Painless DIY VAST system setup. Save money!

**Sunshine Coast** · 15-12-13, 05:52 PM

Thanks for all the great info. Will call tomorrow.

.

**gordon_s1942** · 15-12-13, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by Tiny

Yes for a traveler the address is secondary. For the full authorization of VAST the address is primary, just ring them & tell them you've moved to a new address that is in a good terrestrial reception area & see if they don't de-activate your service.
Point here is Sunshine Coast says the premisses had VAST previously & there will be a record of that & any reception certificates for the address lodged.

If there is a record of the premises having had VAST authorization by the previous owner he may be able to avoid the following scenario.

Tiny, we are both on the 'same page' but reading it differently.
Certainly the address is important for the full authorisation of the commercial channels but it is to you the STB's are registered to.
Obviously if you move into a Terrestrial reception area and tell VAST Administration (not a good idea, telling them I mean) the commercial channels most certainly would be turned off.
BUT, your moving and the STB arent, what happens now, what is the CORRECT procedure?

Since Sunshine Coast is now the owner of his new premises he just wants to get the authorization for VAST the best & simplest way possible & a phone call to VAST admin would clear things up for him, without the complications of skirting the law.

This would be interesting to find out if the 'VAST Authorisation' or 'Black Spot Certification' remains relevant at an address no matter how many times it changes hands or as I suspect, the VAST Administration would want to go through the whole process again with each new owner.
This is something no one has ever raised before that I am aware of so and would be something worth asking about indeed.
The same if I sold out here (full VAST approved area) and didnt want to take the STB's with me, do I need to deregister my STB's and the new owner apply or not?

**Tiny** · 15-12-13, 06:42 PM

I think it's simple Gordon, from , "Eligibility is determined on the location where you propose to install the VAST satellite equipment."

From the application form, "I certify that the details given are correct and agree to update these details if they change."

Edit: Forgot to mention that a friend of mine bought a house in Northern Tas 2 years ago, it had VAST approval based on previous Aurora black spot approval.
The previous owner kindly left the Sat dish & UEC 4121 behind as part of the sale. He also included documentation & VAST phone number.
I advised my friend to call VAST & notify them of the situation, in-case she decided in the future to install another VAST box in the spare room.
When she called VAST they were very courteous & transferred the registration into here name with no fuss.

I know which house sale I would prefer, certainly not the one that rips the dish off the roof, like Sunshine Coast's house.

**Antennaman** · 15-12-13, 07:35 PM

Call VAST administration on 1300 993 376 weekdays from 9:00am to 4:30pm, Queensland time, to find out if the address has been authorised previously.

Then be advised by what they say.

FWIW I've had authorisations granted where myswitch shows green coverage, which would be the case except for the local vegetation. Just had to wait about 15 working days for the reception certificate to come through.

**Sunshine Coast** · 16-12-13, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by viewer

Which all comes back to what I said before...

call the Digital Ready Information Line on 1800 20 10 13.

Called them and they told me to call the VAST line 1300993376

Nice lady told me the previous owner had full VAST registration (incl commercial channels) and then she pre-registered me for this address.

She said all I have to do now is have a dish installed (incl a Foxtel dish which is VAST compatible) and when I am ready, get a decoder (such as a PVR off eBay) and just call up with my smartcard number and it will be activated.

I wonder if the eBay PVRs come with smartcards?

**Sunshine Coast** · 16-12-13, 01:55 PM

Here's a possible wrinkle with the Foxtel option. From their

Outstanding fees and Equipment return
We will calculate all of the fees and charges that you owe us when this Agreement ends. If you have been paying by Easypay, you authorise us to deduct this amount from your nominated bank, credit union or credit card account. Otherwise, we will send you an invoice for all amounts owing to us and request that you return the Equipment to us, to a location advised by us, within 14 days after receiving such notice. If you fail to return the Equipment, we may take legal proceedings to recover the Equipment or charge you an unrecovered equipment fee for each item you do not return

What equipment will they want back after 6 months?

**Sunshine Coast** · 16-12-13, 01:59 PM

The answer is in their definitions:

Equipment means the equipment provided to you and owned or controlled by Foxtel that is required to receive the Foxtel Service and including: the Foxtel Box, the remote control, Smart Card, cabling from the wall-plate to the Foxtel Box and from the Foxtel Box to your television or video equipment, if applicable. It also includes any other such equipment that is already installed by Foxtel at your address before the beginning of your Foxtel Service

This specifically excludes the dish?

**Rodnic** · 16-12-13, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by Sunshine Coast

She said all I have to do now is have a dish installed (incl a Foxtel dish which is VAST compatible) and when I am ready, get a decoder (such as a PVR off eBay) and just call up with my smartcard number and it will be activated.

I wonder if the eBay PVRs come with smartcards?

VAST and Foxtel use the same satellite so you just need one dish with a multi output LNB,

All VAST decoders come with a smart card. You can't swap cards from one decoder to another.

**Sunshine Coast** · 16-12-13, 03:26 PM

Ok, signed up for Foxtel.

**Tiny** · 16-12-13, 05:05 PM

Excellent that it worked out for you as I hoped it would, as I thought & said in post #2. Great that VAST had the records as I suspected from post #1. Saved you $ for a black spot certification.

Yes, Foxtel exclude the dish as equipment so that you don't expect them to pay a tech to remove it (would cost more than the dish is worth). That's why some of them end up at the tip.
When you cancel a sub they just send you an authorization to return the box by mail.
While the sub is valid they will service the LNB, cabling & box if problems occur.

The only thing you may need to add is a multiswitch for sharing the cabling between Fox & VAST to use both at the same time.

**viewer** · 16-12-13, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by Tiny

The only thing you may need to add is a multiswitch for sharing the cabling between Fox & VAST to use both at the same time.

Sunshine Coast....The above is good advice from Tiny, as this would allow you to watch both services at the same time, and may be an option for you to consider, if you want to connect VAST earlier than the 6 months expiry of your paytv contract.

I'm unsure, as I am not an installer, whether they would put in a multiswitch for you during installation, one of those better qualified on here will let you know if they will/will not, and what to do if you need to do it yourself afterwards.

Good to see all is progressing well for you, now you need to make the decision on which VAST pvr ready receiver to install...have a read of the number of threads in the VAST section of Austech to get a feeling what other users have decided upon. If you are not good at installing your own hard drive into a receiver, I would recommend you purchase a receiver with all this built in, and it be a simple plug and go pvr.

Good luck....

**Tiny** · 16-12-13, 07:06 PM

It's unlikely that the Fox installer will spend time adding a multiswitch for nothing, they get screwed on labour price as it is, maybe sling him $50 & it could be on.

If not you can pick up a 2 in 4 out spaun multiswitch for that & 'f'cons, a small amount of quad cable. Add a bit more.

Edit; BTW Viewer; the Fox install was a great solution, I like the way you think. Hope Foxtel don't catch on.

**gordon_s1942** · 16-12-13, 07:23 PM

These 'Installation' fees Foxtel are currently charging would be to pay for the cost of a dish, mast,cable and wall plate and 'Time' to install it.
So in reality your 'buying' the dish which they hope by leaving there, may be reconnected at a future date as it should have a serviceable life of 10 to 20 years.

**Sunshine Coast** · 16-12-13, 07:55 PM

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement, guys.

Regarding the PVR, I want a twin tuner like my trusty ol' terrestrial Panasonic, and something more reliable than the new Humax. And something that actually allows me to skip ahead in say, 30s, 60s increments. Does such a unit exist?

**Sunshine Coast** · 16-12-13, 11:58 PM

Can anyone recommend a basic sub-$50 multiswitch for a Foxtel/VAST system sharing the same dish? Like these?

**Tiny** · 17-12-13, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by Sunshine Coast

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement, guys.

Regarding the PVR, I want a twin tuner like my trusty ol' terrestrial Panasonic, and something more reliable than the new Humax. And something that actually allows me to skip ahead in say, 30s, 60s increments. Does such a unit exist?

Not for VAST unfortunately, the only twin Tuners available for VAST are the Humax 1003 & the UEC 4639.
neither will skip in small increments.
The UEC4639 does have 30x Fast forward though, real quick; so quick that you need to slow it down to 15x when you're getting close to where your looking so it stops in the right place.

Originally Posted by Sunshine Coast

Can anyone recommend a basic sub-$50 multiswitch for a Foxtel/VAST system sharing the same dish? Like these?

I'd go with the Spaun, that's the type that most installers use including Foxtel techs.

That's a good price & the extra legs may come in handy in the future.

I paid 44 plus postage from this guy, good seller. Quick delivery no fuss.

**Sunshine Coast** · 18-12-13, 06:02 PM

BTW I've decided to just go with the basic Foxtel package for 6 months before buying any VAST decoder PVR. I'm hoping that new models or improvements will happen in the next 6 months so that I end up buying something better.

**Sunshine Coast** · 16-06-14, 08:10 PM

I'm now about to end my Foxtel contract and buy a VAST box. Up to date advice would be appreciated!

**Sunshine Coast** · 19-06-14, 06:32 PM

I have 2 cables coming out of the wall going to my soon-to-be-returned Foxtel STB: LNB IN1 and LNB IN2

Which one do I use for the VAST STB?

Edit: and a new problem, the Humax is dead right out of the box! Won't switch on ... wtf?!

**Tiny** · 19-06-14, 07:54 PM

Originally Posted by Sunshine Coast

I have 2 cables coming out of the wall going to my soon-to-be-returned Foxtel STB: LNB IN1 and LNB IN2

Which one do I use for the VAST STB?

Edit: and a new problem, the Humax is dead right out of the box! Won't switch on ... wtf?!

either cable will do , just make sure the box is off before connecting.

Humax dead, what can I say, contact them.