channel name and number, as well as the current and next programme being shown, alongside their respective start and finish times. Using the left and right arrow buttons on the remote allow you to scroll though the listings for the channel your watching, though unfortunately you can’t set a reminder from here. You can also see the signal strength.
You may also see some channels that you can’t watch, such as UKTVGold. This is because some of the listed channels are only available via Top Up TV, a service that is also broadcast via digital terrestrial, but isn’t available with this particular digibox. When trying to view such channels, you'll receive a message that the signal is scrambled.
Other features!
The digibox gives you quite a bit of control over your channel listings. You can rescan for any new channels, rename any available channel, lock it via a 4-digit code (pre-set to 0000), or delete it completely from the channel listings.
The favourites feature allows you to set up to 5 lists of channel, and select which list you’d like to appear on-screen. You could put together a list for music or news channels, or group the BBC, ITV and channel 4 channels together. The feature does seem a little limited, however, in that you can’t easily switch between lists.
The interactive and subtitle features of Freeview are available, and load up pretty quickly.
The digibox will also load up quickly, and tune straight in to the last channel you were watching when you turned if off.
Overall rating!
Overall, I’d give the Digihome DVB915 digibox a 9 / 10, or 95%, because it’s a cheap little package with everything included to get your TV ready for digital switch-over, with the minimal of fuss, and all for the price of a GAD (with change).
The EPG is usable, though perhaps not as much as Sky’s offering, and the set reminder feature is handy.
The favourites section could be made a little more user-friendly, but with the limited number of channels available (compared to Sky Digital or Virgin Media), it’s not overly complicated or unreliable, and doesn’t take much away from the overall unit.
Can I get Freeview?
There is an availability checker, based on your post code, that can tell you if your area is covered by the Freeview signal.
Naturally, if you can’t get a Freeview signal, then buying yourself a Freeview digibox isn’t going to benefit you. There is Sky’s Freesat option that offer similar Freeview channels via a Sky mini-dish, if that takes your interest, and being Sky, can easily be upgraded to include some subscription TV channels, such as Sky One, Sky Sports, Living, Bravo, etc. You can also use a non-Sky dish to receive free-to-air digital TV channels from satellite.
Freeview Playback!
Freeview Playback isn’t included in the Digihome DVB915 digibox, but it is worth a mention. It is Freeview's equivalent to Sky+, and is effectively a video recorder, without the need for a video cassette. A Freeview Playback digibox comes complete with a hard-drive (the same as those found in a computer or laptop), and lets you record a programme directly to it, allowing for ‘playback’ later on. It’s linked in to the EPG, enabling you to select which programme you want recorded, and does the rest for you.
If you want to be able to record two programmes, or watch one while recording another at the same time, you’ll need to look out for a duel-tuner digibox.
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[B][U]Digihome DVB915 Digital Terrestrial Receiver[/U][/B]Beginning next year, standard television signals will start to disappear, and broadcast TV will no longer exist in the form that it does today. The old analogue TV signals are to be replaced with digital signals, meaning that to continue receiving TV, you’ve got to make the switch.
Freeview is the brand name for the replacement terrestrial service, and is operated jointly by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, BSkyB, and National Grid Wireless. To receive Freeview, you either need to purchase a standalone digital receiver box, or a TV with a digital receiver built-in.
The Digihome DVB915 digibox is just one of the many Freeview digital receiver boxes available today, and is probably best described as a budget range digibox. That does not, however, mean it isn’t any good, far from it in fact.
What do you get in the box?
The Digihome DVB915 comes complete with a remote control (batteries included), as well as an RF aerial cable and SCART lead, which pretty much gives you all that you need to get on your way, either via your TV’s SCART socket or aerial receiver.
It is unfortunate that an antenna lead is not included, which is used to plug your digibox in to your wall mounted aerial connection, but considering that the majority of people are probably upgrading existing TV’s to receive Freeview, this is an understandable cost cutting option, as most people will already have one.
Digibox!
The actual digibox is small and lightweight, and will sit perfectly on top of an older CRT type (non-flat) television, or VCR / DVD player.
On the front is a standby button, as well as channel up and down buttons. On the back is an antenna and RF TV out connector, two SCART sockets, and left / right audio connectors. The audio connectors can be used to plug in a stereo or headphone system that can either complement or replace a TV, which is handy if you only want to listen to the radio stations that are available, without wasting electricity powering you TV.
The digibox allows you to feed the old analogue signal directly through it, in the same way a VCR currently does. This enables you to continue making use of the old TV signals for recording or watching a different channel at the same time as using your VCR / DVD recorder.
For example, you could watch E4 via Freeview, while taping Channel 4 via analogue, or record More4 via Freeview while watching BBC ONE via analogue. Of course, this ability will be lost when the analogue signals are turned off, but it’s a handy addition while it’s available.
Once plugged in, it’ll ask you for a couple of settings, and automatically scan for any digital channels, and add them to the channel listings (EPG).
Remote control!
Not unexpected, a small and somewhat stylish remote control is included with the digibox, and comes with the usual numeric keypad and channel / volume up and down buttons. Access to the EPG and set-up menu is included, as well as quick access to subtitles, digital text and red button interactive features (where available). Also included is a wide button that lets you zoom in to a widescreen broadcast if you have a non-widescreen TV, or vice-versa.
For a widescreen broadcast on a non-widescreen TV, the two zoom options allow you to zoom half-way, so you only have a small black border at the top and bottom of the picture, or all the way, so you have no black border at all. Zooming in like this does cut-off the left and right of the picture, but most broadcasts are still done using the safe-area, meaning anything important should still be shown on your screen.
For a non-widescreen broadcast on a widescreen TV, the two zoom options allow you to zoom so you only have a small black border to the left and right of the picture, or all the way, so you have no black border at all. Again, zooming in like this does cut-off some of the picture, in this case the top and bottom, but you may find that broadcasts don’t cater to this type of zooming, and may see anything important partly cut of the screen.
Electronic Programme Guide (EPG)!
The EPG comes in two forms; as a full screen option, or as a small banner that overlay’s any TV channel you’re currently watching.
The full screen guide allows you to select any available channel, and lists the programme that is currently showing (displayed with the word “now”), or programmes that were on earlier and coming up later. The listings are provided in blocks, rather than one long list. You can look ahead as much as 7-days, although the channel listing information is dependant on each broadcaster providing that information.
From here, you can view a short synopsis and set a reminder of whichever programme you want to watch, and the digibox will let you know when it’s on if you are watching a different channel at the same time.
The small banner overlay displays the time, current channel name and number, as well as the current and next programme being shown, alongside their respective start and finish times. Using the left and right arrow buttons on the remote allow you to scroll though the listings for the channel your watching, though unfortunately you can’t set a reminder from here. You can also see the signal strength.
You may also see some channels that you can’t watch, such as UKTVGold. This is because some of the listed channels are only available via Top Up TV, a service that is also broadcast via digital terrestrial, but isn’t available with this particular digibox. When trying to view such channels, you'll receive a message that the signal is scrambled.
Other features!
The digibox gives you quite a bit of control over your channel listings. You can rescan for any new channels, rename any available channel, lock it via a 4-digit code (pre-set to 0000), or delete it completely from the channel listings.
The favourites feature allows you to set up to 5 lists of channel, and select which list you’d like to appear on-screen. You could put together a list for music or news channels, or group the BBC, ITV and channel 4 channels together. The feature does seem a little limited, however, in that you can’t easily switch between lists.
The interactive and subtitle features of Freeview are available, and load up pretty quickly.
The digibox will also load up quickly, and tune straight in to the last channel you were watching when you turned if off.
Overall rating!
Overall, I’d give the Digihome DVB915 digibox a 9 / 10, or 95%, because it’s a cheap little package with everything included to get your TV ready for digital switch-over, with the minimal of fuss, and all for the price of a GAD (with change).
The EPG is usable, though perhaps not as much as Sky’s offering, and the set reminder feature is handy.
The favourites section could be made a little more user-friendly, but with the limited number of channels available (compared to Sky Digital or Virgin Media), it’s not overly complicated or unreliable, and doesn’t take much away from the overall unit.
Can I get Freeview?
There is an availability checker, based on your post code, that can tell you if your area is covered by the Freeview signal.
Naturally, if you can’t get a Freeview signal, then buying yourself a Freeview digibox isn’t going to benefit you. There is Sky’s Freesat option that offer similar Freeview channels via a Sky mini-dish, if that takes your interest, and being Sky, can easily be upgraded to include some subscription TV channels, such as Sky One, Sky Sports, Living, Bravo, etc. You can also use a non-Sky dish to receive free-to-air digital TV channels from satellite.
Freeview Playback!
Freeview Playback isn’t included in the Digihome DVB915 digibox, but it is worth a mention. It is Freeview's equivalent to Sky+, and is effectively a video recorder, without the need for a video cassette. A Freeview Playback digibox comes complete with a hard-drive (the same as those found in a computer or laptop), and lets you record a programme directly to it, allowing for ‘playback’ later on. It’s linked in to the EPG, enabling you to select which programme you want recorded, and does the rest for you.
If you want to be able to record two programmes, or watch one while recording another at the same time, you’ll need to look out for a duel-tuner digibox.