Pioneer DBR-TF100GB Review

Overall Rating

Very easy installation
Excellent tuning sensitivity

Some may consider its looks a little uninspiring
Freeview quality itself

I'm not sure if this is normal or whether I'm just having a run of bad luck but not only did my TV blow up recently (see review of replacement Toshiba 36ZP38) but my Daewoo DS608P freeview STB quit quite unceremoniously in the midst of Tweenies or suchlike.

Maybe not so unlucky after all as it did so 11 months and 20 days after purchase. Hah! Should be replaced under warranty.

Trouble is that the Daewoo was no longer available and the alternative Setpal equipped box (Labgear) did not meet my 'established manufacturer' criteria.

I was worried about reception as Setpal has been touted as having a far more sensitive tuner than other receivers yet, as a year is a long time in electronics, I felt that I may as well give a non-Setpal equipped box a chance.

It was a toss up between the new Pioneer DBR-TF100GB (don't try saying that in the late hours of a Friday) and the newish Sony (can't recall the model). What swung it to Pioneer was that:

a) it was cheaper and didn't involve any cash changing hands
b) the Sony's good looks could be the sort that fade out of fashion rather quickly.

Got the Pioneer home, plugged it in, mucked around with aerial cables, wall socket, VCR, TV and Scart leads and set the box to scan for new channels.

Scanning took around a minute and a half which, as I recall, is about the same that my old Daewoo took so that's fine. It found all the channels easily.

In operation, the picture is clear with excellent colour depth and 3-dimensionality with only the occasional smearing due to either lowish signal strength or inadequate transmission bitrate from the broadcaster (mostly on the ITV channels where I live).

Sound is good, only the occasional pop for the same reasons as stated above.

For a Freeview box this works very well. It is a pity that the broadcasters seem intent on restricting the quality of what we see, and not just through blocky pictures but also through those CRT killing channel identifying logos and a horrible mishmash of aspect ratios from 4:3 through to 16:9 with very strange cropping of pictures along the way too.

It's as if they are just soooo insecure and think that if the viewer doesn't have a constant reminder of what 'side' they're watching then they'll switch over.

Well, sorry to have to break it to you broadcasting meisters out there, but what your viewer wants is good quality programming, broadcast in top quality vision (HDTV anyone?) with the latest sound technology (DD/DTS please) and no channel logos.

That was a bit of a diversion from the Pioneer receiver I know but it's important to realise that however good a product is, if the environment in which it operates is flawed then the product itself will be seen in a lesser light.

Think Sark, Channel Islands and a resident reviewing a Ferrari against a Mini for example - cars are not allowed.

This is a shame as the Pioneer is seriously well equipped with:

2 scarts (1 outputs RGB for connection TV, t'other goes to VCR if you want to make that link)
RF cable loop through
Digital audio out (Optical)

and its performance is better than the Daewoo Setpal that it replaces.

This is a very difficult product to give marks to. It performs much better than I expected and retails for £100 which is a very good price for a good quality product from a top manufacturer.
BUT, it doesn't have a chance to show what I believe to be its true mettle as the signal it receives is too seriously compromised.

On balance, as I would still rate the Ferrari highly on Sark for its obvious design excellence so I will this Pioneer. It IS a top quality product at an effectively bargain price and any output shortcomings are, in my opinion, all down to what is being input to it by the broadcasters.