Guy's as i'm new to this forum, I am about to get an stu, sort of a first time one to see what the world of FTA digital is like. I don't want to spend too much money and for some that are around the $200-$250 price which one is highly recommended. Thanks

satelliteguy

Hi,

I got a couple of Topfield 4000s from Good Guys for $215. Includes scart-to-component, and scart-to-svideo/composite cables.

Works great, known brand.

however, boxes start from around $160 I think..

Stay away from the Teac DV-B350, it's a certified fault-box. If you see a low price for a Teac DV-B420 (~$170-ish) it might be worth picking up and giving a trial run, however since the Topfield comes with all the supplied cables the prices may even out.

The DGTEC is nasty from what I've heard.

The Omni is supposed to be quite usable and affordable at around $200.

Bought a TEAC DV-B420 for a friend and he is pretty happy with the PQ. It was picked up for $175 at JB.

420 only comes with crappy RCA ( composite) cable. If your TV has a SCART input, it is worth spending $15-$20 for a decent SCART cable from JayCar.

Hope this helps.

I am also looking for a SD STB around $200.

My investigations so far have lead me to the Nextwave 3190 since it has component out.

http://nextwave-digital.com/content/productdetails.html

I am not sure of the quality of this unit though (build quality, picture quality).

It seems the market is flooded with CHEAP looking SD boxes.. there is no real "stand out" and if there was, I would cough up $300+ for it, if it existed.

Any advice / experience with the 3190 or similar appreciated..

Thanks, Mark (slightly confused)

George? Please inform them

You can pick up a good used High Definition box from a forum member here or from me here. I know mine's in top nick and I'm sure George's is too.

Why buy a sh1tty new SD box when you can get a good used HD box that is also ideal for poor signal areas?

Outputs on both these used HD-STBs include VGA/XGA (RGB), RGsB, RGBS, RGBHV, Component (YPrPb), S-Video, Composite x 2, optical digital audio, coax digital audio and analogue audio. You won't find that flexibility on a new SD-STB!!

Good luck with whatever you get,
Ian

Hi, I am a very happy Nextwave user (3100). Crystal clear Digital Tv where Analogue was quite poor.

You should learn to do a search on the forum and you will find a lot of positive comments about the Nextwave units.

They also offer exellent after sale product support. From my experience you can not go wrong, however it seems that many people find that it is compatability between components that is the ultimate answer. So best advice is that whatever you choose buy it somewhere with a "no questions asked" return policy (even worth a few $ more).

Set up with highest available connection, calibrate (adjust brightness, contrast, turn off picture enahancements etc in set), evaluate, choose, enjoy

OK, My suggestions:

1: Homecast eM1150 (Emtech)
2: Nextwave 3200
3: Opentel, when available.
4. Ikusi
5: Old Footys

I have had the Nordmende DG 825? SD STB ($169 from Myers stores) for a few weeks now - it is compact, has a good set of output connectors, runs very cool and has not had any problems.
It is a much better unit than the Teac 350 that I took back after a couple of weeks (ran very hot and froze).
Regards,
Chris

Nextwave 3190 -vs- 3200 what is the difference anyway?

Nextwave 3190, from the link in the post below, it is a new box with component out. I will have to ask my installer friend what it is like.

For 3100/3200, see: http://www.naspl.com/content/digidtsb.html

which links to here:
Nextwave units

Hi, I am a very happy Nextwave user (3100). Crystal clear Digital Tv where Analogue was quite poor.


Has anyone actually been able to update the firmware in a TDR 3120 ? If so what version and how ? I have a TDR(Hotchip)3120 which I have since discovered is a next-wave 3120 which I purchased July last year(2003). I would like to update the firmware if avalible.

email or phone the distributor of your box.

If hotchip are not still around try Nextwave.

Us the link provided in my last post. They have been very helpful with my couple of requests

Regards
DO

[/quote]

Why buy a sh1tty new SD box when you can get a good used HD box that is also ideal for poor signal areas?

Ian

[/quote]


Is a HD STB necessarily any better than a SD box for low signal areas? I am sure there are good and bad examples in both categories.

I would be interested to hear of anybody's experiences here.

I was only talking about the DGTec 2000A 'Footy' - there were two used units for sale when I posted that. One of them was mine, and the other is still available from gclark8 (George).

Its the NORDMENDE KMDG46 and I also paid $169 on special. Megamart in Auburn Sydney.


CPU & MEMORIES
32 Bit RISC
2M FLASH
8M SDRAM

VIDEO DECODER
MPEG-2
VIDEO FORMAT: 4:3, 16:9

AUDIO DECODER
MPEG-2 LAYER I & II MONO/STEREO/DUAL CHANNEL

AV OUTPUTS
COMPOSITE VIDEO TO SCART STANDARD
RGB VIDEO TO SCART STANDARD
STEREO AUDIO TO SCART STANDARD
COAXIAL S/PDIF STANDARD
S-VHS
COMPOSITE VIDEO & STEREO AUDIO BY PHONO

SOFTWARE UPDATE
9 PIN RS-232 CONNECTOR

DIMENSION
W 280 X D 193 X H 40.5 MM

Tuner seems to be more sensative in low signal areas than other SD boxes I've got.

The cheapest unit I have seen is the Teac DVB-300 for $110 in Target (Resovoir store in Melbourne). Not a bad price, I have the same unit and have had no problems, unlike many others tho.

I'm probably going to go with the topfieldt4000 SD because sounds like it's a great SD STB for a good price. Becsue it's the second highest model I thought the PVR would of been cheap as well seeing the 4000 is only around $200. but really who would pay up to $1000 for a PVR STB that is only SD?

Satelliteguy

You can get SD-PVR for a lot less: http://www.opentel-australia.com/

Can get Kaon stb or Kaon 80g stb and OPentel Twin Tuner PVR is interested. email me at adnan@oznetics.com.au

ak