August, and everything after

Introduction

TV on the move is nothing new. We had little battery powered portable tellies back in the 1980s. Probably the most famous of these were those in the Sony Watchman range which originally launched in 1982. In fact, Panasonic launched one in1970, and our own home spun genius Sir Clive Sinclair launched the Sinclair MTV1 in 1977! He launched another in 1983, and then Casio got in the act with the other famous 1980s mini TV.

There were a few more models in the 1990s, but the idea of mini TVs wasn't really all that popular. Portable DVD players with seven or nine inch screens were all the rage. They were most popular in cars, models you could hang off the front seats for the kids to watch in the back.

So it's interesting to see someone giving it another go, in the shape of the August DA900C. It's a 9 inch DVB (aka digital) TV which will receive all of your favourite Freeview stations as well as DAB radio stations. And if that's not enough it will even play music, video and allow you to view your photos (file formats MP3, WAV, MPEG4, AVI and JPG) from a memory card, or a USB stick or a USB drive. Not enough for you? Ok then, just for you squire I'll chuck in the ability to record Freeview channels to a USB stick or USB drive, via the included USB socket. That enough for you guv? Oh, alright then, You can also connect it up to a normal TV and use as a Freeview box. That's my final offer.

Set Up

Easy stuff really. Get it out of the box. Plug it in. Turn it on. Seek out some channels to watch.

There is a disclaimer sheet included which mentions that the Freeview signal in your area might not be good enough for one of the included aerials, and that you might want to connect it to a proper rooftop mounted aerial. It goes a little like this (the poor grasp of the English language is theirs not mine):-

Please note that there may be difficulty to receive Freeview TV signal by the included portable antenna in some areas where the signal is not sufficiently strong. This is due to that the Freeview service in the UK does not fully support portable TV antenna at present. The reception will be improving along with the progress of Digital Switchover Program. A signal amplifier or booster may improve reception capability in regions where the signal is marginally strong. (Please note that reception capability may also be affected by various factors such as proximity to Freeview TV/digital radio transmitters, tall building structures, thick walls, ceilings and etc.). A rooftop TV aerial may be required to watch Freeview channels in regions where the signal is insufficient for a portable antenna.

I was able to get it to tune to almost all of the channels with one of the included aerials, and that was in my kitchen. We're not in the strongest of signal areas either, so I was quite happy with that. Your experience may be different of course.

In Use

I can't really review "watching the telly". It works just like any other telly really. Watch the channels you want. Change channels. There are buttons on the side, or you can just use the little credit card sized remote control. The picture is pretty good. The sound is average, but I wasn't expecting much given that there's not really anywhere for a good sound to develop inside the unit. You can always add an external speaker if you're looking for better audio performance.

Conclusion

A recommended little gadget, either for home use or for travelling. You need never be without Freeview again...

My main gripe is that this isn't quite portable enough. Because there's no battery power option. So to watch this in the garden (which I did whilst watching the World Athletics Championships whilst cutting back some bamboo), you need a long extension lead, or a handy socket.

It's a shame that this wasn't possible, but it's still a handy little TV and media player rolled into one. It would go well in a caravan where space is at a premium, or maybe on a canal boat.