which freeview i should go for? Satellite or UHF aerial

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › which freeview i should go for? Satellite or UHF aerial

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8261 posts

Uber Geek

#248649 19-Aug-2009 14:13

bitem:
Regs: if you dont already have a UHF aerial installed.... you could try getting one through prime for $145. I rang an aeral installer who quoted me over $200 for an install. Check the www.primetv.co.nz website and hit the "tune in" link for details.

I called Prime yesterday, and they took my details and got a return called from SKY TV regarding my request for the UHF installation, the SKY lady said they dunt do UHF anymore! :(

Yip, and Sky will shut its UHF service by the middle of 2010.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/television-industry/news/article.cfm?c_id=260&objectid=10583747

bitem

23 posts

Geek

#248677 19-Aug-2009 16:48

I understand the price of the HDD DTR Receiver quite high and not much choice at the moment. I think i will not go for HDD DTR Receiver now.

But even the DTR Receiver got alot of choices, can you guys recommand any good value one??
Whats the diffrence between cheap one and expensive one?
eg. DSE HD DVB-T Freeview Receiver (G7503) and
SatMax SM801 etc.

Thank you!!

jonathan18

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#248761 19-Aug-2009 19:30

If you want a HD box that can record (by adding an external hard drive), why not check out the Vantage or JC Matthews (think that's the brand) box? These options are considerably cheaper than the dual tuner models such as the Zinwell or the new Panasonic models; alternatively, there is a Hyundai which has 2 tuners - one using UHF, the other satelite.

I also suggest you do a bit more trolling through this forum and others such as http://forum.dtvforum.co.nz/ and www.audioenz.co.nz - you'll find that most questions you want answers to have already been asked and answered elsewhere! This includes consideration of the various STBs out there, including comprehensive information on those that have PVR features.

Regs

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Snowflake

#248764 19-Aug-2009 19:37

bitem: I understand the price of the HDD DTR Receiver quite high and not much choice at the moment. I think i will not go for HDD DTR Receiver now.

But even the DTR Receiver got alot of choices, can you guys recommand any good value one??
Whats the diffrence between cheap one and expensive one?
eg. DSE HD DVB-T Freeview Receiver (G7503) and
SatMax SM801 etc.

Thank you!!

if you dont go for an HDD one, try and get a USB one - that way you can plug in a usb memory stick or hard drive later on o record stuff to.

there are a bunch of threads on geekzone discussing different boxes - one that comes to mind is the thread on the extraterrestrial box here http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=83&topicid=24705 and another on the JCMatthew box here: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=83&topicid=33518

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bitem

23 posts

Geek

#248865 20-Aug-2009 00:18

Ok, sorry i am quite new to those things. I will try to search more of this forum to get some answers..
Thks!

Athlonite

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#248867 20-Aug-2009 00:28

don't forget to tell the chap that not all content on the UHF free view service is in HD format where in NZ are you Bitem if its the hawkes bay i can do the job i used to install sky for a living back when all there was was the UHF service it isn't hard

bitem

23 posts

Geek

#249250 21-Aug-2009 00:18

Athlonite: don't forget to tell the chap that not all content on the UHF free view service is in HD format where in NZ are you Bitem if its the hawkes bay i can do the job i used to install sky for a living back when all there was was the UHF service it isn't hard

Thanks for the offering, but I am living in Chch. Already get a company to do it tomorrow, they charge me $200.

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

bitem

23 posts

Geek

#249255 21-Aug-2009 03:16

So i did some searching in the forum, and I find out the Vantage and JC Matthew are two better ones.

since some of the posts are bit old, so just need some updates on the two stbs.

eg: Is the Vantage one still doesnt have 8 day EPG for a PVR?
Is the JCMathew box lower-specked for reception tolerance? ect...

or is there any other new models better than those two??

butlerboy

457 posts

Ultimate Geek

#249293 21-Aug-2009 08:35

hey bitem, who are you using to put up your aerial? let me know if they're any good as i'm gonna sort freeview out for my mum shortly.

bitem

23 posts

Geek

#249394 21-Aug-2009 12:45

butlerboy: hey bitem, who are you using to put up your aerial? let me know if they're any good as i'm gonna sort freeview out for my mum shortly.

I use Aerial & Satellite Installations Ltd (ASI)
Phone: 03 366 6443
021 369 230

The price they charge i think its also depands on the where you living, and how big is the job. I am living in Sydenham, Chch, so when icalled 1st time, they quote around $200 for me, and it is $200 they charged this morning, and i think they did a good job.

Talk to them 1st and get the quote, or you can try some other installers, there s plenty.
http://www.freeviewnz.tv/index.php/products/retailersandinstallers/
or try the Yellowpage..

Hope you can find someone good and cheap!

allan

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#249459 21-Aug-2009 15:36

bitem: Is the Vantage one still doesnt have 8 day EPG for a PVR?

Correct, although in fact I have found this to be far less of an issue than I thought it would be. In all other respects, the Vantage is great value for money.

JordantheNerd

62 posts

Master Geek

#249617 22-Aug-2009 10:57

Go for Freeview|HD if you can. Costs a little extra, but the HD is worth it. When we first setup our satellite it was so tricky, then Freeview|HD came along, and it is much easier.

EDIT: As for a tuner, I went for the DSE Set Top Box for $250. There is also the $200 Sanyo one at the Warehouse, but I was not sure if it came with an HDMi cable, so I went with the DSE.

Jaxson

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#249999 24-Aug-2009 09:04

I'm using sat freeview at the moment whilst I wait for the Sony PlayTV update to arrive. The picture on the sat service frequently goes to big 1cm squares when there's fast movement on the screen. If you can get the uhf HD service, then do it!

I would honestly say that there's no point paying any more for a full HD 1080 TV if you don't have either freeview HD or a bluray player.

Regs

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Snowflake

#250140 24-Aug-2009 16:40

Jaxson: I'm using sat freeview at the moment whilst I wait for the Sony PlayTV update to arrive. The picture on the sat service frequently goes to big 1cm squares when there's fast movement on the screen. If you can get the uhf HD service, then do it!

I would honestly say that there's no point paying any more for a full HD 1080 TV if you don't have either freeview HD or a bluray player.

I have just the DVB-S SD Freeview and i can't say i've ever notices 1cm square pixellation problems. I have a perfectly aligned 60cm dish - perhaps your dish/alignment needs looking at?

I was especially happy with the widescreen rugby on Prime on sat night. Yay for having digital prime, finally. the analog tuner in my 42" plasma is finally redundant! Can't say i remember any "fast moving" picture problems there...

I also have the HD SBS channel coming in and when the HD content is on, there is an obvious improvement over the SD channels, but not so much improvement that i'd bother laying out $500+ for installing UHF antenna and DVB-T equipment.

OT: w00t, 1000 posts!

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Jaxson

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#250589 26-Aug-2009 08:59

No it's the encoding of some content/channels on freeview. I have SBS tuned in as well and even the SD channel looked very good during the ashes cricket test by comparison to freeview. Some channels do this and some don't. I think it's just the bitrate of some of the freeview channels.

I have an 80cm dish so signal/quality is not a problem. The quality in comparison to DVB-T has been discussed here quite a bit, especially after TV1 was broadcast 5 times simultaneously etc. If you're in a reliable DVB-T area, and have a decent sized TV, go that way in my opinion.

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