Ferguson FDT2000

I had trouble with the FDT2000 initially (as stated in a previous review), but it settled down to be a good performer, that was until the latest update and the hassles of the new Electronic Program Guide download. The box shuts down at 3am to download the EPG. You have no choice in the matter unless you are up and watching freeview at 3 am as the option 'press a button within 30 seconds or box will shut down' is useless if you are recording a freeview channel while in bed. If you have any sort of PVR/DVR linked to this box, it is now effectively useless. If you do manage to keep it on by overriding it as you are watching at 3am, it will only shut down using the same procedure the following morning around dinnertime. Support from Ferguson was to enter setup, go to guide and reinstate older preference for EPG. this cannot be done as the 'guide' part of the menu has been disabled since it automatically updated and began this 3am shutdown procedure. Tivo type users, AVOID THIS NOW USELESS BOX LIKE THE PLAGUE. were it not for the 3am issue, I would have no issues with it. The fact this auto shutdown was sneaked in under the radar after so long working well, only to now be ruined by the update only serves to show how bad an auto update scenario can be. The fact it powers down automatically then doesn't auto power up just rubs salt in the wounds.

Always struggled with Channel 5 and the History Channel but with the Ferguson FDT2000, Channel 5 was unwatchable (as was Price Drop TV, but not much of a loss there). I was willing to forgive it until recently it has been regularly failing to turn over on demand, instead it produces a message saying 'this action is currently unavailable, please try later'. My mother's setup suffers from the same problem, though not always at the same time as mine. Turning the box off and on clears the defect.

I'm no longer happy with the box. Channel 5, History Channel, and Price Drop issues aside, I can no longer trust it to work properly. Both mine and my parents' machines will be binned this week in favour of something else more reliable.

Currently have the Ferguson FDT2000 set up with the main system (dvd (toshiba) video (aiwa) tv (toshiba)) and it intergrates well. Originally bought from Dixons for £120 a little expensive compared with some others but I wanted the full interactive features BBCi etc, however after a failed first set up (many arguements with technophobe father) a signal booster was required. This helped but still there were channels that we could not receive and some with extremely broken up images and sound. This could be due to our poor location (large hill behind the house). The service continues to improve with the easy on screen upgrades so it could get better with time.

Overall the box is nice and small and easy to set up and use but keep an eye on your location as it may affect it!!

Ferguson FDT2000 on the box, a Thomson inside. A smart looking little thing with one red light (off) and one green light (on)..a tad more attractive than the other Thomson models I thought. Easy setup...plug it in and go to Auto Setup...only a couple of mins to find all the stations. Good TV and radio reception...even through my standard ariel (Freeview website said I needed an upgraded ariel...not so in my case). Tried pressing the change channel buttons really fast to see if I could crash it (as has been reported in some Thomson models). I only managed to do it once and in normal use there is no trouble at all. Remote works well and there is good 2 channel sound output as well. Given the £80 price tag I would say it was a bargain!