Dazed & confused with the tv in Devonport

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Wellygoggles

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#8349 22-Jun-2006 20:44

OK Mrs Average here in Devonport so be kind please :)
The previous owner left us with a satellite dish and an old decoder which allows us to view TV1 only; TV2 and 3 are all snow and we cant even get Prime. Do we (1) buy a modern decoder which hopefully with at least give us TV1, 2 and 3? (2) Against our principals, pay Sky megga bucks and buy their services in order to see the free channels?, or (3) use Amex points and purchase a Sony RDR-HXD710 DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Drive and FREEVIEW (what the hell is Freeview?) in the hope it will record the fuzzy channels and play them back clear as crystal? Help pls chaps and chappettes

Frankei

66 posts

Master Geek

#39389 22-Jun-2006 21:28

Freeview is going to be the new free to air digital tv service, however not available to the public untill next year I beleive

Announced on the 15th of June http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3701530a10,00.html

What does it say on the front of the decoder?

I would say that they are both for Sky TV

I would also say that your aerial is crappy and you need to get a new one to fix the problem however this may not be cheap nor a wise move in the long run; see Free to air Digital TV ~ next year

Sky TV isnt all that expensive either; $99 setup, $47 per month and you get

BBC World, SKY News Australia New Zealand, CNN, the Weather Channel
National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, The History Channel
SKY 1, UKTV
Disney Channel, Playhouse Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network
Juice TV, J2, C4, E!, The Living Channel, Food TV, Maori TV
ESPN, TAB Trackside, [b]TV1, TV2, TV3, , Prime,[/b] CCTV-9, Southland TV, Shine TV

Then you pay more for Sky Sport, Rugby Channel etc etc

If I was you I would get Sky untill Freeview comes around

A little more info on FTA Digital

Terrestrial, which is Via UHF aerial has been around for the last few years however only TV1, TV2, CCTV? and a random Widescreen chanel are available
I think that this is still going now but I havent used it in months my self

Hope that helps, if not hit us up again

ljbade

100 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#39413 23-Jun-2006 08:43

You can already get TV1, TV2, and Maori via satalite for free, (part of the early Freeview setup).
Search google for free satalite in New Zealan, theres a website that sell Freeview decoders over the internet.

lokinz

298 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#39416 23-Jun-2006 09:27

There is also the option of getting TV1, 2, 3, C4, Prime and Maori TV through sky for arround $18 p/m.

sbiddle

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#39418 23-Jun-2006 10:09

DVB-T (Digital terrestrial) has already been available in Auckland for around a year. I don't know what channel lineup is currently available but I think it's onlh TV1, TV2 and a TVNZ test channel. I have heard whispers that some of the other freeview channels may appear on this before the end of the year and that DVB-T could also be in Wgtn before Xmas as well.

cyril7

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#39423 23-Jun-2006 10:33

Currently the Widescreen test channel is running continuous reruns of various StarGate episodes, in Widescreen naturally.

Cyril

psychrn

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#39425 23-Jun-2006 10:43

The DVd recorder is an excellent one for sure, but it will not improve on a signal comming in. Crappy signal comming in crappy recording. So buying this wont help in this regard.!!

Id do what someone else suggested -look at the antenna 1st. Im no expert either but signal amplifiers can be insertd if your path is obstructed by buildings and if you are down a gully for instance.
yes and have a look around for the free satelite services you can get now-but you would need to research the dish reuirements for the service and get an appropriate decoder as prev mentioned

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cyril7

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#39443 23-Jun-2006 12:15

The new freeview satellite service will require the same dish requirments as the current Sky/TVNZ transponders, that being a 65cm or larger dish pointed at B1. A standard LNB covering 12.2-12.75GHz with a LO of 11.3GHz will be fine, however incase you want the dish to be fully usefull on the future extended band services for Sky then it should have coverage of 11.7-12.75GHz with a 10.7GHz LO.

TVNZ has no intention of using the extended band below 12.2GHz, only Sky have dabs on that.

Cyril

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Frankei

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Master Geek

#39452 23-Jun-2006 15:26

But unless you want to have Sky or Sky HD in the future theres no point getting a dish

Just get a UHF Aerial installed by Tisco and source a DVB-T Decoder and use the current TVNZ test that will give you mint TV 1 and 2 atleast and more and more chanels over time will be on that

cyril7

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#39453 23-Jun-2006 15:38

The original post says that there is a dish already in place.

Cyril

Frankei

66 posts

Master Geek

#39469 23-Jun-2006 19:19

Yeah thats true, I dont think that the DVB-S is encrypted on sky so you could go with that however its still a $99 install regardles if you have a dish and/or decoder with Sky unless you know what you are doing ;)

The only think I see wrong with Satellite over Terestrial is rain fade, fixed with a larger dish but ohwell nothing is perfect

If you choose to get a new UHF Aerial I can lend you a DBV-T decoder untill it goes 'public'

tonyz

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#40223 30-Jun-2006 15:45

New Zealand FreeView Shop

http://www.freeviewshop.co.nz

lokinz

298 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#40261 1-Jul-2006 10:58

tonyz: New Zealand FreeView Shop

http://www.freeviewshop.co.nz

Is it worth getting one now or waiting for the "FreeView-certified" ones?

cyril7

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#40272 1-Jul-2006 14:24

Any FTA STB will work with TVNZ's upcoming service, but you will need to scan and tune in the channels your self, you may not get all the EPG features and interactive features may not work.

My understanding is that TVNZ will specify a STB that will support firmware that they will install (over air if not preinstalled by the importer/factory) into the STB's, they may also require that MPEG5 is supported for interactive features (no confirmation on this just best guessing).

There are only 5-6 chipsets around from manufactures such as SGSThompson, Fujitsu, IBM, Philips, Conexant and Broadcom. Outside this lot theres not a lot, All the worlds manufactures produce STB's based on these, most are designed around standard application note setups, so for example one chinese manufactures Thompson based STB will run the same code as anothers Thompson chipset STB.

My guess is that FreeView will state that they will supply/support firmware for two or three of these, the firmware they provide will give a more integrated EPG, have transponders/muxs preloaded, and support interactive applications (presumably via mpeg5).
They may also spec a minimum interconnection standard (hopefully including component video even if via SCART).

If you should buy a STB not on TVNZ's spec sheet then it will still work, but you will need to tune in the channels yourself, the EPG may be a little more basic, and interactive features may not work.

My 10c.

Cyril