Buying a Set Top Box - A Few Tips

When purchasing an STB (Set Top Box), there are a few aspects which it's advisable to be aware of so a suitable choice from the many available can be made. I'm referring to a box which is just a digital tuner, not one which has a hard-drive built-in. Those are called Personal Video Recorders (PVR).

The first thing to decide is what you want the box for. Now don't be silly, of course I want it to receive digital tv! Yes, but do you also want to record from it onto your VCR (Video Cassette Recorder), which is most likely to be a VHS machine, though you may have a museum piece in the form of a Betamax recorder? It doesn't matter which, the same things apply.

If you don't want to record from it, it doesn't really matter which box you go for. If, at present, you're in a poor reception area (analogue picture a little snowy?), you may not be able to receive Freeview. Ask your neighbours - do any of them have Freeview and what's reception like? If none have Freeview it could be you'll not be able to receive it until after March 2012. In which case, if you want digital tv you'll need to investigate Freesat (not too expensive but more expensive than Freeview) or Sky (more expensive than Freesat and do read all the small print and investigate very closely all the deals).

If some neighbours do have Freeview but reception is variable, you'll need an STB with a very sensitive tuner. That is what you should ask for in the shop. It's going to be a more expensive STB because of that.

If you want to record onto a VCR from your STB then you need to seek one with the following characteristics:
1. It should have two Scart sockets on the back. You can get away with one but you'll not be able to watch any digital channel from it while the VCR is recording (even when recording from its own internal, analogue tuner). With two Scart sockets you can do that.
2. It must have an internal timer by which you can set a switch-on time, a channel, and a switch-off time. Such boxes normally have an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG). This provides you with a programme plan for the next seven days. It's in the form of a time grid showing the programmes on every channel. To select a programme for your VCR to record, you simply navigate with the buttons on the box's remote controller to the required programme and press the "Enter" button on the remote. Don't forget you also have to do the same on the VCR but select, as the programme, the Scart socket on the VCR to which the STB is connected.
3. The EPG is a variable feast. Sometimes it's full up with all the programmes, sometimes it's got a lot of blank spaces instead of programmes. There should, therefore, also be a manual timer in the box so you can set times by hand as on the VCR. There's no Programme Delivery Control (PDC) on digital tv. Even with an EPG, you'll need to "pad out" the times (I add 5 minutes to the end time and bring the start time forward by 5 minutes) as no tv company keeps to the correct scheduled times any more. If sport overruns, there's no hope as there's no automatic adjustment. That would require the co-operation of the tv companies and the EPG producer and each manufacturer of STBs etc. Don't hold your breath!
4. STBs without an EPG have what is called a "Now and Next" guide instead. Pretty useless!
5. Now this next point could prove troublesome. When you switch an STB off via the remote, it goes into standby. To use an STB with a VCR, it should come out of standby at each timed setting, select the pre-chosen channel, remain on that channel for the duration set and then switch off, returning to stand-by. Not all STBs do this. Some will not switch on from standby at the timed settings. They have to be fully on first. Then, when the set time is reached they just change channels if necessary, with an on-screen warning display that the channel change is about to occur.
Now you can work like this, if you leave your STB fully on all the time. It's up to you, of course. The very cheapest STBs are likely to be the ones lacking in this area. It's something I'd advise asking about in the shop. Be prepared for difficulty in obtaining a definitive answer. If the answer states that it will switch on from standby at set times, obtain an agreement in writing that the box can be returned if that proves not to be true. The safest way is to ask for a demonstration of its capabilities in that regard, but be prepared for being told that's not possible. It has always been a feature of selling STBs that returns because of no reception are not allowed. Caveat emptor!

I hope this little diatribe will be helpful. Please ask any follow-up questions by clicking on the word "Comments" below.

Colin

Introduction

Hallo and welcome to this blogsite for the new Wimborne U3A Activity to help with the switchover to digital television, scheduled for our area in March, 2012. That may seem a long time away but many people already have digital television equipment and that number will have to increase as the next four years pass. After March, 2012, the current analogue television transmissions will cease. It will then be possible to watch only digital television.

This U3A Activity will consist of just three sessions of two hours each (with a tea/coffee break, of course!). You will find out all you need to know about digital television and, after the experience, be in total control of whatever equipment you now have or will have. To obtain maximum benefit from this Activity it is advisable to possess already at least one piece of digital television receiving equipment. If you've not yet taken the plunge, this website, set up specially for this Activity, will contain articles giving advice on choosing digital television receiving equipment, though there will be no specific product recommendations.

What will happen in each session?
Each of the three sessions will occur four weeks apart, on a Wednesday afternoon at 2pm. There will be repeats of these three sessions each Autumn and Spring Term up to 2012 (and beyond if there is demand!). You can therefore decide which term in which year will best suit you if you wish to participate. The group size will be limited to six, so over the next four years forty eight Wimborne U3A members could avail themselves. If demand should be greater than this, additional times can be made available.

This Activity will be tailored to you personally, enabling you to understand your own equipment as well as the many ways in which digital television is different from analogue television. You will receive advice on how to deal with the equipment when it fails in some way, as it will! Most failures can be corrected by the owner; it's easy when you know how! Major problems will still require professional services but minor ones will not.

This site will have articles covering general points about the switchover to digital television in the future, especially as more information becomes available about the event. One of the first of these will deal with points to watch out for when purchasing a Freeview or Freesat set-top box (STB).

This site is open for all members of Wimborne U3A to view. If you have any questions, please use the e-mail contact facility stated in the sidebar under "Contact and Posting": such e-mailing is available to all Wimborne U3A members.

Colin