Pioneer DBR-TF100GB Review

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Pioneer DBR-TF100GB
4.6 stars
Average rating for this product is: 4.6 out of 5

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mike18's Review of Pioneer DBR-TF100GB Freeview Box

6th Apr 2005

Overall Rating

4.5 stars
  • Value for money
    4.5 stars
  • Features
    4 stars
  • Time DVB Owned
    Less than a Week
  • Ease of Use
    5 stars
Good Points

Good manual.
TV modulator.
Remote can control TV too.


Bad Points

Lack of picture detail, probably due to digital technology rather than the unit.
The LED lights up the room.
Potential interference using modulator.


General Comments

I bought a Pioneer DBR-TF100GB as I was unhappy with the detail in the picture from a less expensive, competitor's box. The Pioneer's picture is marginally better but it's not really obvious. Will this be the future of all TV...really clear, no interference or ghosting but with faces devoid of much of their texture and detail? If so, this is a retrograde step from current analogue picture quality.

I set up the remote to control the Philips TV too, and system control became really, really easy. It also made it easy to switch directly between analogue and digital channels and see the loss of detail!
This remote control programming makes using DVB channels a doddle. Using the previous box and two remotes now feels like a real hassle.

I'd wanted the TV modulator to pipe DVB round the house. The modulator had been preset to a low channel number that destroyed 5's picture on Ch37, but the DVB tuned-in picture was fine. I reset it to Ch68, but then the TV's tuned-in DVB picture became unwatchable.... full of horizontal white line jaggies. Fewer appeared at Ch58 and even fewer at Ch49, so I settled for the low 40s where just a very little line shake was visible. Maybe this is just a fault with my equipment but right now it's good enough. Anyone not needing this feature would find the complete installation very quick and easy.

The LED is b-r-i-g-h-t even when the box is on standby. This could be an eco-friendly design to force you to turn the box off instead of to stand-by, but as it arrives it's no good for an insomniac's bedroom. Two layers of duck tape cures this.

Despite these criticisms, I like this unit and, as it's so easy to use, it'll actually get used.

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