It's a useful read.

Tom quotes Sky CEO John Fellet as saying that recessions typically cause consumers to rationalise that they can invest in Sky as an aid to staying home and not spending money. Which is true, but it's hard to see why the same doesn't apply to Freeview.

Premium New Zealand sport.?

Freeview is like watching TV only better, whereas SKY is TV only better plus poor mans' versions of watching a sports match in person or going to the movies. The products aren't equivalent (Yet – with some decent investment, I'm sure Freeview can build viable movie and sport channels).

Fair?

I've even sat through Bones simply because of the picture quality...

I've been entranced all over again by the bright new pictures on TV. Although I'm not sure if "entranced" is quite the right word for a Bones autopsy in HD ...

But a note of caution for those in?

Come on guys it's 'free' – publish your specs, point to the DVB specs you support, what format is the guide data in? how do you structure your channels? (mpeg 4 rather than?

(disclaimer: I work for a?

sadly still no technical specs on the Freeview web site (at least none that I can see).

I thought there was a year moratorium on competition on set-top boxes. An exclusive contract for the first year or something. Is that over yet?

But for basic sports and movies (ie, not Rialto, Rugby Channel, etc) you're looking at nearly $90 per month, and more than $100 a month for HD. That's quite a lot.

Long Live the Rialto Channel, but is there really somebody who still subscribes to Sky Movies? In the age?

As you've discovered, the indoor aerials generally work rather well.

Well in my case, only just. Very frustrating because the aerial on the roof has line of sight out to the mast on the Waitaks, and the Sky Tower the other way for infill – but my lounge is down?

We only picked up Sky Movies when we got Sky HDi, and it unquestionably improves the experience. A good HD transfer is better than DVD. And a lot better than those grody pictures they send out on Telstra.

Fair enough if the films are in HD, although every time I?

__"No PlayTV DOES record in HD, the reason why it does not in Europe is Freeview in Europe is not?

Re comments on Sony's Play TV not having HD capability – see the post from another forum. Can't comment on the accuracy, but a different story to what you report:

Ah, thanks.

I watched TV (in the sense of sitting in front of a television set, watching a scheduled programme) for the first time in ages. I saw a really good Artsville Doco about Alun Bollinger: locally made, high quality television. This is?

We have the technology; now what about the content?

Yes, that's the issue for me too. I have zero interest in upgrading to HD with the current TV lineup: same old crap, but at a higher resolution is not my idea of appealing. The Freeview content on the other hand?

Hauppauge HVR3000 (Analogue/DVB-S/DVB-T) – $185
Hauppauge HVR1100 (Analogue/DVB-T) – $125

I saw a really good Artsville Doco about Alun Bollinger: locally made, high quality television.

Wasn't it great? I found it enjoyable and illuminating.

How do we get more of it?

Public funding. If National keeps to its policy, the Charter money will be removed from TVNZ control and dished?

Tell me why I should not download them.

Because the wait for the DVD usually isn't that long (assuming we get it). And if it's a documentary about history (Simon Schama, Niall Fergusson – heard good things but only read, not seen) you shouldn't be in too much of a?

Ah, and I'm adding "grody" to my vocabulary.

Welcome to the club. I can recommend "grodiness" also, as in "Grodiness, gracious me".

Tell me why I should?

On Windows the software is a complete?

Seeing as I wont be buying a New TV any time soon, (Warehouse 29" glass tube telly) and get a perfect picture on TV1-2-3, close to perfect?

If our freeview decoder is built into the TV,?

Andrew – not all Freeview boxes are also DVRs/PVRs (in fact I'm not sure any are yet – Russell's article, in part announces what are probably the first ones) – most just replace the analog channel tuning with digital tuning

I was more thinking about dvd/hd recorders not related to?

If the decoder is inside the TV, how does the dvd/harddrive recorder get the decoded HD freeview signal?

If it's like this puppy, there's old-school video out on the back of the set — although it won't be in HD, of course.

What makes the EyeTV shine is the software. Paired with?

If our freeview decoder is built into the TV, how can you record in HD onto an external harddrive or dvd recorder?
We had thought we needed to get an external box which does all the HD/freeview stuff, and then pipes it into the harddrive/dvd recorder so we can tape?

Basically we want to buy something which lets us
1. watch hd tv live and in hd
2. record shows in hd so when we watch them later they will also be in hd

You should really wait for the new Zinwell official MyFreeview HD box, and not buy a?

What makes the EyeTV shine is the software. Paired with 24" iMac it's second to none and can even stream recorded TV to my iPhone, which is handy in bed. Especially good for blogging clips from TV too, with a bit of help from QT Pro..

I think you've sold?

On Windows the software is a complete PITA, it's fairly unreliable, requires registration that locks it to the PC and all that proprietary malarkey. Stephen Judd reports that the latest version of Ubuntu shows TV perfectly well in VLC Player though, so that's cool.

Is that so? We've been mucking?

So I am looking in the future to a PVR with it's own independent dual digital tuners that can record full HD programming, and then play back via HDMI the full HD goodness.

As a bonus, you should also be able to watch one channel live on your integrated tuner?

I guess most gadget geeks work in IT, so it'll really only be an issue if the IT industry turns down. Which in turn hinges on whether the $3bln of pork (sorry,?

I once lived with a 4 tuner/1 TV PVR for a while and only ran out of tuners once ....

Were Eye TV the HD version of The Nixons?

Yeah. Before it was just basement static.

I once lived with a 4 tuner/1 TV PVR for a while and only ran out of tuners once

Is there a single poster in this forum who is not married to a TV reviewer? Where do you find all this simultaneous stuff to watch on TV?!

As I said before I design DVRs for a living – I had a 4 tuner satellite box in the US as part of a company?

I'll just ask my one again incase it got lost inside the larger comment...

Will the $250 Freeview-HD set-top box give noticeably better pictures than the $190 non-HD Freeview-satellite box when viewed through a 29"?

Will the $250 Freeview-HD set-top box give noticeably better pictures than the $190 non-HD Freeview-satellite box when viewed through a 29" glass-tube TV?

Probably not. And satellite has the advantage of getting Stratos (and thus al-Jazeera) — which hasn't yet forked over to go out via DTT.

On a couple of occasions, we're recorded two channels while we watched a third on the MySky HDi, which has three tuners now active. But that's just silly.

Yeh, the MySky HDi has become ridiculously essential at our place in such a short space of time. Before it arrived I?

What are the adv and disadv of going with an aerial vs a satellite dish.

In case it is useful for other pepole, some info I was told by some installers is that I can run a cable for an external freeview aerial or an external freeview dish?

Satellite – you can get a perfect signal even if you live in one of Wellington's reception-free valleys, without shelling out for Sky or Cable. Plus a couple extra channels. But as far as I can tell, no HD, or plans for HD in?

That USB port's only ever going to be allowed to run one way — and it won't be out.

But I guess they could possibly allow people to fit more storage one day, assuming the content could be made unusable anywhere else.

USB's not going to do so good for?

Great to see Public Address's value being recognised by advertisers, but... can I put in a request for them not to be irritating! Or?

The SATA connection is a much better bet for external storage, but as you say it'll be highly dependant on them finding a strong DRM system. Which will, of course, be thoroughly cracked within weeks of being released.

Yes, I figured as much, I'd be happy enough if they offered?

I wonder if economic slowdown will affect the sales of what are after all discretionary purchases of luxuries.

It has for me. Switching to a mean new HD setup is a nice-to-have-not-need-to-have thing. My wife and I operate on a tit-for-tat basis re: luxury expenditures so I'm not going to?

The Elgato hardware however is mostly re-badged product from other manufacturers – ie. Terratec, Hauppage etc.- for instance the EyeTV Hybrid Stick is a re-badged Hauppage HVR900 available for $167 here.
The cool thing that?

You can find a list of supported tuners here and you can get some of them in your local mall.

Thanks! Which of those would be a reasonable swap for the 250 Plus?

Thanks! Which of those would be a reasonable swap for the 250 Plus?

Damn! You would choose that one! As far as I know it's a Terratec box, but I can't find it on their website anymore – I shall have a better search later.

Is there a reason that?

If?

You should really wait for the new Zinwell official MyFreeview HD box

Which I was dead keen on until I read this:

Somebody on dtvforum mentioned the RRP of the Zinwell PVR is going to be $1149, a lot more than I was expecting, so maybe the non-PVR boxes won't?

I'm sure I'd like an electric car too, I just don't want to pay current prices.

Badoom-tish!

For someone currently rocking a 32" CRT and broken bunny ears, this is tempting. I ask the experts, should we?

Should we take it, with a?

we've all but reverted to chooks and bartering?

That's because we've spent all our money on satellite TV!

ALthough I'm told the Food Channel has lots of chicken recipes.

Sky is doing the ring-around at the moment, pushing

The first time I signed up to Sky it was a person contracted to go door-to-door, probably on a pay-per-signup deal I guess.

I was interested but not keen to commit at the time. He told me to fill in and?

I was most impressed & was doing fine around town.

Dear Santa,

I've been very good, or will be from now on....

I am sure if the general public could see what is available (as you can?

I did mention that their sales reps were lying to people to get them to sign up.

Yeah, that's the risk with door-knockers. I used to work for a moderately-large (top five, at the time) telco/ISP, and they had exactly the same problem with their commission-only sales reps. They outright?

I have a digital signal processor, most folk do these days. It's got cheaply extendable storage of various types, plenty of processing grunt, and IO channels to handle whatever you want to throw at it for the cost of a?

it's a complete nonsense that TV networks can get copyright in their programme listings and then stop anyone else from recreating them

Seems completely inconsistent with not being able to copyright things like forms or bus timetables. Any comment from our legal brethren?

Got a satellite tuner in January this year when the old telly blew up (literally).
Was sick of fuzzy pictures and was in now way about to fork out money to Sky just so I could watch something on TV2 clearly.

TV6 and 7 are great – we?

Seems completely inconsistent with not being able to copyright things like forms or bus timetables. Any comment from our legal brethren?

That's not entirely accurate. You can copyright layouts, but you cannot (generally) copyright factual information.

Prime hasnt "decided to to with" Sky..... Prime IS Sky. Prime was owned by Australia's Channel 9 network, but Sky bought it to fulfill some of the "must be shown delayed free to air" contracts with some of the sports they have bought... (instead of selling/giving the free/delay content?

I decided in the end to go with the UHF-HD option even though its for an old telly that will probably look no better than the cheaper non-HD satellite-decoder... because It will?

you cannot (generally) copyright factual information.

I guess the real issue then is how information about what is on television does not count as a fact.

I guess the real issue then is how information about what is on television does not count as a fact.

I think the legal community's view (at least for those who disagree with the situation) is that a court misapplied the "sweat of the brow" test. The simple summary of?

Or do they make money off selling their listings?

Or do they make money off selling their listings?

Bingo. Because they have copyright, they can make money off allowing publishers access to the timetables and show summaries. I think the summaries are actually supplied by the show creators, too, so they're not even the work of the TV stations.