What's a good basic FTA decoder?

[Juan Herrera]

Looks like it might be time to replace the Panasat 520. Which is a shame because its been reliable and looks nice in the cabinet (black and sleek).

What are peoples recommendations for a basic FTA decoder for somebody with a fixed dish (aligned to Asiasat 2) who mainly watches TVE.

The Panasat 520 doesnt pickup much else that EBB on 4000Mhz (and at the moment doesnt even do that).

thanks guys
Juan

[wtyt2]

http://www.melbournesatellites.com.au/html/r-aces.htm

or a ID-Digital unit is fine.

[Juan Herrera]

http://www.melbournesatellites.com.au/html/r-aces.htm

We rang them but they no longer sell Humax.

But they have something called a ST-GOLD ST200F.

What to get what to get. This is all very confusing :confused:

[wtyt2]

We rang them but they no longer sell Humax.

But they have something called a ST-GOLD ST200F.

What to get what to get. This is all very confusing :confused:


Can get a used one on ebay. Not much to break down. Good basic receiver.

[knucklehead]

There's Real Madrid channel on as2 as wll...that should excite you.
My 2 cent's worth...buy a receiver locally as you don't have hassles with warranty.

[Juan Herrera]

There's Real Madrid channel on as2 as wll...that should excite you.
My 2 cent's worth...buy a receiver locally as you don't have hassles with warranty.

It does it does !

Now makes me especially keen to upgrade my receiver so I can get that channel :D

Agree with your comment about buying locally. I'm always amazed how people will try a few dollars in exchange for buying something that will be a headache to get fixed under warranty.

thanks
John

(Still looking for a good FTA decoder to buy)

[blackcrusader]

I've had many members buy the Emetabox3 from me and never had any warranty issues. Also there are many good FTA receivers but look for ones that can convert pal to ntsc and vice versa if you don't have a multisystem tv.

Shop around and see what tickles your fancy.

Humax, Fortec, Topfield, Emetabox, Atom, Coship... look at the decoder threads here and read what people like and why they are using it.

[Juan Herrera]

Thanks for that.

At this stage I had narrowed down my choice to Humax, Topfield or Strong but I'll check out that brand too.

One question I have, I notice that like my Panasat 520 all these new decoders have EPG (Electronic Program Guides) and TEXT (subtitle) buttons.

But on my Panasat neither of these features worked, at least on TVE.

Should these features now work with any new decoder I buy or should I test beforehand?

thanks
John

[adman]

We rang them but they no longer sell Humax.


Thank god for that!

cheers

adman

[knucklehead]

Regarding EPG...TVE does not add that info onto their stream, in fact very few do. DW used to have epg for a 24 hour period but now only shows 1 hour ahead.

Pal to ntsc conversion is not likely to be an issue for you if you are only interested in tve and real madrid as they are in pal.

[bassett]

Do people still buy humax..

[PDSA]

I have had one of these (Healing HSDS850) for several months and it hasn't missed a beat. Check out the site and the price. Great service from this guy, too. http://www.australiansatellitetv.com/healing/index.htm.

[bartolo]

I recently bought a Strong SRT 4800II and highly recommend this decoder, a breeze to setup and nice clear menus.

A friend of mine bought the newer model Strong SRT 4620 but is having trouble receiving TVE with it. We're not sure what's happening with that yet.

The guy who sold it to me is also in Melbourne and seems ok. PM me if you want his details.

[simmo]

You can give his details here!! Doesn't matter if he's not a site sponsor, as long as its not a commercial ad!

[bartolo]

ok, it was Matt at Hantrex (www.hantrex.com.

[wtyt2]

ok, it was Matt at Hantrex (www.hantrex.com).


Link is not working, typing error. http://www.hantrex.com

yours have http://www.hantrex.com) :)


bug report: @Vetrun. The remove hyperlink function is not working.

[PDSA]

I know this is an old thread, but if someone comes looking... the above URL should be http://www. hantrex.com.au or just google "hantrex". I have dealt with Mathew twice and his service is excellent with a capital E. He is also the only one that I am aware of in the West of Melb.