Laser STB-6000

Multiple problems with Lasser stb 6000 – Switches on subtitles when not wanted.Looses stations.Sound out of sinc.Cheap and Nasty. Have had to reset to get all the channels but looses them within minutes.Will never buy this make again. Show details

Its made in China and $39 – Every corner of saving costs has been maximised. Including the micro manual. Older sensible and frugal ppl tend to hang on to old TV sets and use set boxes. This one is not suitable! Unless they are Sherlock holmes as the remote is micro. Fat thumbs, poor light and eyes ? Forget it. The on and off light can hardly be seen as others pointed out.… Read more

Not expecting it to last too long but that's unproved atm. But it might work until my TV dies. Fingers crossed:)

I should have read the reviews more carefully – I bought this box last year - I've been using an original Dick Smith set top box which generally worked well and had an excellent sharp picture until the remote packed up and I had to find a replacement remote in the meantime. The antenna connector just broke off my DS set tlop yesterday so I started using this Laser. Unfortunately as two other… Read more

(or more) reviewers have pointed out, this STB is basically rubbish - and I don't say that lightly. It has four problems. 1. On two SBS channels, the picture is going on and off like a flourescent light. I tried to reload the stations to no avail. 2. It's very slow in reloading a new channel when changed. 3. On some channels as the channel loads, the 'no signal' box comes on briefly. 4. The box doesn't indicate the station it's showing as it has no display on it. The picture doesn't seem as sharp as the DS box either. I probably should have suspected the tiny size compared to the DS box. Purchase at your own risk.

Good little STB/PVR, great for recording – It's been over 12 months since I bought my STB 6000, and i've found it to be a great little unit, easy to set up and get running out of the box, and the menus are easy to navigate to get to whatever setting(s) you need or want to change, setting it up to record is easy too, and it has always started and stopped at whatever record times I have set,… Read more

although you do need to leave it turned on for the timer record to function, something that isn't mentioned in the manual, but this is only a minor detail, one annoying glitch it seemed to have was occasionally it would turn on the subtitles when switching from one channel to another, this seems to have been fixed since I did a recent software update, the DTV tuner in the unit has very good sensitivity too, pulling in a better signal than the tuner in my TV does even though we're not in a prime reception area for the local TV stations, overall, if you're looking for a full featured, compact STB/PVR that's value for money, I can recommend checking this one out.

Good Value For The Price – Very basic single Tuner PVR, does what it says and at a very good price. It is suitable for me as I do not watch much free to air TV nowadays and did not want to spend too much as I watch a lot more content from the Internet video on demand services now. PROS - Good quality video and audio. - Works as described. Had it about 3 weeks and it… Read more

still works ok

- Good value for money if you only need a simple digital tuner and recording device

- Easy to program my Logitech universal remote for this device as it is already listed in Logitech standard devices.

CONS

- Single tuner so can only record or view one channel at a time. It CANNOT record one channel and watch another. It can record maybe Channel 7 and view another channel on the 7 network but not another network.

- Does not include a hard drive so if you need time shift or record feature, you need to plug in your own external USB drive.

- Pressing Pause when watching live TV does not auto pause the show or put it in time-shift. You must first hit the Record button and wait few seconds for it to enter time shift mode. So if watching a show and a phone call comes in, not that easy to pause it.

- Although has 7 day EPG, it does not name the recordings properly. It only names recordings like Melbourne : Date???, StartTime ???? , EndTime ???? with no show title. But you can edit and rename all shows yourself.

- User manual not very clear

- No search feature on EPG to search a program title. You must browse all channels and shows.

I am coming from using a TIVO box for several years which costed about $500-$600 at that time. I only paid less than $30 for this Laser STB6000 box so it cannot compare to the TIVO box in functions, features, ease of use etc but it does suit my needs now for a basic digital tuner PVR.

A budget item, but it does the job! – The Laser STB-6000 is really easy to use & set up and updating firmware is a doddle too. All quite intuitive. The unit itself is pretty basic, but it does play every media type I've been able to throw at it & it does double up as a DVR and digital set top box. What it doesn't do is connect to the internet, so will not stream anything. So if you… Read more ·  1

want to stream video & network a media player, this is not the one to buy. But if all you want is a very affordable set top box come media player & DVR, then at the price point for this item, it offers great value for money.

Happy with purchase – Because this unit was so cheap I thought it wouldn't work as well as more expensive ones but that isn't the case. I'm happy with the unit. It records reliably is easy to use and quality is good. I would recommend it. The storage space is adequate for my purpose.  Show details

A CHANGE TO MY RATING RE RECORDING WITH SCHEDULAR – The STB 6000 is now taping upcoming TV programs using the scheduler. I believe my previous problems might have been caused by the time set up on the laser being different to the TV time due to daylight saving. I manually set the time on set top box and has worked fine since. Only suggestion for a future firmware update would be to be able to put… Read more

in a stop time after you have manually started recording ( so you could tape end of a good movie if you are tired and want to finish watching tomorrow ). However, now much happier. Help from User Forum also good.

Lemon – Died yesterday, less than 3 yrs old, ridiculous, should last years. Similar problem, dim led no remote conrol response and can't switch on or off and worst no reception. Only 1 year warrantry? Show details

Cheap flimsy design – I do not recommend this in anyway and wish I read the reviews before I bought it. Hard to work, can’t tape and watch at same time no matter how many times I watch Utube to set up. Now I can’t get channels and picture and audio is all over the place so in less than a year it’s broken. Absolutely useless Show details

Unit failed – Unit has failed. Only dimly lit green LED, no output. No response from remote. Would appreciate the manufacturer spending even $1 more on the design so these things last more than 2 years. Very disappointing. Show details

Rubbish - stay away! – This product is absolute rubbish and I wish I hadn't wasted my money! It is very slow to respond to the remote and constantly needs re-booting as it freezes. Software updates are manual. Show details

Laser STB-6000 Fails quickly – At first everything worked well, but within a month, despite software upgrade, loses channels, subtitles comes back on at every channel change. Did lots of research and tried everything. No change. Also, remote is very small and poorly designed. User Manual covers the product and functionality well (in tiny print), but you have to look around a… Read more

lot (eg: USB2 (not 3) limited to 750GB formatted, which is enough space for me, but my external drives are all 1TB so have to use sticks). Files (movies/TV shows) saved are named by the box and cannot be changed, so difficult to know which movie/TV program a file is. I have not tried all the extra functions as I am returning the device.

Wouldn't recommend – Bought this yesterday from Big W. Instruction manual not clear and precise. Remote flimsy and too small. Attached all cables, plugged it in. Followed the instructions; turned both tv and stb on...no installation guide appeared on the screen. Looked up troubleshooting in the back of the manual but couldn't find the issue I needed to fix. Taking it back Show details

Absolute rubbish – I have owned my STB-6000 and it has continually gone out of sync. Voice does not match the picture. Will lose the voice completely and you have to turn it off and restart which is a pain when you’ve taped something and lose the voice halfway through. Now it has turned itself off and won’t turn back on. And because I don’t have my receipt I can’t take it back for refund. Show details

It is always stopping and sometimes for quite a long time – Not satisfied at all it keeps stopping and sometimes for long periods of time, it is very frustrating when you are watching something and it stops you miss out on quite a bit of the programs. I do not recommend this product as it is in my opinion very unreliable  Show details

Absolute rubbish – Bought this stb today at office works & set it up at mums for catch up TV & Netfix. Plugged in directly to the router with very reasonable d/load speeds but found the stb very slow & froze constantly. Menu's are tiny and complex and also difficult to access with the romote. Tried the youtube app, which has pride of place on the homepage, pressed… Read more

the search icon to find something to display functionality but that only brought up a microphone symbol and youtube suggestion to speak what you want to search. Assume it comes pre set up with the phone version of the app. Called Laser's customer service & spoke to a guy locally in Nth Ryde HQ who blew me off in the first 10seconds, told me very off handidly that I should call youtube. Total Ignoramus. I install this type of gear (offices, restaurants etc) for a living & this one is total rubbish. Run a mile peeps

Not worth buying it – Slow response while changing channels and the channel legend didn't update. Old and bad quality remote control. I used it 3 times and now it is not working. To repair it or buy a new remote control to try is more expensive. Better to buy good quality and spend a little more.  Show details

Complete garbage – Complete garbage & has never worked properly - loses channels; voice goes out of sync with picture; very slow warm up, changes channels without warning, switches off unprompted and sometimes need repeated cold restarts to get half working. Seriously in this day and age how can any manufacturer produce such a woeful product after paying $90 given there was nothing else available.  Show details

Considering the price, not bad – I only use mine to play stuff from a USB stick so the ~ $39 price tag seems reasonable. The number of clicks it takes to get from turning the unit on to having something play from the USB stick is annoying. The remote control is very small and I seem to have to be directly in front of the unit for the remote to work. If I wasn’t so tight, I’d probably be a lot happier with something like AppleTV.  Show details

Very good value Tuner/Recorder, but slow in operation – For its low price (at around 40 dollars), this is a good value tuner/recorder which may especially come in handy if you want to make your older TV digital ready and/or record shows. Installation of channels was very straightforward and took just a few minutes. One thing I'm not too happy about is the overall speed of its interface - changing… Read more

channels and especially opening the EPG are very slow, which is a bit of a let-down in terms of user experience. The interface itself also looks a bit dated and could use a refresh. Other than that, there's nothing much at this price point which provides comparable functionality, so, all in all, I do recommend the STB-6000.

Does it's job. Read the instructions to record – For the price and what I needed it for it's good. If you are using to upgrade your TV to HD pay more - don't get this unit as the remote to device signal can be crappy. That would drive you up the wall. I am using it to record shows I miss when I am at work as my older Tv doesn't have a PVR function and other people in the house want to watch… Read more

other shows.

**Please note : When using the EPG function to record a show you must change the MODE at the bottom to Record from View. If you don't it won't record. My old Bush device did not require this.

Serves it's purpose. Remote is small and sometimes not responsive.

Robust, economical unit – A good unit for only $39 at BigW. I use it thus far only for watching OTA broadcasting. I haven't recorded anything yet. It has many features and comes with remote unit (batteries included) and composite cables. You must provide your own HDMI cable. One dislike is the small size of the remote unit, which doesn't make for easy button selection.  Show details

Cheap, EPG needs frequent resetting – I purchased this unit to receive the MPEG4 HD channels my sony bravia hd tv is unable to do without a settop box. I was told the EPG and recording facilities are pretty basic and not reliable by various reviews. I found the unit easy to set up, navigate; I get the hd channels with much improved picture and sound. I inserted a usb and so far… Read more

recorded 10 programs without any worries. All that for $ 28 from bigw. I hope the unit will continue to work well to the future.

My only comment is that the unit comes with an audio/video cable (the usual 3 connections) which is inferior (the manual tells me) to the HDMI cable. So I purchased an HDMI cable for $ 4 but wondered why the unit does not have an hdmi cable instead of the inferior quality cable.

July 2018 update: the EPG is becoming temperamental and sometimes does not record, or records the wrong programme. I found that deleting the default directory and files, and switching off the set top box helps to reset the unit and it will work properly.

Amazed by the comments section - did you not R.T.F.M. ? – Simple to use basic single channel Tuner and PVR function - found all channels in Melbourne, Inc C31. Seems to play most types of Mpeg4 / h.264 files, does not play h.265 files. Found the firmware update on the Laser website, ran it and unit updated okay. PVR function was a little awkward - you have to set the schedule AND make sure it's set to… Read more

Record, not just to tune in and Show the program you've scheduled.

Weekly recording of programs works.

Yes, the menu's could be better for record scheduler, and it could do with a Slow-Forward function, so TV Geeks can freeze frame and slow play sections.

The only downside for me, is this version doesn't have an ethernet port to connect to network shared media.

At it's sub $40 price tag in BigW, you'd have to be crazy not to be impressed by it - a decade ago this much tech would have cost over $1000.

rubbish – Don't buy this machine!! It is the worst piece of equipment i have ever owned. It loses channels, meaning you have to start initial setup from scratch, doesn't record preset programmes half the time, subtitles come on at random. Basically it's a piece of junk! Don't bother! I know they say 'buy cheap, get cheap' but i still expect it to do its job!! -5 stars if i could!  Show details

Recording does work through scheduler – The recorder will o nly record when I set it to record manually, the schedule puts in the program to be recorded at the set time but then doesn't record. The program is removed form the schedule but NO RECORDING. I bought the unit specifically to record when I wasn't home and so the family could watch other channels while I recorded. Have missed numerous programs due to this so will be taking unit back.  Show details

Works like a charm – Just what I need. I don't want to buy a TV for watching news only. JB's nice staff recommends me to buy it but eventually purchase from Big W since it is cheaper there! It works well and receive about 30+ channels. The control is small and a little bit hard to use for people having big hands. I haven't use the recorder function yet...  Show details

Great alternative to new TV – Only bought this unit to watch sport in HD on an older TV, for this it works perfectly. I agree the remote is very small & appears pretty flismy. You can buy a spare for $20 including P/H from Laser. ( custermor service was excellent, rare these days) Tip: Do not use cheaparse fleabay HDMI cables or USBs for movie playback as this will cause… Read more

setup nightmares. Problem rectifyed by granddaughter xxox. Value for money as the alternative was a new TV. Very happy with purchase.

Video recorder does not work – The first time I tried to record something it would not stop at the set time. After that the recorder would not work at all. The remote control is small and hard to use. This device works as a top box and media player, but the video recorder is only good for a headache. Next time I am near the store I am going to take it back. All I want to do… Read more

is record the news in the evenings, but it seems the only way to buy video recorder which works is to spend $350+ on a video recorder which has got quad tuners and other things I will never use.

Wish I'd checked this site first – Mine didn't give me a chance find the faults. Didn't even power up. Show details

Not happy – Channels keep disappearing sub titles come on randomly constantly rescanning wouldn't recommend purchasing this crapola.. Show details