Over the last year, we’ve seen the chipsets that power the leading media receivers grow in performance and capability, with support for a wide variety of file formats and faultless streaming quality over a high speed network. With a relatively level playing field in terms of power, manufacturers are now turning to user interface design and the integration online services to differentiate their devices. Eminent’s EM7095 USB Media Player DVB-T is the first media receiver we’ve reviewed that integrates a DVB-T (or Freeview, as it’s known in the UK) TV Tuner. A combination of free, over the air and over the top online programming may well be the winning formula in years to come and the EM7095 could be a first step in that direction. Let’s take a look at what it can do.
What’s in the Box?
Our UK-spec review unit arrived freshly packed from the manufacturer’s Dutch head office with a bundled Eminent branded HDMI cable – notable as it holds its shape when twisted. This isn’t included with the EM7095 as standard (in fact, there’s no HDMI cable included at all, which is a poor decision here in 2011), but it’s worth checking out the company’s range of cables if you don’t have a spare.
In box, you will find:
- EM7095 Media Player
- Power Supply (EU Adaptor)
- UK Adaptor
- Remote Control
- Manual
- SCART Adaptor
- Analogue AV cables
That’s right, rather than an HDMI cable, you’ll find a SCART adaptor and analogue cables in box – I guess there must be research out there that there’s more SCART equipped TVs across Europe than HDMI, but given the type of product we’re talking about here, and the type of user who is likely to purchase the EM7095, you’d think they’d include the HDMI cable as standard and have the SCART option as an after-sale add-on.
First Looks
The EM7095 looks like a well designed, premium slab of AV hardware. There’s none of your usual piano black plastics here – it’s all a brushed metal affair. That said, some of the edges have been cut a little roughly, so the edges feel a little sharp. You won’t slice your fingers, but the edges do feel rough to the touch. Our review unit arrived with a few white marks around the chassis too – fingers crossed that doesn’t translate into the production models. But from a design point of view, it’s a solid piece of kit with a square shape, low profile and compact dimensions which should slot into your TV cabinet with ease.
The front of the receiver is plain black, with an integrated plastic fascia for remote control reception, as well as a power LED. Around the back, you’ll find a 12v power connector, antenna in and out sockets, composite video and stereo audio jacks as well as a HDMI 1.3 port. the left hand side panel houses a coaxial connector and two USB 2.0 ports for connecting storage. The position of the USB ports is a strange one, given the one way of streaming media to the device is via a USB connection – the lack of a front USB port is a pain, although it would spoil the product’s aesthetics. That said, practically should have over-ruled the decision on USB placement.
What, No Network Connection?
Yes, you read that correctly. The EM7095 doesn’t have a network connection, wired or wireless. That means you’ll have to copy your media over to a USB hard drive, plug that into the EM7095, and then play your media. In essence, what Eminent have done here is take the concept of a Freeview/DVB-T set-top box with media playback and re-position it primarily as a USB Media Player. With increasingly sophisticated Freeview STBs coming on to the market all the time and an explosion in network streamers in the past 12 months, I’m not sure how successful that positioning will be. So, hold fire on that over the air/over the top combo – we’ll need to wait a little while to realise that dream, which is a shame, as it limits the market for the EM7095. It’s likely to make a great solution for a bedroom set-top box/media player, especially for the kids but for your living room, you’re going to want a device with a network port.
The DVB-T/Freeview TV Experience
With no network connection to worry about, installing the EM7095 is pretty painless. Connect your HDMI port to the TV, plug in your Freeview/DVB-T aerial, and power it up. I found that I needed to use a signal booster to help the EM7095 pick up our Freeview service (which uses a rooftop antenna) which does not compare favourably with our Freeview-enabled TV which picks up the service without the need for the booster. Your mileage may well vary.
The channel scan is relatively quick to complete, and once your available channels have been discovered, the EM7095 will switch straight to the first channel available. Eminent bundle a relatively basic, but usable remote control with the EM7095, which includes a numeric keypad, 4-way channel & volume controls, coloured buttons for various menu options and the usual set top box commands, including a Settings button, Menu for media playback and EPG button. It’s lightweight in the hand, feels cheap to the touch but importantly, works in a relatively intuitive manner so you should be able to navigate with ease after a few minutes of use.
The EM7095 includes a 7-day EPG which looks a little basic, like many of the cheaper set top boxes you’ll find on the market. It has a fixed layout which lists the day’s programmes for a channel on a single page, so it’s impossible to get an “at a glance” view of what’s on across multiple channels – that’s not a problem if you’re happy to whizz around the EPG with the remote, but a grid view option would be a better inclusion. Programmes can be “booked” to send you an on screen reminder when they’re about to start, and once you have a USB drive connected, you can schedule recordings to the hard drive.
