Thread: Set Top Box - Waste of Money

My Dad has a house in a low reception rural area. We bought a set top box and instantly he had better tv than me and I live in Brisbane

till it rains.....

they are better in low reception areas in good weather, thats for sure...

Also, in our case we got an extra 3 TV channels that you can't get on regular TV here. ABC2, SBS2 and 10.

Improved our reception out of sight, mainly for one bad chanel, but the extra chanels are nice.

Agree that digital tuners should be the standard on all new TVs and DVD recorders.

Advantages of digital :
1. clearer reception in marginal areas - and less susceptible to interference in any area.
2. 16:9 widescreen format ( analogue is only 4:3)
3. extra channels and hopefully more will become available.
4. High Definition ( if you have a HD STB and TV.)
5. Better sound

I think it is worth it for the 50-100 bucks you spend on a STB these days.
If you can afford one with a Hard Disk in it, it opens up a whole new world ( 40-60 hours of recording, time shift etc etc )

Originally Posted by waynep

Agree that digital tuners should be the standard on all new TVs and DVD recorders.

Advantages of digital :
1. clearer reception in marginal areas - and less susceptible to interference in any area.
2. 16:9 widescreen format ( analogue is only 4:3)
3. extra channels and hopefully more will become available.
4. High Definition ( if you have a HD STB and TV.)
5. Better sound

I think it is worth it for the 50-100 bucks you spend on a STB these days.
If you can afford one with a Hard Disk in it, it opens up a whole new world ( 40-60 hours of recording, time shift etc etc )

The biggest plus for us are the online program guides..

Originally Posted by garrycol

I bought a set top box yesterday - a cheapy so that I could get rid of some buzzing in the sound of the ABC caused by nearby wires. Worked for this fine - but if you already have good reception I don't see what the advantage - mine was a cheapy and worked for what I bought it for but I could not see me spending hundreds of $$ for one of these for no real improvement in quality.

I know we will have to change over at some time but is it really worth it. As well my set top box is only the size of a fag packet so there is no reason why it could not be built into every panel making them TVs.

Waste of money in my view.

Gazzz

Nearly 3 years ago we bought a Strong 5390. It's a standard definition digital receiver with a 80gb hard disk.

It has completely revolutionised out TV viewing. The real killer apps for this type of device are...

1. WWWIIIDDDEEESSSCCCRRREEEEEENNN
2. ultra convenient recording - timeslipping means you watch your programs when it's convenient.
3. Extra channels.. we get a lot of use out of ABC2.
4. Perfect reception... always.

Yep... we use it ALL the time and would have trouble living without it A little while ago we thought it was broken and the family went troppo at the thought of being without it for a week.

Just yesterday we bought a DVD recorder. This now means we've got the one weakness with these devices covered... that is the ability to move stuff off the hard disk and keep it.

The first manufacturer to combine a set top box with a hard disk, and a dvd recorder won't be able to build enough of them. We will buy again when they do a HD receiver with the blue ray writers

snip....

Originally Posted by Captain_Rightfoot

The first manufacturer to combine a set top box with a hard disk, and a dvd recorder won't be able to build enough of them. We will buy again when they do a HD receiver with the blue ray writers

Its here now. Dirt cheap. Do a search on TV tuners for laptops. No card anymore, just straight into the USB port. HD, too.

When you search the bit torrent sites, theres an awful lot of TV prograames being recorded.. These laptop tuners have the software..

If you have a spare laptop, the only real cost is a decent screen. Much cheaper & more versatile than a dedicated digital TV.

Regards
Max P

Originally Posted by Tusker

snip....

Its here now. Dirt cheap. Do a search on TV tuners for laptops. No card anymore, just straight into the USB port. HD, too.

When you search the bit torrent sites, theres an awful lot of TV prograames being recorded.. These laptop tuners have the software..

If you have a spare laptop, the only real cost is a decent screen. Much cheaper & more versatile than a dedicated digital TV.

Regards
Max P

I agree enough with an ounce of intellegence could and should build themselves a media centre. If you've got the cash and no time buy a microsoft one but it wont be as good.