Calling all MP New Zealanders (Both of you!!) (17 Viewers)

[southern.al]

hey again peeps,

i looked into freeview last week and i was going to invest in a dvb-s card and satelite but it turns out tvnz will only be broadcasting hd via terrestrial freeview.

are all you people using a dvb-s card aware of this? and if so, why dvb-s and not dvb-t?? what are the true advantages, given that i'm in the suburbs and anticipate good terrestrial freeview reception?

For some of us there will be no choice...

Those who are in the main cities will have access to the digital terrestrial service when it comes online whereas those of us in the country areas will only have access to the satellite service

 

[mcraenz]

Yeah thats exactly what the sat service is intended for

 

[mdsflyer]

For me DVB-S has a number of appealling traits

1 Its working now and TV1, 2 and Maori have been available FTA for at least 2 years to my knowledge, I've been able to enjoy mediaportal and all its benefits over that period.

2 I can get it without having to live in a major urban centre or with a view of the local TV mast

3 I get channels that you cant get on terrestial

4 No hardware required other than DVB-S card for me because dish already installed for sky, of course this may not be the case for eveyone

5 My DVB-S card will most likely cope with HD when launched on the sat service (note that they will do this eventually), so i have already the correct hardware. Frankly i'm not that fussed as high quality SD, such as most of the current american shows (e.g. CSI miami), look fantastic to my eyes on a 40" LCD TV. Maybe because i've been that student with the rabbit ears in the past i have a low threshold! but i suspect not as my TV picture always recieves very favourable comments. Certainly is far ahead of the quality offered by SKY.

6 Until very recently i had a CRT TV, HD would have been lost on me, I suspect that not everyone has that big plasma or LCD yet and that upgrade would have to occur before you would get the true benefit of HD content.

So lots of reasons that i'm delighted to be already watching DVB-S broadcasts

 

[coina]

which channels can you get via satellite that won't be accessible via terrestrial?

it is clear on both the tvnz and freeview websites that satellite will only ever be standard def, and hd will only be broadcast via terrestrial.

so, none of the pro-satellite arguments really hold up to me so far (considering i'm in a major urban centre and can live without tv indefinitely if i have to) can anyone be specifically negative about terrestrial in anyway? i guess we won't know for sure until it's up and running, right?

has anyone in ak checked out the dvb-t test patterns being broadcast? i might just buy the card now and see how they look

 

[mdsflyer]

Hi Coina, fair enough and i think the point is DVB-T will suit you but the following remains true

DVB-T is local, Optus D1 covers NZ and Aus, have a google around you'll get the idea, and then there are other satellites in the region

DVB-S will be in HD it's only a matter of time

Do you own an HD TV set? If yes you are in the minority, if no then why the wait for DVB-T?

For sure DVB-T will be a good localized TV source for those in urban centres, sounds ideal for you, but to be negative about DVB-T is easy for me, and at least 1 million other kiwis . . . . . . . we wont get it.

If you can "live without tv indefinitely if i have to" then i would suggest waiting for the next technology after DVB-T, it promises to be far better

For some of us its about having the latest technology now and not in the future, i can remember getting a ZX81 with it's whole 1K of RAM, if i had waited for the PS3 i would never have those great memories of 3D Monster Maze (my tongue is firmly in my cheek now!) But the valid point is DVB-S is here and has been for some time, DVB-T is not.

Its not hard to be positive about DVB-S as it works impeccably and gives great results, after all I need my weekly fix of The Mighty Boosh!

 

[bruizerbg]

List of the Channel Service ID's in NZ

Anyone have a comprehensive list? In particular I'm trying to find the Prime ID if there is one.

Bruce

 

[mcraenz]

I will just both! Since I've already got a sat setup of course I'll keep it (I've been using it for more than a year now) but if I was just starting out I'd probably just go for DVB-T. Sat is more fun though (in terms of setup challenges, especially when you add multiple LNBs to the mix)

DVB-S will be in HD it's only a matter of time

I wouldn't be to sure about that as far as Freeview goes anyway. HD requires I lot more bandwidth (I think) terrestrial bandwidth is cheap compare to sat bandwidth.

 

[mdsflyer]

Hi mcraenz, I agree with you re. the setup challenges etc, a real sense of achievement when its all stably running and configured. I recently was staying with my in-laws who have the standard Sky setup and it was amazing how outdated this now felt to me. The lack of PVR facilities was a real step backwards.

cheers
m

 

[mruane]

Hi Mcrae

Do you think its worth loading this table into the wiki for NZ DVB-T channels? The list covers pretty much all the channels that (I think) are going to be used and can be just copied into the DVBT.XML file over the top of the existing NZ Auckland trial entries.

<country name="New Zealand - All Regions">
<carrier frequency="522000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 27 -->
<carrier frequency="530000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 28 -->
<carrier frequency="538000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 29 -->
<carrier frequency="546000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 30 -->
<carrier frequency="554000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 31 -->
<carrier frequency="562000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 32 -->
<carrier frequency="570000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 33 -->
<carrier frequency="578000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 34 -->
<carrier frequency="586000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 35 -->
<carrier frequency="594000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 36 -->
<carrier frequency="602000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 37 -->
<carrier frequency="610000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 38 -->
<carrier frequency="618000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 39 -->
<carrier frequency="626000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 40 -->
<carrier frequency="634000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 41 -->
<carrier frequency="642000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 42 -->
<carrier frequency="650000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 43 -->
<carrier frequency="658000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 44 -->
<carrier frequency="666000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 45 -->
<carrier frequency="674000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 46 -->
<carrier frequency="682000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 47 -->
<carrier frequency="690000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 48 -->
<carrier frequency="698000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 49 -->
<carrier frequency="706000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 50 -->
<carrier frequency="714000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 51 -->
<carrier frequency="722000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 52 -->
<carrier frequency="730000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 53 -->
<carrier frequency="738000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 54 -->
<carrier frequency="746000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 55 -->
<carrier frequency="754000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 56 -->
<carrier frequency="762000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 57 -->
<carrier frequency="770000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 58 -->
<carrier frequency="778000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 59 -->
<carrier frequency="786000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 60 -->
<carrier frequency="794000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 61 -->
<carrier frequency="802000" bandwidth="8"></carrier> <!-- ch 62 -->
</country>

Cheers Mike

 

[mcraenz]

Once we know for sure what they all are we can get them commited to SVN