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Amstrad DRX300 - product review February/March 2002 By Chris Price

Chris Price casts a critical eye over Amstrad's latest third generation SkyDigital set-top box, the DRX300.

Three years after SkyDigital first launched in the UK, 5.5 million viewers now choose to receive digital satellite services via a set-top box and a MiniDish.

Equipment is provided by five authorised set-top box suppliers (Panasonic, Grundig, Sony, Amstrad and Pace), all of whom produce virtually identical units, manufactured to BSkyB's specifications.

Perhaps the most famous of all these companies is the Brentwood-based organisation Amstrad - a name that's been popularly associated with satellite TV for over 10 years. It was Amstrad that helped drive the analogue market. And it was Amstrad that partly ensured Sky's success against competition from arch-rival BSB years ago with technically inferior, but much cheaper, analogue satellite equipment.

Of course, all that's ancient history. Analogue satellite has all but disappeared and now the Brentwood company is one of the names closely linked to the success of SkyDigital in the UK. Under review here is Amstrad's third generation SkyDigital model, dubbed the DRX300.

Cosmetically it's far classier looking than its predecessors (the DRX100 and DRX200) with a neat, silver finish rather than the tacky black and chrome look of previous models. Other than that, though, there aren't too many changes - at least superficially.

The front panel features all the usual channel up/down, select and TV guide buttons while round the back are two Scart sockets, a stereo audio output (analogue only) for hook up to the hi-fi and a telephone line input. Like all SkyDigital equipment, the Amstrad box needs to be connected to the telephone line unless customers want to pay the unsubsidised price (around £250).

Whereas early generation set-top boxes from Amstrad (and other manufacturers) were quite slow, especially when it came to changing channels, the same can't be said of the DRX300. That's because it uses US company Conexant's latest CX22496 chipset, rather than the lower spec ST5512 chipset favoured for last year's DRX200.

Comprising a silicon tuner, satellite demodulator, high-integration media processor and a V.34 controllerless modem, the CX22496 solution is significantly faster than those used for earlier models. It is, claims Amstrad, also much cheaper, thereby reducing unit costs for BSkyB.

Says Amstrad Chairman and CEO Alan Sugar, "The manufacturing beneficiaries in the digital satellite decoder market will be those companies which are able to constantly reduce the unit cost while at the same time maintain build quality and consistency of supply. Our third generation chassis once again demonstrates to BSkyB that Amstrad is able to maintain its position as a leading supplier in this buoyant sector."

For the end user, apart from noticing an increased speed when changing channels, the main difference between earlier SkyDigital models and this latest model is increased functionality. However, this is mainly due to improvements in the software rather than the set-top box itself.

For example, one of the main bugbears of early SkyDigital models is that they didn't offer a timer facility for recording programmes onto videotape. Fortunately, this has now been rectified with a Personal Planner option.

Programmes can be chosen in advance from the Electronic Programme Guide (or the Search and Scan banner on the TV screen) and the set-top box will then switch automatically to them at the appointed time. Customers will still probably need to set their VCRs to record programmes (unless they have a SkyDigital compatible model). However, it's a much better option than having to leave the satellite receiver on the appropriate channel every time the customer wants to record a programme.

Telephone Amstrad 01277 228888 www.amstrad.com



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