Philips DTR-220 Review

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Philips DTR-220
2.7 stars
Average rating for this product is: 2.7 out of 5

From 2 ratings and 16 reviews

Thumb down 44% of users recommend this product

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Crimperman's Review of Philips DTR-220 Freeview Box

2nd Oct 2007

Overall Rating

5 stars
  • Value for money
    5 stars
  • Features
    5 stars
  • Time DVB Owned
    1 - 6 Months
  • Ease of Use
    5 stars
Good Points

feature packed, price, small, easy setup


Bad Points

none I can think of.


General Comments

I used to have a Thompson Top Up TV box but it overheated and died. My Dad picked this Philips DTR-220 up for us in Sainsbury's and I have to say I was a little sceptical when it turned up. It costs around £40 and I thought something that cheap and clearly designed for the beginner (it claims a five minute up and running time on the box) couldn't be that good.

I was wrong!

This box is excellent. The setup was three minutes not five and everything was up and running. Whereas my old Thompson would struggle to fill in a two day Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), this little beauty handles 7 days on all channels. The other thing is the time for things to happen. Having used other people's Freeview boxes I was used to the go and make some tea wait when you press the red button for BBCi or Teletext on ITV. With this it takes about three to five seconds. I couldn't believe it! I once timed my old Thompson at 48 seconds from pressing the red button to displaying the menu!

One of the big issues I had with the Thompson was picture break-up. I assumed it was aerial interference but this box has no showed that it isn't. I had regular picture and sound break-ups with the Thompson but with this I am unlucky to get one at all.

The features I wanted are all there:
- Twin SCART
- Digital audio output
- RF throughput
- Working EPG
- Multiple favourites lists
- Adjustable menu transparency

Some of the other things I like about this are:
- Separate radio button - all the radio channels are separated out on setup and pressing this button gives you them all in one place.
- Discreet size. This thing is about the size of an A5 piece of paper and about an inch high
- Sleek design. No more bulky metal boxes for me, sleek shiny black and curvy!
- Clear remote. The buttons are clear and yet the remote is quite small too.
- Channel info disappears quickly and you can turn it off (this is the pop-up that appears when you change channels). Couldn't do this on my Thompson.
- Picture format detection. Automatically detects if the broadcast is in 16:9, 4:3 etc. and adjusts accordingly.

All in all I am very happy with this unit and highly recommend it.
Thanks Dad!

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