February 26th, 2013 by Richie Black

Freeview is a strange and rather ambiguous phenomenon. Via their shiney marketing strategy, low on details and big on bombast, they've sold themselves as the last word at the dawn of the Australia digital TV age. Included within that message is the implication only products - televisions and PVRs - branded with the "Freeview" logo can be trusted to deliver digital television ... now and into the ... Read more

October 11th, 2012 by Elise F

One of the oldest and most common battles in any Australian household is over who gets to rule the remote control. According to the latest report from Australian audience measurement research firm OzTAM, 95 per cent of all program viewing is still done on a television set - and women make up 53 per cent of the television audience! The survey also found that Australians viewed on average ... Read more

August 21st, 2012 by Richie Black

A TV or hi-fi system can make or break a relationship. A thumping subwoofer can be a real mood killer in a moment of intimacy, particularly if it’s, say, playing Norwegian Black Metal. And a Full High Definition TV can be enough to break off an engagement, for instance, if it happens to be playing Twilight: New Moon. Well, Big Brown Box are here to help. Here ... Read more

August 14th, 2012 by Elise F

Yesterday the Big Brown Box team offered their suggestions for buying a Father's Day gift for your Retro Dad. Today we turn our attention to Techy Dads - this breed of father can be difficult to buy for, especially since they usually purchase all of the latest technology themselves and many products he's got his eye on might be out of your price range. To avoid falling into ... Read more

August 10th, 2012 by Richie Black

This is another in our back to basics “what the hell” series that tells it like it is in a no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners, this-is-it and there’s-no-going-back adrenaline-charged fashion. Strap your knees in, adjust your eyeballs, and prepare to have your life changed. As the subtle genius of the headline implies, this one is about PVRs. That stands for Personal Video Recorder, peeps. They are also sometimes known as ... Read more

July 26th, 2012 by Elise F

Despite still being days away from the commencement of one of the greatest displays of athleticism, gold medal fever is running as hot as ever. However, many sporting fans will be left wondering how they are going to juggle viewing all of the vital coverage while squeezing in a few hours of sleep before heading off to work. After all, England is nine hours behind Australian Eastern ... Read more

July 13th, 2012 by Mark Bristow

We've previously looked at how to get your living room into shape for watching London this year. Now it's your turn. Don't panic, you won't have to run laps or swim record-breaking times.  But seeing as the events will be taking place in London, on the far side of the world, you will need a plan, a schedule, and a basic understanding of international time zones if you're ... Read more

July 6th, 2012 by Keri Algar

With an in-built 1TB of space, the Panasonic DMR-HW220 is capable of recording up to 140 hours of HDTV programmes. That's at least 70 2-hour movies, 280 episodes of any half-hour series, 140 one-hour documentaries or a combination of any...the mind boggles. Deciding what programme to record is made easy, too, with twin tuners which allows for the recording of two HD programmaes at the same time. It's the ... Read more

July 5th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Up to 30 live streaming Foxtel channels are now available with compatible Samsung Smart TVs without the need for a lock-in contract or a set-top box installation.  Foxtel for Internet will be a welcome addition to the Samsung Smart TV app arsenal already equipped with games, movies, TV, music and sports. The service is available in Standard Definition over residential internet connections only. The new channels include Fox8, ... Read more

June 27th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Almost a third of Australian households have replaced their TV in the last year as they look towards smarter, bigger and better quality screens for an improved viewing experience. New TVs are not replacing an old, broken set. In fact only a third of TVs bought were to replace a broken set and 80 per cent of purchases were to replace an existing set. Why? Because we ... Read more