Freesat Recordable 4K TV Box 1TB

This unit connects to a Satellite dish (traditional or broadband) and lets you record a programme and potentially watch or record something else at the same time (Requires 2 cables from the traditional dish - otherwise of course it's one thing at a time) I already have a TV that 'can' receive and record Freesat but when it's recording you are often unable to change to or watch another TV channel. I bought this so that recording could go on separately from the family 'channel hopping' around as usual. Compared to the TV the Box HD output quality is as good as the original programme on the TV and recordings don't show any quality loss. Signal quality levels reported from the dish were also fine and similar to those on the TV's own signal meter Audio output on HDMI or Optical can each be selected as Stereo or Surround (although the latter is only going to be noticed if a surround track is being broadcast Otherwise you just get Stereo but its all managed seamlessly and works well). The box remote has its own volume control which can get confusing if someone turned it right down - I just leave it on full volume and use the normal TV volume as everyone knows where that is The unit as delivered had 2 year old firmware and operation (while fully functional ) did seem a bit clunky/slow sometimes in the guides/menus. The Manual had nothng to say on updating this manually but I had connected it to a wired internet network connection, left it in standby overnight, and next day it had updated itself to the latest 2023 firmware. This may have included a few menu improvements but the main difference was there were now no unreasonable hesitations when moving around menus and functions. Timed recordings started and stopped as expected and where available captured both the surround and stereo tracks so you can (re)select what you want to listen to after the recording which is nice. SO generally this would be great for providing improved FreeSat 'box functionality to a TV that doesn't include it or (as in my case) to provide a 'child proof' stand alone free-satellite dish recording capability. With the latest firmware installed there is nothing to complain about and operation is easy and quality is great.

Brought as replacement for over priced Sky tv, easy to install and connect to existing sky dish. First problem was finding correct code to pair with TV as codes do not appear on screen, you have to keep using the up and down buttons in hope you strike lucky which I didn't , contacted customer help who then sent list of codes to input, again had to sit putting code after code in till I found right one. Remote can have mind of its own as to if its going to work or not, you can press TV guide button then list button and the list does not always come up its as if its making its mind up whether to show it or not. On Demand did not work at first had to reboot box to get it up and running, instruction book that's in box could be more informative instead of having to spend time looking on internet to solve any issues. Picture is clear, easy to use once you can hang of it. Remote could be better than it is, buttons are close to one another so you can end up pressing edge of one next to it. Already subscribed to Amazon prime and Netflix which you do get in On Demand, does work out cost effective as Sky replacement but do also have Amazon Tv Fire stick. Box is a lot smaller than a Sky box as well as less cables, so does not look out of place sitting under TV. Have not as yet used to record anything but as with Sky you can pause live TV, rewind, fast forward.

Overall, I am impressed as I purchased this to replace my sky Q box as I found I was watching more channels that were free than the paid ones. There are however some minor things that can be annoying after awhile but isn’t a showstopper. When you switch the box on there is a period of time of it configuring the satellite signal so you have to wait. Also, the guide is a bit clunky it sometimes takes its time to download and display the programs would’ve thought this could potentially use the Internet and speed up the display. I find that when using the apps and exiting the apps there is a long delay in getting back to the normal TV. I do like the fact that you can set reminders which was a function that used to be present on sky but they removed. The majority of apps like Netflix prime YouTube are installed on the device and are quite easy to use and set up.