eXtra Terrestrial HD Receiver

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › eXtra Terrestrial HD Receiver - experiences

lchiu7

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#35817 15-Jun-2009 19:17

Just got one of these on Trademe for well less than $200

http://www.satlinknz.co.nz/receivers.html

Comes with HDMI and component output. It was pretty much and play for me and found all the OTA stations. I got it mainly not for HD but for the Freeview UHF stations that are not on the DVB-S platform. But did try out the HD side on my 56" TV and it looked fine. Wanted to see if the AC-3 came through via S/PDIF but when I tried TV3 was not broadcasting any HD content and we know the situation with TVNZ :-(

Only complaint so far and it could be a battery issue but the remote signal is very weak. When I learnt the remote with a universal the STB responded much better. And a strange thing is, if you tell the unit to output digital audio over HDMI it downmixes all audio to stereo so if you want 5.1 you have to use both HDMI and S/PDIF which is a bit annoying (well it is for me since all my HD sources use HDMI for audio also)

Recommended.

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System Two: Oppo BDP-80 BluRay Player with hardware mode to be region free, Vivitek HD1080P 1080P DLP projector with 100" screen, Denon AVRS730H 7.2 Channel Dolby Atmos/DTS-X AV Receiver, Samsung 4K player, Google Chromecast, Odroid C2 running Kodi and Plex

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mentalinc

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#225355 15-Jun-2009 19:43

umm no its not.... http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=83&TopicId=24705&page_no=81

basically 81 pages of complaints.

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lchiu7

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#225398 15-Jun-2009 22:12

OK - I have read a bit of that thread. Most folks seems to be complaining about the PVR functionality or lack of it. Hey for < $200 I have a unit that tuned into all the FTA channels first up, provides a decent picture over HDMI (though I am using it over composite at the moment :-) since all I wanted was to have Freeview in another room). What else can you ask for?

Component is nice but the TV I am using it with only has s-video and composite. HDMI worked out of the box with no problems - haven't checked S/PDIF audio yet and don't care about PVR functionality since I achieve that now with gbpvr and a Hauppauge DVB-T tuner.

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jonathan18

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#225463 16-Jun-2009 08:09

lchiu7: OK - I have read a bit of that thread.

Maybe there's your problem? I suggest you go read a bit more of the thread to get a proper idea.

lchiu7: Most folks seems to be complaining about the PVR functionality or lack of it.

Umm, no, it extends a bit beyond this! Pixelation problems, issues with one or both audio outs not working properly, rebooting, a dodgy seller apparently attempting to bypass the requirements of the CGA... just a few of the issues that spring to mind. I'm sure others can add to this list.

I'm kind of astounded that anyone would purchase this product after reading even part of the thread, let alone recommend it to others. I certainly ruled out purchasing this unit having read the thread - esp. considering there are other units without these problems, are well-priced, have functioning PVR features, and well supported by their seller (eg the Vantage).

lchiu7

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#225489 16-Jun-2009 09:04

I didn't know about the thread. I just bought it and it worked and reported that. Perhaps if I had read it I might have had some second thoughts but I guess for what I wanted, it works and works fine. Of course if it crashes and dies in the next few months I might have regrets :-(

Can I also suggest that those users who have more demanding requirements thatn I do (this is just a backup Freeview box for me) that they read the thread and make their own determinations. I just didn't want to spend $300-$400 for box

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Jaxson

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#225518 16-Jun-2009 10:11

lchiu7: Wanted to see if the AC-3 came through via S/PDIF but when I tried TV3 was not broadcasting any HD content and we know the situation with TVNZ :-(

TV3 has a constant Dolby Digital soundtrack, so you can still select this with the audio button to test on any program. You might need to ensure you select AC3 output from the setup menu. But yes, you'll need to wait till some program has proper 5.1 output to really test this. There's usually one program on TV3 per night that has this.

lchiu7: And a strange thing is, if you tell the unit to output digital audio over HDMI it downmixes all audio to stereo so if you want 5.1 you have to use both HDMI and S/PDIF which is a bit annoying (well it is for me since all my HD sources use HDMI for audio also)

Sorry but you'll find this is pretty much standard. (Correct me please if I'm wrong, I'd like to know too). Basically no units output the Dolby Digital AC3 over the hdmi connection which is just plain unfortunate. In most cases this is ok, but you do need a receiver with assignable inputs so you can select hdmi for video and coax/optical for audio.

If you can not achieve this with your receiver you will need to select component video output for the video which always works with a different audio sorce. The ET box does not have the component video handicapped to 576 resolution so this solution works fine, unlike the approved boxes.

jonathan18

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#225527 16-Jun-2009 10:41

Jaxson: Sorry but you'll find this is pretty much standard. (Correct me please if I'm wrong, I'd like to know too). Basically no units output the Dolby Digital AC3 over the hdmi connection which is just plain unfortunate. In most cases this is ok, but you do need a receiver with assignable inputs so you can select hdmi for video and coax/optical for audio.

An exception to this is the Vantage - I have only an HDMI connection between this and my receiver, and can select Doby Digital no problems (though, unless the broadcast is in full 5.1, I have it defaulted to the other format, as I truly dislike dialogue coming through only the front speakers).

lchiu7

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#225533 16-Jun-2009 10:51

The strange thing is, the unit downmixes the 5.1 to stereo and outputs it as PCM over HDMI. My receiver can handle PCM up to 192Khz over HDMI (I input Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master output from the PS3 as multi channel PCM) so multichannel PCM would have been fine.

As I noted I am not using this unit regularly as a HD Receiver so that's not quite an issue for me. I use it to receive Freeview in the bedroom which only has a 24" tube TV but does has a UHF antenna connection.

I might check the AC-3 over S/PDIF over the weekend but it will require getting behind equipment again

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Jaxson

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#225540 16-Jun-2009 11:12

jonathan18:
Jaxson: Sorry but you'll find this is pretty much standard. (Correct me please if I'm wrong, I'd like to know too). Basically no units output the Dolby Digital AC3 over the hdmi connection which is just plain unfortunate. In most cases this is ok, but you do need a receiver with assignable inputs so you can select hdmi for video and coax/optical for audio.

An exception to this is the Vantage - I have only an HDMI connection between this and my receiver, and can select Doby Digital no problems (though, unless the broadcast is in full 5.1, I have it defaulted to the other format, as I truly dislike dialogue coming through only the front speakers).

Cool, thanks for that, good to know.

Yeah I have the same Oknyo as you lchiu7 and have my PS3 hooked up via hdmi to give all the new bluray hd audio soundtracks. Would be cool if the unit did DD AC3 over hdmi but it's not too difficult to assign video to hdmi and audio to coax/optical on the onkyo so that's ok now for me too.

shane54

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#225710 16-Jun-2009 22:17

I just purchased one extra terrestrial and it is totally crap . The dolby digital works fine but I must confess, that I cant use the component out and TV1 and TV2 have a terrible pic. I can see some lines and no high resolution .

U dont have support for it , the person who should provide it is totally impolite and just dont care about the relation between customer and company .

richms

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#225723 16-Jun-2009 23:12

downconverting is difficult - I tried a zinwell last xmas - and between the crap remote and the lousy picture in 576i out of it I got rid of it - not seen any of the HD boxes do 576i output on TV3 anywhere near as good as what I get off DVB-S (less the pixelation you get now) - 1 and 2 seemed to come out a little better but there was still some aliasing over it which sucked - may have being that it was set to letterbox, I never tried it in center cut - dont even know if they can do it.

Richard rich.ms

shane54

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#225732 17-Jun-2009 02:09

If for example I buy a cable hdmi to component ,will the problems of pixelation(lines) on tv1 and tv2 finish?

Jaxson

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#225755 17-Jun-2009 09:19

shane54: If for example I buy a cable hdmi to component ,will the problems of pixelation(lines) on tv1 and tv2 finish?

No such thing really sorry, totally different signal formats, one is analogue and one is digital.
What have you set your box output to? Is it on auto or is it set to a fixed resolution. Auto should just pass on whatever the broadcast resolution is to your TV.

shane54

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#225799 17-Jun-2009 12:35

I've tried the 4 options( 576.720 and 1080 ) and still problems on TV1 and tv2 . I also tried to connect via component but the component out doesnt work .
I have a blue-ray dvd connect to the same tv and I have no problems even when I select the high-resolution .
how about stratos channels , is it not avaliable ? Because I can see the guide but only a black screen .

lchiu7

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#225817 17-Jun-2009 13:26

I did a quick check on the HD capability of these devices, connecting the HDMI output of the set to my TV. At the time the only channels broadcasting in HD were TV2 (Private Practice?) and the HD Demo loop. Both looked as good as they do when I record the channels using a DVB-T tuner and playback using a Popcorn Hour.

Initially I set the output to be auto but I would get annoying flashes on my TV as it switched from 720p to 1080i from TVNZ to TV3. I decided to leave the box to always output 1080i and couldn't see much difference if any between 720p converted to 1080i via the box and the same conversion taking place in the TV.

I didn't check component - I don't use component at all now since the cabling is so messy

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bazzer

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#226875 19-Jun-2009 22:02

My unit is not too bad. You might've gotten lucky with yours too. Mine has a few issues, but I've learnt to live with it since none of the resellers seem to want to know about it anymore...

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