Affordable DAB Radio

Advantages: Exceptional value for money
Disadvantages: Mono output / no external aerial option

...ALBA TRDAB2820 DAB RADIO ------------------------------------------- My wife bought this radio to replace a fairly modern non-DAB receiver that we have in our kitchen. She was desperate to receive the same channels that we listened to on the DAB radio in our bedroom that were not available locally on the analogue FM and AM networks. So my wife's main reason for change was based on channel selection (Kerrang and Planet Rock). For me, apart from the advantage of receiving more channels, I was just as interested in improved sound reproduction and a reduction in interference. I am glad to say that this very attractively priced DAB radio achieved both objectives and has been used for at least 3 or 4 hours per day since its purchase. A BRIEF BACKGROUND TO DAB TRANSMISSIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Most...

bluenosesquonk 27.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of Alba TRDAB2820

Alba having some of that!

Advantages: Dirt cheap, slimline, plays MP3's and CD's.
Disadvantages: Not multi-region, remote will not last.

...I am no technical wizard; I clung on to my VHS recorder for dear life until videos became virtually non-existent for the most popular films. It was then and only then that I decided to invest in a DVD and even then I looked for the cheapest I could find. Functionality was my only purpose when searching for a player. I cared not whether it could play mp3's, CD's or STD's I just wanted a slimline, unobtrusive player that played a DVD from start to finish. As such finding the Alba DVD45 for a mere £27.99 in my local Asda was a Godsend. Measuring 36 cm across and 5 cm high this is a surprisingly slimline DVD player. It is quite stylish for the price with a silver shell and black panel front. Setting it up is refreshingly simple and requires plugging the scart lead (supplied) into the back of the DVD player and then into the scart...

Shortsharpshock 10.07.2005 · Read review
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Review of Alba DVD45

A superb small room 16" LCD FREEVIEW HDTV from ALBA!!!!!!!!!

Advantages: Small, well built, great picture and sound, HDMI, Freeview and loads other connections.
Disadvantages: NONE, NONE NONE!!!!

...The ALBA LCDW16HDF, what a surprise!! As we have a reletively small kitchen and a handy perfect space to house a small LCD TV, I set about looking for one so we could see the news in the morning while the terror is watching Spongebob before school on the big one! I am known as gadget boy by my mates and will not buy low quality items, especially when it is electronic. Panasonic and Toshiba are my firms of choice and that is where I was looking. Could I find a one, could I hell! Getting hold of a big name small tv is a nightmare, so I started at looking at other makes. This is when I stumbled onto this little beauty on the ARGOS website for £97. Firstly I read all of the customer reviews and nobody had a bad word to say about it. Firstly it is a very good looking tv with a 16" widescreen framed by gloss black and all very nicely...

mickdundee123 16.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Alba Lcdwhdf

Alba CTV3459

Advantages: Reasonable price, good all rounder
Disadvantages: No headphone socket

...to be able to change the channel downwards. The only way to do this is to turn off the TV and then turn back on and the set automatically goes to channel 1. ~~~Picture quality~~~ Using a roof mounted aerial I find this set to produce very good picture quality, comparable to the major brands (for a lot less cash.) ~~~Sound quality~~~ This set only comes with mono sound, yet for most purposes this is perfectly adequate. Whilst it is nowhere near comparable with a modern surround sound TV its fine. The only thing I have noticed is that if you do like to watch films with the volume up then you do get quite a bit of crackling. ~~~Connections~~~ Personally I feel this is where you can tell this TV is an Alba rather than a Sony or Panasonic. Instead of a bit more effort they have gone for the easy option that may put a lot...

ampuk2000 14.06.2004 · Read review
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Review of Alba 14" television.

Vila Alba Apartments, Albufeira, Portugal

Advantages: Fairly quiet area, good location, family friendly, rooms in good condition
Disadvantages: Quality of kitchen facilities could have been better

...I visited the Algarve last summer with a few friends and stayed at Vila Alba apartments during our two-week stay. I really enjoyed my stay here and would not hesitate to return - the apartment became a large aspect of the holiday! The location of the apartments is not in Albufeira itself, but just outside. Although the apartments are simply a 5-10 minute walk from The Strip (where there are many cafes, bars and little shops), it is a fairly quiet area, with little to no disturbance. The apartments are quite detached from one another, so this further lessens the noise levels. The apartments are around a 20 minute walk to the beach. The rooms themselves are of very good quality. The lounge area includea a TV with several channels; some in Portugese and some English. Even the CBeebies channel was available, which is great if you...

tracy112 16.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Vila Alba Apartments, Albufeira

DAB Radio at a fantastic price

Advantages: Superb price, easy to use & excellent reception
Disadvantages: Not enough bass

...Since the introduction of DAB radio i have always wanted to buy one. This is mainly due to the appaling reception on certain channels due to Pirate stations operating near the frequency of legal channels. I was doing my normal weekly shopping at Sainsburys a couple of days ago and noticed this Alba set for an amazing price of £29.99! The normal price for this set is £49.99 so this was quite a substantial saving. Also the majority of DAB radios are priced at around £90 onwards. Below reviews the radio and details what DAB actually is..... What is DAB? DAB was first introduced to the UK in 1995 by the BBC. It is broadcast using Digital technology rather than the standard analogue technology used in most households. Digital transmissions allow much more information to be sent than analogue so stations have the ability...

PlipPlop 01.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of Alba TRDAB2820

The Alba 165 - Cheap N Cheerful!

Advantages: Good Value For Money
Disadvantages: Not Multi-Regional

...I was fed of up going to the video shop only to find that the majority of the new films and the titles which I wanted to see had only been released on DVD and were not available on video. I do have a DVD player in my living room but I often like to lay in bed and watch a film and this is why I decided to buy a cheap DVD Player for my bedroom. The main criteria for my purchase was price, quite simply the cheaper the better and the cheapest one available in the Argos was an Alba 165 at £29.99. Appearance My first impression when I lifted it out of the box was very favourable, it was silver in colour and very slim line with a very modern appearance. The overall depth of the DVD Player is only a couple of inches but the front of player tapers to give the impression that it is actually much slimmer than that. The depth...

micksheff 15.12.2005 · Read review
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Review of Alba DVD165

Alba TRDAB2820

Advantages: Excellent value for money, lightweight, easy to use
Disadvantages: Small buttons, LCD screen not always easy to read

...I was brought this radio Christmas 2007, so have had is for seven months as I write this review. My other have chose this radio for me based on price - it was £39.99 from Argos. ALBA are generally known as a budget manufacturer of electrical goods, but based on this product their build quality appears to have improved. This DAB digital radio also have a built in FM radio, so you can use either. It has a headphone socket (so you can use personal headphones OR an adapter to plug this into your existing home stereo system). It also have phono type outputs on the back which again allows you to plug a low-level signal into your home stereo system. When you consider the cost of some digital radio recievers this is a very cheap way of making your old FM home system digital. The display is blue LCD (which can be slightly difficult to...

jacobsdad1979 12.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of Alba TRDAB2820

The Alba 165 DVD - It's Cheap N Cheerful!

Advantages: Very Cheap
Disadvantages: Not Multi Regional

...I was fed of up going to the video shop only to find that the majority of the new films and the titles which I wanted to see had only been released on DVD and were not available on video. I do have a DVD player in my living room but I often like to lay in bed and watch a film and this is why I decided to buy a cheap DVD Player for my bedroom. The main criteria for my purchase was price, quite simply the cheaper the better and the cheapest one available in the Argos was an Alba 165 at £29.99. Appearance My first impression when I lifted it out of the box was very favourable, it was silver in colour and very slim line with a very modern appearance. The overall depth of the DVD Player is only a couple of inches but the front of player tapers to give the impression that it is actually much slimmer than that. The depth...

micksheff 25.07.2005 · Read review
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Review of Alba DVD165

Alba CX570 Portable Radio Cassette with CD Player

Advantages: Cheap and Cheerful
Disadvantages: Radio tuning difficult

...A 3 in 1 'boombox' featuring an AM/FM radio, cassette recorder and a CD player. Available in either silver or metallic blue. I particularly liked the latter. Bearing in mind this cost just £17.49 from Argos and you have to say it's a winner. Sound quality is good and though by no means 'Hi-Fi' its more than acceptable for everyday listening. The CD drawer seems a little bit delicate, consisting of a 'damped' opening lid but so far nothing has gone wrong. The cassette mechanism is a bog standard mechanical type and the associated buttons, while no means swish, are at least stout and robust. The radio is tuned by a knob with a very small dialing window which is a bit tricky to set, but no worse than others of this type. There are not that many cheap units around that can play CD's and the now fast disappearing cassettes and as such...

colinmilne 11.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of Alba CX570