Aloysius Posted June 23, 2008 Posted June 23, 2008 Hi I am going to NZ (Dunedin) in August for my Father in Laws birthday (90) I have heard about digital finally making it there- yes I have looked at the Freeview site etc - they will have coverage. Advice required : Are integrated DTV's available in NZ to recieve the signal, or do I have to get a set top box and a new display? The set is to be a birthday present. Thanx in advance.
Mining Man Posted June 23, 2008 Posted June 23, 2008 (edited) They weren't any a month ago, and I doubt that has changed. The terrestrial HD service hasn't been launched for long: maybe a few months. You'll be impressed with how slick the DTV implementation is in NZ, Aloy. Fully populated 7 day EPG that is accurate to about a minute or two, almost no overrun or underrun on programming and much shorter lag time between US and NZ scheduling. I knew I'd miss at least one thing... Edited June 24, 2008 by Mining Man
alanh Posted June 24, 2008 Posted June 24, 2008 Aloysius, Firstly go to the Freeview site an click on "Check coverage in your area". You will need the full address to find out if you need a satellite receiver or a UHF antenna and a DTV-T set top box. Unless you are close to the transmitter, the receiver is unlikely to work without a UHF antenna. Satellite will also require a dish. Click on the retailer directory and type in Dunedin for a list of retailers to choose from. Do not buy a STB here, it will not work in NZ. AlanH
Aloysius Posted June 24, 2008 Author Posted June 24, 2008 Aloysius,Firstly go to the Freeview site an click on "Check coverage in your area". You will need the full address to find out if you need a satellite receiver or a UHF antenna and a DTV-T set top box. Unless you are close to the transmitter, the receiver is unlikely to work without a UHF antenna. Satellite will also require a dish. Click on the retailer directory and type in Dunedin for a list of retailers to choose from. Do not buy a STB here, it will not work in NZ. AlanH Thanx AlanH / MM! Yes, they already have a UHF antenna from an earlier visit, and get reasonable reception. Freeview site is quite good and I have checked reception on there too. As for contacting local retailers - already underway - I guess my biggest unknown was: Do they sell integrated LCD tv's with a tuner that accepts the freeview signal. No doubt their response will enlighten me. If not I guess I will have to get a set top box too. It's not about dollars, it's about getting the simplest setup for a somewhat senior person
cyril Posted June 25, 2008 Posted June 25, 2008 Hi Aloysuis, the first integrated sets will be the new V4000 and W4000 sonys, that will appear early July, I understand Panasonic and several other suppliers are about to release integrated sets. Personally I would go with a seperate STB, there are now 3-4 options, the Zinwell (also sold as DSE brand), Draco, Topfield, and Coships(sold under various names). Boxs in general are around $400-$500. Cyril
Aloysius Posted June 25, 2008 Author Posted June 25, 2008 Hi Aloysuis, the first integrated sets will be the new V4000 and W4000 sonys, that will appear early July, I understand Panasonic and several other suppliers are about to release integrated sets.Personally I would go with a seperate STB, there are now 3-4 options, the Zinwell (also sold as DSE brand), Draco, Topfield, and Coships(sold under various names). Boxs in general are around $400-$500. Cyril Thanx Cyril - Since it will be August when we go over I would be best to wait until then to consider the options.
cyril Posted June 26, 2008 Posted June 26, 2008 Hi, sorry for the delay in getting back the site seems to have been down, this is the link from SonyNZ with prices. Cheers Cyril
ginger_eejit Posted June 26, 2008 Posted June 26, 2008 Will Australian USB PC Digital Receivers work with Freeview?
cyril Posted June 26, 2008 Posted June 26, 2008 Will Australian USB PC Digital Receivers work with Freeview? Pretty much yes they will work, but be warned you need good horse power to decode MPEG4 AVC, its not like MPEG4 off internet files, also there is the issue of AAC+ HE decoders, this has caused a few issues for HTPC owners. That said pretty much any USB DVB-T tuner will work, between the USB tuner and the PC only transport streams are shifted, so no problems there, the issues come about when you try to decode AVC (Layer10) MPEG4, make sure you have onboard decoding and plenty of mips to spare. Many have found a STB is far easier, its in a different class to mpeg2. Cyril
Aloysius Posted June 27, 2008 Author Posted June 27, 2008 Hi, sorry for the delay in getting back the site seems to have been down, this is the link from SonyNZ with prices.Cheers Cyril Merci Cyril - very helpful -= you may appreciate that two remotes for an oldie would be an issue! By August maybe Panasonic will have something similar too.
cyril Posted June 27, 2008 Posted June 27, 2008 By August maybe Panasonic will have something similar too Yes I hope so, I think both Pana and Royal Dutch Philips have been reported to say they have been caugth with their pants down on this one, so expect to catch up soon. iDTVs with HDmpeg4AVC/HE-AAC is a spec most suppliers have had to rollout fresh, with only us and Norway using that level of box, but with more countries about to start mpeg4HD the number of iDTVs should grow pretty quick. Cyril
Guest FreeView NZ Posted July 12, 2008 Posted July 12, 2008 The NZ version of the STRONG SRT5440 has surfaced too
lennonnz Posted July 12, 2008 Posted July 12, 2008 The NZ version of the STRONG SRT5440 has surfaced too Yes there are a number of new set top boxes for DVB-T which have just come on the market (apart from the freeview certified zinwell box), but I would wait until they have been tested in the market. One does not have MHEG5 (NZ DVT-B doesn' t have full EIT only now,next) and softwaeremay be buggy on a lot of them I have seem on the reports of ppl using them
Guest FreeView NZ Posted July 14, 2008 Posted July 14, 2008 There seems to be 5 boxes so far I guess there will be more to come , once the importers and manufacturers figure out Mpeg4 H.264 and Mheg5 is what they need .
paulw2 Posted July 16, 2008 Posted July 16, 2008 There seems to be 5 boxes so far I guess there will be more to come , once the importers and manufacturers figure out Mpeg4 H.264 and Mheg5 is what they need . I just got a Draco 3900 yesterday. Works well and does HD on component as well as HDMI..
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