August DVB500 review – Android-powered Freeview HD

Android

The main menu isn’t much better designed, with unattractive icons. Initially it was also sluggish to navigate, not helped by the remote control’s mushy buttons that occasionally lead to double inputs being registered, meaning I kept overshooting the menu item I was aiming for. A firmware upgrade, available from the August website, managed to improve menu performance slightly. It was smoother although occasional stutters were still evident.

The remote control is light and flimsy and overly-complicated. Buttons have different functionalities depending if you’re watching Live TV or in the menus and some functions aren’t obvious. Pressing the left or right navigation buttons brings up the EPG programme description, while up and down take the action of programme up and down, for example. The IR receiver wasn’t particularly great either, meaning the remote had to be pointed accurately at the box for inputs to be registered.

You have access to the Google Play Store, but many apps don’t work well with remote controls because they’re looking for a touch input. As such there’s no visual indicator for menu items or the menu icon highlights will randomly disappear. To get round this, you can bring up an onscreen mouse by holding down a button on the remote control. You can then use the navigation button to move the mouse around. This process works, but it’s cumbersome as the cursor moves so slowly across your television and you need to contend with the poor IR receiver on the box. With the pre-installed Netflix app, the cursor is the only way to make a selection, so you need to combine moving the cursor and using the ‘slide’ buttons to move around the catalogue.

Other apps, such as YouTube do at least work without the need to use the mouse function. Kodi also comes pre-installed but is listed under its old name, XBMC, in the menu. As it runs Android, you can install other catch-up TV services, and BBC iPlayer worked fine but again required the use of the on-screen cursor to make selections.

The Android element of the DVB500 is an exercise in frustration. The box would also crash completely, requiring the power cable be removed. Other strange bugs included a loss of sound during Live TV viewing until a reset was performed.

You’re also meant to be able to use the DVB500 as a Miracast receiver to mirror a display from a compatible computer, tablet or smartphone but I could never get it to work, even though using the test television’s built-in Miracast receiver worked without a hitch. Using the DVB500 to access network content over DLNA worked at least.

Conclusion

In the end, using the August DVB500 proves frustrating. As a basic Freeview HD box, it works but even the basic functions such as recording aren’t handled particularly well and you’ll still need to factor in the added cost of adding some storage. The Android element feels very disjointed and having to jump between control methods isn’t deal. If you’re looking for a simple-to-use set-top box for the family, for example, they’ll find it immensely confusing.

While the August DVB500 is inexpensive, you’re better off spending more as it feels like a false economy. You’re much better off buying a cheap and basic Freeview HD box with recording, you can pick one up for around £100 if you shop about, and using a separate media streamer, such as the £35 Amazon Fire TV Stick or the £15 Sky Now TV, if you want basic smart television functionality.