Let me start by telling you that I don't have much experience of Freeview boxes, so whether this one does anything better or worse than any other, similar, system available, I don't know. That said, it does what it's supposed to and it does it very well.

So, what do you get in the box?

I do have to say, though, that this is definately the smallest Freeview box I have ever seen. It's around the same size (actually a little smaller, I think) that an old VHS video cassette. The other USP (that's "Unique Selling Point" for those readers not in sales!) is that the box can, if you want, be attached to the back of your TV. This is done by way of sticky-pads or a metal bracket; all of which are included in the box. The box is then operated by what VM calls the "mini remote receiver". That's it on the right there.

If you don't want to do it that way, then you can still mount the box either horizontally or (another USP?) vertically by use of the included stand!

The Remote Control itself is also very small (25cm x 5cm x 1cm) and I have to say that I like it like that. I don't like big, clunky remotes!

All the usual functions are there. There's even a button to switch from TV to Radio which, to me, is unusual. But like I said at the start, I don't have a lot of experience with Freeview so this might actually be a standard thing. Either way, it's certainly useful!

Of course, there's one-touch access to digital subtitles. These are naturally much clearer than on standard analogue TV. See picture on the right. (No, I don't watch Eastenders normally. It just happened to be on while I was screen-grabbing. Honest!)

 

 

Setting Up

Actually setting up the unit is very easy.

When you first power-up, this is what you see	Press OK to begin automatic scanning for channels	When complete, it tells you how many it's found

...and that's it! You're done!

All the usual features are there. Let's take a look at some of them.

The EPG	Programme Info	Timers

Electronic Programme Guide
This unit has a rolling 7-day EPG that is accessed by pressing the GUIDE button. This means you can view listings and set timers (see below) for up-to a week ahead.

Programme Info
Press the button marked i for on-screen information about the programme you're currently watching. You can then use the arrow buttons to find out what is on now or later on the current channel (up/down) or another channel (left/right). To change to the channel who's info you are currently looking at, just press OK.

Timers
Set the timer so the box will automatically switch to a given channel at a set time so you can record something if you aren't there to watch it.

I don't know how hard it would be to implement, but I think it would have been a nice idea to have a few options for each reminder. eg 'weekdays', 'this week only', 'every week', etc. This would help if you wanted to go on holiday and have the same shows record each week (barring any schedule changes of course!). If VM are reading this (and I know they do!) then maybe that's an idea for the next software upgrade?!

What would Digital TV be without the "Red Button" interactive services.

Here's the BBCi main page. Infuriatingly, these services seem much faster on this Freeview box than they do on my Cable STB!

 

 

 

There is a useful help system available if you get stuck on how to do something. Nine pages of help which you can scroll through using the left/right arrow buttons.

 

 

 

 

Here's the 'Main Menu' screen where you can access a number of different setup options:
Timers: (discussed above)
Edit Channel List: Change the order of, or hide, channels.
Settings: Change picture format, settings and output type.
Parental Controls: Setup PIN access control to certain channels
Tuning: Re-run the automatic tuning or manual add channels
Service: Check the software version and signal strength
Software Upgrade: This option will update your box when a new version of the software is released.

 

So there it is! Okay, so it's not necessarily the most comprehensive review ever, but it does give you an idea of what the box is all about :-)

The Virgin Media Freeview V Box is available in non-cable areas only at a price of £40, or FREE when you buy their Bundle One package. Full details here.
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