dw9

Bought a Dick Smith "Two-Way Right Angle Splitter" for $8 No mention of the attenuation on the pack, but the Hdium scanned 26 channels when plugged into it, and SBS is no longer flaky. Problem solved

Thanks for the replies people. It has finally dawned on me that the Hotchip (VERY appropriate name btw) STB is redundant now, so I removed that from the loop. The Hdium then scanned 26 channels instead of 12. I think a few of the SBS channels are still a bit borderline, so will probably give the splitter a try.

I have my outside aerial shared passing through multiple boxes: first to a Hotchip ODT-4000HD, then a Topfield TF5000PVRt, then a Hdium Duo (ie Himedia HD500B), and finally to a Panasonic THP50G10A TV. All the boxes receive all local digital channels in Adelaide except the Hdium, which receives neither ABC nor SBS. If I plug the aerial into the Hdium first, then the Topfield doesn't get all channels. I'm thinking of trying a splitter to feed the Hdium separately, as all the other boxes had good reception previously, but am wondering whether the splitter will attenuate the signaland cause problems of its own. Has anyone encountered similar problems? Any suggestions on how to improve reception (preferably without adding an amp)?

It sounds pretty good. Have you updated the firmware yet? If so what site have you used? I'm a little puzzled why its sometimes bundled with a wireless-N dongle although its ethernet port is only claimed to be 10/100 I haven't seen any claims as to its wireless speed

Thanks for the reply Maken. Where did you buy your unit, and how much did you pay? Did yours come with a wireless dongle and a built in bittorrent client? Can you watch Youtube directly on yours?

aha. Thanks for that. it's quite a while since I have been on here, so was surprised how quiet things were compared with before. Sounds like a similar fate to a CCTV forum I belong to! I think you're right about bittorrent performance on media players: most people seem to say you shouldn't play and download at the same time, although I wouldn't see that limitation as being much of a problem. At least the downloads are right next to the TV.

I'm surprised there seems to be a complete lack of interest in this product. Is there any other media player that people on here use that has a bittorrent client?

It does seem cheap. But the 110D doesn't support an internal drive does it? Seems strange to bundle a hard drive with it EDIT: woops, it says "external hard drive" further down. I only noticed the reference to "Plus ISO-282 500G Hard Drive"

I have been looking for a new 1080p media player to replace my MG450HD as that plays a limited range of formats (which doesn't include mkv and other HD). This one has caught my eye: http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info.ph...d-media-player/ The HD300A appears to have a very good range of supported formats, comes (sometimes) with a wireless-N dongle, and also appears to support youtube and other online sources. It is also sold under the model number E65 (manufacturer unknown), and has a very strong support community in Singapore with regular firmware updates (see http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2595553 and http://www.playsmartsg.biz/supportdownload.htm) It is based on the Realtek 1073DD chip, which appears to support "Fast Ethernet MAC & PHY" (see http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/product...amp;ProdID=238) although I haven't found any 1073DD based players that offer 10/1000. It's available in Australia, and the cheapest I have seen it is $150 on Ebay ( http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HD300A-1080P-H-264-...t_12875wt_1165) Has anyone got one of these? Any thoughts on how it compares with the Astone and Asus models that are so popular on here? It seems to be rather better optioned than many others. EDIT: Oh yeah, the HD300A also seems to have a working bittorrent client. Combined with an internal drive, who needs to worry about streaming over the network?

thanks for that feedback, I was considering that one but won't bother now

sorry, not in the open forum. I have since found out the salesman won't repeat the deal, probably got a boot from management for it. and noone else locally is willing to match the price. yet

Sounds like the bargains have been a bit thin lately! I picked up a TF5000 masterpiece demo model last month in Adelaide for $200, but it seems most retailers are sticking close to the $399 online price

Oh yeah, for anyone still looking: I discovered today that Big W have DivX (not certified though) DVD players on sale at the moment for $70. They have a USB and SD card slot, and analogue 5.1 out

Thanks koaz, it seems like smart advice, although i had already unpacked and installed it. i'm unsure whether the Good Guys have a generous return policy. it sure seems the Pio have exactly what i would have wanted, i just was completely unaware that the recent players don't seem to have analogue audio out. Peter2000, I don't have a "receiver" atm, I have been using an old Big W analogue 5.1 surround sound system I guess my dilemma has given me a new insight into what the current range of receivers can do! I'm currently browsing a Dick Smith TEAC unit for $399 that will take all (currently unused) coax/optical digital outputs and presumably do it rather better than my current analogue/RCA setup. Just wasn't an anticipated expense

Well I decided to spend the extra $50 and got a DVP5980K including HDMI cable for $135 at The Good Guys. Seems well thought of in a seperate thread: http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=50842 [EDIT} a bit more research would have been in order: 1. I thought I had an HDMI input, but it turned out to be DVI, so now will need a converter cable. 2. Closer inspection of the player *before* I bought it would have shown that it doesn't have the four analogue audio outputs that I had previously. Looks like more expenditure may be needed!

unfortunately it's region 4 only

I couldn't see how to edit my orginal post, but here's more about the MTV4070: It's currently on special (at my local store anyway) for $89 HOWEVER the box gives no indication that it's a multi region player, and the customer support line weren't sure either!

Thanks people, all good feedback!

My old player is dying so i'm hunting for a replacement DivX DVD player. I'd prefer one that I could buy from a store in Adelaide, although the thread by maximux_minimus talks about bargains on the net. The only units I have found to date are an MTV4070 ($99 from Coles) with USB and HDMI and a similarly featured Highlander DVX-5850 from Strathfield at the same price. There is also another Highlander at Strathfield for $79 (no HDMI or USB). Does anyone have any comments about the relative merits of these units? or have suggestions for other units? Thanks

Wow, thanks adamjp mine is still ok for the moment, but that info is great!

Well my ODT-4000HD is currently 18 months old. A couple of times in the last year I have had a circuit breaker blow, and suspect the Hotchip is the cause. When I switch the power back on, it takes its time to recover. Today was the worst so far, when it was powered on I could hear a faint clicking and the "init" flashed very faintly. But after leaving it for an hour or so the "init" grew to full brightness and stopped flashing, so I switched it off/on again. Was rewarded with a normal screen with channel name, time etc but complaining of inadequate signal strength. Cycled the power one more time and *presto*, I am in business. I wonder how much longer it will last....