Amstrad: DRX-280

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Comments (24)

What are your views on this product? Tell other Digital Spy users what the strengths and weaknesses are, and don't forget to include your rating out of five!

bill bailey on November 24th, 2009
good box providing it is kept well ventilated

Ciaran, Dublin on January 7th, 2009
The only thing I can complain about is thye high pitched electrical noise that is coming from the box when in use and in standby,I thought that this was just a problem on my box but it appears to be a common issue so I'll be contacting sky about getting a new box,I only had it installed on friday jan 2nd and I cant stand the high pitched noise whic is giving me a constant headache!

Adam, Liversedge, West Yorkshire on January 7th, 2009
We had our Sky+ box installed on 27th December. Within an couple of hours of the engineer leaving we noticed a high frequency electrical noise coming from the box. The noise is very annoying and is still detectable even if the TV volume is turned up high. Its like having tinnitus! I have phoned Sky twice to raise the issue, the first time they had me unplug everythig and switch off/ on the box etc. with no effect whatsoever. The second time I called they said that they were aware of a problem and that there was a planned software update to be implemented over the next 7 to 10 days that would fix the issue. I explained that in my opinion (from a computing background) it sounds like an electrical fault, possibly one of the coils on the main board. The customer "service" representative persuaded me to wait for the software update and then phone back if the problem persisted, he told me that I could exchange the box foc within 90 days of installation. I will be calling them again shortly! There are alot of forum topics on the web regarding this fault with the Amstrad box. Therefore I would recommend persuading your installer to fit a Pace box instead.

Martin, Dursley on November 5th, 2008
Box is rubbish , crashes and loses audio during playback, also is very sluggish to remote comands and seems to do it's own thing

Snowie, Bucks on October 12th, 2008
1) Reboots when changing channels while it's recording another channel (1-2 times a month) 2) If recording on Dish Input 1 and on Dish Input 2 you pause,rewind (doh! too far),fast forward, play, it will then pause live feed while showing its still playing, (have to rewind again and press play) 3) If some one is getting problem 2, the recording from dish input 1 will skip 10-15 secs throughout the recording till the end of the program. 4) High pitch noise. (solution. tap (AND I MEAN TAP, Not thump) the top of the top grill at the right side, just above the backup button) This is cased by the hard drive vibrating against the top casing. I can cope with these problems, so not willing to get a replacement thats worse than this. (sky - get ya act together with QA and tell your techies about these problems)

Nye, Wales on August 4th, 2008
Unreliable. Regularly has to be switched on & off at the wall socket repeatedly before it will give a green standby light.

Steve, Warwick on August 2nd, 2008
first DRX280 had an awful high pitch squeal that became aparent 30 mins after installation engineer left. Both Sky and their installation contractor claimed it was normal. No way that it was. It wasn't overly loud but the pitch meant it pierced into your head and was really annoying. Replaced the next day and no squeal. Before getting Sky+ I had a 6 year old Pace box. The Amstrad is much slower changing channels. In a world where technology moves so fast and is constantly improving, I find this very dissapointing. Amstrad have a reputation for this though don't they. I think picture quality has improved a little though the contrast seems higher so I need to fiddle with the tv settings a bit.

Jamie, Wales UK on July 21st, 2008
Great box and a lot more responsive than the Pace Sky Digibox that it replaced. Picture quality is great and is v. quiet. Extremely happy with it.

Tee Eff, Walsall on June 10th, 2008
DO NOT BUY O OF THESE AMSTRAD BOXES!!! Ihave had 3 since Friday (now Tuesday) and al are faulty Faults include: A high pitched whistle, incorrectly spelt text (VIEWAD not viewed), 4 second loss when pausing live TV, loss of sound when playing back recorded TV, burning smell, hot unit, 10 second loss of sound when playing recorded TV, big delay when uising remote etc etc. I must have been on the phone to Sky for at least 5 hours since Friday .... ALL AT MY EXPENSE!!!! Will be using the 30 DAY COOLING OFF period if net box is faulty again. AVOID THIS AMSTRAD JUNK!!!!

Andy Miles, Bournemouth on March 29th, 2008
What appears to be a software problem won't sort by all normal means!!!! I've used a lot of net methods without success. It's not right that if I was on cable equipment it's replaced foc, whereas use the yank Murdoch's stuff you have to pay

Geoff, Hexham on March 29th, 2008
Only had this device for a couple of days and while all the functions seem OK I don't like the heat coming off it, or the pungent smell of overheating capacitors, which causes me to gasp when I enter my living room. I see that there is a cooling fan in the back, I keep looking but so far I don't think it has kicked in, unless it only needs to work during recording or playback. Other forums reckon that the smell will fade away after a week or so. I sincerely hope so; may be in the interval I should buy a gasmask! Have any other readers experience of this?

Paul, Cheshire on November 28th, 2007
Had this box fitted 5 days ago to replace a Pace PVR1 that has been moved to another room. Had problems from day one. Sky+ features took 2 days to finally work then I couldn't access sports or movies saying wrong card fitted. Yesterday the Sky+ functions stopped working, had to turn it off at the wall and rebuild the HDD. Picture froze today. Will be calling sky tomorrow (more cost to me)to demand a replacement!

Marcus, Cornwall on July 26th, 2007
My first sky plus box has just been replaced due to picture and sound problems. The amstrad box certainly looks better, but seems very hot and there is an annoying high pitched electrical hum, which I can't tell if it is the HD or power supply, time will tell.

Rich, Leeds on June 4th, 2007
After a self install of this PVR3, I can't understand what all the fuss is about. Works a treat, hammered it all weekend with recordings and no problems at all with recording or playback. Anytime is in the menu, so no issues there, just waiting for content to be downloaded. Hard drive can be heard when recording, but no louder than the average laptop HD, only audible when TV is switched off!

Hassan, London on June 2nd, 2007
A more impressive product than expected. Whisper quiet operation. A bit slow when it comes to channel changing.

Colin, Bucks on March 13th, 2007
Great product. Excellent picture, fast response, absolutely silent in operation, no failed recordings.

John Smith, Edinburgh on March 12th, 2007
Very Good and so far extremely relable box. As good as the Pace PVR3 it replaced, (Pace packed in after 14 months).

N, Hants on January 31st, 2007
No Problems, v.quiet, perfect picture, perfect recordings, a bit sluggish when cycling favorite channels.

David, Welwyn on December 21st, 2006
Recording dropouts on picture and sound (about one in three recordings ruined by this), noisy fan, not as responsive as previous Pace, slow-motion only freezes on every few frames (Pace worked on each one). Generally I hate this Amstrad and have done since the day it came out of the box ( a refurb replacement for the Pace that froze up after about two years of working perfectly).

Will Griffiths, Wales on September 22nd, 2006
Ghastly because of all the air vents. It crashes and overheats all the time. Seems silly when Pace can make a box with no top air vents and never overheats and Amstrad put more air vents. So many in fact it looks like a winkled box and it STILL overheats!

Chris Fearn, Earth on September 13th, 2006
Lasted 21 days before 2nd input tuner packed up. Sluggish operational response. Vertical lines visible on playback. Occasional sound drop out. Froze when asked to do too much too quickly. Very quiet when operating.

Roland, Romsey, Hampshire on September 7th, 2006
I have had three new boxes in nine months and problems include failed and lost recordings, Picture breaking up, Locked out of the planner, Noisy boxes and sound problems. I have asked Sky for a new box from another manufacturer but without success. I am seriously thinking about buying myself a box from another manufacturer but the latest box has been an improvement.

Tony, Wales on August 31st, 2006
Oh dear, another product by amstrad following the same pattern as it predecessors. The one thing you you will become accustomed to with this product is the freezing image it leaves during recording and the fact that no matter how many epg software variants sky sends it will always have problems. Trust me I'm an engineer.

Bart, Nottingham on August 17th, 2006
Noise from Fan like an aeroplane, slow at changing channels, over heats all the time