Digital TV via VAST receiver

[dmdigital]

Earlier this week I bit the bullet and ordered a VAST approved satellite receiver. As of 15-Dec-10 the VAST (Viewer Access Satellite Television) went live and Regional NT fell in the applicable regions. The Government then allows for free access to the digital TV SD and HD broadcasts.

Whilst no eligible for a rebate I could purchase and register a (read THE) VAST approved receiver and since we have an unused Austar dish on the roof I didn't need anything else.

So once I received it and registered the serial numbers I now have what must be every occurrence of ABC and SBS posible, 7, 9, 10, ONE, GO, 7MATE, 7TWO, GEM, Imparja, SCTV and a few others. I don't yet have a full HD TV but I am receiving full HD broadcast signals.

Will be interesting to see how badly the wet season weather affects the signal, but can't be worse than what happens to rebroadcast analogue in town also originating from satellite.

The only downside is you can't record on this receiver as there is no PVR version approved yet. I could plug it in to my HDD/DVD recorder via component/SPDIF and do it that way but at this stage can't be bothered.

Anyway if anyone else is thinking of one, I can say it works well. Oh and my remote control count in the living room has now hit 10! OK I could reduce it to one but I can't be bothered.

[Disco44]

Earlier this week I bit the bullet and ordered a VAST approved satellite receiver. As of 15-Dec-10 the VAST (Viewer Access Satellite Television) went live and Regional NT fell in the applicable regions. The Government then allows for free access to the digital TV SD and HD broadcasts.

Whilst no eligible for a rebate I could purchase and register a (read THE) VAST approved receiver and since we have an unused Austar dish on the roof I didn't need anything else.

So once I received it and registered the serial numbers I now have what must be every occurrence of ABC and SBS posible, 7, 9, 10, ONE, GO, 7MATE, 7TWO, GEM, Imparja, SCTV and a few others. I don't yet have a full HD TV but I am receiving full HD broadcast signals.

Will be interesting to see how badly the wet season weather affects the signal, but can't be worse than what happens to rebroadcast analogue in town also originating from satellite.

The only downside is you can't record on this receiver as there is no PVR version approved yet. I could plug it in to my HDD/DVD recorder via component/SPDIF and do it that way but at this stage can't be bothered.

Anyway if anyone else is thinking of one, I can say it works well. Oh and my remote control count in the living room has now hit 10! OK I could reduce it to one but I can't be bothered.

Sounds great..how much did all this cost to set up?

[dmdigital]

$279 is the price of the receiver + postage (in my case). Seems everyone has to sell it at the same price. The unit is a UEC DSD 4121, VAST Approved.

[Narangga]

Does that come of C1 like Austar Derek?

[dmdigital]

Yes it does. Was a little worried about the LNB on the dish but needed have been, all worked as it should.

[Narangga]

Yes it does. Was a little worried about the LNB on the dish but needed have been, all worked as it should.

Makes me feel unwanted. :(

[rick130]

Bump.

Apparently you can get a UEC VAST receiver with PVR now.
About $60 more than a standard VAST receiver. ($329)

I'll be ordering one soon. (maybe even today)

BTW, anyone know what's the deal with LNB's being five years or older possibly needing replacement ?
Ours is closer to ten :eek:

[dmdigital]

Ooh ... PVR! have to check that out!

The LNB's seem to be hit or miss. Mine is over 7 years old and trouble free but I know a few others who have had to replace them and in some cases they have been under 5 years of age.

[horaceOz]

Can anyone buy these or is it only for people in poor reception areas.
I was thinking it would be good to install in the Landy for long trips away.

[Disco_owner]

Can anyone buy these or is it only for people in poor reception areas.
I was thinking it would be good to install in the Landy for long trips away.

If you do happen to install a Dish with an LNB on you caravan or camper , my understanding is everytime you move you need to retune your dish once you have become static , you'll need a satellite tuner/finder . they are not expensive but it is a pain. as for the system Derek is talking about , I think you only need them if your Antenna Signal is non existant and you can't Pick up digital TV , so that's where the Satellite dish comes in handy with UEC VAST receiver. That's my understanding .

[rick130]

Can anyone buy these or is it only for people in poor reception areas.
I was thinking it would be good to install in the Landy for long trips away.


Travellers can access the VAST service. In this case, a temporary certificate is issued. This certificate lasts 6 months and can be renewed an infinite number of times.

MySatTV (http://www.mysattv.com.au/travellers.aspx)

[Ranga]

Can you only get the FTA channels for your region, or all of Oz? Eg in Brisbane could I watch Melbourne channels (would be great for footy!).

Sent from the dodgy keyboard on my phone via Tapatalk

[rick130]

Can you only get the FTA channels for your region, or all of Oz? Eg in Brisbane could I watch Melbourne channels (would be great for footy!).

Sent from the dodgy keyboard on my phone via Tapatalk

AFAIK, no, only your local commercial channels plus Imparja and Southern Cross Seven for the Eastern states (Don't have it yet, we are still on the Aurora system, I've been hanging out for another decoder company to throw their hat into the ring with a VAST decoder, but it doesn't look like anyone else is interested)

With Aurora, we can access every state ABC and SBS which is great when you miss a program, but the only commercial channels are Imparja and Southern Cross 7, which are both 1 hr behind for us daylight saving states.