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Neostar Mini Scart Freeview Digital TV Receiver & Recorder
- Receive Freeview TV and radio channels and record them without the need for a set-top box
- Compact unit plugs discreetly into your TV Scart socket
- Pause or rewind live TV or record direct to SD card, USB memory stick or external hard drive
Description
Receive up to 74 subscription-free Freeview digital TV and radio channels and record them at a touch of button, all without the need for unsightly set-top boxes, with the Neostar TV Capture Mini Scart Freeview Receiver and Recorder.
TV Capture from Neostar Electronics is a compact unit that discreetly plugs into the Scart socket at the back of your TV and ensures you will be ready for the digital changeover in April 2012. Not only does it receive up to 50 digital TV channels, including Film4, E4 and Sky News (as well as all the terrestrial channels – BBC, ITV etc.), but it will record whatever you’re watching or listening to direct to SD card, USB memory stick or external Hard Disc Drive (using USB slot).
Not only that, but as nature seems to call at the most inconvenient of times, you can also pause and rewind live TV, so never again will you miss whodunnit, whether she said “I do”, that vital goal or that Bruce Willis was in fact a ghost (oops!).
As the programs you record are stored on an SD card or USB memory stick/HDD, you can then watch them back on your PC (as MPEG2s) meaning you can catch up on the latest goings-on in the Square or Street wherever you are.
Features
- Receives up to 50 Freeview digital TV and 24 digital radio channels
- Records Freeview TV and radio stations direct to SD card (or USB memory stick or external hard drive)
- Pauses and rewinds all digital TV and radio channels
- On screen EPG – program recordings up to 7 days in advance
- Easy to use menu system with automatic set-up
- Remote control with Infra Red sensor (for discreet positioning)
- Multimedia Player function: playback MPEG2 video/MP3 audio/DivX/JPEG files from SD card, memory stick or external hard drive to your TV
- Compact unit; measures only 10x2.5x6cm
- Discreet; plugs directly into your TV - no set-top box cluttering up your space!
Delivery
- Standard Delivery (approx. 5 working days) - FREE if order over £40 or £2.95 if order under £40
- Express Delivery (approx. 2 working days) - £4.95
- We deliver to mainland UK, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Scottish Highlands & Islands
To find out more please read our delivery policy
Returns
- Every product is covered by our 30-day money back guarantee
- Every product is guaranteed for at least 12 months. If your item develops a fault within the guarantee period, we will either refund (only if within 30 days) or replace free of charge
- If you wish to return an item to us for whatever reason, please call us on 01794 525 320
Reviews
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Mr Hougham
Shipston-on-Stour
great product
19/05/2012 14:14:00Does what it says-pity there is no teletext facilty
M Marchant
Ipswich
Fantastic, compact,ideal for 14"analogue bedroom portable.Value/cost made it worthwhile not to ditch the tv.
Mrs harris
Willenhall
great
M stretton
worcester
well pleased with result from item which was promptly despatched.
Mr KEOGH
Wigston
it does what it says on the tin, well packed, middle to easy instructions
M cox
watford
VERY GOOD
M Covacic
West Drayton
Easy to install as part of a full entertainment system. Only slight disappiontment being the lack of picture quality adjustment.
Mr Colquhoun
Bushey
Item fufills its description well.
Mr Kenny
Morpeth
Never give 5 stars except under duress
Mr De
Stoke d'Abernon
Amazing device and price. Saved me lot of cash by not having to buy a set-top box. So simple, even I managed to get it to work. Has given our 10 year old Phillips a digital life extension. Recommend the device and the company 100%. Very satisfied. Thank you.
Mr Ewing
St. Albans
good performance but had problems with poor instruction manual. Poor quality print & small print was difficult to read.
Mr Wood
Solihull
The scart connection on this product seems a bit flimsy and it would not fit into the TV, as the space was a little confined. Luckily I had a scart splitter socket available and it fitted in that with no difficulty. Having followed the set up instructions, I was pleased to see that it captured the full range of Freeview stations with good quality pictures. I haven't yet tried the record function but that will be a bonus.
M Mowatt
South Nutfield
value for what it is but remote not very solid
M Harding
Sawbridgeworth
Works beautifully
M Fraser
Poole
small and compact, ideal for the bedroom.
M monks
Marlow
VERY PLEASED WITH MY SCART FREEVIEW,I CAN NOW WATCH ALL THE PROGRAMS ON BEDROOM TV WITHOUT HAVING EXTRA BOXES COLLECTING DUST
M Wells
Borehamwood
Great value picture quality is pretty good. Has RGB output and works well with UK Series 1 TiVo as long as you remember to disable the auto power off.
M Rea
Little Canfield, Dunmow
Does what it says on the box. Was actually very easy to install which makes a change. The instructions were clear and concise. many thanks for that.
Mr Gillings
Ingatestone
Would have been five star with a better instruction leaflet
M Wilson
PORTSTEWART
this does what it says and is relatively easy to use
Mr Bray
Lymington
As I already owned one of these Freeview receivers I had no hesitation in buying a second one when we installed a second television in the home. This newer one had clearer instructions and an improved handset. All in all I am very satisfied.
M braeman
worthing
Really pleased all round. Would use your site again. Good value, ordered scart freeview. Works as described easy to set up.
Mr Varley
Derby
Excellent reception of all the locally available Freeview channels. Power consumption does not register on my meter and so is less than 5 watts. Records perfectly onto the 8mb usb stick. Easy to use. Instruction booklet no more difficult to follow than others I have come across. Excellent value at the discounted price I paid. Warning to prospective users - Do some simple arithmetic on recording costs in comparison with HDD and DVD recorders.
M auty
Middlesbrough
Excellent service, goods received in time and instructions easy to understand.
Mr Burchell
Norwich
I have yet to put it to the full test but it worked straight away on the TV and the programmes have been received sharp and clear. I have not tested the recording facility but I am sure that it will meet the same high standard.
Mrs SHEPPARD
York
this worked fine in my portable TV but even with a booster aerial I am unable to receive any signal
M lancaster
padiham burnley
good
M Hill
Bournemouth
An excellent product, very reasonable price, promptly and securely dispached.
Miss Hall
Sutton Coldfield
This product works well with a portable TV and gives an excellent picture, but tends to fall out of the scart socket when the set is moved (e.g. while cleaning) so care needs to be taken so that it is not damaged.
Miss Fletcher
Houghton le Spring
Extremely easy to install, set up and use.
M Daniels
Gt. Yarmouth
I was guided by customers' recommendations, and wasn't disappointed. So easy to set up and activate, and reception is perfect. An innovative idea, and worth every penny.
Mr Baines
Darlington
Interesting concept,works well,within limitations. Unable to receive a few available channels
M Self
Cambridge
A compact unit,delivers as advertised.Good value for money.Would recommend.Thank you.
M wheat
skegness
this item is very good value for money, the picture on t.v is brilliant, and more useful than ever are the subtitles as my husband is deaf.At the moment, i can'nt fault it, very happy with purchase.
M Goodman
Sockton On Tees
superb piece of kit once the aerial is pointing in the right direction. All channels around 50 to 60% with no distortion. Still trying to work out record function to SD card formatted on computer but will not format on the freeview receiver...instructions not so good but will get there in the end
M Monty
Dartford
It is very good value for money especially for a spare television
Mrs Pinnock
Ashford
This is a great little gadget which works very well. I did have a problem as the unit is too wide to fit into the scart socket which is at side of the base of my television. This was overcome by the use of a scart adaptor.
Mr Adams
Kingswinford
This item tucks away very nicely behind the TV and does everything that you would expect of a more expensive product. It was great to be able to record videos from my PC on a flash drive and play them on my TV. Brilliant product.
Mr Robinson
Hebden Bridge
I managed to get the box working after a while and are very satisfied with the result,my tv aerial is 30 years old and I am receiving a good picture,told a friend about it and he's getting one
Mr Weston
Gillingham
Very pleased with product which performs to its specification.
Mr Stark
Witney
its great. easy to set up and it works
Mr Field
Eastleigh
Amazing piece of equipment, particularly considering the price. Simple to install, set up and use.
Mrs Berry
Banbury
The easiest system I have had to install and gives good reception. Value for money too.
Mr Furzey
Romsey
I would have given 5 stars except that the first unit delivered was faulty however the replacement unit worked well and was exactly what I needed
M Dixon
York
Excellent product works well with my portable Television
Mr Bishop
Derby
When I took it out of the box it virtually plugged itself in, started the search and was up and running before I had time to turn the telly on! Does exactly what it says in the ad! Brilliant bit of kit.
M HOWARD
Cirencester
Fantastic little piece of kit. Good price. Has converted my motorhome tv to digital and saved a fortune.
Mr Thomas
Cheltenham
Amazing device; just the thing for bedroom TV
M Ali
Rickmansworth
Does what it says on the box. Easy to use.
Mr Lewis
Ringwood
Does everything as advertised - neat, simple to operate and extended use and life of bedroom TV
M Francis
Rochester
first rate
Mr Taylor
Ipswich
Excellent product.
Mr DONNELLY
Egremont
very good buy,works fine, thank you.
Mrs Anderson
Westcliff-on-Sea
Very pleased with Item & service.Thank you.
Mr Hampson
Shrewsbury
Working well - very good value for the money.
Mr Newman
King's Lynn
What I wanted
M Richards
Hull
handy little piece of kit does what it says on the box only the instruction booklet lets it down by one star,but easy enough to work out by trial and error
M Campbell
Thurso
Just what i was looking for my analoge telly mounted on bedroom wall,no clumsy set top box.easy setup and works a treat.as the saying goes IT DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE BOX.
M Reville
Sherborne
Absolutely brilliant. Setup a dawdle, everything else quite straightforward and easy-to-use. Very much valure-for money.
M Pitchers
Norwich
An innovative product.
M Stewart
SUNDERLAND
The product is very good. Takes a while to understand the workings but once there no problems. Would have had 5 stars if it could record prog other than the one being watched.
M Wing
Rotherham
Excellent value - does what it says.. Use it to record freeview on vhs. Records well on SD Card. Could do with better instructions - good job I have some knowledge
Mr Frowde
Westbury
Excellent product both in terms of picture generated and value for money. Only criticism is that device does not have a 'red button' facility
Mr Appleton
London
So far it works well and the infrared receiver is a great boon.
Mr De Jonge
Nottingham
This amazing little box has given new digital life to an old analogue TV all mounted in a bedroom. No worries about where to site the box and better TV reception than ever before.
Mr Budd
Broadway
Does what it says on the box. Instructions could be a bit more comprehensive ( and printed a bit larger ) Setting the recorder timer is like going back to a pre-Video+ VCR, it would be nice to be able just click the required programme in the EPG
Mr Frowde
Westbury
Product easy to set up and picture excellent. Had not realised that 'red button' features do not work on it however and this is not explicit on the website. Still good value however.
Mr Aughton
Newcastle upon Tyne
Excellent piece of kit but the manual is a little unclear insofar as I had to work out by default how to delete recordings on SD card. Very good value for the price
Mr Bray
Lymington
Was easy to set up and the results were very good. If attaching to some other form of recorder, such as a DVD recorder one must remember to check and adjust any display settings for that piece of equipment. The USB attachment that was supplied means that one can attach a free-standing Hard Drive to the unit and obviate the necessity to keep installing SD cards. (Incidently it is possible to purchase some Hard Drives with greater capacity that 32Gig for less than the cost of some 32 Gig HD cards.) [T2 Direct reponse] Thanks for the added info, Eric.
M Combstock
Newport Gwent
I think its a great gizmo and will tell my friends about it.
Mr Leeder
Nottingham
Brilliant piece of kit. I've got to get myself a better aerial but even the cheap indoor portable aerial in a weak area is pulling in quite a lot of channels. The instruction book is not too good, but the buttons and on screen display make it pretty intuitive. Will be getting one for my (old) mum who's video recorder has broken and for my caravan.
M Lay
Wisbech
Excellent product, easy to set up and to use. Its only limitation is that it will only record on the channel that you are viewing. I am able to overcome this as I also have Free-sat on my system so that I can record on Freeview whilst watching another programme on Free-sat
M Peek
Sittingbourne
Very good product and easy to use.
Mr Cox
Telford
This is the most useful and versatile audio/video item that I have ever purchased and it only cost 40 quid! Well done to the manufacturer and the distributor of this excellent product.
Mr Law
Birmingham
simple to operate picture quality very good
M mitchell
bangor
First class delivery , arrived quickly, well packaged, and installation imformation inside the item was really easy to understand.. thankyou. Great value for money a real plus for my tv viewing.
M Pleasance
Leicester
Absolutely fine
M Ritchie
Salisbury
Excellent value
Mr DOWNS
Lincoln
The receiver/recorder was far better than i would expect for the cost well pleased
Mr Bamford
Stoke-on-Trent
Amazing value for money. The setup is a bit clumsy and takes a some messing about to get the best quality picture but for the price this really is a great product. Plus points: Price, size, quality. Negative points: fiddly menus, weak powered remote control
Mr Gracie
Glasgow
Really good product does what it claims.
M MURRAY
PERTH
exellent product, excellent delvery time,
Dr Evans
Orpington
Received in good time and condition. Seems to work perfectly. It would be nice if there were an update to software scheme since some improvements still could be added to an already excellent product.
Mr Dunn
Liverpool
Great product. Easy to install. We are very happy with it.
Mr Mitchell
Gloucester
Works very well and does all it should do.
Mr Rylatt
Isle of Lewis
Bought this as a second FV box for recording. It is fine except that when using the red button to come out of standby the message "No Signal" is displayed, can only be rectified by powering up again. I can live with that.
Mrs Benner
Leicester
Up to now think this is a brilliant piece of equipment.
Mr Thomson
Maybole
Very good value for money neat and tidy Does what it says
M mc farlane
kidderminster
Really good product
Mr Van Sickle
Basingstoke
Got to hold back one of the stars: it's an excellent piece of kit, but lacking documentation. The mini manual is very limited, and some customising options aren't intuitive. For example, it took a bit of work to figure out how to enable automatic background recording for pause/rewind -- one of the reasons, I would've thought, for buying this -- and AFAICT this wasn't covered in the manual. Some other settings were similarly tricky to find. That said, once I figured out how to set it up, it does everything it's supposed to -- so highly recommended.
M butchart
wakefield
excellent value for money, and good quality product.
M Lobb
Truro
One of the best £40.00 I have spent. I am in Cornwall and item works well,used auto channel install no problem. clever piece of kit. Great value for money.
Mr hedley
Doncaster
performs better than expected, value for money
Mr Sahu
Liverpool
Works very well /no problems /dead easy to use
Mr Pask
Banbury
Had to knock this down a star as it would not fit the scart socket of the television I wanted to use it on, the socket is slightly countersunk and the shoulders of your device were to wide to go in the countersink. Tried the unit on a different set and it worked fine.
Mr parsons
Sheffield
really great piece of equipment thanks for your prompt delivery thank you
Mr Scott
Glasgow
Does everything that it says it will.
Mrs Shaw
Dunoon
Easy to use and good value.
M Simms
Tavistock
Excellent product. Amazed at the diminutive size which does not appear to compromise the performance of the unit in any way. Manual not too good but caused no problems.
Mr Dunnet
Redhill
This is a really excellent piece of kit, that does just what it says it will do, only better than you have any right to expect! The EPG is a bit basic, but at least it has one. Quality of the image is excellent, and speed of processing incoming data outstanding. Thoroughly recommended.
M sillar
Ryde
instructions a little difficult to follow when first examined but once grasped there was no problem
Mrs Griffiths
Porthcawl
Great value and really useful for a conservatory TV where there was no room for a digibox
M tilsley
burgess hill
I am very pleased with product, thank you
M Biddle
Glossop
Excellent. Installed in a few minutes and working perfectly.
M Hatchard
London
Fantastic product for many reasons: 1) it is an incredibly discreet unit that cannot be seen from in front of the TV. 2) the reception is crystal clear 3) Menu's are easy to navigate 4) Recording TV to my SD card is a doddle. I no longer miss Sky+!! Delivery was very prompt and email notifications were very helpful.
Mr Bunt
Bath
Too little operating details in manual for wrinklies to deduce easily all that is involved. Seems to work OK with 32GB card and (at £50) is a lot cheaper than the few Digirecorders from other online sources. Have not cracked small replay screen size, but generally satisfied. PGB
M Forshaw
Peterborough
Easy to set up and does everything its supposed to do.
Mrs Wiltshire
Wolverhampton
A good piece of kit which does what it says it will. The instruction booklet could be better, but instinct and intuition saved the day.
Q&As
Back to TopQ: Is there a customer service phone number I can call for assistance?
A: The Neostar Electronics Customer Service number is 0844 542 0100
Q: How many gigabytes of memory will be taken up recording one hour of TV?
A: One hour of TV will require approx 1 GB of memory
Q: What is the maximum size SD card I can use?
A: There is no maximum, so currently available 32GB cards will be fine to use
Q: Can I receive Digital TV Freeview in my area?
A: Check the Freeview coverage in your area by visiting www.freeview.co.uk
Q: I have searched for TV and radio channels and cannot find as many as the advertised ‘up to 74 TV and radio channels’ – what can I do?
A: The number of channels you can receive is dependent on the particular television area in which you live and also your reception of the TV signal from your local terrestrial transmitter, based on your house’s aspect and TV antenna position. If you receive fewer than the maximum possible 74 then please be reassured that there is not a fault with the Neostar TV Capture
Q: How is this product powered?
A: It is powered by the supplied UK spec mains lead
Q: I have set the parental lock and forgotten my PIN number – what can I do?
A: 1.Press button to enter Main Menu. 2. Select SETUP option--then select and press button. 3. Press PLAY/PAUSE (red) button to confirm reset
Q: Does this unit support red button interactive services?
A: No, unfortunately not on this model
Q: When I play back a recording I want to make the percentage bar at the top of the screen disappear – how do I do that?
A: Press INFO on the remote control to make the percentage bar disappear
Q: If a passcode is requested what is the default passcode?
A: The default passcode is 0000
Q: How do I navigate around the menu?
A: By using the volume (left and right) and channel up and down buttons
Q: When playing back recordings, the footage is played back inside a black frame. Can this frame size be enlarged e.g. to 16:9, 14:9, 4:3 formats?
A: There is no option for this on the Scart recorder, so please adjust the aspect on your own TV
Q: Does this Scart recorder record subtitles?
A: Yes
Q: Is this device set up to receive HD channels?
A: No
Q: Can you watch one channel while recording another?
A: No, you are only able to view and record one channel at a time
Q: How do I turn the subtitles Off / On?
A: Select “SUBTITLE LANGUAGE” option. Choose from: OFF/English, German, Spanish, Italian, Croatian.” Press "MENU"- select "SET UP INSTALLATION" option, and then turn off the option
Q: How many gigabytes of memory will be taken up recording one hour of TV?
A: One hour of TV will require approx 1GB of memory
Q: What is the maximum size SD card I can use?
A: There is no maximum, so currently available 32GB cards will be fine to use
Q: How do I turn the subtitles off?
A: Press the green button when watching TV
Q: Does this come with a remote control?
A: Yes, a remote control is included which sends signals to an infra-red sensor, which is on a 110cm lead. This sensor can then be placed on top of the TV, DVD player or shelving to ensure clear and uninterrupted signals are being sent between remote control and sensor
Q: The remote control does not seem to work
A: Check battery plus also that the infra red sensor is plugged in and that the sensor is in view of the remote
Q: What format do the recordings save to the memory card in?
A: It records in .TS file format - This stands for Transport Stream and is a format connected with creating MPEG2 video files. Your PC or Mac should be bale to play these files – so you can record a TV programme on the SCA1 TV Capture device and play it back on a computer
Q: Can I watch my recorded TV programmes on my PC?
A: Yes, by inserting the SD card or USB memory stick into your PC you can watch your recordings on your PC too. Please note you will need to have recent media player software on your PC
Q: I get an error message such as: Device not recognised/PVR Initialisation failure/Recording failed to start in file. What can I do?
A: Please format the SD card/Memory Stick in FAT32 using a computer. Warning: Formatting will erase all data on the memory stick/card! Please check you do not have anything on there that you want to keep
Q - Can I set the unit to be recording permanently, so that irrespective of which channel I am watching I can at any point press ‘pause’ and then ‘rewind’ to watch the program again (back to the point at which I started watching that channel)?
A - Yes: go to ‘Multimedia’, ‘My recorder’, ‘Recording Preferences’ and set ‘Time Shift’ to ‘Auto’.
Q - Can you use it with an analogue TV?
A - Yes if it has a scart output.
Q - Can you use it with a satellite dish?
A - No. You need to use an aerial (ideally external)
Q - Can it be used with Sky?
A - No.
Q - How do I check the amount of recording space I have left?
A - You can find this out by pressing menu, then 'Multimedia', 'My Recorder', 'Recording Device'
Q - Does the remote come with batteries?
A - Yes
Q - Why do I need a memory card/stick?
A - This allows you to record TV. You can watch this back on your PC or TV at a later date.
Q - 'Sub' button missing from remote - how do I use the subtitles function?
A - It looks like this button has been removed from the latest remote.
Q - The remote does not light up when I press a button - why is this?
A - This is an infra red bulb - you will not see it light up.
Q - No Signal?
A - If the screen is a blue background with a circular box in the middle of the screen saying 'No Signal' then they need to do a scan. For more info see 'How to scan for channels'. If it is a plain colour screen or says no signal in a corner of the screen then the TV is most likely on the wrong input and they need to consult their TV manual.
Q - The unit says 'Antenna Overload' - is this a fault?
A - Go into Installation Settings and change the Antenna Setting. If it is on turn off, if off turn on. This is not a fault but to do with the signal strength in your area.
Q - Why have I lost some of my digital Freeview channels?
A - Channels may have been lost shortly after the digital switchover and a rescan is recommended to search again for all channels
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Your Comments
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