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Now TV - rubbish image quality

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  1. #21

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    Hi Geoff. Yes you are correct in all your thinking. The local HI-DEF stuff can be picked up over the air in the same way as traditional analogue using the same antennas and sockets. The website from pin shows the areas that can pick it up (because it is not quite as extensive as analogue at the moment but pretty close).

    The now HD box has an antenna input to pick up the local HI DEF stuff and the ethernet input to pick up the Now stuff. There is one HDMI output to the TV for both. If you ever cancel Now TV in the future, you can still use it as a normal set top box for the local channels.

    If there are no promotions at the moment, you can buy the box outright for $890, or you can rent it for $38/month.

    You do not need to purchase a single HD channel from PCCW to get the box. I find the channels are too expensive at the moment and they only have a couple anyway.

    Last edited by bdw; 22-03-2010 at 11:53 AM.
    Geoff likes this.

  2. #22

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    Thank you bdw. I will try to ask them if I can swap my current box (rented) for a hi def one (rented) as I believe I am paying a monthly fee on the current crappy one too.

    Having it all on one remote sounds better too!


  3. #23

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    One more point. There are a couple of extra free local channels that you can pick up with a digital tuner. In all, there are 11 DTT channels. There are channels like J2, ATVHD (which is often showing something different from ATV Home), TVB HD (which is often showing something different from TVB Jade), etc that you can get.

    But this may not be interesting as mostly not in english.


  4. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by Geoff:
    Thank you bdw. I will try to ask them if I can swap my current box (rented) for a hi def one (rented) as I believe I am paying a monthly fee on the current crappy one too.

    Having it all on one remote sounds better too!
    Check the available channels first, else you might be disappointed (not with the quality but the choice on offer).

  5. #25

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    Hey geoff,

    acutally in my case, there's no decoder or HD now box for my fta digital chans (along with 11 analog chans that oddly enough comes with MTV, Aussie chan & NHK). It's a simple coax from my LG to the wall.

    Since the OP is asking about I-cable, I would also like to know if
    1- the football commentary is in engalishee
    2- is the HD football feed/ coverage filmed & broadcasted in HD?
    3- and if so, is it worth it as in clarity after the compression?

    Planning to subscribe soon and taking advantage of that $80 pkg

    Thanks
    Posted via Mobile Device


  6. #26

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    Hi DJ008. It sounds like you have a newer IDTV with the tuner built in.

    Regarding MTV, Aussie TV, NHK etc, these are for sure analogue channels provided by your building management. Each building has different channels like this available. I have DWTV provided free in my building.


  7. #27

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    May 2008
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    DTT weak signal & a few other things

    Hi guys,

    Thanks for the tips on using DTT with Now TV HD box... very useful. I have tried it and it works. However, when viewing DTT channels I get a 'weak signal' message every ~5 minutes. After a few seconds images comes back. Does anybody else have this issue? Should this be raised with building management?

    Also, my 18 months Now TV subscription got automatically renewed. I saw somewhere in the trail that people had success in getting this automatic renewal undone. Any tips to share on how to do that?

    Finally, my building is currently not capable of high speed internet (~10 Mbps is max). PCCW says an upgrade is not yet planned. Is this again something to raise with building management? I have Now TV HD service (bought the box and got HBO HD for free) which requires a second (i.e., dedicated) ADSL modem because the building does not support high speed internet.

    Regarding the topic of the original poster: I agree that Now TV image quality is average. Some channels are ok but others (Max comes to mind (nothing on that channel anyway!)) have awful quality. HBO HD looks good but definitely also not perfect with clear artifacts around the edges.

    Thanks,
    Chris.


  8. #28

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    OK, I spoke to PCCW. They understood the issue, and the techie guy was pretty clear the picture quality was crap and this is a known issue on hi-def TVs.

    On the flip-side, they offered me the hi-def box at $38 a month or free if I subscribed to $70 more of channels. I picked the latter option and they're going to install on Friday.

    At least there will be some decent picture quality signals, even if the content is somewhat lacking!


  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by DJ008:
    Hey geoff,

    acutally in my case, there's no decoder or HD now box for my fta digital chans (along with 11 analog chans that oddly enough comes with MTV, Aussie chan & NHK). It's a simple coax from my LG to the wall.
    The decoder is built in to your TV then, a lot of modern sets have this now.

  10. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by Geoff:
    OK, I spoke to PCCW. They understood the issue, and the techie guy was pretty clear the picture quality was crap and this is a known issue on hi-def TVs.

    On the flip-side, they offered me the hi-def box at $38 a month or free if I subscribed to $70 more of channels. I picked the latter option and they're going to install on Friday.

    At least there will be some decent picture quality signals, even if the content is somewhat lacking!
    Hi Geoff,

    Let us know how you get on with the new NowTV HD Box.
    ..I've got exactly the same problem with you on my 47" LCD TV.

    when I watch a FTA HD Channel, which looks awesome,then turn over to NowTV (old type box) I can't bare to watch it, it looks so bad.

    Cheers