Back in February, ABS-CBN launched at Php2.5K-worth device called the ABS-CBN TVplus which takes advantage of the available ISDB-T signal in the country. However, if you’re looking for an alternative that can also double as a media player then we have something for you – the WIN ISDB-T TV Box.
Design and Construction
The WIN ISDB-T TV Box looks like your typical TV box – discreet, uninspiring, and comes in black. The build is a combination of two materials – plastic and metal. The front panel, which is the plastic part, has a brushed finish and houses the display, power and channel buttons, LED light, and the USB 2.0 port.
The rest of the body is housed in a metal casing. The top and sides have slits for ventilation. Take a look at the bottom and you will see four foam nubs for its feet and holes for added ventilation.
The rear part is where it gets busy. Here you will find ports for the terrestrial antenna, coaxial, HDMI, YPbPr, CVBS, and Audio Right and Left.
For the antenna, you will need to screw it to its base where the 5m-long coaxial cable is fixed.
The base is magnetic so you can easily stick it to a flat metallic surface. You will then need to connect the other end to the Antenna In to enable the TV box to receive broadcast signals.
Setup
Once you have the antenna connected and have placed it in a location where reception is good (near windows or outside it), you just need to choose your preferred connection to your TV, in this case we used HDMI which is recommended, plug the TV box and then switch it on.
The first thing you need to setup on the TV Box are scan for channels which you can do by pressing the menu button on the remote that is included in the package. This will then bring up Installation tab where you can adjust settings for the antenna and location. Just select Auto Scan and it will then search for available channels.
After the scan we were able to get a total of 21 channels, however, they are not all totally different networks. For example, there are three channels from TV5, two from UNTV, four from BEAM, and two from ABS-CBN. Some of them offer different programs while others are redundant. We also found CINE MO!, YEY!, Knowledge Channel, and DZMM Teleradyo but these are exclusive to the ABS-CBN TV+ and cannot be viewed. Below are all the channels our WIN TV Box can receive in our location (Bacoor, Cavite) as of writing:
UPDATE (September 2015): Channel 7 and 4 are now available.
As for quality, the video and audio are clean and clear as long as you have a good reception. Otherwise, programs would appear like they’re buffering or skipping. Like what was advised earlier, it’s better to place the antenna beside or outside the window. If you already have an existing and better-performing antenna you can use that as well.
When it comes to resolution, most channels are in standard definition (SD) but the WIN TV Box can receive HD channels once TV networks broadcast them as free-to-air signals.
Functions and Features
One of the best features of the WIN TV Box is that you can pause live TV or record the program as long as you have a USB storage (can support up to 1TB HDD) device plugged in. While watching a TV program just press pause and it will pause the show and the WIN TV Box will start recording. Press play and the program will resume but you can now rewind the program to part you paused. The WIN TV Box calls this the Timeshift mode.
Recording the program is easy as well as all you need to do is press the record button and the TV Box will record and store it in the USB drive in TS video format. You can also schedule recording by using the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) and specify the channel, date, start and end time of the show. It can still record even when the TV or the TV Box is off as long as you keep the Box plugged in.
Do note that the length of recording will depend on the resolution and how big your storage drive is. According to Royal Antennacraft, 480p videos can be up to 1GB per hour while 1080p can be up to 6GB per hour.
Another useful feature of the WIN TV Box is it also doubles as a multimedia player. It played all the videos, music, and pictures in our hard drive with ease. Here are the formats that the TV Box supports: Music – MP3, WAV, OGG, M4A, FLAC, AAC; Photos – JPG, BMP, PNG; Videos – AVI, MKV, MP4, MPEG, FLV.
Conclusion
The WIN TV Box is a feature packed device that serves as a great companion to your regular TV. It’s small, can record live TV shows, and can easily play videos from your hard drive. The only limitation we see here is the current lineup of channels since not all TV stations are broadcasting in digital yet.
But things are about to get better as all local TV stations will soon completely migrate to digital.
As for the price, the WIN TV Box retails for Php2,000 Php1,799 (current price) which is affordable, making it easier for almost all households to adopt digital TV without breaking the bank. That being said, this is a cheaper alternative to that Mahiwagang Black Box that ABS-CBN has been peddling for months.
WIN ISDB-T TV Box key features:
• USB 2.0 for software update and multimedia play back
• Fully compliant with ISDB-T (MPEG 2/MPEG 4/ H.264)
• Full HD output in 720p, 1080i, 1080p
• Less than 0.5 Watt in standby
• Multi-lingual OSD and user-friendly UI
• Parental Control, Teletext, EPG supported
• Favorite Group supported
• PVR recorder supported with external USB
• RCA CVBS output interface
What we liked about it:
* Affordable
* Can record TV shows
* Doubles as a multimedia player via USB
* Small
* User-friendly
What we didn’t like:
* Current limited channel offerings of TV stations
The WIN ISDB-T TV Box is made by Royal Antennacraft Industries. You can visit their Facebook page here. You may also contact them at (02)622-9574 and 0922-887-1771.
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Eric Sanchez says:
Good afternoon sir..
Meron po ako ng win high definition digital reciever nabili ko po ng 2016 ngayun po ayaw na gumana ng volume contol sa remote.. Hindi ko na sya magamit kasi wala ng volume.. Baka po meron kayo na benibenta ng remote katulad ng sa win receiver…
bernadette arano says:
wala pong image na makita pero may sound.. Ano pwedeng gwin?
jeff says:
May malapit po ba store sa may taguig area? thanks
marc says:
pwede po ba gamitin dito yung cable tv line namin tapos HDMI out? lalabas po ba na HD quality?
Ben Sison says:
Our LCD TV’s tuner conked out.
We have CATV provided by royal cable vision.
Will this work if I plugged royal cable’s CATV cable to this unit and use it on my TV
to watch the usual royal cable channels (Locals and Paid channels by CATV providers)?
Thanks.
vrian says:
only beam tv ang nakuha .. why??????????????????????
Jonathan Tongco says:
Hi. Any idea kung san ako makakabili ng cable w/magnetic antenna lang for my abs-cbn tv plus?
Edco says:
Yes. Magnetic Antenna and parts is available. Tel. 6229574.
kirk dunlao says:
Hey guys…any idea of i can connect this to an analog cable service to improve picture quality?
Norly Guevarra says:
Mali yung review
wala po itong mga channels na to (encrypted) po kasi for tv plus only
* CINE MO!
* YEY!
* Knowledge Channel
* DZMM Teleradyo
confusing, baka akala ng bibili, meron
Jose Ong says:
Some of them offer different programs while others are redundant. We also found CINE MO!, YEY!, Knowledge Channel, and DZMM Teleradyo but these are exclusive to the ABS-CBN TV+ and cannot be viewed
Edco says:
Malinaw na sinasabi ng TV Box reveiw wala xclusive ch ng abscbn.
Andreu Marc Guia Castillo says:
konting channel lng nalabas 7 lng tpos halos 3 lang nagana the rest binibili may$ sign alam nyo po kung pano bilhin yun?
OSSIE says:
Nakukuha na ba ung Yey! channel?
rodel says:
meron po bang
* AKSYON TV
* ABS-CBN
* ABS-CBN Sports + Action
* CINE MO!
* YEY!
* Knowledge Channel
* DZMM Teleradyo
romie dizon says:
bakit wlang channel 7
curiosus says:
Sir Edwin, gawa kayo new product: TV Box + Media Player + Android OS. Sure marami bibile nyan lalo na’t may Netflix na sa PH.
Edwin Co says:
Thank you sa suggestion. Will look into it in the future.
JHOEY says:
sir puwede po b sa hindi LED TV OR FLAT TV ang Win-digibox??at mgkano yung 12VOLTS power supply sir??
edwin co says:
Can use sa new LED TVs ok lang.
Chad says:
How’s the actual unit faring? No hanging observed even for extended hours of use?
oherman says:
If I also have cable TV, can I switch between it? I’ve seen two antenna inputs, kasi may analog kaming Destiny and we need to know if it will still work in that.
Edwin Co says:
You will need cable switch. Yes can use 2 inputs at same time with cable switch.
coco says:
Stronger signal from your antenna, the beter digital signal you can get. You can overlap two generic Baron Antennas for better signal, i’ve seen them selling it near LRT Monumento, they say it picks up better digital signal for tv boxes.
coco says:
Be sure to buy HDMI cable for this, because it’s not included:)
coco says:
We use it as a media player too, though the subtitle has black bars when playing downloaded movies, i dont like that feature but it’s easier to read for my parents :)
chibimaru says:
User of the WIN ISDB-T Digibox, and for my feedback, it provided the things we need basically. We’re not into technical aspects as for the digibox, we just want to spend our money wisely. And this digibox really satisfies our needs. For the interface and peripherals, it is very user-friendly. We just had a hard time catching signals, since our TV is located at the base part of the house, the antenna would not reach the third floor part. But when we made adjustments and put it outside our window, it receives a good set of channels with very stable signal. The only thing that I noticed is that whenever you will use the HDMI connection for your TV watching, it will only receive ABS CBN related channels. I think it is because the ABS CBN is the first one to broadcast Digital Signals that enables their MBB to receives. So I switched back to RCA connection where it detects better signals. Features such as media player, and all of the things listed on the manuals and showed here were working fine. Plus the seller itself has a good camaraderie to its potential customers making it safe for buying products like this. I recommend this Digibox to those people that is still finding a good digibox and an alternative to ABSCBN MBB. :)
edwin co says:
Thank you, boss for the positive comment. It is like the android smartphone din from the beginning many user find it difficult to program and use the features but in time got the logic on easy use now.
chibimaru says:
Sorry for some grammar errors, ngayon ko lang napansin after my post has been approved. Hahaha.
harvz says:
may signal po ba within Pampanga area?
Albertong says:
Pwede ba sa monitor yan na may VGA input? tapos bibili nalang ng hdmi to VGA converter. thanks
Anna says:
where to buy?
edwin co says:
Hello, you can buy directly from me, edwin co. 1578 mayhaligue st sta cruz manila. Tel. 6229574. 092288*****
clark says:
do you have screenshot of media player playing a movie with subtitle? does it improve sound when playing media if we use HDMI connection? thanks
Jireh says:
Is it compliant with Early Warning Broadcast System of ISDB-T?
edwin co says:
Not standard pa ewbs sa Philippines. When standard is set I will include this feature in future models.
edwin co says:
We have 12vdc and 24vdc model. New production. Now on sale.
Kurosaki20 says:
What is the difference?
lloyd jenon says:
may available na win tv dito davao?
allan says:
pwede po bang matesting un unit kung bibili ako? un antenna in at antenna out po ba ay naka loop?
Francis says:
Bought one, but the available unit at that time was the white version. I was also about to buy the RCA box but there were no available unit at that time but there were 6 units displayed, when I’ve asked a staff in ACE Hardware, they told me that it was returned to them due to defects. RCA’s quality were questioned and I’ve decided to buy a WIN box instead from Mr Edwin Co.
Pros:
It can pick-up most channels available at our location.
Media player
Free Delivery (depending on your area)
Cons:
No audio on some movie format
Analog sounding like audio – compared it with TV+ which has a better audio output
I’m planning to install this on my car.
Caloy says:
Sir pwed poh ba gamitin sa BACOLOD to?slamat poh
Ronald says:
it is possible that this TV box or their is a product which convert cable tv signal to HD?
Edwin Co says:
I don’t think it has this function bossing.
JM says:
can any of this DIGIBOX obtain cable signals? we have Cable TV, pero balak ko kasi gumamit na lang nitong DIGIBOX for our second TV since mahal mag additional monthly. pwede kaya to?
EDWIN Co says:
Cable Tv or Pay TV is exactly what the name for paid channels. So we cannot have right to access these pay channels thru any legal way for free. The ISDB terrestrial is free to air channel that is publicly broadcasted for free. The rights for the programming is paid for by advertisers.
Emong says:
Eto yung short review ng RCA:
https://pinoytechdad.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/rca-isdb-t-digital-tv-box/
Sputnik says:
IMHO, at this point, mas maganda pa rin siguro ung Blackbox. Kahit 1K more expensive, kung 3 channels naman ang katumbas. Sayang din yun. Lalo na at this time na kokonti pa lang ang mga stations na nag-o-offer ng digital. siguro in the near future if lahat na is naka digital, ok na mag-“upgrade”. I have seen Cinemo , and to be honest, mapag-ta-tyagaan na sya kung hindi ka naman maarte. =)
gian29 says:
Katulad din po ba ito ng tv plus na putol putol yung signal ng other channels?
Emong says:
@EDWIN CO
Sir, baka pede ka magsend ng unit sa Yuga team for review purpose.
I saw another TV box in Robinson’s Appliances which is Xenon dtv4800 worth Php1.5K. Hope we could review this product too. More power to Yugatech!
Dothackjhe says:
Nationwide na ba coverage ng signal nito?
Welsh says:
Hi Louie Diangson,
Hope you can do a review on RCA Digital TV Box model DV1501 too.
Thank you
Peejay says:
Do a side by side comparison that includes the Cybertec DTV box too.
EDWIN Co says:
We are superior to other set top box for the quality hardware and specs. The hi-gain digital antenna is also a big factor in reception quality.
joel says:
magkano po yung HI-DB Gain type antenna, para mapalitan yung pig tail type antenna para mas marami masagap na channel at bakit yung radio station wala masagap na signal?
Edwin Co says:
500 pesos lang hi gain digital antenna. It can be bought seperately. Thank you.
Kenneth says:
Hello po sir ask ko lang kung makakasagap ba ito ng Korean channels at ng Myx ? Thanks :)
c says:
kaya kaya nito yung mga 3d movies?
Edco says:
Sorry this box no 3D movies. Just the regular sd and hd movies only.
JK says:
At yung 3D glasses din pala, dapat meron ka. XD
JK says:
Kung SBS(side by side) yung format ng 3D video na papanoorin mo, pwede siguro, pero dapat 3D-capable rin yung TV mo para mailabas niya nang tama yung images.
Emong says:
Sirs,
Pa-review naman ng RCA ISDB-T TV para macompare dito. Sana meron pang iba pa na ma-review na bang for the buck. Para sa akin, OK sana yung ABS-CBN TV BOX kung capable sya as media player. Hehe A digital box with media player capability tapos nasa 1K+ lang would be a very, very good deal.
Peejay says:
Isama na rin ang Cybertec brand na DTV box.
jim says:
Kahit anong ISDB-T (full seg) tuner, kaya masagap ang LAHAT ng AVAILABLE channels. Ang problema lang:
1. Encrypted ang 4 na channels ng ABS-CBN. Meaning sa TV PLUS lang pwede.
2. DEPENDE SA LOCATION mo ang pagsagap ng signal.
Wag na magtaka bakit sa iba merong GMA sa iba wala. Hindi dahil sa tuner yan. Depende yan sa location mo.
Hindi mo mapapanuod yung 4 na exclusive channels ng ABS-CBN dahil EXCLUSIVE nga sila para lang sa TV PLUS.
EDWIN CO says:
The quality of the Digital antenna malaking bagay sa ISDB T. The better the antenna the more channels it can get. The short stick with pigtail design is weaker. The better one is the HI-DB Gain type.
ac3buddy says:
Thanks Jim!
ac3budy says:
tama ba nabasa ko nakuha yung YEY, CINEMO at Knowledge channel, pero napapanood ba?
dvancleef says:
Technically these are ISDB-T International, not ISDB-T.
The former broadcasts MPEG 4 video, the latter MPEG 2.
Bibbo says:
Bakit kaya wala yung INC channel. Sila may pakana nito e (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_terrestrial_television#Philippines). Sabi ng prof ko, di hamak na mas economical yung European DTV standards.
Duke of Bacoor says:
12mn-4am digital broadcast times nila (INCTV and NET 25). So di pa sila nagbo-broadcast fully.
bobyy says:
Ito mas ok na reference. At alam ko may goverment alert feature ang ISDB-T (Japan) kaya ito ang pinili ng PH in case of emergency and calamities. Pwedeng mag-air ang government ng notice or emergency broadcast to all TV sets. At mas ok ang ISDB-T para sa mga kotse at buses.
Rom says:
what do you mean When you say you found those other abs-cbn channels (cinemo, etc) but they are exclusive to abcbn tv+? You found them but you cant watch them because they are blocked?
JK says:
Since those channels you mentioned can still be detected, pero di mapanood, a more appropriate term would be encrypted, not blocked.
So far, sa TV Plus lang sila pwedeng mapanood (aside from Skycable and Destiny).
Easy E says:
Sa ace hardware may dalawang brands ng isdb-t stb. Yung isa rca na p2k at yung isa on sale sa p1500.
EDWIN Co says:
Our Chipset is Made in Taiwan. so it more stable. We are also happy to say that we are local manufacturers of TV antenna in the Phils. Quality wise our product will last longer.
roiji says:
hindi naman nila siguro kasalanan kung bakit konti lang ang line-up ng channels XD
EDWIN CO says:
eventually dadami rin TV digital Broadcast Channels like in other countries like Brazil, Japan and other isdb t adapting countries.
Benchmark says:
Really?! It got the exclusive channels of channel 2? My RCA has those channels too but its block (has a dollar sign in it). May way ba to unblock this channel.
Well the problem my RCA is that it auto on…I don’t know why even if I check it in the set up.
abe says:
Na-scan niya lang yung exclusive channels sa tvplus users pero hindi naman mapapanood.
ozi says:
kamukhang kamukha nito yung target kong communist-OEM unit. ito na siguro yun, ni-rebrand lang pagdating dito sa pinas.
– Full Segment standard MPEG-4 ASP @ L5 HD resolution
– Fully compliant H.264 MP&HP @L4
kumpara sa ibang units na mas mababa ang resolution
MPEG-4 ASP @ L4
H.264 MP&HP @L3
definitely better than all isdb-t stb on the ph-market today in terms of resolution.
but meron con – walang ewbs, sana lang magkaroon ng update para dito.
EDWIN Co says:
Hello everybody, This is Multi-National Product, Chipset made in Taiwan, Assembled in China, and Testing and final assembly in the Philippines.
Jason Chan says:
In my opinion, RCA DV1501 seems to be a better choice than this. Simply because it has more physical buttons infront, has all the features that “WIN ISDB-T TV Box”, and it’s available in almost all hardware/ appliance shops. It’s even priced cheaper than this. I bought mine in Ace Hardware a couple months ago and it was priced at Php 1,995. The RCA DV1501 has all the features that this WIN ISDB-T TV Box has plus it has more physical buttons infront. I also tried using a 4tb Hardrive and it worked well and supported it. Not an endorser but just a regular consumer. Never encountered any problem using the RCA ISDB-T TV Box since purchased it.
EDWIN CO says:
Confirmed po na online na uli GMA7 Dtv transmitters.
Headcracker says:
hi Edwin,
Can you confirm if your device can pick up GMA channels?
EDWIN CO says:
We go the extra mile for our customers, we offer 7 days warranty against factory defects, and lifetime service warranty. Hardware wise and software wise it is different system with same functions. Price wise we honor discount of 10% to holder of appliance center reward cards like SM Advantage, Abenson, Shop wise and Electroworld.
barakulyo palampatet says:
There’s an identical item being sold in Ace Hardware, the brand name being “RCA.” Price is only 1.5k. Identical channels, no GMA 7.
Headcracker says:
Eto iniisip ko e. Nung Sunday kasi bumili ako dogfood sa Ace, nakita ko yung nauna sa kin sa counter me biniling ganito, di ko lang sure kung pareho ng nagagawa.
Now I know. makabili nga.
EDWIN CO says:
we offer 7 days warranty against factory defects, and lifetime service warranty. Hardware wise and software wise it is different system with same functions. Price wise we honor discount of 10% to holder of appliance center reward cards like SM Advantage, Abenson, Shop wise and Electroworld.
mark says:
Sayang walang gma7. Im an avid viewer of its news and public affairs kasi. Di pa ba sila digital?
abe says:
Ayos hdmi and recording function
Ice says:
walang gma -.-
EDWIN Co says:
Meron, na GMA7 AND GMA NEWSTV. They upgraded weeks back now is transmitting again.
EDWIN CO says:
ONLINE na GMA7 Dtv Transmitters.
EDWIN CO says:
Boss, meron / online na GMA7 and GMAnewsTV, re scan lang channel. I advise customer to re scan channel once in a while.
Kamen Rider Chaser says:
Meron na kaya yung GMA? Lagi kasing wala eh. Talaga bang pinapatay nila digital transmission nila? O talagang di ko lang masagap? Kainis kasi di ako makapanood ng Eat Bulaga. hehehe
ozi says:
july 25, 2015 lang bumalik ang broadcast ni GMA.
natapat yata nung offline ang GMA nung tinest nila ito kaya wala yung GMA sa list.