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Nokia Freeview Box
by phillo1
So there I was watching telly a few weeks back when that nice john simpson came out of an old woman's peeled off face going "Oh get digital it's brilliant you can get bid-up.tv and everything." or something so off i went to dixons (did you know the first syllable stood for the people who work there?) and got ... the cheapest box on offer, still not sure about this digital gumph. a nokia freeview box for 59.99. wow, that's cheap, i thought. then i got it home and realised why the box is cheap and what's on it free. because the nokia freeview box is (cue jeremy clarkson voice)..."the worst freeview box in thur wurld!"
it crashes, oh it crashes a lot. and then i have lots of fun stamping the buttons on the remote control, but no, you have to gett up off your arse (tut) and unplug it, then plug it in again. then it works. they are basically old ondigital boxes stripped out and replaced by the kind of rudimentary technology still only used by albanian telecom. considering it is meant to bring the digital revolution into our homes, the irony is just lovely! what nokia are saying is, "hokay, inglishman, here is our refenge for sending us loads of shitty hugh grant films in the mid-90's", because they are a total and utter waste of time.
the channels? i watch sky news and that's it because, believe me, there's 70 channels and nothing on. the only plus is the excellent bbc digital radio channels (especially 6music) though the EMAP Radio ones (Kerrang, The Hits, Q, smash Hits) are pretty awful and suffer from excess goodier.
so, no certainly not worth the money. this has not persuaded me that digital tv is worth buying in to. save your money and get sky digital instead.
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Matsui VX1107A
by
It is now a well know fact that Matsui is the "own brand" used for Dixons and Currys. As far as video recorders go its falls into the category of cheap and cheerful. Don't let that put you off, if you are anything like any members of my family, that is all you are after. It was my brother who first purchases a ... Matsui video recorder a total of 16 years ago, his first lasted 12 years before it started to get a mind of its own. He is now happily on his second one. And all this time hasn't had a need to call an engineer out.
My first Matsui recorder lasted just over 10 years before waving the white flag. So I went straight out to buy another. Disappointing as it was I had to call an enginner out after about 6 months (still under guarentee), but since the changing of one part its been smooth running now for 4 years. 3 years ago I purchased yet another (for a different room) and still no problems.
Talking to the engineer, the manufacturers that Currys and Dixons use does occasionally vary. Most common is Sanyo (You'll be able to spot the similarities in products) who make sturdy long lasting equipment. There was apparently a bad patch when they switched to some Eastern Block country, but they soon switched back after the quality dropped and the complaints rose!
As far as features go, its all pretty basic. Timer record, Niacam Stereo, Scart connection. The picture quality is reasonable enough for your average viewer. Setting the thing up is a doddle.
This recorder is for someone who doesn't want to spend a fortune, and is happy with standard TV quality pictures and sound.
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