Philips DTR220 - Ultra Compact Digital Freeview Set Top Box

Philips DTR220 - Ultra Compact Digital Freeview Set Top Box
Customer Review: Why do all Digital Boxes seem to have problems?
This one is better than the previous PACE box I had, for some reason that needed to warm up before being usable and froze up and crashed all the time.

When this Phillips box works it’s excellent - BUT occasionally the on screen graphics (telling you info about the programme etc) completely corrupt and become little green meaningless blobs. Turning the unit off and on clears this though.

Also, and this one is bizarre. Occasionally when a BBC2 show is broadcast the screen goes black and all I get is sound. When the next programme starts, the picture comes back. Only affects BBC2 (so far). Annoyingly this problem is not sorted by switching off and on.

From what I’ve heard most Digi boxes have numerous glitches so I should be grateful this only has some minor ones. I do wander though if such a thing as a fault free Digi Box exists.

Customer Review: Aggravating on turn on and no better than any other freeview box
I accept that alot of the problems with this are down to the lack of an outdoor aerial but it isn’t any better than the cheap box I had before and alot more annoying due to it going through a loading screen when you turn it on rather than just going straight to the channel it was on when turned off. The epg etc is clear and set up easy but that palaver when you turn it on (which no other box I’ve ever had has done - and I have had a few, believe me) is just annoying, as is the big updated firmware announcement box that comes up after it has done an update and which shows in anything you may have been recording at the time. The box is attractive to look at, and lovely and small, but that doesn’t make any difference to the performance of it. I found that it isn’t any better than the previous box I had even though I also spent ?30 on a better aerial. Sorry, until the broadcasters do something about sending a decent flaming signal out none of these damn boxes will be that good. I know someone who had to change their rooftop aerial because their box didn’t like the one they had so even some rooftop aerials don’t do the job. Just buy the cheapest one you can get and you’ll probably get just as good as this - or any other one.

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