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Goodmans GDB20TTS January 2011
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Test freeview
n www.smart-talk.com n £99
Goodmans GDB20TTS Goodmans’ ‘Smart Talk’ Freeview box has some innovative features to aid those with eyesight problems Co-developed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), this ‘Smart Talk’ Freeview box will be much appreciated by elderly viewers and those, like myself, who suffer from impaired eyesight. Members of the public who are eligible for assistance when switchover takes place will be entitled to a discount of £30 on the price, while the blind or partially sighted who order it from the RNIB will not be charged VAT – saving them £14 on the quoted price. It’s housed in a small black plastic case about 8in x 5in x 1in with nothing but a small red/green LED indicator on the front. All connectors are on the rear panel and include a UHF loopthrough, DC input connector, two Scarts, one of which can be used to connect to a VCR or PVR, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
No knobs The absence of any knobs, buttons or switches on the unit means that all operations are controlled from the very comprehensive, well-designed remote control which is quite a large unit yet comfortable to hold in the palm of your hand. The control has just over 40 buttons, rocker switches etc, all of which are clearly labelled, easy to read and most of them are easy to understand as well as being tactile and easy to locate by touch – an important feature for the partially sighted and the older generation who might be unfamiliar with modern technology. It is possible to arrange for the remote control to operate the TV itself, thus enabling the Smart Talk remote to operate all the functions of the associated TV. In addition to supporting Audio Description services the Smart Talk also incorporates an electronic voice. This
is used to read out onscreen text, such as the name of the selected channel or what is displayed on the programme information banner or favourites list. It also works with the EPG, allowing you to schedule recordings or reminders. An audible alarm sounds a short time in advance to prompt you to operate a connected recorder, or switch to the selected programme. The electronic voice is very natural and only occasional differences to a human voice are heard. The only one I noticed was ‘Tatton Park’ when the word Tatton was pronounced TattOH. As with anything new it takes a bit of time learning how to use it (the manual could do with an index) but in general terms this box is straightforward to use. Every time a button is pressed it is accompanied by an audio ‘beep’ and the green LED behind the top left Standby button flashes. One thing you have to learn when changing channels, say, from a single numbered to a multiple numbered programme – for example, when changing from number one, BBC One, to Sky News on channel 82, is that having pressed number 8 you must wait until the unit announces ‘Eight’ before pressing 2. If you press 2 before the ‘Eight’ announcement you will switch to BBC Two. It is just a matter of practice n Peter Pearson
Features Freeview HD: No MHEG 5: Yes Teletext: Yes EPG support: 7-day UHF modulator tuning: None Card reader: None Timer: None Software upgrade: OTA HD video out: No SD video out: TV Scart (composite, RGB), VCR Scart (composite) Audio out: Via Scart, headphone jack Extras: Text-to-speech, audio description
Ratings PLUS
n Overall design n Smart Talk features n Picture and sound
Minus
n No index in manual n Occasional lockout, needing
reboot
Build Setup Searching Performance Features Value
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Verdict This box is good value for money, being easy to use after familiarisation and very useful for the targeted elderly and partially sighted. We hope future boxes will come with high-definition Freeview tuners.
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