---

Can anyone recommend a Freeview STB?

Needs 1 scart output with RGB and if possible Y/C option.
No need for modulator but uhf loop though to pass sky on E21 to tv.
No need for hd or recording.

No Philips though as I've had 3 x DTR320/05 die in 30 months, real poor
kit. Don't think I'll ever buy anything Philips ever again.


TIA.


Cheers,

Bob.

--
Bob Latham
Stourbridge, West Midlands

On Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 17:18:56 +0100, Bob Latham asked:

Can anyone recommend a Freeview STB?

http://www.tvonics.COM/

Remember, it is not just the box, it is the ease of use of the
remote control.

Of course, you really should be considering buying a box with
DVB-s2/MPEG-4 capabilities so if you could just wait a little
longer until the price drops to a sensible level ...

---

In article ,
J G Miller wrote:
On Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 17:18:56 +0100, Bob Latham asked:

Can anyone recommend a Freeview STB?

http://www.tvonics.COM/

Thanks for the suggestion.

I looked at their kit today but was dismayed to see no indication of UHF
output (loop through) to TV for the 240 or 100 model. I gave them a call
and was told they didn't have UHF loop though. Unless of course you can
tell me different.

Remember, it is not just the box, it is the ease of use of the
remote control.

True.

Of course, you really should be considering buying a box with
DVB-s2/MPEG-4 capabilities so if you could just wait a little
longer until the price drops to a sensible level ...

Maybe, but this is to work with a 12 year old Toshiba glass bottle telly.


Cheers,

Bob.

--
Bob Latham
Stourbridge, West Midlands

On Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:52:12 +0100, Bob Latham wrote:

I gave them a call and was told they didn't have UHF loop though.
Unless of course you can tell me different.

Sorry, no. Rather than loop through the box, could you not use
a splitter?

Maybe, but this is to work with a 12 year old Toshiba glass bottle
telly.

I think you could still notice "blockiness" due to inadequate bit rates
on ITV-1 for fast moving scenes in soccer games.

The price is now down to GBP 65.00 for a Bush HD box with loop through

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5321564/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|144 19512/c_2/3|15701169|Digital+boxes+and+services|14419633/c_3/4|cat_14419633|Freesat+digital+set+top+boxes|14419 634.htm?_$ja=tsid:11527%7Ccc:%7Cprd:5321564%7Ccat: home+entertainment+%3E+digital+boxes+and+services+ %3E+freesat+digital+set+top+boxes

and this is actually cheaper than the GBP 70 being asked for
a Humax F2-FoxT DVB-t/MPEG-2 only standard definition box
still apparently available at

http://www.idtv.co.UK/BuySTBDetail.php?ID=25

And you would get the extra program choice of BBC HD, as compared
to simulcasts of ITV-1/ITV-1 HD, S4C/S4C Clirlun or C4/C4HD.

Thus if you can afford the extra 30.00 for an HD box over an
obsolete SD box, it would be worth the investment for the time
when other multiplexes are converted from DVB-t to DVB-t2.

---

In article ,
J G Miller wrote:
On Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:52:12 +0100, Bob Latham wrote:

I gave them a call and was told they didn't have UHF loop though.
Unless of course you can tell me different.

Sorry, no. Rather than loop through the box, could you not use
a splitter?

I notice the MDR-250 is available for a limited period which has a UHF
modulator. I've never seen any STBs with UHF out that didn't have UHF pass
though, has anyone else? Anything wrong with the 250 I should know about?
At £35 it looks the ticket

[Snip]

Thus if you can afford the extra 30.00 for an HD box over an
obsolete SD box, it would be worth the investment for the time
when other multiplexes are converted from DVB-t to DVB-t2.

Your is very valid but I'm saving for something else ATM and I can't run
to that much.

Cheers,

Bob.

--
Bob Latham
Stourbridge, West Midlands

On Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 19:10:52h +0100, Bob Latham wrote:

I've never seen any STBs with UHF out that didn't have UHF
pass though, has anyone else?

I was under the impression that a digital converter box either had
a UHF modulator out or a loop through but not both.

Maybe I have always had a false impression?

Anything wrong with the 250 I should know about?

Well a web search is what you should do, and here are some links you
should check on the MDR-250 before making your purchase.

http://www.reghardware.COM/2009/04/20/review_set_top_box_freeview_tvonics_mdr_250/

http://www.techradar.COM/reviews/audio-visual/digital-tv-receivers/tvonics-mdr-250-594160/review

http://www.trustedreviews.COm/home-cinema/review/2008/09/27/TVonics-MDR-250-Freeview-Receiver/p1

Remember, if you cannot be bothered to read all the pages, just go to the
end of the review and read the conclusions and summary of "good points"
and "bad points"

Here is one bad point, but it may not be relevant to your needs

QUOTE
On the downside, the MDR-250 only offers RGB output from one of its
SCART sockets, with the other supplying just composite pictures.
If this second SCART (labelled ‘VCR’) is hooked up to a DVD or
DVD/HDD recorder with RGB input, you won’t be able to record
Freeview in the best possible quality unless you swap over the
SCART cables, which is a bit of a nuisance.
UNQUOTE

At £35 it looks the ticket

Yes that is a good price, for a decent box, and with a good quality
remote that is easy to use.

Your is very valid but I'm saving for something else ATM and I can't run
to that much.

You could always wait until the price of the DVB-s2/MPEG-4 boxes
to drop further, but maybe you are desperate for a digital coverter
box right now?

J G Miller wrote:
On Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 19:10:52h +0100, Bob Latham wrote:

I've never seen any STBs with UHF out that didn't have UHF
pass though, has anyone else?

I was under the impression that a digital converter box either had
a UHF modulator out or a loop through but not both.


No, AFAIK all of them had loop through, just a few had a modulator aswell.

Only the the really basic scart sized adaptors didn't have loop through,
but they are, by definition, NOT set top boxes.

--
Tony

On Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:51:48 +0100, Tony wrote:

No, AFAIK all of them had loop through, just a few had a modulator
aswell.

Thanks for the correction.

Checking the description of the Humax F2FoxT it does say it has both
a UHF modulator and loop through.

"J G Miller" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:51:48 +0100, Tony wrote:

No, AFAIK all of them had loop through, just a few had a modulator
aswell.

Thanks for the correction.

Checking the description of the Humax F2FoxT it does say it has both
a UHF modulator and loop through.

Indeed - if you need a modulated UHF output, the Humax is one of the few. I
liked the old Sagems until my neighbours ended up with a "brick" because the
auto-update was switched off and they missed a key update. Sagem didn't
retransmit it and they claim there is no other way to update their boxes (I
don't believe them as I found an active serial port wired into the SCART
socket!).

Paul DS

Paul D Smith wrote:
"J G Miller" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:51:48 +0100, Tony wrote:

No, AFAIK all of them had loop through, just a few had a modulator
aswell.

Thanks for the correction.

Checking the description of the Humax F2FoxT it does say it has both
a UHF modulator and loop through.

Indeed - if you need a modulated UHF output, the Humax is one of the
few. I liked the old Sagems until my neighbours ended up with a "brick"
because the auto-update was switched off and they missed a key update.
Sagem didn't retransmit it and they claim there is no other way to
update their boxes (I don't believe them as I found an active serial
port wired into the SCART socket!).

Paul DS

We may have visited this before, but most boxes have a TTL serial output
for debug purposes, some by scart some from the board. Disappointingly
field update is not a priority for many, and the boxes simply do not
have the code to do it (it is not a hardware function).

Unlike VCR/TV micro code, RTOS programmers have always lived on Windows
PCs and they mostly assume that there is always someone there to
authorise the OAD and that it is their right to do so. Much in same
way they put in multiple levels of confusing menus and 'are you sure'
confirmations. These assumptions are of course incorrect, many people
are simply not there or do not use the box when the OAD is broadcast, or
do not understand what it is. Companies should be minimising
liabilities and using unattended updates (as is in the DTG
recommendations) with roll back redundancy and so on, but then what do I
know, my requests tend to delay production and increase development
costs? Now is more important than the future for most companies.

There is usually another way to update the box but it requires expensive
JTAG programmers (£1000+) with the complex hardware setup config files
(memory timing/configuration/memory map etc).

--
Tony