Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Set Top Box shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Set Top Box offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Set Top Box at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Set Top Box? Wrong! If the Set Top Box is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Set Top Box then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Set Top Box? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Set Top Box and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Set Top Box wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Set Top Box then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Set Top Box site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Set Top Box, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Set Top Box, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
A
set-top box (STB) or
set-top unit (STU) is a
information appliance that connects to a television and an external source of
signal (information theory), turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the
television screen.
History
Before
Cable television-ready television set, a set-top box known as a cable converter box was used to receive
analog (signal) Cable television television channels and convert them to video that could be seen on a regular TV. Nowadays, cable converter boxes are used to Decryption premium cable channels and to receive digital television cable channels.
Many TV signal sources
The signal source might be an
ethernet cable (see triple play (telecommunications)), a
satellite dish, a coaxial cable (see
cable television), a
telephone line (including Digital Subscriber Line connections), Power line communication#Internet access .28broadband over powerlines.2C BPL.29, or even an ordinary
Very high frequency or
Ultra high frequency antenna (radio). Content, in this context, could mean any or all of video, Sound,
Internet Web pages,
interactive computer games, or other possibilities.
Ambiguities in the definition
With the advent of
Flat panel display set-top boxes are now deeper in profile than the tops of most modern TV sets. Because of this set-top boxes are often placed beneath televisions and the term set-top box has become something of a
misnomer.
A set-top box does not necessarily contain a Tuner (electronics) of its own. A box connected to a television (or videocassette recorder) set's SCART connector is fed with the
baseband television signal from the set's tuner, and can ask the television to display the returned processed signal instead.
The SCART feature is used for decoding
Pay TV in Europe, and in the past was used for decoding teletext, before decoders became built-in.
The outgoing signal can be of the same nature as the incoming signal, or
RGB color model component video, or even an "insert" over the original signal, thanks to the "fast switching" feature of SCART. In case of Pay TV, this approach avoids the need for a second remote control.
Digital television
Special digital set-top boxes are available for receiving
digital television Broadcastings on TV sets that do not have a built in digital tuner. In the case of direct broadcast satellite (satellite dish) systems such as
SES Astra,
Dish Network, or
DirecTV, the set-top box is an
integrated receiver/decoder (or IRD).
In the United Kingdom, digital set-top boxes (often referred to as
digiboxes, after
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)'s trademark for their unit) are usually for digital terrestrial television through services such as
Freeview, a service operated by the
Freeview, or through digital satellite with
BSkyB and also with digital cable. They are used to access television as well as audio and Interactive television through the "
Red Button (Digital Television)" promoted by broadcasters such as the
BBC with BBCi or Sky Digital (UK & Ireland) with Sky Active.
In Australia set-top boxes are the principal means of receiving
high-definition television terrestrial broadcasts as comparably few television sets have in-built HDTV tuners. The
Foxtel set-top boxes (including the Foxtel iQ unit) however are not HDTV-ready as of late 2007.
Globally, some boxes also have a built-in digital video recorder (or DVR) which often utilises the electronic programme guide scheduling data and records content to an internal
hard drive.
IPTV
In
IPTV networks, the set-top box is a small computer providing two-way communications on an
Internet Protocol computer network, and decoding the video streaming media, using a new technology called POE (Power over Ethernet), which eliminates the need for any coaxial cabling. Using the new
POE technology allows for instant updates to boxes, making for a more manegable and reliable system.
See also
Related Technologies:
A
set-top box (STB) or
set-top unit (STU) is a information appliance that connects to a
television and an external source of
signal (information theory), turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the
television screen.
History
Before Cable television-ready
television set, a set-top box known as a cable converter box was used to receive analog (signal) Cable television
television channels and convert them to video that could be seen on a regular TV. Nowadays, cable converter boxes are used to
Decryption premium cable channels and to receive digital television cable channels.
Many TV signal sources
The signal source might be an ethernet cable (see
triple play (telecommunications)), a satellite dish, a
coaxial cable (see
cable television), a telephone line (including Digital Subscriber Line connections), Power line communication#Internet access .28broadband over powerlines.2C BPL.29, or even an ordinary Very high frequency or Ultra high frequency
antenna (radio). Content, in this context, could mean any or all of video, Sound, Internet Web pages,
interactive computer games, or other possibilities.
Ambiguities in the definition
With the advent of
Flat panel display set-top boxes are now deeper in profile than the tops of most modern TV sets. Because of this set-top boxes are often placed beneath televisions and the term set-top box has become something of a
misnomer.
A set-top box does not necessarily contain a Tuner (electronics) of its own. A box connected to a television (or videocassette recorder) set's SCART connector is fed with the
baseband television signal from the set's tuner, and can ask the television to display the returned processed signal instead.
The SCART feature is used for decoding Pay TV in Europe, and in the past was used for decoding teletext, before decoders became built-in.
The outgoing signal can be of the same nature as the incoming signal, or
RGB color model component video, or even an "insert" over the original signal, thanks to the "fast switching" feature of SCART. In case of Pay TV, this approach avoids the need for a second
remote control.
Digital television
Special digital set-top boxes are available for receiving
digital television Broadcastings on TV sets that do not have a built in digital
tuner. In the case of
direct broadcast satellite (satellite dish) systems such as SES Astra, Dish Network, or DirecTV, the set-top box is an
integrated receiver/decoder (or IRD).
In the
United Kingdom, digital set-top boxes (often referred to as
digiboxes, after Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)'s trademark for their unit) are usually for
digital terrestrial television through services such as
Freeview, a service operated by the Freeview, or through digital satellite with
BSkyB and also with digital cable. They are used to access television as well as audio and Interactive television through the "
Red Button (Digital Television)" promoted by broadcasters such as the
BBC with
BBCi or
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland) with Sky Active.
In Australia set-top boxes are the principal means of receiving
high-definition television terrestrial broadcasts as comparably few television sets have in-built HDTV tuners. The Foxtel set-top boxes (including the Foxtel iQ unit) however are not HDTV-ready as of late 2007.
Globally, some boxes also have a built-in digital video recorder (or DVR) which often utilises the
electronic programme guide scheduling data and records content to an internal hard drive.
IPTV
In
IPTV networks, the set-top box is a small computer providing two-way communications on an Internet Protocol computer network, and decoding the video streaming media, using a new technology called
POE (Power over Ethernet), which eliminates the need for any coaxial cabling. Using the new
POE technology allows for instant updates to boxes, making for a more manegable and reliable system.
See also
Related Technologies:
