76cm Widescreen TV's on a Budget

[Haggar]

Just about ready to purchase a 76 " Widescreen Flatscreen tele, nothing flash so long it has a reasonable picture. Looked in countless shops and have to say that it is very hard to tell in a shop what the quality of a TV is like and whether paying more $$$ is worth it. Can't afford to pay mega bucks, so am tempted by a TEAC 76 " flatscreen, widescreen TV EU3216STF which I can get under 1K, and this month you can get a free STB box by redemption, either a DVB420 or a DVB350, so you can't argue about the price. Does anybody have any feedback on these products, or recommend anything better for the same or slighlty more $$$ ?

cheers

[flyinyereye]

"Haggar" <Haggar.1azczm@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
news:Haggar.1azczm@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> Just about ready to purchase a 76 " Widescreen Flatscreen tele, nothing
> flash so long it has a reasonable picture. Looked in countless shops
> and have to say that it is very hard to tell in a shop what the quality
> of a TV is like and whether paying more $$$ is worth it. Can't afford
> to pay mega bucks, so am tempted by a TEAC 76 " flatscreen, widescreen
> TV EU3216STF which I can get under 1K, and this month you can get a
> free STB box by redemption, either a DVB420 or a DVB350, so you can't
> argue about the price. Does anybody have any feedback on these
> products, or recommend anything better for the same or slighlty more
> $$$ ?

I can't speak for the TVs, but the STBs are good, and have a good reputation
w/r to support and continued firmware upgrade priovision. At this price
previously you'd have been limited to a DSE brand TV and STB, so this can
only be an improvement.

[Bruce Graham]

In article <411f425d$0$16322$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
01.iinet.net.au>, spam@spam.com says...
> "Haggar" <Haggar.1azczm@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
> news:Haggar.1azczm@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
> >
> > Just about ready to purchase a 76 " Widescreen Flatscreen tele, nothing
> > flash so long it has a reasonable picture. Looked in countless shops
> > and have to say that it is very hard to tell in a shop what the quality
> > of a TV is like and whether paying more $$$ is worth it. Can't afford
> > to pay mega bucks, so am tempted by a TEAC 76 " flatscreen, widescreen
> > TV EU3216STF which I can get under 1K, and this month you can get a
> > free STB box by redemption, either a DVB420 or a DVB350, so you can't
> > argue about the price. Does anybody have any feedback on these
> > products, or recommend anything better for the same or slighlty more
> > $$$ ?
>
> I can't speak for the TVs, but the STBs are good, and have a good reputation
> w/r to support and continued firmware upgrade priovision. At this price
> previously you'd have been limited to a DSE brand TV and STB, so this can
> only be an improvement.
>
The DVB420 had a more useful set of connections than the DVB350 for my
(fairly odd) situation and I liked the idea of a self contained power
supply. I know you should not use amplifiers with STB's but it is
necessary in the black hole I live in. The DVB420 interacted badly with
my amp and I solved the problem by DC/AC isolating the antenna input
ground. I haven't figured out if it was the attenuation of the home-made
isolator or the AC/DC isolation that did the trick, but now it works
fine. With the DVB420, there seems to be some AC (HF?) leakage onto the
ground connection (maybe from an internal switching power supply?). I
could just feel it with one finger on ground and one on on the antenna
socket ground shield and it measured 120 VAC on a high impedance DVM, but
only a few volts on a moving coil meter. Apart from that it works REALLY
well. Now the DVB350 uses an external power supply transformer, so may
be better if you use a mast head amp with AC feed like mine. The 420
also changes channels quickly and gives excellent picture quality from
the RGB SCART connection which my TV can use. The on screen display is
crisp and informative. It is my first STB, but it really exceeded my
expectations of picture quality.

Finally, I could not find any timer programming in the 420, but the
brochure indicates that the 350 has that. Am I missing something there?

[flyinyereye]

"Bruce Graham" <jbgraham@nowhere.com.au> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b89f7d6a53ca73b98974c@news.optusnet.com. au...

> Finally, I could not find any timer programming in the 420, but the
> brochure indicates that the 350 has that. Am I missing something there?

Check at http://stb.teac.com.au

[Bruce Graham]

In article <411f5608$0$16336$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
01.iinet.net.au>, spam@spam.com says...
> "Bruce Graham" <jbgraham@nowhere.com.au> wrote in message
> news:MPG.1b89f7d6a53ca73b98974c@news.optusnet.com. au...
>
> > Finally, I could not find any timer programming in the 420, but the
> > brochure indicates that the 350 has that. Am I missing something there?
>
> Check at http://stb.teac.com.au
>
That's where I looked and saw the timers mentioned for the 350, but could
not find any mention in the 420 menus or manual or brochure on the Teac
site. Maybe next version of the firmware or maybe I just need to look
some more?

[Rimasidam]

Yes.. I am in the same situation... Looking at the EU3216STF as well...
Any feedback from existing customer would be appreciated.

Apparently JayBee HI-FI have it for $949.00...

What i want to know is what is the difference between SUPER FLAT and PURE FLAT.. ????

And is the EU3216STF 100HZ !!!

Rimasidam...

[flyinyereye]

"Bruce Graham" <jbgraham@nowhere.com.au> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b8a0330faac6e4f98974e@news.optusnet.com. au...
> In article <411f5608$0$16336$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
> 01.iinet.net.au>, spam@spam.com says...
>> "Bruce Graham" <jbgraham@nowhere.com.au> wrote in message
>> news:MPG.1b89f7d6a53ca73b98974c@news.optusnet.com. au...
>>
>> > Finally, I could not find any timer programming in the 420, but the
>> > brochure indicates that the 350 has that. Am I missing something
>> > there?
>>
>> Check at http://stb.teac.com.au
>>
> That's where I looked and saw the timers mentioned for the 350, but could
> not find any mention in the 420 menus or manual or brochure on the Teac
> site. Maybe next version of the firmware or maybe I just need to look
> some more?

Dunno, perhaps ask

TEAC Total Care
PH: 1800 656700 EST 9:00 to 17:00

[Bruce Graham]

In article <41201ea4$0$16343$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
01.iinet.net.au>, spam@spam.com says...
> "Bruce Graham" <jbgraham@nowhere.com.au> wrote in message
> news:MPG.1b8a0330faac6e4f98974e@news.optusnet.com. au...
> > In article <411f5608$0$16336$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
> > 01.iinet.net.au>, spam@spam.com says...
> >> "Bruce Graham" <jbgraham@nowhere.com.au> wrote in message
> >> news:MPG.1b89f7d6a53ca73b98974c@news.optusnet.com. au...
> >>
> >> > Finally, I could not find any timer programming in the 420, but the
> >> > brochure indicates that the 350 has that. Am I missing something
> >> > there?
> >>
> >> Check at http://stb.teac.com.au
> >>
> > That's where I looked and saw the timers mentioned for the 350, but could
> > not find any mention in the 420 menus or manual or brochure on the Teac
> > site. Maybe next version of the firmware or maybe I just need to look
> > some more?
>
> Dunno, perhaps ask
>
> TEAC Total Care
> PH: 1800 656700 EST 9:00 to 17:00
>
>
Thanks - answer was - no timers DVB420 at this stage (non-committal about
future firmware which is only professional)

[flyinyereye]

"Bruce Graham" <jbgraham@nowhere.com.au> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b8aeb15838f335998974f@news.optusnet.com. au...
> In article <41201ea4$0$16343$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
> 01.iinet.net.au>, spam@spam.com says...
>> TEAC Total Care
>> PH: 1800 656700 EST 9:00 to 17:00
>>
>>
> Thanks - answer was - no timers DVB420 at this stage (non-committal about
> future firmware which is only professional)

I imagine Teac are rebadging boxes from several different manufacturers,
given their varying firmware and vastly differing design aesthetic. They
seem receptive to their customers tho, so don't give up.

[Bruce Graham]

In article <412054e9$0$16334$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
01.iinet.net.au>, spam@spam.com says...
> "Bruce Graham" <jbgraham@nowhere.com.au> wrote in message
> news:MPG.1b8aeb15838f335998974f@news.optusnet.com. au...
> > In article <41201ea4$0$16343$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
> > 01.iinet.net.au>, spam@spam.com says...
> >> TEAC Total Care
> >> PH: 1800 656700 EST 9:00 to 17:00
> >>
> >>
> > Thanks - answer was - no timers DVB420 at this stage (non-committal about
> > future firmware which is only professional)
>
> I imagine Teac are rebadging boxes from several different manufacturers,
> given their varying firmware and vastly differing design aesthetic. They
> seem receptive to their customers tho, so don't give up.
>
Not a big problem for me. The only times I "need" to record a string of
programs from different channels is for other people, so now I can just
say no! Anyway, I'm sure I'll get a HD box at some stage and this one
will be a second or third tuner around the house. The reception is so
much better here than analog that I definitely need digital everywhere.

[Gadgets]

Another alternative to an STB with a timer is a learning remote with macros
- ie program it to turn on, change channel, start record etc. Pain in the
butt, but possible...

Cheers, Jason (remove ... to reply)
Video & Gaming: http://gadgetaus.com
DVD Rentals Online: http://webflicks.com.au/?u=47905

[Haggar]

"Haggar" <Haggar.1azczm@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
news:Haggar.1azczm@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> Just about ready to purchase a 76 " Widescreen Flatscreen tele, nothing
> flash so long it has a reasonable picture. Looked in countless shops
> and have to say that it is very hard to tell in a shop what the quality
> of a TV is like and whether paying more $$$ is worth it. Can't afford
> to pay mega bucks, so am tempted by a TEAC 76 " flatscreen, widescreen
> TV EU3216STF which I can get under 1K, and this month you can get a
> free STB box by redemption, either a DVB420 or a DVB350, so you can't
> argue about the price. Does anybody have any feedback on these
> products, or recommend anything better for the same or slighlty more
> $$$ ?

I can't speak for the TVs, but the STBs are good, and have a good reputation
w/r to support and continued firmware upgrade priovision. At this price
previously you'd have been limited to a DSE brand TV and STB, so this can
only be an improvement.

I've actually done some more looking and bought a Thomson 76 cm TV and STB which is great, read my comments on the latter Thomson posting