Anyways I thought I do a short review on the OLIN DVBT-2000. It arrived today (took 4 days to come from crazystu which was pretty good). The unit isn’t a bad looker and has HDMI. I connected it to a 42” 720p LCD screen via hdmi and am giving it a whirl. Took me a while to work out how to change HD modes (they are the up and down arrows under the PR- button). I think stu’s story is pretty true because the software version was mid-December 07 and hardware was 1.0. So it must be a replacement for the 1000. The only other thing would be the remote takes AAA batteries in lieu of the AA’s described on the site.


Specs
MPEG-2 Digital & fully DVB-T Compliant

Built in Realtek powerful single chip HD processor RTD2881

Video Formats MP@HL / MP@ML

Aspect Ratio 4:3, 16:9

Stores up to 4000 programs

Picture Resolution 720 × 576i, 720 x 576p,1280 x 720p, 1920 x 1080i

Digital Audio support with AC3

SD Output Connector： Composite RCA，S-Video - Mini DIN

HD Output Connector：HDMI Component Y/Pb/Pr –RCA

On Screen Display with multi-language

Full Electronic Program Guide (EPG) support

Software upgrade through PC or over the air

Autmatic on/off by timer

OSD Teletext (DVB compliant) and subtitle support

Picture in Picture (PIP) support

Parental control for channels




The Good

- Reasonable quality finish (dosen’t make your setup look to amateur)

- Good looking IR remote that is reasonably powerful (you don’t need to put on scope on it to change channels)

- Fairly strong receiver (10% signal strength improvement than my omni go 80gb)

- Seems to run pretty cool (not hot)

- EPG can be set up for your state correctly (if you are in QLD shows won’t be an hour out)

- I’ve got a silver TV and the box suits it

- Channel changes are pretty fluid (not much delay at all between pressing the button and viewing the channel



The Bad

- Not an RF remote (radio frequency - like point anywhere) / remote not programable (can't turn the TV on/off via the STB remote)

- PIP implementation is pretty poor (but what do you expect for $99)

- No USB port for firmware updates



The Ugly

- The ½ second audio initialization noise it sometimes makes just after the splash screen on startup while not extremely loud can be best described as similar to the flight recording found aboard the Event Horizon (if you haven’t seen the movie all hell is breaking loose).



Anyways I still think it is a pretty good deal for the $99 as it has no real big faults so far.

Can you elaborate what does it mean?

And any delay when you switch between channels?

I am also considering buying one online!!

I was just about to ask you if you were having any trouble with 1080i, until I read this part of your post. Fooled me too - although it is in the manual. I saw 1080i come up in the description when I used a HD channel and assumed it was using that resolution, couldnt figure out why the projector was saying 576 still.

Apart from that - I've had no hassles with the unit - its a bargain for the price.

Yeah fully, I was getting pretty pissed of about it its is in the manual but info is pretty sparce. Anyways I betcha heaps would be fooled.

Sorry forgot about that its alll good channel change delay is pretty short I reckon. Its an Infra-Red remote (like nearly all cheap STB's) so you have to point and shoot and its a pretty good one all things considered. An RF one can usually be pointed anywhere and still control the unit, but the disadvange of those is if you break the remote you need to replace it with manufacturers remote (cant use cheapy all-in-one).

You really had trouble finding the 1080? That was about the first button I found. I had trouble working out the subtitle button. It doesn't say what colour in the manual.

Have you tried setting a reminder and does it work for you? Also, I don't get the buzzing on start up but I do get small white lines between the picture and the black bars on 9HD.

I dont get the buzzing either, and didnt notice any lines on the picture (only briefly looked at 9HD). So far all the stb has been showing is tennis (and those court lines look a lot straighter in 720p/1080i).

I have also noted the squashed picture on a normal TV, particularly on SD channels. I have not been able to organise (move) the channels. They move in the menu optionbut don't stay moved. They quickly revert back to the scanned order. Any one elso have this problem.

Peter

Hi, im thinking about grabbing this box. I was hoping someone could just confirm my antenna choice for brisbane city. I would like to access all the major channels in digital. ABC, SBS, 7, 9, 10.


As far as I can tell, the Digital channels in bris come under band 3 and 4+ so >> http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=35047 >> Shows the Spectramax SMX14B+ as a good reception choice.

I found the antenna's at this site for $102 >> http://www.mats-systems.com.au/ant.html or for the SMX24B4+ for $163?

Is the extra $63 for more gain worth it?

Hi.

(1) I'm getting a slightly vertically stretched picture (long faces and bodies) since adding an Olin Dvbt 2000 stb on SD and HD to a widescreen CRT TV. Can't figure out how to fix it.

(2) I have no idea how to set the channel numbers. My unit appears to have automatically set itself to the old VHF channel numbers used here.

Other than that we are now getting perfect reception with no interference on all channels (still using our original 15 year old VHF/UHF antenna rig).

1: Yeah I get this as well on my 4:3 TV. I found that selecting letterbox via the STB setup menu corrected this stretching issue via the black letterbox borders. However for some reason the letterbox only becomes active on HDTV channels and returns to full stretched screen on regular digital channels?

2: I only got the box tonight so haven't looked at this yet

Further to this I've just received an e-mail reply from Linophir advising me that this issue would indicate a faulty unit and to return the unit...I wonder if this is the case as it seems more like a firmware bug than a hardware fault....I hope I don't return it and receive another with the same issue?

Any other owners have this same issue before I return the unit?

I have had mine for a week now and using a Teac CRT widescreen. I haven't had any major issues with the picture, only issue I'm having is the HD audio is slighly lower on the HD channels. Other than that I'm still playing.

Yes, I'm finding the audio is slightly lower on the HD channels as well.

Looks as though I'll have contact the supplier about the stretched picture.

Hi All

I am here to inform you guys, the channel stretching and move channel problem has been fixed, If you have an RS232 Cable then i can email you the firmware update, else please contact our office, if you would like to have us fix the problem, by sending the unit back to us.

BTW I am the Product Manager at Linophir International.

Once again i am truly sorry about the problems caused.

Cheers

EDIT: To Save Time, you can find the firmware + update tool here:
http://www.linstore.com.au/s_cust_care.php

**Please note, you will only be able to use this update if you have an RS323 Cable, if you don't have an RS323 cable, then please contact our office.

Hi Yifu,

Thanks for the update! I haven't returned my unit as I thought it would be solved via firmware. I've replied back to the e-mail I received from Jye if you can reply with the firmware and instructions would be great!

What is the difference between this unit and the HVBT2000? is it just an error with some of the retailers naming scheme?

Am looking at getting the HVBT2000 from Anyware for $91

Yes its just a renaming difference

Thought I'd just update on my comments above, got my updated firmware from Linophir and this has corrected my letterbox issue! Really stoked at the after-purchase support considering it's a $99 machine!

Anyone know where i can get one of these today, in the Berwick area??

Installed the firmware and it does get rid of the black bars for the main programs on most channels. I was hoping that it would crop and centre and not just stretch the widescreen.

Thank you for the replies

I will look into this, and produce another firmware with the engineers soon. Sorry about the issues caused.

Hi SLE 355. I don't know about in the Berwick area, but inandout.com.au are selling them for $94 + 9.50 P&P Australia wide! Bought one myself on Thursday 28/2 and waiting for delivery. Seeing as Stu's out of stock I thought this was a good price - MitreBin

Let us know how long it takes to get your unit.

Hi Stu, I think you may know something that I don't! As of this morning, 7 days later, still no sign of the box, site shows my order "Processing" - MitreBin

UPDATE: Michael at In and Out emailed me that "His supplier is not expecting stock until the end of the month" !!
What's your supply like (Crazy) Stu? - MitreBin

I bought my Olin unit today from WoW here in Cairns. So far so good, it is a big improvement on my old Kross SD STB. I have seen none of the problems described by others, I connected up the HDMI interface and it works like a dream. The teletext is a bit hit & miss, the unit finds it hard to lock on to the right page. Other than that I would recommend it to others.
I think they should have a warning sign on it telling people to rip the plastic protection off the unit. It could easily overheat if this was left on. It covers all the ventilation holes.

Is this the new black model Zedder?

No it isn't, but it visually suits my LCD screen which has a silver finish.

I finally got an RS232 cable ($10 on ebay - $3 for the cable + $7 postage).

I did the firmware update yesterday. Surprised myself how easy it is to do. So far everything is working great.

Haven't tried teletext, don't use it.

wow are selling these for $150

Pity there's no WOW within 7 hrs of me

Hi All,

The new model has landed with firmware upgrade included

www.crazystu.com.au

CrazyStu Your mate Michael at InandOut could not come up with the goods, eventually gave me a refund - MitreBin

I got mine in the mail a couple of days ago from CrazyStu.

Its a solid product with better software then I thought it would come with.

Found all the channels in my area (arnd 20) quite quickly, and that was on my old crappy antenna setup from like 20yrs ago. Mostly the signal is 100% only having small issues with SBS HD. I think a new antenna would fix this.

The only issue I have had, is when I just select up thru the channels, sometimes the unit turns off and then back on. However I can avoid this by directly selecting channels, or looking in the channel list and selecting from there. Also its fine once on a channel.

Im using the Optical out with HDMI and there seems to be a small lag for the sound on Optical when compared to HDMI. this isnt really issue tho.

All in all a good buy.

EDIT: Anyone have any ideas about SBS? Its says 80+% Strength but the signal Quality jumps up and down and the channel freezes?

Don't forget to upgrade the cable and connectors as well if you change the antenna.

My DVBT 2000 has gone back to some of its old bad habits even though I installed the patch. The picture is still slightly stretched vertically. I borrowed a Kmart $50 MTV from a friend and it produces a more proportionate picture.

Just a quick note the HVBT-2000B is the latest HD 1080i HDMI model including the latest March 2008 firmware. DVBT which I think Ozymozzy refers to is Standard Defintion. All the new

HD models are badged HVBT not DVBT. DVBT is not High Definition hence his incorrect comparison to MTV $50 STB.

The customer who wrote in with the review was explaining that he had a good experience with the "NEW" model. Thanks for the feedback!!

Best Regards STU

www.crazystu.com.au

If you require any further assistance in relation to this post email admin@crazystu.com.au

I received my 2000B on Friday and it looks very nice. Runs much cooler than the DSE G7659 I had. I think it melted its own insides, it got that hot.
Just a query on set up, it won't allow me to select 1080i or p (whatever i and p means). Is it something to do with whether I'm using RCA or Component(Y/Pb/Pr) connections?

Hi, Thanks for the feedback What sort of TV are connecting the STB to?

If its the older style CRT type TV the resolution will be similar to what your used to with the added benefit of
receiving all the new free to air HD channels and extra content. No extra cabling would be required in this instance unless
your TV supports component. Component video cables are the highest-quality analogue cables. They will also carry high-definition
or standard-definition signals for those of you who have LCD or Plasma without HDMI or DVI connections.

If your TV is digital, (ie. LCD or Plasma) then it really depends on the connections available.
If this is the case I recommend that you check the manual or the back of your TV to see if it supports HDMI
or DVI. The advantage is a lossless connectivity. Digital STB through digital cable to digital Set Top Box
Meaning that the signal from STB to TV is maintained digitally throughout.

If you plug a STB into a digital TV with a/v cables. Digital STB through analogue cable to digital Set Top Box
The signal has been degraded by the the analogue cable as the signal is converted to analogue then back to digital.

There is a lot of debate regarding the major advantages regarding digital cables as to whether they will
produce a better picture or not. I would agree to a certain point that the difference is not major but the
concept that you have spent $1000+ on the new TV and stop short of decent cables is also valid.
The advantage with digital cabling I see, aside from picture quality difference, is the shear throughput of data
digital cables provide. This in itself will aid in the speed of extra features such as picture in picture.
HD TV is fairly new to the Australian market, with new features being added all the time a forward thinking approach to
cabling will be advantageous.

In the end the TV really sets the resolution. If its digital 720i/p then there is no advantage trying to access
the higher resolution 1080i as the TV is not capable of the higher resolution. The only advantage here would be the
digital cable.

If I can assist further regarding this post please email or contact CrazyStu 0288170162

Best Regards,

Stu

www.crazystu.com.au
admin@crazystu.com.au

Thanks for the prompt reply. The TV is a Daewoo LCD.
On another subject does this STB allow viewing via an analogue signal?

Hi,

Yes you can view all the HD channels available in your area via RCA you just won't get the

higher resolution available on a digital TV. Have you checked the connections available on your TV?

Thanks Stu

www.crazystu.com.au

admin@crazystu.com.au

Thanks again. The full specs are: 37" Daewoo LCD Digital TV HD Panel Resolution -1366 X 768 HD Aspect Ratio -16 : 9 Luminance -500 Cd/_ Contrast Ratio 4000 : 1 View Angle 178(H), 178(V) Output Dimension -576(H) X 324(V) Active Area 698(H) X 392(V) Common Interface HDMI
I'm currently connected with RCA(red white yellow) cables from the STB into a panasonic DVR. Antenna in to the STB and out to the DVR then off to the TV.
When I select 1080 on the STB the screen goes black with the words "please select 567i"

Also the old STB allowed viewing through an analogue channel. 69 I think it was. Which channel is factory set for the 2000?
Sorry for being such a nuisance.

Without knowing this unit in depth (however I'm looking at purchasing), your problem appears to be that you're connected via Composite connections which only allow resolution of 576i on this HD STB.
So connect to your LCD via Component or HDMI and you'll be able to watch HD in 1080i or 720p (your choice) as your TV will support both as it's a 1366x768.

Anyone who owns a TV with your resolution should not be using any cables under Component quality, upgrade them now!!!

I think the fact that you are plugging your STB into a DVD recorder via RCA is the problem.

Your DVD recorder does not support HDMI or DVI, does your TV?

I would run the STB to TV direct if it does.

Stu

www.crazystu.com.au

admin@crazystu.com.au

I'm looking closely at this HD STB due to it's price point, can anyone else comment on just how good the PQ is, compared with the more expensive units.
Also have all of the previous problems been fixed with the latest firmware updates?
Someone else posted that this Olin model is similar to the Healing HHT891 http://australiandigitaltv.com/healing/hea...itionHHT891.htm
is it just looks or does this model compare on a technical level also, some of the specs look different as I can see?

The one that comes from CrazyStu is shipped with the latest software, so at $125 and $15 delivery ($140) and 2 years warranty, is it a bargain or better to spend some extra $$$'s for a better model.

Visually the Olin and Healing seem the same, I noticed that some time ago when they Olin were showing up on Ebay, they probably come out of the same huge factory in China, but it's possible they are built to slightly different spec and run different firmware?.

I'll look into upgrading cables.
Thanks to all.

So to sum up, is the Olin worth it?, and where is the cheapest price fully shipped currently?.

I just struck out with a $50 digital pc card, my pc can't cut it for HDTV content, so now to watch the MotoGP coverage sooner, I need a HDTV box.

Has anyone else with this Olin model noticed that the STB switches off/on while changing up through the channels, like what has happened to Furious?

I just purchased this HD STB from CrazyStu and after I received the shipping email, I went to check my item on the website to find the price had dropped some more...

So I paid $125 (all up $150 - with insured delivery)

The new price for this STB is $123 delivered. Can't get much better than that, I'll post my feedback once I receive and get time to play with the settings.