Becuase some transmitters dont have HD, ie Mount Gambier
And the transmitter tech at Mt Gambier says they have no intention of switching to HD!

Im pretty sure with TIVO you can adjust the amount of minutes it starts before and after a program, i have a media centre runnigs windows 7 and you can fully customize that also. To be honest a media center is a much smarter and more usefull alternative - costs about 900 all up for something that does more than a Tivo with twin tuners!

I thought the goverment was making it HD only in a few years or was that just analouge, its probably just as easy to buy a satelliate dish and set top box and pick up all the free to air from other countries? and maybe cheaper saw one at the rocklea flea market yesterday for $160 complete i was considering it but passed in the end.

Alan

if you a get a sat u can get all Aust. free to air channels (25 in total 21 tv and 4 radio )
with a digital satellite settop box

or if u put it on the optus d2 satellite u can get internatinal FTA but the only english language stuff is the i love jesus channels

I thought you could get anything thats floating out there being a Satelliate dish but you say just Aussie ones is that right.

u can get US ones but ud need one a differnt size dishes
dishies start from $100 to many thousands
settop boxes for them are 100 to 1k

but depends one you local area
i only know for canberra
there a bit harder to put up that ur aveage UHF/VHF antenna, u'll need a special meter to get it linked with the right sat.

best to get the phone box out and ring up some peoples that do it near you

yeah you need a Sattelite meter to locate the appropriate sattelite and correct signal levels, C band dishes are what all teh ethnics use to pick up there international channels.
Most of the good channels are encrypted and you need a cam to decode them (similar to foxtel), we importe set top boxes, dishes, recievers, LNB's, antennas and all sorts where i work, something interesting though is some of the internationals have started transmitting in 1080i, one of them is fashion TV. So now you can see camel toe in decent resolution!

Over here our broadcasting standards are crap - one HD isnt up to scratch however its getting better

And no - there is no plans at present to make transmission HD only. The lowest standard will be SD, the future it will move to Mpeg4 which means if your set top doesnt have it you will have to upgrade!

where do you work mate pm me if u'd like too

Well then i suppose it pays just to stcik with the normal set top box and wait for them to improve its just i was looking around for another set top box or Tivo as i broke the remote for mine in the bedroom i walked on it and it broke lol, So thought if i was going to get another one i might have a look at the Tivo box but will give it a miss but have to get another soon i hate getting up all the time to change channels lol.

Nicko the SD box your firm will be putting out soon will it have one, 7-2, 99 for example

Thanks Alan

Depending on STB brand have a look at a cheap universal remote control that maybe able to control it for the bedroom to save you getting up all the time.

Did try a universal remote from Aldi and didnt work having a hard time finding one for a set top box I super glued my original one back together but it wont work so buggered maybe cheaper just to buy a el cheapo one of ebay or some where so i can have a working one with remote.

Did not realise you tried one but universal remotes tend not to work with everything no mater how expensive they are unless it is a learning one (but not always due to codes used on the original remote) especially with some cheap branded stuff like Aldi branded stuff.

I guess the original remote would have a cracked board or hairline crack to not let it work after you put it back together.

The eBay way might be the solution for a cheap one but have a look at stores near you as you may find something cheep as by the time you add fright costs it maybe easier.

Also if you get a new unit and remote don't stand on it

I bought my father a HD set top box brand new from Big W for $80 bucks.. that would probably be a cheap answer.. if you are after SD only they had them for less than 50

Yeah i will probably do that this one came from Wollies at $69 for a HD set top box not a bad price works well so will go and get another cheapie.

Thanks all for your replies.

Alan

Managed to find a new remote rang woollies and they gave me a number to ring and they have a new remote for $25 so ones on the way yay, well save buying another set top box now should have thought of it ages ago.

Well done it sometimes pay to ring the supplier or manufacture of the device to find out about replacement parts.