I thought it was going to be so easy to set up my new High Definition set top box. I mean, really, how hard could it be?

The answer came to me when I was waist high in cables and instruction manuals, pressing the "menu" button for the fifteenth time trying to work out what went wrong.

I'm going to try and simplify this so nobody ever goes through the same unnecessary troubles that I endured.

These steps are for connecting a HD set top box to a plain old normal television. These instructions are for a Tedelex HD set top box but should be able to translate to other models.

Step 1:

Unpack set top box. Get the cable that looks like this: (red, yellow and white)



and plug it into the set top box like this (it is colour coded so you can't really get it wrong!):




Plug your aerial into "ANT IN" on the set top box:

Then plug the other end into the red, yellow and white bits at the back of the TV.


Step 2:

Turn the set top box on.

Get the HD remote.

(THIS IS THE IMPORTANT BIT!)



Set the format on "PALI" - I presume this has something to do with PAL for Australia / UK TV.

On this particular remote you do the following:

FUNC
FUNC
PALI (on this remote it is the RED button!)

That's it!


Step 3:

Generally normal (older!) TVs have AV1 and Av2 to plug in audiovisual equipment. So, you will have plugged the red, yellow and white cables into eitherAV1 or AV2 which means when you get the TV remote, put the channel on Av1 or Av2. Whichever one shows up the HD menu, that's it!

On this particular model, (Tedelex TE-8200) the instruction manual tells you to press menu, select "TV channels" by pressing "OK" and searching for channels either automatically or manually.

I did an autosearch and found quite a few channels but not TenHD. Which is a disaster because TenHD is the main channel I want for the extra golf tournaments.

I realised that the aerial wasn't in the "Channel 10 spot" when I did the autosearch.

I readjusted the aerial in the Channel 10 spot and rescanned. Lo and behold all the Channel 10 stuff came up.


Step 4:

If you want to watch a channel that is being previewed in a small box on the screen, select the channel, press:

EXIT
EXIT
and
EXIT

Then you can watch the channel. I tell you something, these instruction manuals should actually say what I just said here. In plain English. Why oh why do they just skip over steps like "on what friggin channel does the set top box come through?" or "I've got the TV on, the set top box is on, the remote is working so why the crap isn't the HD menu coming up?" They just assume that you will naturally get to the point where the menu is magically displayed on screen. I ask you, what is the point of having an instruction manual if they think you can jolly well work it out for yourself?

From recent research on HD forums, it seems lot of people have spoken about the difficulty in finding a proper TV guide that includes the HD channels. I would love to find a hard copy but for now here are the online guides:

Yahoo7 TV Guide

CitySearch TV Guide

EBroadcast TV Guide

NineMSN TV Guide

According to recent news reports, Nine HD will not launch until March 2008. I wondered why I couldn't find it on any of the TV guides! Duh!

The picture is amazing. It has gone from something like this:



to this:



It's nuts. It's like watching DVDs all the time.

Hope this helps :-) Enjoy.

technorati tags: High Definition Set Top Box Normal TV Connect Set up

Discover the alternative to expensive cable TV, no monthly charges and global access to 4500 channels. No hardware required. Stream HD channels directly from your laptop.

I used to own a Macintosh. *sigh* I wish I did again - I miss the look, the feel, no viruses... but I digress. I really love those simple games sites - the kind of games you played when you were a fledgling nerd (or was that only me?) - the kind of games you played while you were working out operating systems and formatting hard drives and scaring people who didn't know anything about computers...

Like me, you can discover free mac games and play to your hearts content. It's a mac games fest and everyone's invited. Some games are free and others you can download in demo version and buy if you decide you like them.


















You can play the cute and reportedly addictive airport mania for mac - attend flight controller school, run an airport, spend too many hours playing, miss meals...

Don't you think simple platform games and basic graphics are the best? Or is it just me?


This post brought to you by Mac Games and More.

Congratulations to Adam Scott for winning the Byron Nelson Championship on the PGA Tour. He made a 48ft putt on the 3rd playoff hole to win. I have been saying he's going to start winning soon - I think I've been saying it for a few years actually! He remarked "I kind of got away with it, a bit lucky."

A bit lucky?

I think if a bird sh@t on me while I was holding a winning lottery ticket I would be unlikely to hole a 48ft putt.

Except on Playstation!

It is wonderful to see an Australian golfer beating the pack. :-)

technorati tags: golf adam scott byron nelson

When I go looking for a hotel, the first place I will go is online. It's quick, easy and you can compare so many different deals simultaneously. Could you imagine trying to do the same thing with a stack of yellow pages and pen and paper? Should you be travelling to Europe, you may be looking to find a Paris Bed and Breakfast in the vast expanse of Paris Hotels. The question is how to find the most appropriate Hotel Paris for you. It could be a traditional family-run bed and breakfast rather than a generic chain hotel. Bed and Breakfast Paris provides a secure search with no booking fees so if you want a little more than a standard tourist experience, you may want to give them a try.

This post brought to you by Bed and Breakfast Paris.

After a long battle with the automated system the mechanical voice finally puts me through to a human.

The line is long-distance and crackling. Possibly Delhi, I couldn't tell.

"Hello, Telstra how can I help you?"

"Hi, yes, I went to a Telstra shop last week and paid for an unlocking code. The guy couldn't unlock it so he put me on to this line and the lady said she would request a unique code for me and call me back within 3-4 working days."

"Yees?"

"Well, it's more than 3-4 working days and I haven't got a call."

Silence.

"So I'm calling up to get my code."

"I will have to put in a request."

"No, no, you don't understand. I spoke to someone already - they put in the request for the unique code."

The sounds of her typing in the background go ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka

"On the 21st of April?"

"Yes, that's right. And I've paid for it already, all I'm waiting for is my code."

"Yes, I can see it. It's coming up as 0000 0000."

"Yes, that's the code that the guy at the Telstra shop used. It didn't work. I'm waiting for the unique one."

"That's it, all I've got here. Would you like me to put in a request?"

"What happened to the original request? The one the lady already did for me?"

"It's not showing up. Would you like me to put in a request?"

"There's already been a request. Can you get her on the phone for me? Maybe she's got my code already"

"I can't tell you who it was."

"Can you find out? It would be best for me to speak to her since she was the person I was dealing with on the phone at the Telstra shop"

"Do you have her employee number?"

"Why would I have that? No. Strangely she didn't give it to me."

"Then we can't do anything."

"Let me get this straight. I paid for my phone to be unlocked. The guy at the Telstra shop doesn't unlock it, then he puts me on the phone to a lady who apparently doesn't exist. This lady says 'I'll put in a request for you' and now you can't find her."

"I can put in a request, it will take 3-4 working days."

"I want to speak to your manager."

"I can't do that."

"Yes you can. Just put me on hold and get your manager. I want to find out what's going on here."

"It's not possible..."

"Could you please just put them on?"

~HOLD MUSIC~
~10 LONG MINUTES PASS~

The long distance crackle is gone. The phone line is much clearer.

"Hello, I'm the manager how can I help you?"

*Exploding*
"Yes. Where do I start. I-went-to-a-Telstra-shop. The guy couldn't unlock it. He put me on to the phone service. The lady on the phone said she would put in a request for an unlock code and it's been over 3-4 working days and I still haven't got a call from her."

"Mmm"

ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka

"There's no records here I'm afraid. Nothing about a request being put through."

"Excuse me but the lady I just spoke to, not two minutes ago she knows it happened. On the 21st of April, she even knew the date."

"All we've got is a record of you paying for it. No request was put through. Do you want me to put one in now for you?"

"No, I don't want to wait another week when I should have had this code a couple of days ago. I'd like to find out what happened to the original one from last week. Can't you look it up? There must be something there."

"Do you have her employee number?"

"What? No. No I don't. Why would I?"

"There's no record of a request."

"But there was! She told me she'd do it. 'Put in a request', that's what she said."

"Ah, you're talking about a *insert weasel word here* request. As opposed to a *insert other weasel word here* request."

"Look, I don't care about the internal machinations of your department. I just care about my unlock code. Why is it that you can't you find it? How is this possible?"

Silence.

Silence.

Realisation slowly dawns as my shoulders sink.

"...Because the lady on the phone at the Telstra shop never did anything, did she? She just told me she'd put in a request, then hung up the phone after speaking to me and did absolutely nothing."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"...Left me waiting for days.."

"That's what it looks like."

"And now I have to go through all of it again."

"I'll put in the request."

ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka

(groan) "If you do find her, perhaps you could have a talk to her."

"Oh yes, there'll be some enquiries."

"Like these ones? That's great."

"Is there anything else we can help you with today?"

(restrained) "No. No there isn't. Thank you."

technorati tags: telstra shop phone mobile sim unlock