Satellite Verses Terrestrial HD, which is better?

[scott2ride]

Im new to this (as are most of us I guess.)

But Im trying to work out if I should get a High Definition Terrestrial receiver or a Satellite receiver. Which gives the better picture?

And are there any recording devices that can work with freeview. Im thinking along the lives of a freeview version of MYSKY HD, with a 250gig drive etc

Any ideas?

[kiwisat]

The HD will certainly give the best picture, but bear in mind that the digital signal from satellite is not to be sneezed at either. My personal preference is satellite mainly because there is much more diversity in programmes available form satellite, more than 50 channels from the Optus satellites alone.

[kiwisteve]

If you have a large screen capable of 1080 x 1920 ( full HD )
then DTT is the way to go for best quality !!!

Add a Sat receiver and you have the best of both !!

[grolschie]

Hopefully there is a Hyundai DVB-T/DVB-S combo (http://www.ultrapower.co.nz/product_receiver_hd_combo_hyundai_ah-3110.html) with USB PVR coming soon to NZ. Overseas, Coolsat also sell one (http://www.coolsatcanada.com/coolsat8100hd.html), but not sure if it supports NZ standards. Interesting all the same.

[scott2ride]

I didnt realise satellite gives more channels than terrestrial. I thought it was the same, just a different delivery system!

So, I thought the 50 channel was SKYTV, but then again, that wouldnt be "Free"view then would it! :D

So please fill me in.

[kiwisteve]

Best have a look at www.lyngsat.com (http://www.lyngsat.com) then go to Asia then Optus D1 and Optus D2
and you will see there is much more than freeview and Sky

[Injuised]

and if you buy a DVB-S2 STB you will be future proofed when HD comes available on satellite

[butlerboy]

Best have a look at www.lyngsat.com (http://www.lyngsat.com) then go to Asia then Optus D1 and Optus D2
and you will see there is much more than freeview and Sky

can any satellite stb & sky dish pick these channels up?

[butlerboy]

Best have a look at www.lyngsat.com (http://www.lyngsat.com) then go to Asia then Optus D1 and Optus D2
and you will see there is much more than freeview and Sky

can any satellite stb & sky dish pick these channels up? :confused:

[kiwisteve]

Provided its on the ( NZ beam ) and unencrypted ( not a pay tv service , special service or a contribution / feed / link ) then in most cases if you have a suitable receiver and dish yes , you will receive them . The C Band ones ( 3 to 4 Ghz ) region
in most cases in NZ will require a dish 3metres or larger .
the 12ghz ( ku ones around 0.75 m to 1 metre , again needs to be on NZ Beam

[butlerboy]

what about the feeds for aussie that are on the same optus sattelite as freeview? surely a sky dish would pick those up as they're on the same sattelite?

[kiwisteve]

Some of the Aussie ones are available here from ( optus D2 ) provided they are on the AUS / NZ beam

the ones on Optus D1 are not due to the frequency re-use here by other stations on the NZ beam except for the SCTV feeds on Vertical polarity

[kiwisat]

what about the feeds for aussie that are on the same optus sattelite as freeview? surely a sky dish would pick those up as they're on the same sattelite?

The Aussie feeds are A: Scrambled or B: Are out of range of our small dishes.

However Optus D2 is just a whisker away on a Sky dish. Heres how:

If you already have a Sky dish, currently locked on Optus D1, there is a quick fix based on a DiseQc switch , 2 Lnb's and a twin LNB holder, providing your receiver can implement DiseQc switching.

Channels on either satellite switch seamlessly.

For anyone who is interested, I can supply a ready to fit kit to a Sky dish that will target 2 satellites (D1and D2).

PM me if interested.

[Injuised]

Personally I prefer a 22Khz switch, much more reliable

[Injuised]

what about the feeds for aussie that are on the same optus sattelite as freeview? surely a sky dish would pick those up as they're on the same sattelite?

The aussie channels on D1 have a shaped beam that only covers aussie
You could get them here with a 6 metre+ dish

Same for the NZ channels in OZ

[scott2ride]

If you already have a Sky dish, currently locked on Optus D1, there is a quick fix based on a DiseQc switch , 2 Lnb's and a twin LNB holder, providing your receiver can implement DiseQc switching.
.

English please! :rolleyes:

Ok, here is my dilemma...

Currently I have MYSky and feel ripped off. I want to dump it and get a PVR of some sort and get onto a better or different option than sky.

I thought Freeview HD seemed like it could be ok but it isnt great with kids programs and I have a 5yr, 2yr and 9mth old... so kids tv is critical.

I want HD tv if I can but buggered if I know what option to go with for free satellite, or even if its worth it.


Also, and as an aside, the PVR Freeview type receivers availiable from Oz seem a lot better than NZ. But can they be tuned to work here?

[kiwisteve]

Do NOT get an Australian box for our Digital UHF HD Freeview

It will NOT work here . We use Mpeg4 based uhf service. Aust is on Mpeg2
there are a few more problems. The UHF Channel spacing here is 8 megahertz as it is with other European countries. Australia picked 7 megahertz spacing on UHF which is an orphan !!!

As for Aussie channel in NZ DONT expect anything from D1 there are some short term news feeds only . The permanent Aus services are NOT beamed to NZ and a very large dish of 6m + would be needed provided there is no freq clash with NZ services

Only Option is D2 either on a second dish or a multi LNBF Combo on present dish

[sky_satt]

English please! :rolley

I thought Freeview HD seemed like it could be ok but it isnt great with kids programs and I have a 5yr, 2yr and 9mth old... so kids tv is critical.



Last time I looked TVNZ 6 on HD an Sat has kids programs for your above age group programing starts from 6am-4pm Kids Zone, 4pm -8pm Family, 8pm - 12am Showcase.

[herbie_g]

English please! :rolleyes:

I thought Freeview HD seemed like it could be ok but it isnt great with kids programs and I have a 5yr, 2yr and 9mth old... so kids tv is critical.



TBN (a Christian network) also have 'kids safe' channel called Smile of a child. Much of the stuff on it is surprising low-key Christian but high on morals. Much of it is stuff I recall seeing on mainstream TV when I was a kid.

This channel isn't part of Freeview, but it is FTA on the other optus satellite, D2. Someone else already aluded to the fact that both satellites can be received on one dish.

On another note, there are currently no FTA HD satellite channels in NZ, but the market is quite well supported by SD satellite PVR's.


Hope that helps.

Herb.

[danger]

I went with Freeview HD and I've been very pleased. I dropped into Dick Smith before the Olympics started and picked up the Dick Smith version of the Zinwell set top box. It included an HDMI cable and only cost about 4-5 months of Sky subscriptions. It had a few bugs at first (the audio would occasionally dropout) but they did an ‘over-the-air’ firmware update it now works fine. I’m hoping they will do another soon that will enable the PVR functionality like they have with the same box in Hong Kong.

The Olympics in HD on TV1 were spectacular. My wife and I couldn't pull ourselves away from it! Unfortunately there has been very little HD content since but I presume this will gradually change as new shows are purchased in HD format. Regardless of the lack of HD content the SD picture quality is still very good and I can never bring myself to watch prime on Analog anymore as it offends my eyes (once you’ve gone HD you can’t go back). The new TVNZ kids channel is pretty good and entertains my son when we need a little down time. The new TVNZ news channel is also quite good and has some very good documentaries. In summary I very happy with Freeview HD and given that we mainly watch TV1, 2, 3 and Prime the only thing I miss is digital quality Prime.

[scott2ride]

Hey thanks for the great replies.

I guess my 2 big questions that remain are just...

1. Which PVR unit is available that has HDTV and is any good?

2. If I get Freeview HD UHF, how simple is it to sort a Satelite connection too and is it going to get may more channels?

3. (bonus question) what about just downloading movied via web and playing to TV or TV over internet?

Cheers

[coolvibe]

Hey thanks for the great replies.

I guess my 2 big questions that remain are just...

1. Which PVR unit is available that has HDTV and is any good?

2. If I get Freeview HD UHF, how simple is it to sort a Satellite connection too and is it going to get may more channels?

3. (bonus question) what about just downloading movies via web and playing to TV or TV over internet?

Cheers
The Vantage 6000HD is pvr capable(UHF) just by a usb drive and away you go.
http://www.dtvs.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22&products_id=64

Why would you want freeview satellite it is not HD.

For the best of both worlds by a haupauge 4000 dvb card it has sat and uhf inputs and you can use your pc as a pvr. Especially if your pc is new and the video card supports h.264

Lastly
Downloading movies by the web. Until those copyright junkies get their heads around a new business model to make millions of dollars and stop going on about piracy costing millions, we are in the dark zone with zero content.
Good luck finding content ask a freind ;-).

The mysky hdi box has future capability to download and play via the web. As it is considered a secure platform a service could be provided in the future I expect. However I think it will be overpriced.

As for IPTV unless telecom really get their act together and upgrade the bulk of ailing exchanges and roadside muxs that seem to drop data for fun (data lost means more data sent which = more revenue. I am loosing 10-20% of my data due to a faulty line) we will have a long wait.
I can only dream of youtube and My DSL line trains up at 8200.

[danger]

Hey thanks for the great replies.

I guess my 2 big questions that remain are just...

1. Which PVR unit is available that has HDTV and is any good?

2. If I get Freeview HD UHF, how simple is it to sort a Satelite connection too and is it going to get may more channels?

3. (bonus question) what about just downloading movied via web and playing to TV or TV over internet?

Cheers

1. There are currently no FreeviewHD certified PVR's that work with the EPG but when I emailed Freeview they said there will be in a couple of months. This really only leaves you with the choice (right now) between a non-certified FreeviewHD PVR which would only let you record using a timer based recording function or MySkyHD.

2. As long as your TV has a couple of HDMI inputs or even better has an integrated FreeviewHD tuner then having Satellite and FreeviewHD is very straight forward.

3. I currently download quite a few TV series from iTunes and play them through the TV but due to the ridiculous download limit restrictions in NZ I do this far less than I used to when I lived in the US. Unless things like internet charges change a great deal in the next 6-12 months I can't see IP TV making a big impact here for some time.

[paulw]

3. I currently download quite a few TV series from iTunes and play them through the TV but due to the ridiculous download limit restrictions in NZ I do this far less than I used to when I lived in the US. Unless things like internet charges change a great deal in the next 6-12 months I can't see IP TV making a big impact here for some time.

Itunes NZ does not have any TV programs and looking at the Ozz site that does there's nothing there that i would be interested in. So I guess you still have a US itunes account which does have interresting stuff??

[danger]

Itunes NZ does not have any TV programs and looking at the Ozz site that does there's nothing there that i would be interested in. So I guess you still have a US itunes account which does have interresting stuff??

Yes, I still have a US iTunes account and credit card. US$20-US$30 pretty much buys you a full season of almost any tv show before it even comes out here. They also have a good selection of movies.

[grolschie]

Hey thanks for the great replies.
2. If I get Freeview HD UHF, how simple is it to sort a Satelite connection too and is it going to get may more channels?
Cheers

There is a Hyundai (http://www.ultrapower.co.nz/product_receiver_hd_combo_hyundai_ah-3110.html) HD terrestrial + Satellite combo with USB PVR coming to the NZ market sometime I believe.

[felix]

ridiculous download limit restrictions in NZXnet Torrent broadband plan FTW :)