Howdy Guys,

I have just decided that I'm going to purchase the Panasonic TH-50PV500A 50" plasma TV, I have been browsing the HD STB forum but I really am no closer to deciding what I should be going for.

Is there a decent HD STB for anything up to say $500 that would be good with this TV?
A couple of options would be good in case the place selling the TV doesn't have one brand. I wanted to try and combine them to see what sort of deal I can get.

I seem to be reading about certain STB's having problems like the sound going in and out and channels not coming up when first selected, people are posting that these problems are easily fixed by changing channels and then going back, personally I don't want to have to worry about that sort of dicking around, if I need to pay a bit more to aviod that then please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

I've got the Toshiba hd stb s25. It should do the job.
Don't know what the current prices are, might be a bit above $500.

BUMP.

Anybody else got some suggestions, thanks.

Hi,

I and many others on this forum have the TEAC DVB-800/820 and have found both to be good STB's with most displays, in fact a few issues that the 800 had the 820 doesn;t from what I hear. It has component and DVI out, and the DVI on the 820 can be used for a VGA (D-SUB) connection, whereas the 800 had a an actual D-SUB connection. I really thought anything TEAC would be that great, however their STB's seem to be the exception. It is about $350 - $400 depening on where you go, but there are quite a few boxes just below/above this price. Whatever you get, you want one with a DVI or HDMI connection for your panel, one that you can change resolutions and outputs from the remote, and does SD and HD simultaneously via the composite and s-video outputs for possible recording options.

JSmith :ph34r:

Hi MC,

Per the following priorities:

1. Reliability
2. Picture quality and colours
3. Time taken to change channels
4. Price (less than $500)
5. Component, DVI or HDMI

Try the following:

1. Strong 5400 (just over $500 street price)
2. LG 5100 ($420 - $450 street price and has component and DVI options)

both are very compatible with the Pana, and a lot of Pana owners have one or the other. I have the LG and have only had a very slight issue on 2 occassions, ie picture froze & pixellated, but sound was OK. Happened months ago, and not since.

Apparently the Strong is better for a digital connection. I haven't tried DVI with the LG, but some say the picture shifts by about an inch. Scary thought.

Finally, other good boxes are the AUSID (more so for a Fujitsu panel), the Teac 820, and the Humax 7000. Can't go wrong with any of these 5 boxes. I didn't mind the Thomson either.

Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, etc also make STB's, but in theory, because you make a good TV, doesn't mean you make good STB's. Not that they are bad, just that you are getting a better product with the above options.

Best thing is to go to a store and try them out. Have fun.

I have the same set (50" Panasonic).

Am currently only using a SD STB via S-Video (even that's good!) on it so will be looking for a HD STB soon. Saw one in Tandy for $348 ticket price with good outputs (including DVI). It was a DSE one and looked allright. Seemed reasonably well made but they only had it hooked up to a tiny LCD screen.

Anyone have one of these and your opinion/s?

Also are there any other HD STB's with Hard Drive (other than the Toshiba) in Australia?

Cheers,

Timbo.

Hi,

Currently using the Digitalview DVH-505. Not had it long, but the picture is excellent and the Aussie-fied remote is very convenient (it has individually-labelled buttons for the five major networks). Very reliable by all accounts and runs very cool - the coolest I've encountered yet. Has DVI and component both scaling to the resolution you select (576p, 720p or 1080i). Australian designed. Nice OSD and responsive.

Only drawback is that they're sold only through specialty retailers.

More info here: http://www.digitalview.com.au/

I agree with everything you said, except the specialty retailer thing!