Cheap Sigmatek box - will it receive Irish DTT?

ledzep

Folks,

Just wondering if anyone out there knows if this cheap Sigmatek box will work with RTE's new DTT service:

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/2662277/art/sigmatek/dvbr-154-freeview-receive.html

Apologies if it's mentioned somewhere on the site (I couldn't find any mention of it).

Ok, it's not HD, but I don't have a HD TV yet so that doesn't bother me. At some point in the future I'll buy a HD TV with built-in MPEG4 decoder. In the meantime I'm interested in good quality terrestrial reception, so this might do. This box can also record to USB. All for less than €45.
The info on Pixmania mentions MPEG4 and TNT.
Any help appreciated.

givecredit

ledzep wrote: »

Folks,

Just wondering if anyone out there knows if this cheap Sigmatek box will work with RTE's new DTT service:

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/2662277/art/sigmatek/dvbr-154-freeview-receive.html

.
The info on Pixmania mentions MPEG4 and TNT.
Any help appreciated.

No. This box is mpeg2 only. Has to be mpeg4.

This one will:
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/2024987/art/sigmatek/dvb-500-hd-freeview-recei.html

But to be honest there is probably better out there. This one has a fiddly remote and horrible user interface.

If you already have a ps3. I would highly recommend the play tv attachment. Eur77 at play.com

watty

Or wait till next year when more & cheaper products and there is actually a service.

Bob_Harris

Here's another 99euro MPEG4 box, and only 5euro for next day delivery: http://tvtrade.ie/show/196,Digital-Terrestrial-MPEG4-Receiver
Not sure what quality of the remote or interface is really.

I wouldn't buy a box specifically for Irish DTT at the moment.

A HD combo box is really the only cost effective and risk free way of getting Irish DTT right now. Cost effective in that a combo box isn't that much more expensive than a standalone FTA HD satellite box and risk free in that if the DTT goes down you still have the satellite channels.

But if you already have Sky / an FTA box you're happy with / don't want satellite / are not allowed to install a dish then a HD combo box is not much use to you.

A DVB-T stick for your PC or Laptop can be fun too. (20-80 euro)

Dipole

Found this in Power City priced at €131 on-line. Available to order

WALKER SET TOP BOX
* IRISH DIGITAL TV READY
* MPEG4 DIGITAL RTE TUNER
* 200 CHANNEL MEMORY
* HDMI OUTPUT
* USB INPUT
* DUAL SCART SOCKET
* SIMPLE & QUICK FIRST INSTALLATION
* REMOTE CONTROL UNIT INCLUDED

WALKER
IRISH DTT RECEIVER

Model: WP10DTB

No other information given.

marclt

givecredit wrote: »

If you already have a ps3. I would highly recommend the play tv attachment. Eur77 at play.com

UK argos selling this for 39.99stg... so if ur near the border it cud be worth the exchange rate and petrol?

byte

Dipole wrote: »

Found this in Power City priced at €131 on-line. Available to order

WALKER SET TOP BOX
* IRISH DIGITAL TV READY
* MPEG4 DIGITAL RTE TUNER
* 200 CHANNEL MEMORY
* HDMI OUTPUT
* USB INPUT
* DUAL SCART SOCKET
* SIMPLE & QUICK FIRST INSTALLATION
* REMOTE CONTROL UNIT INCLUDED

WALKER
IRISH DTT RECEIVER

Model: WP10DTB

No other information given.

Interesting, though no mention of a Common Interface slot, which would be necessary for any PayTV service in the future...

Stephenm11

I just bought a Walker WP10DTB from Powercity.

The user interface is fine.

The picture quality is excellent.

The unit has a CAM bay.

The only problem is that the unit crashes approximately every hour. After the crash it restarts with 30 seconds and then work for another hour before crashing again. I will bring the unit back to Powercity this week to get a replacement. I will then post on boards.ie whether or not the crashing is a general problem or a problem specific to the unit that I purchased.

Peddyr

Stephenm11 wrote: »

I just bought a Walker WP10DTB from Powercity.

The user interface is fine.

The picture quality is excellent.

The unit has a CAM bay.

The only problem is that the unit crashes approximately every hour. After the crash it restarts with 30 seconds and then work for another hour before crashing again. I will bring the unit back to Powercity this week to get a replacement. I will then post on boards.ie whether or not the crashing is a general problem or a problem specific to the unit that I purchased.

Any update on this? Did you get a new unit and if so, did it continue to crash hourly?

watty

byte wrote: »

Interesting, though no mention of a Common Interface slot, which would be necessary for any PayTV service in the future...

PayTV should use DVB-T2 and subside boxes/install like Sky. Otherwise they have not enough channels and too high a step from UPC/SKY. DVB-T2 would let them have 30 to 50 channels instead of 20 to 30.

about 95% of DTT PayTV customers would have to be either Sky/UPC churn or won direct. Most of the people without PayTV are never going to sub to PayTv.

But I doubt we will see PayTV on DTT. If we do, I think within 3 to 5 years it will go bust.

Dt77

I bought a walker Stb too. Box kept crashing and would not work so I returned it to power city. I got a replacement and 4 days later the thing keeps crashing on start up. Avoid this product! Dodgy hardware that will stress you out, plus way over priced. Gonna return mine to power city tomorrow and go back to analogue for the moment.

KetchupKid

marclt wrote: »

UK argos selling this for 39.99stg... so if ur near the border it cud be worth the exchange rate and petrol?

Just to note that Amazon have Play TV for PS3 for £36 incl. free shipping. It lists for £34.99, but when you enter an Irish shipping address the price goes up to £36 due to the differences in VAT, which works about to €41.

I was going to buy a Sigmatek box from Piximania, but for some strange reason they wouldn't take my credit card and their customer support was so incompetent and reading bad reports about Piximania I decided to pass on them. Then I was going to get the Walker box from Power City, but I saw the reports here about the boxes crashing so in the end I opted for Play TV for the PS3.

STB

low post count (1) dissing new platform box.

hmmmmmmmmm

KetchupKid

STB wrote: »

low post count (1) dissing new platform box.

hmmmmmmmmm

Good point, but there were 2 posters that said the Walker box crashes, but they both only have a post count of 1. Does anybody else have any experience with the Walker box?

The Cush

STB wrote: »

low post count (1) dissing new platform box.

hmmmmmmmmm

The first post was 12 months ago Nov2009, the second this month. Could it be the same box that was returned 12 months ago?? :eek: Could it be the same poster? Maybe the replacement receiver worked OK, no further feedback.

Further reports would be required to verify if there is an ongoing problem with the Walker receiver.

Dt77

The Cush wrote: »

The first post was 12 months ago Nov2009, the second this month. Could it be the same box that was returned 12 months ago?? :eek: Could it be the same poster? Maybe the replacement receiver worked OK, no further feedback.

Further reports would be required to verify.

Not the same poster