August DVB-T201 PC/Laptop USB Freeview TV Receiver & Recorder – Silver
Posted by Notcot on Apr 20, 2010 in Home Cinema & Video |
Product Description
- USB 2.0 digital TV receiver
- Watch over 30 channels Freeview digital TV on your PC or laptop
- Plug & play, powered by USB port
- Universal and regional channel scan
- Real-time and schedule recording
- Support playback of DVD disks
- Support HDTV reception
- Dimension: 86x27x14mm, Weight: 23g
- Requires Windows XP or 2000
- Includes portbale antenna, remote control, software CD
- Support DVB-T Protocol
- Watch Live Digital TV and Listen to digital radio
- Time-Shifting and Scheduled Recording Functions
- Support Still Image Snapshot
- Support Channel Surfing
August DVB-T201 PC/Laptop USB Freeview TV Receiver & Recorder – Silver
Knowing reception for Freeview services in my area is poor anyway (Poole) I was relieved when it discovered 9 channels first time; BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, ITV2+1, and a few others. (I use non-Sub Sky so not sure what Freeview provides generally in my area). However, I had read on here (prior to purchase) recommendations about placing on a metal plate. So I put it on a baking tray (!) and got 19 channels, but ITV1 and C4 were still elusive.
Resolved to take it to work (Bournemouth) and try again where reception may be greater. Not too good in the office at first, so went into the car park and stuck the aerial on a lead (metal) watertank the size of a transport container. 53 channels !!!! Now getting Sky sports news, E4+1, Sky Three, Five, Five US, CBeebies, Hits TV all those TV shopping channels (!!!), All the BBC digital stations, Radio Clyde all sorts.
Came back to the office and stuck the aerial horizontally to my (metal) desk drawer. 32 channels, lost a few Five related ones… no ITV1 or C4 though.
The HDTV software is really good for a bundled offering, being quite feature rich and simple to use, and once the signal is locked pciture quality is easily good enough for the larger laptop or monitor screens. The push-fit connector for the supplied aerial is a little weak in design IMO and would benefit from some form of bayonet fitting to ensure a good connection.
That said as others have, it is reception sensitive and the aerial is very much affected by objects around it, including people.
If I could get ITV1 and C4 in addition to the others my evaluation would have been complete, but Freeview often states that all channels are not available in all areas so there’s a case for buyer beware.
But at this price I thought it was worth the risk, and I believe it is a top gadget/product if you appreciate it’s limitations.
And now I’ve shown my colleagues they’ll probably buy up the rest of the current stock.
Rating: 5 / 5
As i live in the middle of the countryside the small ariel provided obviously had no effect. So, i hooked it up to the main arial, and although it’s freeview aswell, it could only find about 10channels. So, I then connected it to a signal booster aswell, and it managed around 30 odd channels, but still not the amount that i was used to with freeview connected to a normal tv.
The channels that i did get where really clear and actually very good quality. But, the really annoying thing was that i only got two of the terestrial channels, bbc 1 + 2, and just a lot of the annoying channels like shopping etc instead.
On the plus side, the recording feature and being able to pause the live tv works really well. But, and there’s always a but with this, if you do plan to record a programme, make sure you’ve got a huge hard disk. Because although it records at a very good quality, to dvd standard so it states, it also takes up a lot of room on your hard disk and slows your computer right down.
So all in all this is a good idea, but probably best for people who live in cities and have very high spec computers with alot of ram and hard disk space.
Rating: 3 / 5
This product was badly let down by the software that came with it.The instructions were vague and it was not clear if the driver had been installed or not.The software caused my laptop to grind to a virtual halt and the ‘support’was a waste of space. I returned the item to Amazon and purchase a cheaper one that worked fine. Do not buy this item!
Rating: 1 / 5
Like others I’ve read here (unfortunatley after purchase) Mine is not receiving any signal atall.. I live in white city, minutes away from the BBC. No L.E.D on the USB, my Sony Vaio running vista recognizes the USB but nothing.. I’ve re-installed, the drivers are apparently working, the stick is getting hot but no cigar.. I’m really pi**ed off to have wasted my time and money on this utter tosh…
Rating: 1 / 5
The usb freeview is a good product. It hasn’t broken since I started using it and the installation was easy. The aerial is good for its small size although you may need to adjust it to get a good signal for different channels. The sound quality is also good and the freeview tv player is easy to navigate and use. It also acts as a DVD player and radio. The picture quality is very good for a device that uses the usb drive. I also like the fact that you can take pictures with the program and record videos. You can also program it to start recording at a particular time in case you are out of the house. It is good that you can take it with you and plug it into any computer. The remote is also a very simple clever device that lets you change channels without having to use your computer. It also switches the program on and off.
Rating: 4 / 5