That’s right. £10. Freeview boxes down at the bottom end of the price spectrum might not look pretty and they certainly don’t feel very “solid” (the last freeview box this reviewer saw that cost less than £20 felt like one of those toasters that blow up after you’ve used them for three weeks) – but they do connect you instantly to loads of TV. If you want to go up to the other end of the scale, you can – there are freeview boxes that come in at as much as £80. Though why anyone would want to spend the extra cash for something that does pretty much the same thing is unclear.
The technology isn’t particularly new – freeview boxes have been around for a few years, now, predating the digital switchover (whenever that was – as far as most people can tell it hasn’t happened yet). Which means that they are fairly advanced, for a modern application. Anything that can be improved on your average freeview boxes already has – up to and including having them built in to TV sets, DVD players and DVD recorders.
A freeview box works in exactly the same way as any subscription or digital service. The user accesses a menu via remote, which displays the channels available at the time and lists the programmes that are currently showing. Like more “flashy” TV applications, freeview boxes offer users the opportunity to set advance reminders for programmes occurring later in the day. Really high-end boxes (usually the ones included in TV sets or DVD players) even offer link-up facilities to HDD (hard disk drives) – which means that programmes can be recorded, either singly or on more than one channel. The boxes that do this are usually linked to their HDD in such a way that a user can watch one programme whilst recording another.
Freeview boxes basically give users all the functionality of what is now generally accepted as modern TV viewing – but without the problems and obligations associated with a contract. If financial circumstances change, and a contract is no longer supportable, it can be tricky to exit. Owning a freeview box, for which you’ve already paid in full, negates that worry completely.
