Top DVB-C receiver with a small disadvantage

For an old Loewe-tube unit I was looking for a way to be able to receive DVB-C as inexpensive as possible, because any time there is a possibility that the device gives up the ghost and you then anyway buys a flat with appropriate tuner.

The connection is never a problem, but you should not believe, even the antenna input is not about coax and F connector as shown in the figure on Amazon. Unlike other here not automatically launched the scan, I have initiated manually and selected the brute force method. After about 20 minutes he had found more than 300 stations, including lots of encrypted and diverse HD programming, the course can not play the little man.

Before re-sorted, you should automate the encrypted transmitter backwards to sort (at least if one does not want to see). The re-sorting is solved without any problems and also halfway ergonomically. Vorteilhasft here is that you can not just rearrange the cursor keys, but in a angewähklten stations simply can type in the time slot, on the station to come.

Image quality is okay on the old tube can not anyway so well judge the operation is slightly out of hand. That you have to aim accurately with the remote control, as others write here, I could not understand, rough direction ranges. Also in the daily operation you can not complain. After switching the XC80 requires about ten seconds to boot, then it is already operational. A 30-second boot time, as others complain, I could not find, perhaps there was even a firmware update that has improved various functions. Pressing OK shows a sender list, through which you can scroll with the up and down buttons you can switch through the programs, right-left controls the volume. Very useful also the EPG implementation and even teletext can be displayed when the transmitter serving.

Sometimes there after switching short sound interference, probably because he has a little buffers, but that is over after one to two seconds. Even the menus are clear and understandable right away.

All in all, for this price, a top-device.

The only drawback is that the device does not loop through the television signal when you turn off it. I suppose that this is a device error, the should not be so, it makes no sense at all that the XC80 has an antenna output to TV. To this end, a point deduction, because that could be disruptive in certain situations. However, since in any case all analogue stations also in digital form, acceptable in my case.

He even has a slot for cards that are necessary for encrypted channels, in the absence of Sky subscriptions, however, I could not determine whether the device is suitable. Certified by Sky it's not to my knowledge. Of connections there are in addition to coaxial inputs and outputs again video RCA, two audio RCA and one scart socket, the latter I have used to connect it to the TV set.

For the price you really can not go wrong with the tiny box, I am very satisfied to the little slip with the pass-through antenna signal.