Keith Feltham wrote:
Our family are considering purchasing a Set Top Box in an attempt to
improve the fringe-signal ghosting and snow that currently constitutes
our TV picture.
Having moved around the country over the past two years, I'm familiar
with snow. In Crossing Falls, you could almost hear the ABC news through
the snow and we resorted to downloading the bulletin every day, seeing
that my Internet connection was just dandy.
*But*, I would like to point out one, likely fatal, flaw in your reason
for wanting Digital TV.
You state that you're wanting to improve fringe-signal ghosting and
snow, which both point to marginal reception. Digital TV uses the *same*
method of transporting data to you, only the information that is being
sent is digital, not analogue. What this means is that if your reception
is poor, the amount of information that you'll get that can successfully
be decoded will be less than 100%, thus your picture will suffer.
Specifically you'll notice the following things:
* Artifacts on the screen, things like blocks, frozen frames
* Black screen for about half a second every half hour or so
This basically means that you're going to get a different kind of
irritating TV experience, rather than an improved experience.
It is my experience that nothing beats spending some time and money on a
real TV antenna, or failing that, you might find that you are better off
installing a satellite dish and getting a service called Aurora. This
will provide you with ABC, SBS and in WA, WIN and GWN. This is *not* pay-TV!
The Aurora service is free, but you will need to buy a satellite decoder
(~$300) and an Aurora card (~$80). For information on Aurora you can
contact the Optus Satellite Services Support team on: 1300 301 681
Disclaimer: I am an Optus SatWeb 2-way Internet Satellite user and have
no relationship with Aurora.
--
Onno Benschop
Connected via Optus B3 at S25°34'41" - E152°35'34" (Graham's Creek, QLD)
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