More Money than sense?

**gordon_s1942** · 26-10-09, 05:45 PM

A friend told me today of one of his mates ringing Austar because his Mystar has died and he decided rather than replacing it he will change over to the new Mystar2 and pay the $100 which is to me stupid anyway BUT what really to me is a waste of money is it seems he only has CRT TV !!!
Ok, I think many CRT's have a damn good picture on SD and have far better viewing angles and work better in lit rooms than many flat panels but to pay not only the $100 admin fee but $5 every month on a CRT TV is more money than sense !!!

**mate** · 26-10-09, 05:50 PM

isn't it access to additional channels as well as picture quality? Most people would watch it on Flatscreens which are probably of poor quality in the 1st place so what is the difference?
If it makes him happy & you don't have to pay for let him have his Mystar2. Maybe it might encourage him to buy a new TV.

**gw1** · 27-10-09, 04:52 PM

Like the salesman on TV says, "THE MORE YOU BUY, THE MORE YOU SAVE!!"

He's not wasting $100 - he's saving money!!

terms and conditions apply see instore for details

**gordon_s1942** · 27-10-09, 05:36 PM

The $100 charge is an Administration Fee plain and simple.
I know this $100 Administraton fee applies to ALL existing customers and I would expect it to be applied to new customers as well.
Its an extra $5 a month for HD access plus $5 a month (after February) price increase for the additional channels to current customers.
New customers I gather will pay the increased monthly fees when they sign up.

Mate, like a posting about the high cost of the new Win7 O/S suggesting people not rush to buy, the same could be applied to this as well and if a substantial number of Austar customers DONT sign up, maybe Austar will reduce or remove the charge.

Also Mate, I dont care if this person has a Magic Lantern projector with the MYstar2 attatched and has to keep filling the bowl with Calcium Carbide to keep the light burning.
I still say paying a $100 for HD service and watching it on a CRT is a waste of money.
If the HD channels had different programing it would be a different matter but so far they dont.

**satdancer** · 29-10-09, 05:14 AM

Originally Posted by gordon_s1942

I still say paying a $100 for HD service and watching it on a CRT is a waste of money.

No it's not. The SD channels on Austar are heaviy compressed to the point that the whole image looks blurry even on a CRT display. Watching the downscaled HD channels will make a noticeable difference in sharpness of the image, plus the watermarks aren't in the 4:3 safe area either AND many are in widescreen unlike some SD channels like ESPN, & Discovery (which will be available soon to Austar customers in HD).

If the HD channels had different programing it would be a different matter but so far they dont.

Incorrect. ESPN HD is a completely different feed to ESPN SD. ESPN SD has absolutely horrendous picture quality by comparison that wouldn't even do justice to a 25 year old 7" CRT display. The difference is chalk and cheese on any display.

By the sounds of it you've never actually seen the HD channels so why are you making seriously flawed and premature judgements on others?