rpittman Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 I got a decent bonus today, and I think it's time to upgrade my DirecTV STB to an HD version. I've noticed that Samsung, Sony, and Hughes make such devices. I currently have a 4 year old Sony and experience periodic audio dropout on Dolby feeds. I've read of others having such problems, and was wondering if they've been fixed in newer models. If any of y'all have any opinions on HD STBs, I'd like to hear them. I'm also kicking around the idea of replacing my black RC-7 with a maple one, so it'll match the fronts and the sub. But this is only for aestetics. Thanks for your thoughts, Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Better not take too long to decide - DirecTV is following Dish network's footsteps and bringing all their manufacturing in house. About three months from now, you won't have any choices on DirecTV receivers other than the ones they offer directly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 ---------------- On 8/19/2004 9:49:46 PM Griffinator wrote: Better not take too long to decide - DirecTV is following Dish network's footsteps and bringing all their manufacturing in house. About three months from now, you won't have any choices on DirecTV receivers other than the ones they offer directly... ---------------- Griff, is this for sure? I know RCA makes receivers, but the box says DirecTV on it, same sort of deal? Is this a bad thing (besides not having a choice)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor.Ham.Slap Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 ---------------- On 8/19/2004 10:15:36 PM kenratboy wrote: ---------------- On 8/19/2004 9:49:46 PM Griffinator wrote: Better not take too long to decide - DirecTV is following Dish network's footsteps and bringing all their manufacturing in house. About three months from now, you won't have any choices on DirecTV receivers other than the ones they offer directly... ---------------- Griff, is this for sure? I know RCA makes receivers, but the box says DirecTV on it, same sort of deal? Is this a bad thing (besides not having a choice)? ---------------- I don't think I'm against this... The Hughes (owners of DTV) recievers I have I think are far superior to the RCA ones... Although I can't say anything about the DirecTivo units though... I have a Phillips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 ---------------- On 8/20/2004 1:48:50 AM Professor.Ham.Slap wrote: ---------------- On 8/19/2004 10:15:36 PM kenratboy wrote: Griff, is this for sure? I know RCA makes receivers, but the box says DirecTV on it, same sort of deal? Is this a bad thing (besides not having a choice)? ---------------- I don't think I'm against this... The Hughes (owners of DTV) recievers I have I think are far superior to the RCA ones... Although I can't say anything about the DirecTivo units though... I have a Phillips. ---------------- Ken: Yes, it's true. I got an announcement from my distributor about a month ago - posted it on the forum. Professor: That's the problem - RCA owns half of DirecTV - you can take it to the bank that they will very much continue to be involved in production - and the Hughes HDTV units stink in comparison to similarly priced Samsung, Sony, and Zenith units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted August 21, 2004 Share Posted August 21, 2004 The best box is the HD-Tivo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted August 21, 2004 Share Posted August 21, 2004 There is another unit available that might be an alternative called MDR-200 on digitalconnection.com. It has adjustable black level when switching to HD channels to make up for the loss in brightness which sometimes occurrs. All of the scaling options are also correct, not like the Samsung which incorrectly scales the 4 x 3 analog channels. Anyway you will probably be stuck with what they provide you. On changing the black to Maple or whatever if the finish is wood or vinyl you can apply a product called "BAnd-It" available at Lowes. It is very thin wood veneer with hot glue on the back. You install it with a hot iron set on cotton and once it's on you can't chisel it off. It's wood so you sand it and finish it with standard stain etc. It is 1/32" thick so you can't see the edges. The edges are rough trimmed with a Stanley knife then sanded with 220 grit paper. You can easily bend the grain length-wise but not accross grain. I just finished 4 SC-1's and they are beautiful with maple stain and clear coat. I also covered the grill cloth with a tobacco colored open weave decorated flower cloth and hot melt glued it over the black cloth in the same areas that the old cloth was melted on. This was all done to satisfy Starfleet Command. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygmn Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 hughes E86.... Well layed out...works well with others....and reasonably priced...plus integrates your OTA digital signals into the menu system.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsterdevil Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 I'm thinking about adding the Samsung 360. Can't beat the price and the features look pretty enticing. I've got 2 HD boxes now, both have their problems. Primary is a Mitsubishi SR-HD5 that's never worked quite right (component out is fine, but composite and s-video blank after about 5 minutes of use. Secondary is an older Panasonic with a really noisy fan that sometimes has to be powered on more than once to get a picture. The Samsung looks like it would work well as an input switch, given that my TV is also a Samsung that requires at least three keypresses to change inputs (no "next" button) anything would be an improvement. While my current HD set has only component as HD video inputs, my next set won't, and Samsung covers the bases pretty well with this box. Also, I briefly had a terrestrial HD Samsung reciever a couple years ago - great picture - and it simultaneously put signal out on component and coax. Nice for recording in SD while watching HD. It's my understanding that the 360 has the same feature regardless of output resolution selected. I've read a lot about people having problems with the 360, so I'm definitely going to buy locally, probably Circuit City because of their return policy. Worst case they hold my money for a few weeks and I'm out some time from messing with it. Orin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shockoman Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 Rob, I have just done this upgrade, actually thru D*. They sent me the Samsung 360. So far I like it a lot. I have a Pioneer Elite Pro530 and they are a good combo. I am using the component video connection. The HD picture is outstanding! Got a good deal from D* also. If you are contemplating getting the unit thru them, be sure to call the "retention" folks at 800-600-8977, not the standard 800 number...better deals for sure..check out the AVS Forum for all the details. BTW, if you have more than 1 STB right now and get the local channel pkg, they will also upgrade your old non-HD unit if it doesn't do the local channels. My older Sony B50 didn't do the locals and they sent me a new unit that does at no charge!!! It is an RCA DRD 435RH..works great in the bedroom! Good Luck..Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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