GDB9 Set Top Box

Excellent product.
Good value - comes with necessary patch cables (scart and TV co-ax).
Very easy to follow instructions - set up is a doddle.
Has the facility to scan for up-dated software.
Works beautifully with indoor (amplified) t.v. antenna on old kitchen t.v.
Crisp, clean images and good colour. Sound is marred by awful audio amp and speaker in the t.v., but there is a digital audio out socket on the box for a separate digital audio amp. (if you have one that is!!)
Strongly recommended (although I cannot compare it to any other) for what is provided.

Cheap and really not worth it

Bought one of these a while ago and it's really not that good. It may be cheap but quite frankly, with the experience I've had with it, is not worth the money.
I had to return the first one I bought as it just stopped working. The replacement they gave me still works - just. It freezes on occasion, it frequently loses all the program info it should have stored, it switches off when it feels like it and then needs to be re-tuned. This has happened so many times I have lost count. At one stage I stopped using it completely as it jammed up nearly every time I used it.

So, my experience of it has been one of frustration and very poor customer experience. I will spend more on the next one I get.

Does as it says

After getting rid of my desktop PC for a laptop i found i had a TFT motitor with built in speakers sitting around doing nothing. I looked around at different XGA boxes and came across this little beauty. Now connected up with my monitor, i now have a nice LCD TV with all the freeview channels in the bedroom. The sound's a bit 'tinny' but thats more to do with the speakers built into my monitor. In essence, if you have a TFT monitor sitting around, this is a cheap way to turning it into a digital LCD TV. Just make sure you have a very good aerial as the one included in the box is rubbish. One bad point to add, which knocks 1 star off, is the fact i lost sound a couple of times now and couldnt get it back without powering the unit down and back up.

Top Choice

Not having seen any reviews for this player before buying, I was a little
apprehensive before setting it up. I was amazed just how easy it was, they even included a hdmi cable to connect to my Toshiba TV.....
It took me about 20 minutes to be up and running and enjoying the top quality image..... Menu's are user friendly, it's a joy to use !

A little gem

Bought this card for my second PC. Easy to install PCI and supporting software. No problem in detecting all the available freeview channels in my area, worked from the word go. Must have media center OS, Nero or similar though ( the supporting drivers do not include TV guide, viewing software etc. I have XP MCE )In summary a cheap, effective way to watch TV on your PC-provided that you have a correct supporting viewing platform.

Nice, slimline, easy to set up.

I recently bought this item, it was really easy to set up, came with good instructions and worked well with my aerial and it's really small.

Great product.

Noisy

This box has a 160GB hard Drive, that you can hear whirring away when you start up and switch off.

It is quite thick (about 3 1/2in) and only comes in black at the mo.

I have had a few problems with my box, when ever I switch a channel over, it records it!

There are currently only a few channels on SKY that are broadcast in HD, and the majority of time, they are repeats.

As it runs through an HDMI port, it means that your TV will not detect it, so you have to switch to AV mode. You can watch it in Scart, but the picture quality isn't the same.

I currently pay £53 a month for a BASIC package, and BBC1, ITV, etc do not broadcast in HD.

The"backup" button is small, and above the pause button, there has been a few times when I have pressed pause, and the box has crashed.

To be honest, I would wait until a few more channels are broadcast in HD before you get this.....

Total lack of customer attention

The package was sent with no remote control.
I get no response to any of my many complaints.
Yet"Customer Services" tell me that a product that I paid for 25 Sept. cannot be expected before 25 October.
This is the most miserable internet transaction I have ever tried.
Amazon Warehouse NEVER again.

Does the job

ok, i've just got hold of this product so here's my opinion....

It's easy to get going: you just plug it into the correct sockets (transmitter box in pc graphics card, - sv-video or otherwise - and the receiver in the tv scart etc). All cables included. There's not even a PC disk you need to install. You might have an on-board graphics card, but just make sure there is an video-out port somewhere available on your pc.

The trickier bit depends on your PC. I have nVidia graphics card, and it took me awhile to figure out the right setting ...but hey presto!, my desktop is now on my television, and i can show the family my audio, videos, gaming expertise, youtube etc.

It was just a matter of configuring 'dual display' settings (mine worked fine on 'Clone' setting). Also, video will appear blank on your PC while it plays on your TV (in win media player anyway.)

The point of this product is theoretically, you should never have to go near Physical Formats ever again, eg. DVD's....but just download everything ....and maybe the cable version of this is more recommended (i have a v.tiny quantity of static with this).


HOWEVER!...wireless broadband interferes with this product, so one solution is to go into your Hub Manager and disable it, and use ethernet cable. Then, sharing Youtube with your family is fine...watch your browser surf away on the tv. Audio quality is pretty good.


Also, at the moment I have to re-arrange all my desktop icons after using, but this is becasue my tv is not a high resolution one, ...so a minor gripe.


Hopefully, there will be more convergence with digital tv to computers via your internet router, but until this gets sorted, this product is a worthwhile option. Also, the boxes are very neat and small.


I haven't a laptop , so i've no idea how it runs, but make sure you have a s-video or video out port on it, should be fine.

Back to the Future!

Way back in 1936 the BBC jumped from Baird's 30 line to 405 line and proudly declared this to be high definition TV. Around 1962 they jumped again to 625 lines and colour. What we have here is the latest in this long line of development - a satellite receiver capable of 1080 'lines' of resolution. Does it work? The answer is definitely YES.
The Grundig HD picture quality is a vast improvement on the normal SD, with lots of fine detail, purer colours and fewer 'artifacts'. The effect is often startling, a common term used by my friends is '3D'. Downside - nothing really, it needs an HDMI cable and a good cheap one can be bought for about a fiver. The SD picture is very slightly better with the built in Freeview receiver of my 40" Toshiba but there is nothing in it. HD channels are appearing and by Xmas you may have a choice of four or five - all free to view! Oh, yes, I forgot to say it sets itself up in about ten minutes, downloading the latest version of the operating software from the satellite, so plug in, switch on and sit back and enjoy...

Does what it says on the tin

Simply; it is a good freeview box.

It's easy, cheap and effective. I particularly like the remote control. It's worth checking that your TV is compatable as my new one isn't and I therefore have to use 2 remote controls, rather than just the freeview one. Its it compact and attractive and can be stood up or layed flat. It is much smaller than it looks in the image.

Excellent

The Rimax 5.8GHz Audio Video sender and receiver is an amazing piece of kit. It does exactly as it says on the box. It is easy to install. The delivery service is excellent. The reception on the second TV is remarkable especially as I have other wireless receivers and transmitters in the same room. This is a problem for less efficient models.
I totally recommend this to anyone.

Dire

This product is dire.
Even with a maximum signal strength indication the picture freezes, the remote control occasionally works provided your within 3 feet (with new batteries).
No good as a door stop and has so been binned.
Crap.