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Freeview, as many of you will already know, is a way of getting a crystal-clear digital TV picture and dozens of new digital TV channels for a one-off fee by buying either a Freeview-enabled digital TV or by adding a Freeview box to your existing TV. The iPlayer+ is one such box, whose interesting features set it apart from its rivals.
The first thing to mention is its seven-day EPG (Electronic Programme Guide), which contains TV listings in a grid-style layout. This makes navigating through the maze of new channels far easier, and even allows you to set a reminder (or a recording, providing you have a VCR or standalone DVD recorder) for any programme within the next seven days. You can also splash out £28 for a Top Up TV card(www.topuptv.com), which will add a whole host of new channels to your iPlayer+ for one month. Each additional month of viewing is £8.
The iPlayer+ has an Ethernet port, so can connect to the internet via a wired or Wi-Fi network. This means that you can browse internet pages through your TV using the remote control or an optional keyboard (£25). There’s also an iPlayer website, which isspecific to the player and contains links to services such as shopping sites, news and games. However, features such as media streaming are limited, and the iPlayer+ won’t play anything in Real Player or Windows Media Player formats.
The iPlayer+ also has a telephone socket that – providing you have a BT line
with caller ID, SMS text and answerphone services activated – will allow you to
see who is calling you, to send and receive SMS text messages or emails, all
from your TV. Another neat trick is its ability to play digital media files from
a USB drive. Just plug it in and you’ll be
able to watch movies, view photos and listen to digital music. If you’re
connected to a home network, you can also stream media files directly to the TV.
On the back of the player are two SCART sockets and an S/PDIF digital audio output for connecting to a hi-fi. This has a lot of bells and whistles for the money, although noteveryone will need all the extras that the iPlayer+ has to offer.
See also:
All Home Entertainment
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