Wendy, I think you have described the Digital Media Centre, even more shockingly priced at around £900. But I think Sue was referring to the Portset Freeview box, at £620, which has a video recorder in it. I could be wrong, but someone can correct me happily. I'm glad you like it though. Jackie ----- Original Message ----- From: Wendy Sharpe To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 11:32 AM Subject: [access-uk] Re: Portset. Sue As far as I am concerned, the only drawback to this item is its price, so I was very pleased to get mine second-hand on a recycling list. You get a very good CD instruction manual with it, so you will soon get used to the layout of the buttons, which are in three groups and differently shaped. In the left-hand group there are buttons for selecting television, radio, teletext, DAISY player, system menu, etc. The system menu lets you change various settings such as the volume of system announcements and audio description. You can also re-tune the set if you need to. It is a good idea to re-tune occasionally, as digital broadcasts come and go, and sometimes change channels. The middle group of buttons is like a telephone keypad. With it you can select channels, for example, press 1 for BBC1, 2 for BBC2, etc. The number keys are round, but the star and hash keys are square. When you are tuned to a channel, you can use these square keys to tell you what programme you are currently listening to (left square key) and the next programme on that channel (right square key). The right-hand group has a set of cursor keys which are shaped like arrows. These take you up and down in the system menu, up, down, left and right through the 7 day programme guide. There are also square buttons for moving up and down through channels, selecting a channel (top right key), and a favourites key where you can quickly go through the channels you often listen to and select the one you want. I haven't covered all the keys, but the manual goes through everything clearly. There are two speakers, a volume knob and a power on/off button. You can also use headphones. There is a slot for the CD player and a little slot you can use to eject the CD if it refuses to come out. I haven't used the DAISY/CD player much, and I don't think it offers the same flexibility as the Plextor or Victor models talking book users have. I also don't know whether Portset have now made this a DVD player as well. This was certainly something they were hoping to do, as well as adding a remote control. The sound quality is excellent, and audio description comes in automatically if a programme has it. The system announcements also tell you whether a programme has audio description. Of course, depending on where you live and the quality of your aerial, sound quality and choice of channels varies. I haven't bothered with the teletext feature, as I prefer to get all my information online via my computer. At the price I paid I am very pleased with the set, and while I find huge amounts of TV output not to my taste, it is nice to have more viewing and listening choice. ITV3 AND BBC4 have become favourites, as ITV3 has plenty of drama such as P D James and Poirot, and BBC4 has some very interesting documentaries. If you can afford the price I am sure you will find this a very good buy, but do check whether you have a digital aerial, otherwise reception might be poor, but that would apply whatever equipment you chose to buy. I hope all this is helpful, and do ask if you want to know anything more. Wendy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of sue morgan Sent: 02 December 2007 00:35 To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [access-uk] Portset. Hi list. I've been reading about the Portset Accessible Freeview Receiver and I'm quite interested in it. I'm wondering if anyone on this list has one, or knows anything about them. I've listened to the audio demo on the Portset website and it seems very accessible. Any feedback would be grate as I'd love to have an accessible freeview receiver. Sue. e-mail sue@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mobile 07968825286 msn sue@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx skype suemorgan1006