i-CAN Easy HD: Freeview HD and iPlayer HD from a single box

 

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Posted on 11 May 2010 at 09:56

Yesterday we had a preview of the excellent i-CAN Easy HD. It's a small set top box equipped with a Freeview HD capable tuner, as well as a slick interface for accessing catch-up content via the BBC iPlayer service - again including HD programming.

With a release date just before the World Cup, this could be the best way to sharpen up your enjoment of the tournament, and let you catch up on HD programming you might miss while watching the games.

The box has all the connectors you'd expect, though you're only likely to need two of them. The HDMI output supports 1080p video, plus there's an Ethrenet port to connect to your router for iPlayer. It was already set up for us, but looking at the clearly presented menus we could see that its a very user-friendly device. The EPG is clearly laid out, with the selected channel expanding onscreen to give programme description information.

There's no recording capability here, though currently there are no PVR-capable Freeview HD boxes from any manufacturer. However, the ability to pick and choose from BBC content, including HD programming, and pause and fast forward these programmes while watching, does partly make up for this. The iPlayer inteface is probably the best we've seen, its clearly presented, reacts quickly to inputs and playback in HD looked great.

You may not of heard of the i-CAN brand, or its parent company Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), but they are big players in providing set top boxes with integerated IPTV services to broadcasters all over europe - in a similar way to how Thomson and Pace make Sky+ boxes for the UK. Speaking of Sky, the i-CAN has a card slot for subscription TV services, so it should be possible to add Sky Sports in the near future.

Over 60% of the boxes produced by ADB come with integrated hard disks, so if you're after a fully-fledged PVR, and if you can wait till later in the year for your HD upgrade, then i-CAN is certainly a brand to keep an eye on.

If you're keen to rush out now and buy a box for the World Cup then hold on a few days more and we'll post a full review of the Easy HD in time for its launch in early June. Retail prices will be £129 at most, and should be less if you shop around.

Author: Seth Barton