What is a good stb box to connect to my panny dvd recorder ?

[Ext User(cc)]

Currently have a stb but get picture breakup on most of the tv
stations. When a record the picture breakup it is recorded to the
media.

Are there any stb boxes which do don't have picture breakup problems.
I have a good tv aerial. Finding a reliable stb is becoming
frustrating. Have tried legend and humax. Both of these are in a word
yuck.

What are the the panasonic stbs like ?
Or should I wait for the panny recorders with stb's built into them.
Phoned Panasonic and they said those will be out in the new year.
What are panny stb's like in general or is there another brand which
is worth looking at.

[Ext User(grumpy@mailinator.com)]

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 05:17:19 GMT, cc <cc@nospam.au> wrote:

>
> Currently have a stb but get picture breakup on most of the tv
> stations. When a record the picture breakup it is recorded to the
> media.
>
> Are there any stb boxes which do don't have picture breakup problems.
> I have a good tv aerial. Finding a reliable stb is becoming
> frustrating. Have tried legend and humax. Both of these are in a word
> yuck.
>
> What are the the panasonic stbs like ?
> Or should I wait for the panny recorders with stb's built into them.
> Phoned Panasonic and they said those will be out in the new year.
> What are panny stb's like in general or is there another brand which
> is worth looking at.

Have you checked your antenna?

A new box may break up just the same as the old one.

[Ext User(Neil Green)]

"cc" <cc@nospam.au> wrote in message
news:di7do1t1n3tv465kmgj1oiltvvtf8nuje2@4ax.com...
>
> Currently have a stb but get picture breakup on most of the tv
> stations. When a record the picture breakup it is recorded to the
> media.
>
> Are there any stb boxes which do don't have picture breakup problems.
> I have a good tv aerial. Finding a reliable stb is becoming
> frustrating. Have tried legend and humax. Both of these are in a word
> yuck.
>
> What are the the panasonic stbs like ?
> Or should I wait for the panny recorders with stb's built into them.
> Phoned Panasonic and they said those will be out in the new year.
> What are panny stb's like in general or is there another brand which
> is worth looking at.
>

Pansonic STB's are shite.
Topfield and Strong seem to get good reports here.
TEAC also at the lower end.

[Ext User(GDS)]

"cc" <cc@nospam.au> wrote in message
news:di7do1t1n3tv465kmgj1oiltvvtf8nuje2@4ax.com...
>
> Currently have a stb but get picture breakup on most of the tv
> stations. When a record the picture breakup it is recorded to the
> media.
>
> Are there any stb boxes which do don't have picture breakup problems.
> I have a good tv aerial. Finding a reliable stb is becoming
> frustrating. Have tried legend and humax. Both of these are in a word
> yuck.
>
> What are the the panasonic stbs like ?
> Or should I wait for the panny recorders with stb's built into them.
> Phoned Panasonic and they said those will be out in the new year.
> What are panny stb's like in general or is there another brand which
> is worth looking at.


Sounds like an aerial problem.
Check the signal strength (somewhere) in the setup menu and play with the
aerial.

G.

[Ext User(cc)]

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 18:05:34 +1030, "GDS" <not@home.com> wrote:

>
>"cc" <cc@nospam.au> wrote in message
>news:di7do1t1n3tv465kmgj1oiltvvtf8nuje2@4ax.com...
>>
>> Currently have a stb but get picture breakup on most of the tv
>> stations. When a record the picture breakup it is recorded to the
>> media.
>>
>> Are there any stb boxes which do don't have picture breakup problems.
>> I have a good tv aerial. Finding a reliable stb is becoming
>> frustrating. Have tried legend and humax. Both of these are in a word
>> yuck.
>>
>> What are the the panasonic stbs like ?
>> Or should I wait for the panny recorders with stb's built into them.
>> Phoned Panasonic and they said those will be out in the new year.
>> What are panny stb's like in general or is there another brand which
>> is worth looking at.
>
>
>Sounds like an aerial problem.
>Check the signal strength (somewhere) in the setup menu and play with the
>aerial.

Signal strength is 85%.
Had a new aerial put in last year. Costing $400.
Without the stb we get all the channels but not as clear as on a stb.
Only thing is on the stb's there is picture breakup every few minutes.

[Ext User(GDS)]

"cc" <cc@nospam.au> wrote in message
news:ehldo15113ru7u4b652fhcbn3m2m11qm0n@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 18:05:34 +1030, "GDS" <not@home.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>"cc" <cc@nospam.au> wrote in message
>>news:di7do1t1n3tv465kmgj1oiltvvtf8nuje2@4ax.com...
>>>
>>> Currently have a stb but get picture breakup on most of the tv
>>> stations. When a record the picture breakup it is recorded to the
>>> media.
>>>
>>> Are there any stb boxes which do don't have picture breakup problems.
>>> I have a good tv aerial. Finding a reliable stb is becoming
>>> frustrating. Have tried legend and humax. Both of these are in a word
>>> yuck.
>>>
>>> What are the the panasonic stbs like ?
>>> Or should I wait for the panny recorders with stb's built into them.
>>> Phoned Panasonic and they said those will be out in the new year.
>>> What are panny stb's like in general or is there another brand which
>>> is worth looking at.
>>
>>
>>Sounds like an aerial problem.
>>Check the signal strength (somewhere) in the setup menu and play with the
>>aerial.
>
> Signal strength is 85%.
> Had a new aerial put in last year. Costing $400.
> Without the stb we get all the channels but not as clear as on a stb.
> Only thing is on the stb's there is picture breakup every few minutes.
>

85%. Obviously not the aerial then unless it (the signal strength) drops out
every XX minutes (or however often you experience picture break up).

I own a Hauppauge model because I don't own a DVD recorder and use the
computer for backup instead (frugal reasons). I can recommend this product
and Topfield, which a friend owns and has no problems with.

Good luck!

G.

[Ext User(mindesign)]

I imagine like sat boxes, trees can affect digital transmission quality -
got any aorund your aerial?

We live in the Victorian countryside and I have spent hours on the roof
tuning our log periodic antenna by hand (no meter) - signal strangth only
goes as high as 50% on most and the signal went to hell yesterday
afternnon - I put it down to extremely windy conditions, which once they
abated, the pic came good - but I am with you on the breakup issue -
friggin' pain in the arse. We discovered the problem with ours was because
we had an old VHF + UHF setup on the roof, attached to a splitter box - I
couldnt get any better reception no matter what I did, until I took the
splitter box out of the equation. Once I did that, the thing actually worked
OK. But this was only yesterday and we watched DVDs last night, but I think
the reception on most channels was better. We have a Strong Box from
hantrex.com.au

nothin's straightforward though!

Steve

[Ext User(Justin)]

"cc" <cc@nospam.au> wrote in message
news:di7do1t1n3tv465kmgj1oiltvvtf8nuje2@4ax.com...
>
> Currently have a stb but get picture breakup on most of the tv
> stations. When a record the picture breakup it is recorded to the
> media.
>
> Are there any stb boxes which do don't have picture breakup problems.
> I have a good tv aerial. Finding a reliable stb is becoming
> frustrating. Have tried legend and humax. Both of these are in a word
> yuck.
>
> What are the the panasonic stbs like ?
> Or should I wait for the panny recorders with stb's built into them.
> Phoned Panasonic and they said those will be out in the new year.
> What are panny stb's like in general or is there another brand which
> is worth looking at.

It's a bit black-artsy. You can have problems with lack of signal, too much
signal, poor quality signal, electrical interference, etc.

It's just a case of trying a few until you find one that's right. Waiting
for DVD recorders with integrated digital tuners is a bit of a lottery - who
knows when they'll surface?

Panasonic STB's don't have a great reputation (some are just rebranded from
generic manufacturers).

Pick an outlet that has half a dozen different models & work your way
through them (obviously let them know what your situation is & make sure
they'll let you try them out until you find one that's good). I have a Kaon
KTF-200 (sub $130) that I lend out to people to test. It usually comes up
with the goods when other models demonstrate the symptoms you're getting. I
have used coat hangers & bit's of wire as an antenna with it for good
results.

Other things to try:

- Some people that have had break up problems have managed to all but
eliminate them by cleanly grounding their antenna system (seriously). Here's
a letter describing it:
http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_105168/article.html

- This one will really annoy you if it works - try a pair of rabbit ears.

Justin

[Ext User(GDS)]

"Justin" <justinnospam@nospamlogicalfusion.com.au> wrote in message
news:4387d443$0$25857$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> "cc" <cc@nospam.au> wrote in message
> news:di7do1t1n3tv465kmgj1oiltvvtf8nuje2@4ax.com...
>>
>> Currently have a stb but get picture breakup on most of the tv
>> stations. When a record the picture breakup it is recorded to the
>> media.
>>
>> Are there any stb boxes which do don't have picture breakup problems.
>> I have a good tv aerial. Finding a reliable stb is becoming
>> frustrating. Have tried legend and humax. Both of these are in a word
>> yuck.
>>
>> What are the the panasonic stbs like ?
>> Or should I wait for the panny recorders with stb's built into them.
>> Phoned Panasonic and they said those will be out in the new year.
>> What are panny stb's like in general or is there another brand which
>> is worth looking at.
>
> It's a bit black-artsy. You can have problems with lack of signal, too
> much signal, poor quality signal, electrical interference, etc.
>
> It's just a case of trying a few until you find one that's right. Waiting
> for DVD recorders with integrated digital tuners is a bit of a lottery -
> who knows when they'll surface?
>
> Panasonic STB's don't have a great reputation (some are just rebranded
> from generic manufacturers).
>
> Pick an outlet that has half a dozen different models & work your way
> through them (obviously let them know what your situation is & make sure
> they'll let you try them out until you find one that's good). I have a
> Kaon KTF-200 (sub $130) that I lend out to people to test. It usually
> comes up with the goods when other models demonstrate the symptoms you're
> getting. I have used coat hangers & bit's of wire as an antenna with it
> for good results.
>
> Other things to try:
>
> - Some people that have had break up problems have managed to all but
> eliminate them by cleanly grounding their antenna system (seriously).
> Here's a letter describing it:
> http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_105168/article.html
>
> - This one will really annoy you if it works - try a pair of rabbit ears.
>
> Justin



Justin raises a very good point, too much gain has undesired results.

I'm running an indoor amplified antenna with about 2/3rd gain for best
results in my position.

G.

[DVB_3015]

The picture breakup can also be caused by electrical interference in your house. A friend has that problem whenever a light switch is used or the washing machine changes cycles. It seems to create a slight surge in the house wiring and spike into the STB causing the picture to break up.

[Ext User(Jack Purvis)]

You need an decent antenna/coax cable not a new stb. Save your money.



On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 05:17:19 GMT, cc <cc@nospam.au> wrote:

>
>Currently have a stb but get picture breakup on most of the tv
>stations. When a record the picture breakup it is recorded to the
>media.
>
>Are there any stb boxes which do don't have picture breakup problems.
>I have a good tv aerial. Finding a reliable stb is becoming
>frustrating. Have tried legend and humax. Both of these are in a word
>yuck.
>
>What are the the panasonic stbs like ?
>Or should I wait for the panny recorders with stb's built into them.
>Phoned Panasonic and they said those will be out in the new year.
>What are panny stb's like in general or is there another brand which
>is worth looking at.

[Ext User(ralph)]

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 09:17:29 GMT, cc <cc@nospam.au> wrote:
>
>Signal strength is 85%.
>Had a new aerial put in last year. Costing $400.
>Without the stb we get all the channels but not as clear as on a stb.
>Only thing is on the stb's there is picture breakup every few minutes.

Has STB picture always broken up or did it just start happening?

I had this problem develop after a few months with a cheap DSE model
.... took it back and they fixed it.