I've decided to jump in to digital TV finally.
My CRT widescreen can handle HD so I want to get a HD STB but need a bit of help.

A lot of the comments in these threads have gone a bit over my head (mostly the acronyms) LOL.

I don't want to spend too much but I am happy to spend "extra" to get features or conveniences that I will enjoy over the life of the product.
You know, I would spend extra on a box that was quicker when changing stations cos over the life of the product I would be pretty annoyed if it took 5 secs each time!!

Anyway, I am unsure what features I should look out for or consider.
So... What things do you like/hate about the STBs you have used?

Also, I will be traveling to China soon so thought I might be able to get one cheaper there.
Are there any broadcast peculiarities to Australia that I need to worry about?

Cheers,
RB

Hi Bogus,

Ok, some stuff for you to consider. ALL STBs pretty much do the same thing - show a nice widescreen digital picture on the TV. They don't really come with lots of features. The chanel changing speed is a definate factor but an expensive model is just as likely to be slower than a cheap model. About 1 second is as fast as it gets.

The main 'annoyance' of a STB is that it doesn't intereact with analoge appliances well (ie VCRs and DVD Recorders). Essentially if you want to send your signal to be recorded you have to make sure each box is tuned to the same channel. So a STB with timers can be handy in this situation (still a hassle though)

The main variation with STBs is the number/type of outputs. HiDef STBs havemore options and usually have the new digital only connections like HDMI, DVI etc. However a standard component connection is pretty much as good as any of these to 99% of viewers.

HiDef is pricey n the STB area, but recently got a bit more sensible. You can by a decent HiDef STB for under $300 now days. A SD one for around $130.

As for China - forget it - different broadcasting setup to Oz (as is pretty much the rest of the world) so you're just as likely to bring back a unit that shows a nice hidef black screen Note prices in this area are unlikely to be very much cheaper overseas anyway.

Personally I'd suggest you look into getting a PVR (A STB with a hard drive) you can pause live TV, skip ads, record digital TV effortlessly, and much more. Prices start at $250 and head up to $800 for top of the line SD models. There is only one HD model at the moment (The J35) and its not very well regarded (too many bugs) and it costs over $1000.

Some people get a HD STB for watching the occassional movie in HiDef and a cheap SD PVR (Like the Wintal) for recording and watching stuff they don't watch live. Personally I have a HiDef TV but only watch it via my twin tuner Topfield SD PVR. The joy that a PVR brings to watching TV (no ads, 7 day EPG, etc.) far outweighs the slight improvement in PQ I see in HiDef. Eventually I'll get a HiDef PVR but till then I'm very happy with SD PQ (esp as most of whats broadcast on HD TV is really just upconverted SD).

Note that only one model of PVR/STB can have a 7 day EPG - The Topfield - all other boxes can usually display an EPG but the networks don't broadcast the data they need.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

PS Do a seach on Toppy, Humax Smart, All Questions Answered, Wintal, etc for some more PVR info.

PPS When you say your TV can 'handle HiDef' do you mean 'HiDef Ready'? A lot of TVs are marketed as being able to show Hidef but what they really mean is the TV down converts the HiDef picture and shows it as SD. In this case getting a HD STB would probably be a waste of money. What model TV do you have?

Thanks for you reply.

I have a 32" Sony Widescreen HX32 M31
It can do 720p natively and I think it can do 1080i too.
Its got HD / VD SYNC sockets to go with a Y/Pb/Pr input as well as RBG

I'm not sure if I would record TV. Haven't done it for years. I supposed I might if it was easy to capture a whole series and transfer to the PC etc.
do the PVRs allow easy interface with a PC?

What about content? Is there any extra chanels or content supplied by HD?

What is EPG. Event programing guide or something?

Hi bogus,

Funny, I'm the exact opposite -I don't think I've watch very much live TV for years (even on the VCR I'd just tape it and FF through the ads the next day). Sounds like a STB might be all you need. The one thing you might like about a simple PVR is the ability to pause live TV and watch while the recording continues. So you can hit REC at 7:20 and go have dinner, etc. Sit down at 7:45 and start watching the show from the begining (FF through the ads). Pause again when the phone rings, then maybe watch a bit more, before going to bed and catching the end tomorrow.

Transfering to a PC isn't generally simple and only some PVRs allow it. It can be done but its not an ideal situation yet.

AnElectronic Program Guide is simply a listing of everything that's on (including extended descriptions) for the next week. In a PVR it makes it very easy to set a recording as you just select the show, hit timer, and the recording is scheduled. But as I say 99% of PVRs / STB don't have it.

Note both SD and HD channels are exactly the same as the current analogue stations. So for the time being you get better quality pictures and widescreen content but thats all.

Sounds like a good TV. Mine's a 32" HiDef too (CRT).

Regards

Peter Gillespie

Hi,

You have a HD capable TV, and want to use that function, which I guess you wouldn't have paid for unless you were planning on watching HD. So as you said you need, and want to get a HD STB... and obviously not concerned with recording DTV. So don't listen to these "SD PVR" fan's that have HD capable equipment, as they aren't really going to "notice" the difference anyway... everyone else does Plus the best connection you will get on a SD box will be component running 576i, probably only SCART (which you can get an adapter for). I have the TEAC STB, it's been great. Channel changing isn't overly slow, great PQ over VGA, component/VGA/DVI outputs, digital sound outputs (i.e. you can recieve Dolby 5.1 with a HD STB, not SD), well set out EPG (Electronic Program Guide) and good support from TEAC. They're about $350 - $400. Also the LG is meant to be ok, HUMAX, TOPFIELD, AUSID... the list goes on. There are also cheaper boxes for around $199 from JB that are HD, and some for $250 - $300 from Strathfield, sorry can't remember all their names... Soniq, Hotchip etc. As the other person said, don't but a box from China, the boxes here need to be DVB-T compliant.

JSmith :ph34r:

How does that work?
Do you need to plug the box into a phone line to achieve this?

It requires you to download the data to your PC each day. This can be automated. You can then send the data to the Toppy via a wireless, usb or ethernet connection. The Toppy is the only one that can do this as its the only PVR with is own user programming language.

Its reasonably easy to set up but does take a few hours to get sorted.

Read the All Questions Answered pinned thread for more info / pointers.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

You pay a monthly fee for a 7 day, updated EPG, which I you download of the net, and presumably you would use a USB cable, network, or ethernet.

Look at this site, and this site for further info.

JSmith :ph34r:

Just to note that there are both paid and free EPG guides available off the net.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

I have a Hi Def STB the LG 5100P and am very happy with it at the price. Shop around. Most outlets have them.

A Hi Def STB is essential on my 32 in LCD to get the best picture. My LCD set seems to be optimized for Hi Def and picture was unacceptable with a Standard Def STB.

Not sure with your CRT set but if it is capable of 720P and 1080i the LG will enable these modes and I suspect give you a much better picture than using a SD STB. Hi Def boxes enable progressive scan which improves the picture (less flicker) if your set supports it.

Just my thoughts.

Cool,
thanks guys.

Speed of chanel changing is definately something I am interested in.
So the TEAC is quick-ish?
Which boxes are slow?
What would you consider to be a quick speed?

Do standard HD STB (non-PVR) have any network connections if so what do achieve?

Any STBs have the 5 RCA Y/Pb/Pr + HD / VD SYNC outputs?

Cheers,
RB

Probably better off visiting a few stores at this point Bogus and coming back with a few specific model queries. But on those queries, no STB don't have network connections (why would they?), and anything under 1 second would be considered a quick channel change. Note that it may or may not be the same for all boxess but you can usually rapidly flick up/down channels and until you stop hitting the delay doesn't kick in. So you can go from ch2 to ch10 in 3? quick taps and then get a 1 second delay for the picture to resolve.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

PS Just to clarify for JSmith, No one doubts the better PQ of HiDef, Its just that HiDef PVRs are (for one reason or another) not an option at the moment for most people. As such it comes down to a choice between HiDef PQ v PVR functionality. For my part I'll go the later anyday. Not that you need a PVR Bogus so a HiDef STB is definately recommended.

Right-o.

I had a quick look in JB and DSE (plus a few other shops) and saw a TEAC a Samsung (was still boxed up though) and some others that I don't think I would be interested in.
I didn't get to see an LG maybe on my next scoutting mission.

One thing that puzzled me was a USB connection on the TEAC. What's that for?

Probably for firmware uploads.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

This is not only for firmware updates, but can also be used to view JPEG files and I think listen to MP3's also... I have the TEAC DVB-800, and it's been a great box, in fact at one point for a while after it was released it was considered amongst some here to have the best PQ via DVI on alot of panels, and a great PQ via VGA. It's always been stable for me, and beta firmware updates have been regularly released via the teac website and this forum to change certain features based on customer requests, so there's plenty of support. I don't think the new 820 model has the VGA output from what I remember seeing at the shops, possibly mistaken though as it has it on the specs on the website, but I believe it's still a very good STB. You want to make sure that whatever box you get, that it has a button on the remote, rather than a switch to change resolutions and change output modes. Also that it can output HD and SD simultaneously for recording purposes, of course reasonable channel changing speed (which the Teac is fine here, especially after firmware update), and excellent PQ... The TEAC is one that will fulfill these criteria, as will a few others.

Actually can someone who has the 820 confirm whether it has the VGA output?

JSmith :ph34r:

I don't exactly have one, but I checked the TEAC site and they say the 820 does NOT have VGA out.

On that note, is there anything better about the 820 when compared to the 800?

My Toshiba S23 was painfully slow. The S25 replacement is a bit quicker, but still slow.

Ive seen cheap boxs change really fast though i think they were SD and not HD.

So is there a speed difference by default for HD vs SD?

The DVB 820 will output RGB (VGA), or Digital via the DVI port. It also has composite and component out ports. It has both signal strength and signal quality indicators for channels in setup mode whereas the 800 only had strength and provides Picture in Picture (PIP) for a multichannel stream (i.e it would show abc abc2 and abc HD on screen simultaneously).

Bryan

wasn't the PIP button disabled on the 800?

JSmith :ph34r: