hi there,
l am looking at buying a Toshiba HD- S23 ,and wondering how much you guys paid for one and where you got it? l'm in Melb.

Thanxs

Well if you know anyone who works for Toshiba then they can get them for $680. I got a friend of mine to get it for me.

I got mine in Sydney for $770. However I purchased a Denon 2900 Progressive DVD Player at the same time.

Anyway that will give you a start.

Mark

Hardly Normal Preston (on Bell Street) $780, Rio Sound Thornbury (on St. Georges Road) $770

How's your denon 2900 treating you? I have been contemplating the denon 2900 or the marantz 8400. I want to use it for two chanel audio as well by bypassing the audio dac and using a high end dac.

What's the video like in progressive. Can you swtich between interlace and progressive and see the difference?

I just ordered an HD-S23 from the following company for $789 (plus $10 courier delivery if you are not able to collect it from the company in Melbourne).

http://www.australiandigitaltv.com/toshiba

I was told to expect it on Monday morning, and Matt said he would throw in a free 2m S-VHS cable.

John

Hi Chris,

Sorry Guys for going off topic.

The Denon 2900 is fantastic. I got it mainly for SACD & DVD Audio. It's normal CD performance is fantastic as well. I'm feeding the Progressive Component output into a Component switcher which then goes to the Sony 86cm HDTV. The other output from the switcher goes to a NEC XG-1350 CRT Projector (through a Transcoder) and projects onto a 3 metre screen. Picture quality is fantastic!

I haven't tried the Interlaced output from the Denon sorry. But have a look here for some opinions:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

I've got the audio from the Denon 2900 feeding directly into a Sony TA-P9000ES Multichannel Pre-Amp.

See:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~rutlidge/TA-P9000ES.html


Then into an Elektra 6 Channel Power Amp.

See:

http://www.lenwallisaudio.com/products/details.php?pid=575


Which is driving some Infinity Kappa 90's on the front. See:

http://www.audioimports.com/reviews/rev_aug_98_1.html


I've tried a few DVD Audio DVD and I like the difference on "some" titles.

I'm hoping to buy the Police "Every Breath you take" SACD when I can afford it. You may laugh, but my wife has taken my credit card. I had to sell my Sony DVP-S7700 on ebay to help pay for the Denon.

Anyway I'm very happy.

I had considered the Marantz 8300, 8400 and Onkyo DV-SP 800 which are both all based on the Panasonic "Video" Chassis.

This Denon 2900 review wasn't fair in my opinion and a bit misleading . I think the audio quaility is understanded and the video overstanded in the review. see:

http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/HardwareRevie.../Denon2900.html


This review is better balanced (in my opinion). See:

http://audioholics.com/productreviews/avha...0-reviewp1.html

So is this one:

http://www.dvd-a.dk/start.php?page=tests/d...834d849167f91cf


Also see this one:

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/html/review...view.php?rev=24


Also have a look here:

http://www.audaud.com/audaud/JUL-AUG03/EQU...quip1JUL03.html

Mark

Thanks Mark, for sharing your system. You may have to rent some girly dvd's so that you can sweaten up your wife. You need to do something to get your credit card back.

I just read my post and relised I may not of been clear. When I said girly movie, I meant the movies girls like (not the other kind )

Toshiba HD-S23A v Panasonic QTR2140

Before I take the plunge and buy a HD-STB can anyone give me some info on camparing the above 2 models?

Ta

Read these 2 threads:

http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=36

http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=23

Should be enuff info in there for you.

thanks ventolin...I'm all ready to go out and get my Panasonic now

Well $799 is the recommended retail price for the Toshie but I didn't have to pay that ...







WOO WOO WOO AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!





Uh-hem um bought mine for $700

I paid $690 2 weeks ago...

How do you figure that. The Toshiba Web Site says it's RRP is $1099.00 See:

http://www.toshiba.net.au/cgi-bin/toshiba/000179.html

Mark

Thats a recommened retail price.
Now who really pays full price.
Angelo

Well, think someone here had one ordered for over $850! $699 is what I really payed for and anything under that figure for anybody else is a bonus. It's good to know that one can get a box like this at this price, and how much do some places want for their 2000A footies???

cheers

Well, just heard a little story that a very naughty place downtown in Adelaide who sold someone a Toshi HD-S23 for $699, denied this to another potential buyer who had the purchase details as proof that it was bought at this price! They said that the previous buyer is a liar and so forth and they wouldn't sell that box for that price ever! Prolly made a mistake???

8-) Hehe, me guess is they will do it if they want to make a sale on the day, but at other times they will charge a much higher price... Maybe they are just naughty little boys down there 8-).

Mark

Tell your wife that the Denon 2900 has now been replaced by the Denon A-11 and you would like to get that model instead and tell her the RRP is $3999!
cheers laurie

Thanks laurie! I'd love to get the Denon A-11 but I'd be dead meat for sure. Really!!!

Mark

Well some of these Toshiba prices astound me I attempted to purhase a S23A in the first week of September through a internet company for $833.75 when I had trouble confirming the supply date I rung Toshiba directly & they said at that price they must have been stolen.

I eventually bought one at $890.00 on 13/9/03 after ringing everywhere in Sydney , I was laughed at when I rung Harvey Normans who would not go under $950.00.

(At that time RRP was $1,099.00) & i think still is.



What I am most annoyed about is the lies from the supplier down to retailers if people are paying in the low $700's & the supplier says that they must be stolen at the $830 level what hope is there for the poor consumer.

Dont get me wrong I paid what I thought was a fair price at the time however am most annoyed at such a margin for a STB no wonder people think digital television is one big rip off.

Hi Rob,

I think you'll find most of the pricing issues are the fault of Castel, the people that import toshi stuff.

They initially had a price of 999 on it, but that was just when it was first released. Then Castel, for no logical reason, just put it up to 1099. These prices were the ones listed on the castel site, not looking at retaillers for the moment. What you got was the same box, just at $100 more over RRP.

I *think* what they were trying to do was make it look like this is a really high end bit of gear - with a high end price to match. There's nothing wrong with this thinking - but you can't go changing your prices like that. People feel ripped off - and rightly so. Also, with the competition from other brands, something had to give, and that was retaillers margins I suspect.

Think about it, even if they made $300 a box - which is quite high, they are still buying for $800. Now retailers are probably happy to make $200 a box, so most (Encel etc) have them out at $999 - which is an ok margin for that gear. I have never seen one with a $1099 sticker on it.

Castel mucked things up this time around, and as a result people like robertr feel ripped off. Hopefully this will not be repeated with future releases.

As an aisde, at least the Strong prices went the right way... they initially had a rrp of $1099 for the 5290...then it got a bigger 80 gig hard disk and the price stayed the same (fair enuff) then it recently went down to $699. Yes, you would be annoyed at this if you bought at the high price...but everyone knows computer gear only ever goes down in price...unless it has Toshiba written on the front.

Well the interesting thing about the Strong unit, was that Hantrex refunded the difference for anybody that had purchased for a period just before the price drop - great pr that I haven't seen anybody else do.

I wonder what Toshiba would say if they knew that some of us bought this box costing between $650 and $750? Maybe the salesperson who sold me the box was on drugs or something... who knows...

There is a thing called the Trade Practices Act, which forbids price fixing and/or collusion - a retailer can sell at whatever price they want and the manufacturers/distributors cannot do anything about that. But we all know in real life that being denied stock would soon put an end to your discounting, wouldn't it

Good point, still it isn't fair for those who "have" to buy it at a much higher price if they can't get around to haggle etc.

so anyone purchased the STB in Melbourne for $750 or less?
if so where?
I only know that harvey norman stocks them everywhere else i have tried they are not available...

any help would be appreciated

Hey,
I already have this STB and couldn't be happier. I am looking to get my parents one for chrissy. I originally paid above $800. Anyone no anywhere around sydney where I could get one for less with cash?

cheers

G'day All

West Coast Hi Fi in Cannington, Perth have the Toshie ADVERTISED for $688.

I know when I bought mine Hardly Normal was happy to price match (That was at $770 mind you) - I wonder if they still are???

$688 wow! $11 cheaper than mine... I think people should be made more aware out there, and boycott any retailers who still like to charge $899 or thereabouts when others asked what price they can get it at.

What is the wholesale price for these boxes, anyone know?

I would like to buy one of these STBs, where is the price deal in Adelaide? Can we get near the West Coast Hi Fi price?

Thanks.

Digicruiser, I too like you luv to get a bargain. But I think we all need to be sensitive to the commercial realities in which we live.


SOAPBOX ON:

Not all retailers get the same wholesale buy price, try ordering 10units versus 500 units of anything and look at your buy price... , and their costs of running a business are all different, and they have to pay wages, rent etc, therefore their sell price is different.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out if your wages, electricity, rent, insurance, council rates, GST and TAX on Profits etc,... amortise to $75 per hour and you are tring to sell a Toshiba STB for Wholesale+anything less than $150, that you're not going to keep your staff employed or stay in business.


Boycotts only serve to drive prices UP. Eventually over time the only the large retailers will get stock as small retailers will give up......why bother stocking something that costs you more to buy than what the big retailers sell it for. Eventually we as consumers end up paying higher prices will the fewer competitors that we've fashion with our buying habits.

My father once said to , just remember when you're bartering with a small business, you're affecting their ability to stay in business. Then he said imagine how you'd feel every year when your employer drives your hourly pay rate down or be told you'll be made redundant....

I really luv a bargain, but I think small business needs a fair go, be happy to buy something and be happy to support small retailers.

Think about the grocery business and how it has evolved in Australia over the last 30 years. Based on current projections we may not have supermarkets in local suburbia in 20 years time......we may have fashioned the retailers to set up humongous websites where we order online and can no longer touch-n-feel what we want to buy.


SOAPBOX OFF:

ps.... I work for a multi-hundred billion $ business and know the dangers of not supporting small business.

Your argument is that same used by French and American farmers to wrench enormous protection from their respective governments. They are stuck in the nineteenth century and refuse to modernise.

This results in the consumers of those countries paying much higher prices that they need to if they were able to source products from more efficient producers like Australia.

Point is that someone thinks of a more efficient way to produce/deliver goods or services to the consumers and they prosper (as they deserve to). Those that don't change fade away. That is the way the world is. It's the same for everyone in every country - no exceptions. Government protection only lasts so long. You just can't hold back the tide of change.

How many people prefer to wait in a bank teller line rather than get instant service at an ATM just to try to protect bank tellers jobs?

Now, the small retailer is faced with a dilemma. Business isn't the same any more. He must change. Who is going to pay 20% more from their local retailer when they can save that amount by driving to the regional shopping centre? Not many, I suspect. The public are not sympathetic to inefficient suppliers.

To improve their buying power, they can form a buying group (like some Pharmacies) or join a franchise, but they will not survive by selling products at inflated prices. It's been like that for a long time now.

Hi Dugby,

I just about to post a similar observation. Buying groups are a good way to improve your purchasing power and lower your costs.

Regards,
Ian.

Mungo,

Firstly I made no mention/promotion of Govt Proection schemes. I did say we as consumers need to make the decision to support the small businesses.

Secondly, your reference to Bank tellers and ATM's.......notice how now we wait in queues for ATMs.......

Don't get me wrong about not supporting change. I made massive changes from shutting down multiple small businesses that barely made a profit and now work for an extremely large corporation that now pays my mortgage and feeds my family. It's survival, and I made it, but I feel for the 15 employees that are now retired-early, unemployable because of low skills, others had to take really menial jobs that they were not destined for, others are on the dole.....yes I can hear you say "that's life".....

Your third point about someone finding more efficient ways to delivers goods.....
Have you ever bought a new car recently ? I did, Took my 75Yrold parents down to buy a new car. The dealer manager concluded the transaction by offerring full RRP and then threw us out for offerring 3% less for a no-trade-in transaction. This dealer has 35 local dealerships and has effectively fixed the new car prices to RRP

Ever wondered why petrol prices fluctuate 15% on a weekly basis, I do and I'm not allowed to tell you.

All I'm saying is give your fellow man a break in allowing him and his staff a chance at a living.

[QUOTE]yes I can hear you say "that's life".....[/QUOTE]
Well I wasn't making any value judgements, I was merely reflecting on the way the world seems to work, and has done since a caveman once picked up a log and figured out a better way to feed his family with meat.

[/QUOTE]I made massive changes from shutting down multiple small businesses that barely made a profit and now work for an extremely large corporation that now pays my mortgage and feeds my family. It's survival, and I made it, but I feel for the 15 employees that are now retired-early, unemployable because of low skills, others had to take really menial jobs that they were not destined for, others are on the dole.[QUOTE]
And I know about this too, since I shut down my own company just over 2 years ago after my major customer - a NSW Government Dept - decided to source our services from India instead - at half our prices. And yes, I was pissed off at the time, but we've all got to learn to do things better if we want to survive.

Here in Lane Cove, where I live, we have Renegade Cycles voted the best bike shop in NSW, and Len Wallis Audio voted by a UK Hi-Fi magazine as being one of the top 5 Hi-Fi shops in the world.

Neither of these shops are parts of chains - yet they both succeed. In fact Len Wallis is currently in the process of doubling it's size.

You wouldn't go there to buy a $180 Harmony DVD and haggle about the price, but small organisations can succeed in the face of the big buyers with the right formula.

???

Cheers

Does anyone know?

Many thanks

Best you can (reliably) do is probably Hantrex, for $799. (anyone know better???)

Sure, there are heaps of places advertising for $50 less...but how long do you have to wait to get it, how much of a pain in the but are they to deal with? etc. At least with hantrex you know you'll get your box delivered quickly and they have stock (if they don't - they tell you - not put stuff on back order for 4 weeks and still debit your card so you're tied to them for the purchase) I've got a couple of boxes from them and they delivered next day. Can't go wrong as delivery is next day to Sydney too.

No I don't work for 'em I'm just happy with the service and passing on the comments as friendly advice. Take it or leave it...doesn't bother me either way.

I wonder why people in the know refer to this machine as "Toshiba". I seriously doubt anyone from "real" Toshiba even knows that these Zinwell boxes have their name on it.
Ok, I guess someone in the marketting arm of the "real" Toshiba had allowed Castel to use the Trademark.
Really, these should be referred to as Castel HD-S23 - it would give less informed consumers some idea of what they're buying.

Alex,

The "Toshiba" HD-S23 is OEM'ed from Zinwell by Toshiba Corporation and sold into the Australian and Singapore HD Market.

It's not Castel at all who has sourced this product but Toshiba so they have a HD STB for the Australian & Singapore market.

The Manual for the HD-S23 has setup info for both Australia & Singapore.

Mark

Which Toshiba has sourced this STB? Toshiba don't sell consumer electronics in Australia.

Also, I have not found any traces of this STB in Toshiba Singapore which in fact do sell consumer electronics. Can you provide a link?

Wow
Alex you sure know alot about what your talking about here,.
Not !!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Angelo

I'm really sick and tired of hearing from people nervous about the origons of certain STBs, particularly the Toshiba

The MAIN things that concern me are reliability and performance. I've had mine for many weeks now and I am very pleased. I've not heard one reliability issue about the Toshiba on this forum but plenty on the rest. Performance is very good. PQ very good etc etc

The bottom line is that the Toshiba is a great STB and I couldn't care less where it was made and whether it is a rebadged clone.

I also have the Toshiba STB.

I havent had any troubble either - PQ is excellent.

One should worry if it did come from the same crappy "Base", BUT Toshiba have gone through this box and added the performance parts and an extra chip or two - it's like taking a stock standard car and juicing it up to top performance...

While the standard 5000i is like a clapped out mini, the Toshie is a roaring performing Jaguar!

I now have the Toshiba 23A AND the Digitech 5000i.

(5000i came free with my new TV)


I havnt compared PQ side by side, but I make the following observations.

1. Toshiba shows the time when on and "----" when off. The 5000i on the other hand shows the channel when on and the time when off. I perfer the 5000i in this regards.

2. They are both very ugle pieces of equipment - but I think the Toshiba is less ugly.

3. The Toshiba gives an outstanding PQ on my 86cm SONY (connected using component). The 5000i removes poor reception and ghosting but the PQ is actually fairly poor on my 70cm Loewe (connected using SVideo, in SD only). The 5000i on the Loewe has oblique purple lines on the scrren, very faint but perceptable. The sharpness is OK ut the purple hazy lines are offputting. Even the inbuilt PAL tuner looks better on strong channels then the 5000i.

What are some recent street prices for the Toshiba HD-S23 in Sydney?

Yeah guys.

I thouht that this thread is about Toshie PRICE.

What are the lowest prices in Melb and Sydney and where?

Cheers

scorpio

I'd like to know the cheapest prices in Sydney too. I've been looking in the last week or so and the best I could get was $890. Surely there has to be someone offering better than that?!?