I live in an apartment block and my TV reception is crap (I was going to say shit, but thought better of it). Even though we’ve got an antenna on the roof, due to all the construction going on locally (tall cranes - so they tell me), watching TV is like watching shadowy figures through a North American snowstorm a lot of the time.

Now, let me explain for my Yankee readers, we have only 6 free to air analogue channels here in Sydney, with cable TV subscriptions to only a small percentage of Sydneysiders. Unfortunately for me, the only cable provider that provides a satellite service doesn’t provide the service to apartment buildings, unless the wiring is built-in at the build stage.

So, you can imagine, I treasure whatever TV viewing I can get on my crappy reception and was beside myself when a friend (thanks Warren!) told me that if I were to get a digital set top box, my TV experience would improve big time.

So, I did. Picked one up on Saturday and for good measure, purchased a hard disk drive DVD recorder to keep it company.

Now I’m the person my friends ring when they buy a new piece of audio-visual equipment for help in setting it up, but I tell you, getting this set-top box hooked up to the DVD recorder and TV had me climbing the walls for THREE DAYS.

First, I could get digital TV on the TV, but not through the DVD recorder, then I could get it through the DVD recorder and not the TV. Then, I couldn’t get the analogue channels through the TV (which I would need if I was recording digital to the DVD recorder) then rinse, lather and repeat!

Anyhow, thanks again to a rather whiny call (from my end) to Warren, and some head-scratching from him whilst trying to decipher the manual (it was written in Engrish - ugh!) on my 45th configuration of wiring, it all worked!

I now have six PERFECT TV channels to watch! (oh, and plus 2 extra digital ones).

So now, if you need help hooking up your set-top box, call me!

NOT.

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