The EPG is 'now-and-next' only, despite screenshots of something more useful in the manual. It has two modes: the 'daily guide' displays details of the presently selected channel's current or next programme, while the second mode lists the names of now-and-next programmes for up to four adjacent channels. The EPG can also schedule a single-event timer for external recordings. This cannot be modified manually – making it ultimately pointless.

A handful of gimmicks grace what is otherwise a basic receiver. In addition to a couple of games is a neat picture-in-picture facility. This allows you to select a channel and display it as a 'window' over another channel broadcast on the same transponder (this is, after all, only a single-tuner unit). You can also display two such channels side by side. Topping the lot is an ability to monitor either four or nine adjacent channels.

Performance and features

Sensitivity-wise, the DM100 managed to hold onto 'weak' services with surprising tenacity – we can report a fair degree of success from Thor (0.8°W) and Sirius 4 (5°E) on a 1m motorised dish and 0.8dB LNB.

Channel selection is reasonably fast, the user interface and menu system are also pleasantly responsive in use, while search speeds are more than adequate. Audio-visual quality is superb, and with the right source, pictures are detailed and dynamic with vivid colours. No lip-sync errors were noticed.

The USB port is provided solely for firmware upgrades – you can't connect external storage. Similarly, the Ethernet port offers no web interface, FTP, network firmware upgrading or streaming. A mail client is included, but it crashed our receiver.

The DM100 is also spoilt by some stupid bugs: Our Panasonic DVD recorder displayed an error message because it believed the source to be copy-protected when it wasn't. It would appear that the DM100's Macrovision signalling is being triggered accidentally. And on one occasion the receiver ran out of memory during a search. A check revealed that the receiver had stored a total of 4,444 channels (3,334 TV, 1,110 radio); far short of Dream's figure of 10,000 channels.