Dvx-555u Set Top Box, Availability? Options

[rockston]

Where can I purchase the DVX-555U STB?

I understand that Strathfield carried it but Strathfield staff in Adelaide and Perth say it was a 'catalogue special' during September and that it won't be re-stocked. My check of all Strathfield shops in Adelaide and Perth suggests that there is no stock in either city.

For $69, with the option of adding a regular PC hard drive to convert it to a PVR, this looks like a very cheap pathway.

Only downside is that the new HD programming that will come to 7, 9 and 10 before tha end of 2007 might put the kybosh on SD-only equipment. I guess in practice this depends on how much of the HD programming is original as distinct from being simply a time-shift of the regular SD programming.

This post has been edited by rockston: Oct 6 2007, 07:01 PM

[Colin 2905]

http://www.austech.info/showpost.php?p=120...p;postcount=210

[rockston]

http://www.austech.info/showpost.php?p=120...p;postcount=210

Sorry, that reference is of little help.

Has anyone seen the DVX-500U for sale in shops recently - or does anyone know if it will re-appear?

Strathfield's staff in several shops say that 'their' shop will not be getting it again.

[Colin 2905]

Sorry, that reference is of little help.

If jok11n says that there are more coming, then I believe him.

But unless you have a spare hard drive sitting around doing nothing, you'd be better off buying a PVR with a drive already in it, IMO. The DVX-555U only has a single tuner, it has a few annoying limitations, and the remote control isn't the easiest to use.

But if you do have a spare hard drive laying around, and you just want a cheap-ish box to fiddle with, then buying one makes more sense.

[jokiin]

or does anyone know if it will re-appear?

Some stores have just got them in, there are more coming also

[Colin 2905]

SCR's "October Clearance" catalogue, which runs from today (8/10/07) until 21/10/07, has them on page 5......

http://www.strathfield.com.au/images/Catal...1008/JPG/p5.JPG

[xtractdigit]

Got one today. I think its goog for the price, just wish I could record with the booking list for the kids,I better read the manual again.

[Colin 2905]

just wish I could record with the booking list for the kids

There's basically two ways to get something into the booking list; via the EPG, or manually. Of course, to do it via the EPG means that the target program must actually be in the EPG (and with the correct times); some of the networks still only provide "now and next". The nice thing about doing it via the EPG (if it's there), is that the name of the program is then displayed in the booking list.

Regardless of whether you add something to the booking list manually or via the EPG, there's a couple of points to watch; the default action is "OFF", so you need to change that to "ON". The other thing is that it's prudent to overwrite the duration with something longer, especially for the commercial stations of an evening.

If you have any problems figuring it out, look for the thread on the Tevion TPVR2511 PVR on this forum (it's functionally the same, except for the extra tuner), or the DVX-555U thread on austech.info.

[johndee]

I picked one up in Bendigo last Monday, they had at least 6 on the floor then. Price was $69.
I found the tuner sensitivity to be much worse than the STB's I have been using. (Phoenix, Digicrystal, Kaon), but as the backup it seems OK.
JB

[xtractdigit]

Thanks colin. I recorded a show and the power went off the day after I recorded it and it disappeared. Is that normal.

[Colin 2905]

I recorded a show and the power went off the day after I recorded it and it disappeared. Is that normal.

No.

[vk6hgr]

I picked up one of these boxes today in Perth... had to drive to a second Strathfield store after my closest store had no stock :-(

Works fairly well but I've noticed it has an annoying bug with the timezone setting. It seems to be ignoring what I set it, and is defaulting to what I think might be what the network is sending it - for ABC, SBS and TEN this is GMT+10. If I change to Seven or Nine then the time flicks back to GMT+8 (which is what I want)

Are the networks sending wrong timezone info or is there something funny with the STB?

[jokiin]

Are the networks sending wrong timezone info or is there something funny with the STB?

A known issue in WA, this model doesn't have its own clock so you can't set it manually, it can only use what the stations broadcast

[xtractdigit]

After a week with this box I am really impressed. Only thing I dont get is the feed from ch10 is a little stuttery, otherwise great for the price

[Colin 2905]

Only downside is that the new HD programming that will come to 7, 9 and 10 before tha end of 2007 might put the kybosh on SD-only equipment.

Just in case anyone missed it on the other related threads, these boxes can also record the HD channels, although they can't play them back. Not something that you'd normally want to do, but once HD multi-channelling is in full swing, it might be useful. I've thrown together a quick how-to on making a DVD, and posted it on that DVX-555U thread on Austech.info......

http://www.austech.info/showpost.php?p=121...p;postcount=272

If you're happy to just watch it on your PC then you don't have to down-convert and create a DVD, of course. Once you have the transport stream on your PC, you can slice and dice and do whatever you like with it.

This post has been edited by Colin 2905: Oct 16 2007, 08:46 AM

[rockston]

Where can I purchase the DVX-555U STB?

I understand that Strathfield carried it but Strathfield staff in Adelaide and Perth say it was a 'catalogue special' during September and that it won't be re-stocked. My check of all Strathfield shops in Adelaide and Perth suggests that there is no stock in either city.

For $69, with the option of adding a regular PC hard drive to convert it to a PVR, this looks like a very cheap pathway.

Only downside is that the new HD programming that will come to 7, 9 and 10 before tha end of 2007 might put the kybosh on SD-only equipment. I guess in practice this depends on how much of the HD programming is original as distinct from being simply a time-shift of the regular SD programming.

The DVX-555U was advertised in a new catalogue released last week - but still no stock in any of Strathfield's Adelaide shops. It's something of a waste doing those ads, methinks.

[jokiin]

The DVX-555U was advertised in a new catalogue released last week - but still no stock in any of Strathfield's Adelaide shops. It's something of a waste doing those ads, methinks.

Most likely the freight is just late, that happens with SA, the stock arrives after the ad goes out, the nature of road freight in Australia unfortunatley.

There are 12,000 of these arriving over the next 6 weeks so they should last until Christmas at least

[rockston]

I've finally acquired a DVX-555U. Bought off eBay for $15 from a disgruntled user in Adelaide who was fed up with the lack of a half-hour time setting (Adelaide=GMT+9.5)

It's working fine. After upgrading the firmware the Adelaide time slot is also working perfectly on all channels.

Things I like:
- Price (a steal at $15, though if I had been able to purchase from Strathfield for $69 I would still be happy)
- Performs as described in the online forums
- No signal problems, even though I do not have LOS to TV towers
- Easy to set up with my old PC hard disk

Things that could be improved:
- Remote control button positioning and functionality is far from intuitive. (The Foxtel iQ is an example of a good intuitive PVR system)
- Neither time-shifting nor playback can be performed while a recording is being conducted
- Recorded programs are not labelled with their title - only the channel name and the time of the recording are shown, although these can be changed (with some pain) manually
- Introduction of a website for distributing firmware upgrades
- Poor stock availability (despite calalogue adverts) at Strathfield and disinterested, unprofessional staff at all of the stores I either visited or called, with the exception of the Reynella store in SA, where the staff actually tried to help but were stymied when they attempted to call their central purchasing organisation).

All in all, it's a good deal for the regular retail price of $69, PROVIDED you can get hold of a 'free' hard drive. However, 'free' hard drives are easy enough to come by following PC upgrades, as long as you're happy with, say, a 40GB hard disk. 40GB is good enough for at least 25 hours of recording and is fine for supplementing my primary PVR (Foxtel iQ).

[Colin 2905]

40GB is good enough for at least 25 hours of recording

No, it's more like about half that. The DVX-555U, and similar, all seem to get it wrong by about a factor of two. Recording SD typically uses about 3GB per hour. (HD, which you can record but not watch directly, seems to use about 6GB per hour when recording SC10 HD.)

[rockston]

No, it's more like about half that. The DVX-555U, and similar, all seem to get it wrong by about a factor of two. Recording SD typically uses about 3GB per hour. (HD, which you can record but not watch directly, seems to use about 6GB per hour when recording SC10 HD.)

Really?

Over the weekend I fully loaded the 40GB hard disk that I installed in my DVX-555U and it now contains substantially more than 25 hours of recorded SD AV programming.

What kind of testing have you done to achieve double the disk usage (ie half the time capacity) that I achieved? What firmware version are you using?