Hi Members, can some-one please tell me where I can buy a AUSID stb in Melbourne. I don't see them advertised anywhere. Many thanks. Skippa

Theres two people adverstising on this very forum!

Wouldn't mind knowing the answer to that myself . . .

If you miss out on one of the 2nd hand ones for sale on this forum, Retravision in Brighton have traditionally been the best place in Melbourne to get them at a reasonable price (in the low to mid $400's)

Hi Foghorn17, many thanks for your info.

Cheers ......... Skippa

No longer being produced, so unless there are a few in the retail chain your best bet is second hand.

Or wait until Fujitsu get another HD STB to go with their plasmas.

Is the AUSID HD-D1 still the best in terms of PQ?

This is a very subjective question. I would definitely say that it is one of the best in terms of PQ, but many have fallen out of love with it because of its not too flashy User Interface and universal remote programming issues. Many of the detractors of the AUSID on these forums have not even laid eyes on it.

If you have a Fujitsu panel, and you want an integrated TV solution (i.e. one remote to control both devices) then I would definitely have the AUSID at the top of my list. If you want a STB with fantastic component output so you can leave the HDMI input spare for a DVD player, then I would definitely recommend the AUSID.

I was lucky enough to get one for my parents, @390. It is paired with a HD Panasonnic CRT. The box is so good that it really shows up the imperfections on a bad transmission.... I like it.

That's a familiar trait with lots of people that bag products.

It was only ever one of the best as Foggy puts it. The force/strong/teac all performed equally as well over DVI with displays other than the Fujitsu.

It was a great box but not the ONLY box.

It doesn't even have DVI (let alone HDMI).

Why on earth you would want to buy a antiquated unit such as this is beyond me.

The reason they don't make it any more is because it is obsolete technology - don't believe anyhting the biased "Club Fuji" cheer squad will tell you.

I have had an Ausid running on various displays (none of which are a Fuji) and have not found a box with a better picture yet (have tried hotchip, strong & teac boxes incidentally aswell as viewing others across many stores).

I like the fact that it produces a superb picture without using (my one and only) HDMI connections!

Doug - have you tried one of these or seen one in store?

As with everything though comes back to what my eyes prefer! Each to their own

Doug, your complete ignorance is shown by your first statement. Why on earth would you want the complexities of HDCP if you can get just as good or better picture from a component connection. If you think about it, buying a STB with a top quality component output is the best future proofing that you can do, because it leaves your panel's HDMI connection free for when you're forced to buy a HDMI DVD player to get HD DVD.

If you had actually seen an AUSID, you would immediately notice that it is a fine piece of Australian engineering, and not some mass-produced piece of chinese junk.

...and as for you previous posts attacking the AUSID which I've ignored until now, you are way off when you say it's $1000, people are buying it for around $400 which is a lot cheaper than some of Korean/Chinese HD boxes that people are buying.

I don't know what your agenda is, but for pete's sake, at least back it up with some fact.

Hi All

Where can I buy an AUSID HD-D1 STB in and around Sydney?

Are prices simialr to that in Melbourne?

Anyone using them with the Harmony remotes?

Cheers

Doug your like a good fart you just linger on.
Ive given you a challenge every time youve canned the Ausid "beat the Ausid PQ and Ill buy you that box for free"
Prove me wrong or just shut the F@#k Up with your stupid innuendos !

Rob, about 6 months ago Retravision Balgowlah was the best place to go.

I use mine with a H880 remote, but you need to purchase the optional IR extender directly from AUSID (about $80). I don't think anyone has successfully managed to get the H880 to turn the AUSID on and off, so many have done as I have and just chosen to leave it running all the time.

Thanks for the info mrfreeze .... much appreciated.

Well I've never had/even seen one, bit I'm sad that a good oz product is no longer being made.

That said, am I the only one that thinks it's a bit strange to have digital stb connected to a digital display using analogue connections. That is you have a digital signal convert it to analogue to send it over component and then convert it back to digital again to display it.

The point being all these posts about the stb's pq are subjective because in the finish it all depends on the quality of the displays decoder. The waveformkid's post made sense cos it's connected to a crt and therefore shows what a good stb it is.

It's sad news indeed that the AUSID STB is ceasing production. I wanted to be sure that this was true, so I called the designer and company owner and had a chat to him about it.

There are a number of interesting things that came out of the conversation, firstly the feral government's refusal to legislate to force standards compliance for the DTV broadcasts makes it very challenging for STB designers (particularly HD). The standard is in place, but the broadcasters only conform if it's convenient for them.

The AUSID was designed to a strict specification supplied by Fujitsu, whilst I didn't get into too much detail about this spec, I suspect that the output from the AUSID is optimised to the requirements of the AVM chipset.

The decision to cease production was made by Fujitsu, as the cost of manufacture for the AUSID's higher quality BoM was not compercially viable against the cheap Chinese and Korean imports i.e. Cost of manufacture was getting too close to the selling price.

This is a shame, as AUSID had plans for a followup product that would have been a killer... think dual HD tuner with PVR, digital output DVI/HDMI (and possibly SDI), multiple hard drive capability, Ethernet connection, Web server to allow PVR management via a browser.

Yeah I knew about this 6 months ago but some how I knew it would be canned.
Its a real shame could you imagine what the picture quality would have looked like through HDMI !
Hey Foggy do you realize that we really are yesterdays heros!
Both our panels and stb are no longer available in Australia.

Yeah, but the biggest shame is that what they have been replaced with is a backward step, our limited edition products must surely now be considered as collectors items.

Back onto the AUSID, I will definitely be holding onto it for a long time to come. I don't know of any other STB (HD or SD) that has such great PQ via component... this will become very important to many people who don't want their STB to use up the one and only HDMI/DVI connection on their display, and don't want to be forced into buying a new HDMI switching AVR.

Well I have to say I am proud to be one of the elite few.
Happy to sell my combo - for $10K and no less

I have not tried another STB myself, but in saying that, no need to.
Happy with the PQ and my harmony 880 works most of the time too !