# 2009 Set Top box - which one??



## chiaro8 (Oct 23, 2003)

Hi .... my set top box has stopped working and i need to buy a new one... but which one works ok with Tivo now?? August 2009

Help 

Viv


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## Nimbus (May 29, 2004)

All the new ones are quite hit and miss.. biggest problem being Tivo not having the codes for them.

I tried a variety, before settling for a 2nd hand sony unit off ebay.

Cant remeber the number right now, but it might be a dtx-800 (?), a search on the forums here will find the number and it well recommended, it works perfectly, and has been the best stb I've had.

not cheap tho


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## staffie2001uk (Apr 1, 2004)

I too have a Sony VTX-D800U. They are now only available second hand, but there a regular supply on e-bay. 

Reception is good and I can honestly say that it has (and I hate to tempt fate) NEVER missed a channel change in over 12 months that I have had it.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

staffie2001uk said:


> I too have a Sony VTX-D800U. They are now only available second hand, but there a regular supply on e-bay.
> 
> Reception is good and I can honestly say that it has (and I hate to tempt fate) NEVER missed a channel change in over 12 months that I have had it.


Will these Sony boxes also be cope with the digital switchover changes such as moving from 2k to 8k and having a split NIT?


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## staffie2001uk (Apr 1, 2004)

Pete77 said:


> Will these Sony boxes also be cope with the digital switchover changes such as moving from 2k to 8k and having a split NIT?


They definitely cope with split NIT. My Sony replaced a SetPal which failed when the Northwest transmitter went to split NIT. Not certain about 2k/8k, but I think those options were in the original Freeview spec so I would think the box should work with them.


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## AMc (Mar 22, 2002)

Anyone else had a good experience with a modern Freeview box?

My parents are about to move and can't have a satelite dish. They're not keen on buying a second hand box.

Thanks.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

AMc said:


> My parents are about to move and can't have a satelite dish. They're not keen on buying a second hand box.


Can you explain why they can't have a dish?

Have they moved to somewhere with a vast hill and great banks of trees between them and the satellite like TCM did or is it simply that they are moving to a flat that does not yet have a communal digital tv distribution system and are possibly unaware of the Sky Free Shared Dish scheme at http://communaltv.sky.com/options.aspx?page=2


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## steveroe (Oct 29, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> Can you explain why they can't have a dish?
> 
> Have they moved to somewhere with a vast hill and great banks of trees between them and the satellite like TCM did or is it simply that they are moving to a flat that does not yet have a communal digital tv distribution system and are possibly unaware of the Sky Free Shared Dish scheme at http://communaltv.sky.com/options.aspx?page=2


Welcome back Pete!

Why not answer the question instead of taking it off thread - it's their business why they can't have a satellite dish


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

steveroe said:


> Welcome back Pete!
> 
> Why not answer the question instead of taking it off thread - it's their business why they can't have a satellite dish


What a welcome back Steve. I'm not sure you can really have been amongst those who were rueful at my absence from the forum in recent weeks though.

Turning to the original question I don't think anyone much here has an answer as most of us have now had our Tivos a long time and so have tended to be using our Freeview boxes a long time. Clearly all the ones that worked in the past still work unless they have been hit by the split NIT incompatibility issue (all Setpal models such as Daewoo and Labgear) and all the old OnDigital boxes will also no longer work in each regional area once digital switchover is completed (because they are not 8k compatible although my 1998 Philips DTX 6370 OnDigital box that lived at my mother's place recently kicked the bucket due to old age and would no longer come out of standby mode).

The usual opinion here is that the Sony standalone tuner they were making till a couple of years ago is still the best one going (and will probably survive digital switchover) but you have to buy them on Ebay. I don't have the model number to hand. Also there was a Pioneer model that is no longer in production that people liked but again I don't have the model number.

Unfortunately the majority of people buying Freeview boxes from the shops now are late adopters and so the market seems to have turned almost exclusively towards cheap and nasty models on the basis even these people surely can't object to having stump only £15 to £20 for a load more tv channels, especially when they presumably some how afford to pay the annual tv license of well over £100.


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

If you don't want to trawl ebay for used freeview boxes,
I've been selling _brand new _ TiVo compatible freeview boxes on my website for quite a while...

www.TivoCentral.co.uk/freeview


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

mikerr said:


> I've been selling _brand new _ TiVo compatible freeview boxes on my website for quite a while...
> 
> www.TivoCentral.co.uk/freeview


You seem to have two completely different makes of Freeview box (from the two pictures) both just called Tivo compatible Freeview box but with no explanation as to who the manufacturer is or what the specifications of the boxes are (for instance how many SCARTs and do they or do they not have an RF modulator)?


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

The OP would be well advised to read the 2008 Set Top Box thread that discussed this issue at some length over four pages including the legendary and much praised standalone Sony set top box model.

See www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=384668


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