Just got a DTT trial Box :-)

Barryo · 10-05-2007 01:30PM #1

Mailed RTE transmissions ages ago - Arrived in work to the following mail this morning:

Hi there,
You volunteered for the DTT trial some time ago as such the Department of Communications would like to offer you a set top box and aerial in appreciation for your interest. This is available to collect from our offices in Dublin 4. Please let us know by return email if you wish to take up this offer.

Kind regards

Just collected the box now - am delighted and can't wait to get home to try this out. asked about HDTV trails and she said these would be commencing "in the summer".

Will post again once I get all set up this evening.

Mayo Exile · 10-05-2007 01:40PM

Got the same email as well this morning! Will probably pop down to Dublin in the morning to get mine!

L1011 · 10-05-2007 05:06PM

No such email despite whimpering, erm, emailing... RTENL and the Department as far back as September when the trial started! I want my mummy

moonstomp · 10-05-2007 05:24PM

Yeah - got the e-mail too.

Can't wait to get my hands on the box & aerial.

Moonstomp.

byte · 10-05-2007 07:54PM

Nice to see an influx of boards.ie users getting one of these to try out!

BowWow · 10-05-2007 11:04PM

byte wrote:

Nice to see an influx of boards.ie users getting one of these to try out!

Agreed, I think thats 6(if not 7) users of the forum that now are part of the trial. I too sent an email earlier in the year - heres hoping they still have me on file...........

flogen · 10-05-2007 11:37PM

Barryo wrote:

Mailed RTE transmissions ages ago - Arrived in work to the following mail this morning:

Hi there,
You volunteered for the DTT trial some time ago as such the Department of Communications would like to offer you a set top box and aerial in appreciation for your interest. This is available to collect from our offices in Dublin 4. Please let us know by return email if you wish to take up this offer.

Kind regards

Just collected the box now - am delighted and can't wait to get home to try this out. asked about HDTV trails and she said these would be commencing "in the summer".

Will post again once I get all set up this evening.

You got the mail from RTÉ or DCMNR? The latter never replied to me when I tried to get one - the former aren't the ones behind the trial so I never really broached it with them...

Barryo · 11-05-2007 08:37AM

Got the e-mail from a marketing company. Initially mailed RTE who forwarded my mail to Dept Marine & Comm. They then mailed me thanking me for my interest, advising they were not looking for participants at that time but that they would forward my details onto the market research company looking after the trial.

Must say I was very surprised to get the e-mail yesterday :-)

Set the box up last night - very impressive feel to it. EPG and menus are easy to use and very intuitive

Encryption is definatly in Conax - the card I got with the Humax works in the Technisat sat/dtt box I have which has built in Conax.

Card is plain white one with DCMR and a number printed on it.

Will scan the info sheet I got and post it on here later

Mountjoy Mugger · 11-05-2007 11:55AM

I suppose it's too late, but has anyone a contact email addy where one could apply?

I had tried various e-mails in RTE but never heard back.

VERYinterested · 11-05-2007 12:47PM

I mailed RTE yesterday after seeing the original message and they referred me to the website below
http://www.dcmnr.gov.ie/Broadcasting/Digital+Television/Digital+Terrestrial+Television+Pilot/DTT+Pilot.htm

If you go in to contacts, under broadcasting, pop them off a mail. I did and will collect a box after lunch.

Mayo Exile · 11-05-2007 01:15PM

Went down to Dublin this morning and collected box. Its not RTE or the DCMNR who are directly supplying the boxes, its a PR consultancy company called "Amarach". In talking to them they said the 500 original participants had been picked for the trial, but they had some extra boxes left and were giving them out to "interested volunteers". Also they said that even if you get a box you are still not considered part of the official trial, so therefore you do not do any surveys etc. but you could still send in your own observations if you wanted. Also they seemed to suggest the box was yours to keep as well.

Their website is: www.amarach.com

email is info@amarach.com

Phone number is 01-6605506
Fax is 01-6605508

Barryo · 11-05-2007 03:17PM

Afternoon..

Attached is the info I received with the box, says here we get to keep the box alright - this was confirmed when I collected the box also. Roll on the HD testing.

Mountjoy Mugger · 11-05-2007 04:56PM

Just got a mail confirming that I can collect one from the DCMNR’s offices.

Many thanks for the info.

lucernarian · 11-05-2007 05:57PM

I emailed the DCMNR at their DTT info address yesterday but I've gotten no reply so far.

I gave Amarach a call today after seeing that number and the lady said that they would get back to me. I said that I lived in south louth but that I could already get the signal on a freeview box. I'm not sure if I should have said that now...

This doesn't look good...

BowWow · 11-05-2007 06:03PM

Mountjoy Mugger wrote:

Just got a mail confirming that I can collect one from the DCMNR’s offices. Many thanks for the info.

This is most unfair:mad: I sent emails to Amarach in March last - they said they'd "keep me on file" - I feel like your man on the fishing boat with his idea in a filing cabinet:rolleyes:

I've emailed again today, bit of luck I'll hear on Monday.

Well done to all the lads who now have a trial box - looking forward to hearing how its going.....

L1011 · 11-05-2007 10:04PM

I sent the first mail to the DCMNR about it in june 06, and another to RTENL the day I first got picture on my DTT card, and I'm in a fringe reception area (real trial country, eh?) and and and and....

Oh well. Here's hoping.

Mayo Exile · 13-05-2007 06:50PM

The trial box is a Humax HDCI 2000T. "T" must mean the DTT version of this box as there is a satellite version as well. Conax encryption is used. Connections on the back are HDMI, component video, TV Scart, VCR scart, composite video and L and R audio connections. Also there are a USB port, an RS232 port and a S/PDIF outlet (optical digital out?).

The box will output HD signals through its HDMI and component video sockets. I am currently using a Sony KLV-L23M1 23" LCD TV that takes a HD signal via its component video inputs (regrettably no HDMI socket). When changing channels initially you get an onscreen graphic indicating video format used. Currently all channels indicate 576i resolution.

On the remote, a button allows you to cycle through the following modes: 576p, 720p and 1080i. When connected via component the tv will switch to these modes accordingly, even though the original broadcasts are still only 576i. Interestingly, looking at the display on the box itself you can see indicators for 576i, 480i, 480p and 1080p. These are not used on this box however. There is also an indicator for HD.

On the channel: "MPEG4 Test" I am currently getting sound but no picture either via TV Scart or component video. Any reason for this? Biggest initial disappointment was no teletext or interactive services that you get when using the Red button on a UK Freeview box or Sky Digibox. To come later in the trial maybe? Pressing the teletext button on the remote you get a "no teletext available" on the screen.

EPG seems easy enough to use. No EPG info for Sky News or Sky Sports 1 though. "Edit Channel" option seems restricted as well. Can only lock specific channels it seems. Can't seem to move channels around. Useful feature as well is a "Pillar Box" mode when picture aspect is set to 16:9. This enables you to view 4:3 material properly on a widescreen tv. On many widescreen tv's (Sonys anyway) the 4:3 mode seems to mask too much of the picture, so this mode is an advantage here.

Initially I am happy so far. Massive bonus is having Sky Sports 1 if you are a footie fan! Free footie until August 2008 it would seem! Biggest downer is lack of teletext services. But maybe this will come later on.

SPDUB · 13-05-2007 09:50PM

Remember though that according to those conditions Barryo posted you can't tape anything off the service even for personal purposes

VERYinterested · 13-05-2007 10:14PM

Question for Mayo Exile, what cables came with the trial box? Scart etc.?

remlap · 14-05-2007 01:00AM

Mayo Exile wrote:

On the channel: "MPEG4 Test" I am currently getting sound but no picture either via TV Scart or component video. Any reason for this?

What is the sound from?

Could this be an HDCP issue?

Mayo Exile · 14-05-2007 09:47AM

VERYinterested: 2 Scart leads and a HDMI cable.

Remlap: The sound seems to be from Sky News.

Some extra info from Humax's own site about the box:

http://www.humaxdigital.com/global/products/new_leaflet/hdci-2000t.pdf

VERYinterested · 14-05-2007 11:11AM

Thanks, should be collecting one during the morning, I'm afraid to ring to arrange collection in case they've change their minds!!

BeerNut · 14-05-2007 12:39PM

SPDUB wrote:

Remember though that according to those conditions Barryo posted you can't tape anything off the service even for personal purposes

I'm not seeing that, SPDUB. Those conditions are exactly the same as the ones which come with normal telly. Under section 101 of the 2000 Copyright Act a programme that you taped to watch later is not an infringing copy.

Mayo Exile · 14-05-2007 12:41PM

Just got a call back from the DTT Trial Helpline (run by Amárach). They said that there was no teletext service provided at the moment and that there was a possibility that it might appear in the future.

As regards there being no picture, only sound on the MPEG 4 Test channel, they said that there was ongoing testing on this channel and that sometimes there mightn't be any sound on it either.

SPDUB · 14-05-2007 02:44PM

BeerNut wrote:

I'm not seeing that, SPDUB. Those conditions are exactly the same as the ones which come with normal telly. Under section 101 of the 2000 Copyright Act a programme that you taped to watch later is not an infringing copy.

Well if what you say is true then it shows lawyers just copying and pasting the same wording out of older documents since this It is an infringement of copyright to copy,reproduce......copyrighted material without permission is more or less a word for word lift from an old cablelink connection contract ,I recently found at home , from 1988 except for the bit where cablelink says you can be subject to disconnection and their costs if caught taping off their service.

BeerNut · 14-05-2007 02:49PM

I think the taping thing was technically illegal until the 2000 Act came into force, as was using the Web (i.e. copying data from a web server into the cache on your hard drive).

Using the same standard text is common practice throughout the legal system. If a particular form of words did the job before then it can be used again. Hence all the Latin, for instance.

Mountjoy Mugger · 14-05-2007 05:57PM

Hooked up the box to a Panasonic 42PX60 via HDMI. Fantastic picture when compared to NTL's digital pack.

Roll on 2012, if the cigs don't get me first.

me87_ie · 15-05-2007 10:46AM

Anyone know if it's still possible to get one of these trial boxes?

fta keith · 15-05-2007 10:52AM

I phoned Amerach on friday afternoon, and Amarach phoned me this morning to say I am on a list I might get one tomorrow afternoon but she did say they had none left and might get some extra ones tomorrow, you just have to phone Amarach and enquire about it

VERYinterested · 15-05-2007 12:00PM

Collected my box from DCMNR offices yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of what they give you in the package. Set it up last night in minutes, very simple to instal and search for channels. Quality of signal is excellent compared to NTL analogue signal, have it connected to a Samsung 32" LCD via the DTMi lead and it is brilliant. It is not HDTV though, am I right? And I was surprised that all the DAB channels are not available on it, just the RTE's and Today FM. Overall very impressed and signal strength varies between 75% and 80% and quality of signal is 100%. Great little toy that provides hours of entertaimment if you are sad like me!!

Mossy Monk · 15-05-2007 12:45PM

Wouldn't worry. You are not the only sad person to visit this board

.

Just got a DTT trial Box :-)

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