Amstrad : Read reviews and compare prices at Ciao.co.uk

Author's product rating:

Ease of Use	Very Easy
Ease of Installation	Very Easy
Range of Features	Excellent
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Fantastic invention, well worth it !
Disadvantages:	NOISE ! If you want it in you bedroom dont buy it !

Recommend to potential buyers:

Full review

Well what would i do without it! This box is a must gadget that every home needs, and theres no subscription to use the recording facilities aslong as you have a subscription to Sky. I bought this box off eBay for a bargain price of £65 including P&P and it has proved itself to be worth every penny.

Before you go any further into my review please read this:

This was my first Sky+ box and after owning it for a week it has now GONE! The reason for this is that i have it in my bedroom and the noise it made when it was on drove me mad, a really high pitch noise. So it has gone now im afraid to say :(. So i replaced it with a Pace and WOW what a difference, the Pace is almost silent when in operation, and is fast at navigating through the menu's. So that now i have had chance to compare the Amstrad i dont think its that good afterall. it works just as it should, looks nice, does what it says on the tin but is slow at navigating through menu's and is soo NOISY! Would be OK in a large living room and in a cabinet :). So be warned!!!

Now about the box as that is probably the reason you are reading this! Well the box arrived 2 days after i ordered it and it came all packaged up like new as it is 3 months old. I had a standard sky box before this one and all i did was disconnect all of the wires from that box and simply plug them all into the new box, simple enough. It was then just the case of putting in the viewing card and switching it on at the wall. So i switched it on and whas met by a low whirring noise as it started up, and after about 30 seconds it was on and i was watching the tv straight away with no problems, all the mixes i have were all waiting. So it only took from opening the box 10 minutes before i was sat watching the TV again :D!

The box is so much better lookin than the older Sky+ boxes, with the recording buttons on the to the left of the front of the machine. I like the green circle that spins round when you pause and rewind etc. It has all of the buttons you need to operate the whole machine all on the front even without the remote. So for looks its great, but could do with a little updating as the design hasnt changed much since its first release back in 2001. The remote on the other hand is great, unlike most remotes it isnt cheap in the respect that it has a good weight to it when held. It has all of the functions to work every function there is to offer all from the tip of your fingers. One thing i would say that there is a very slight difference in the speed inwich the box responds to the remote which is the same with all Sky+ boxes and even on my HD box, the standard ones are very fast but obviously dont record.

Now the only flaw i could find with the box is that when i first got it it made a whirring noise 24/7 which with it being in my bedroom drove me insane. But a quick forced software update sorted that out straight away and when in standby it is completly silent. Apart from that there have been no problems with the box and i am over the moon with its ease of use!

My problems were not with the box but with SKY, they are useless no doubt about it. Half an hour on the phone to get the recording activated! And i had to make 3 or 4 phone calls totalling £7 each, so i would reccomend that to get your Sky+ activated you just email them with your card details and box details which can all be found under the services menu. Send them an email telling them what you want and include this info and they will do it for you with no need for any phone calls. But beware you have to have the box connected to the phone line for 12 months. And do remember that Sky+ requires 2 leads from the dish for the full use of recording. I had a local engineer fit one of thos octo LNB\'s and run an extra cable which cost £30, cheaper than Sky at £65!

Overall i would definetly reccomend Sky+ to anybody. So what are you waiting for? Get one, fit it, love it! Just dont get an Amstrad if you dont want a noisy box, or a Thomson, Pace are rare but are the best. My first box i got when Sky first began broadcasting was a Pace and was excellent. You cant beat a Pace!

If you would like any extra info just drop me an email and i will be happy to help! And thanks for reading.

It was me who submitted this box to Ciao so i could let everyone know how good it is.