DVB-T in Australia?

[zehd]

Hey guys, How much ($AUS) is a dvt-b card? And how big is the antenna? Do you use standard coax from the antenna?

The reason I'm asking, is even though I was a cable guy and became a phone guy, and I'm very good at hiding cables and wires, I will be renting a townhouse and I know that I will have a resistant landlord.

Anyone close to Gold Coast?

Cheers

[rusconi]

Hey Zehd,

Here is a link to how much a DVB-T card will cost you in Oz

http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=dvb-t

If you're townhouse is relatively new it should have coax and a UHF antenna which should give you the reception you need. I'm not anywhere near the Gold Coast, but you should only have reception hassles if you're around tall buildings.

Regards

Rusconi

[wannabepvr]

. Hey have the networks gotten better at keeping their own schedule?

ha ha ha ha ha - I wish!

[zehd]

ha ha ha ha ha - I wish!

Well how much do you pre/post pad, so you don't get caught?

[wannabepvr]

My Defaults are:
4 minutes pre-padding
15 minutes post-padding

But if it is later in the evening then I add more like 25 minutes after. Especially if the program is scheduled on a night where they have had big brother / Australian Idle etc. They run notoriously late on those nights. (Channel 10 you know who you are!!)

Then there are the times they just drop shows altogether or show something else unscheduled. :mad:

It seems all the 'good' (read not reality) programs seem to be on late now. Or am I getting old?

[zehd]

My Defaults are:
4 minutes pre-padding
15 minutes post-padding

But if it is later in the evening then I add more like 25 minutes after. Especially if the program is scheduled on a night where they have had big brother / Australian Idle etc. They run notoriously late on those nights. (Channel 10 you know who you are!!)

Then there are the times they just drop shows altogether or show something else unscheduled. :mad:

It seems all the 'good' (read not reality) programs seem to be on late now. Or am I getting old?

My girlfriend says she prefers to get the DVD for a series and then just watch it straight through. I might have some shock to my system as I know there's a delay between American Dramas make it to Ozzy Primetime.

It seems that the networks are making it quite difficult for PVR users. Oh well

[zehd]

I thought I'd resurrect this thread... Hope people are reading...

I have some questions. Don't know who to call, or visit. Seems to be a lot of folk here who have gone though the learning curve already. I have a lot of questions, many off topic from this original thread. (Thanks in advance for reading this)

OK. Beside my TV there are two Coax ports. One that is a coax F connector that I have become familiar with in Canada and another, a different non-screw push in connector similar to RCA connectors. I've since learned that they are compatible technologies; just need adapters, depending on what I want to connect.

Currently, we are using off-air for TV on a cheap 4x3 TV. The first thing I noticed is that when there are 16:9 format shows or commercials, most are center-cut, meaning that the left and rights of the wide screen are cut off to fit the 4x3. I also see format switching as the networks change from show to commercial, and from one format commercial to another. I assume that this switching is actually happening in the broadcast centre as I think I'm only using the analogue TV signal, and our television does not appear to be intelligent enough to switch (even though there is a menu item for 16:9 to 4:3 in the menu, for aspect viewing watching a DVD and so forth)

Next, I started to use the free Aussie EPG grabber mentioned earlier in the thread, and found three selections for free TV

free Free to Air
freesd Free to View Digital
freehd Free to View Digital (High Definition)

For my temp EPG I used free, as that seemed to be the analogue lineup. I suspect I would need a DVB-T card if I wanted to get the free sd or hd digital stations. Can I use the same antenna feed that is coming into the townhouse? Are there Analog tuner cards?

I understand that one of my coax ports is for Pay TV, which I have come to know as simply 'Cable' in Canada. Is this signal analog, digital QAM? do I NEED a cable box? (If I understand correctly, 'Cable' is not actually available in our area of the Gold Coast and the Pay TV port may be used for satellite only...)

We are thinking of moving because another problem I'm having is the poor choice for broadband (I'm still on dial-up, and I'm going batty)

I'm sure I have further discussion points, but for now, and comments or insights would be great... Thanks

[sub]

So now I'm here in Oz...

Good to hear you made it in one piece!

For my temp EPG I used free, as that seemed to be the analogue lineup. I suspect I would need a DVB-T card if I wanted to get the free sd or hd digital stations. Can I use the same antenna feed that is coming into the townhouse? Are there Analog tuner cards?

I understand that one of my coax ports is for Pay TV, which I have come to know as simply 'Cable' in Canada. Is this signal analog, digital QAM? do I NEED a cable box? (If I understand correctly, 'Cable' is not actually available in our area of the Gold Coast and the Pay TV port may be used for satellite only...)

I'm not that familiar with Australia's setup, but I'm fairly sure your options are:

- over the air analog transmissions, which could be tuned in by card like a PAL PVR150 etc.
- over the air digital transmissions, DVB-T specifically, which could be tuned in by card like Hauppauge Nova-T, or the dozens of other DVB-T devices available. This would get a combination of standard definition and high definition stations.
- satellite PayTV transmissions, I think think the company is Foxtel, which would probably require a set top box, with analog connection to a card like PVR150 etc.
- satellite free to air transmissions, tunable with DVB-S capture device. I'm not sure what channels are available in Oz FTA.

Some other areas get Optus cable etc, but it sounds like this isnt an option for you. Cable outside of north amercia is usually encrypted/scrambled though, so you probably wouldnt receive much if you tried to tune in analog channels.

[zehd]

Good to hear you made it in one piece!

I'm not that familiar with Australia's setup, but I'm fairly sure your options are:

- over the air analog transmissions, which could be tuned in by card like a PAL PVR150 etc.
- over the air digital transmissions, DVB-T specifically, which could be tuned in by card like Hauppauge Nova-T, or the dozens of other DVB-T devices available. This would get a combination of standard definition and high definition stations.
- satellite PayTV transmissions, I think think the company is Foxtel, which would probably require a set top box, with analog connection to a card like PVR150 etc.
- satellite free to air transmissions, tunable with DVB-S capture device. I'm not sure what channels are available in Oz FTA.

Some other areas get Optus cable etc, but it sounds like this isnt an option for you. Cable outside of north amercia is usually encrypted/scrambled though, so you probably wouldnt receive much if you tried to tune in analog channels.

Thanks sub... (I was really gonna call you up for a coffee while I stopped over in Auckland, until I found out Wellington is a bit further from the airport than a short car ride )

Yes, I'm hanging onto my NTSC (converted) PVR 150s in case I decide on the STB options. But the straight digital cards are intriguing me....

I'm going out, wandering the streets now, to see if I can run into a Aussie GB-PVRer....

[sub]

I was really gonna call you up for a coffee while I stopped over in Auckland, until I found out Wellington is a bit further from the airport than a short car ride

Yep