811 Questions

[beefcake]

I am a current DN subscriber and am looking to upgrade my setup to HD in the late summer/early fall months.

I have a bad impression from reading the 811 threads, are my concerns merited?

Is the 811 worth the $$?

Does it provide pass-through scaling via DVI? The TV I get will likely have a superior scaling chip than what the 811 has. Does the 811 lock into 4:3 or 16:9 or will that vary based on what's being watched?

Thanks!

Beefcake

 

[Juan]

Its Free to new subscribers

 

[NightRyder]

I am a current DN subscriber and am looking to upgrade my setup to HD in the late summer/early fall months.

I have a bad impression from reading the 811 threads, are my concerns merited?

Is the 811 worth the $$?

Does it provide pass-through scaling via DVI? The TV I get will likely have a superior scaling chip than what the 811 has. Does the 811 lock into 4:3 or 16:9 or will that vary based on what's being watched?

Thanks!

Beefcake

The 811 has some bugs, no doubt about it. They are annoying but don't keep me from enjoying HDTV. Keep checking back. By the time your ready to upgrade Dish should have most of them corrected.

Is the 811 worth $149? IMHO,yes. Would I pay full price for it in it's current state? No.

Pass-through scaling through DVI? No. The scaler on the 811 isn't that bad though.

NightRyder

 

[snathanb]

Ah... Haiku error messages... everyone with an 811 needs it.

 

[AcuraCL]

I am a current DN subscriber and am looking to upgrade my setup to HD in the late summer/early fall months.

I have a bad impression from reading the 811 threads, are my concerns merited?

Is the 811 worth the $$?

Does it provide pass-through scaling via DVI? The TV I get will likely have a superior scaling chip than what the 811 has. Does the 811 lock into 4:3 or 16:9 or will that vary based on what's being watched?

Thanks!

Beefcake

If you're a nitpicky kinda guy who gets worked up over every little glitch, then the 811 will drive you nuts. If you are more zen-like in your approach to life and technology, you'll be fine.

I paid $99 for the 811, and to me it is well worth that (worth double that, in spite of the bugs). Remember you get not just the satellite receiver, but also an OTA ATSC tuner.

My tv will not let me make any adjustments to DVI input. However, you can adjust many aspects on the 811 itself (zoom, stretch, etc.). You can output 1080i or 720p (or some version of 480, which I never use and therefore can't remember), so try it both ways to see if your tv or the 811 does a better job of scaling. I find that 720p native broadcasts (ABC, ESPN) look better with the 811 set to 720p. All other stations (HD and SD) I leave set at 1080i. My tv scales better than the 811.

 

[smodak]

I find that 720p native broadcasts (ABC, ESPN) look better with the 811 set to 720p. All other stations (HD and SD) I leave set at 1080i. My tv scales better than the 811.

Is there any easier way to change between modes (480P/720P/1080i) without goint through all those menu items in 811?

 

[snathanb]

No... but I would recommend a good programmable remote.

I use a OneForAll from Walmart that controls my entire HT system. It was $20. You can make a cable to hook it to your computer, download some free software, and customize the heck out of it.

Check out... www.hifi-remote.com.

I wrote a few macros on mine that well let me flip back and forth between 480p and 1080i, and it takes about 2.5 seconds.

 

[snathanb]

If you're a nitpicky kinda guy who gets worked up over every little glitch, then the 811 will drive you nuts. If you are more zen-like in your approach to life and technology, you'll be fine.

Of, if you are a techie like me, you get bored if you never get to tweak or debug the box..... the bugs don't really bug me at all.

If the HD didn't work (and work well) I'd probably not be happy with it.

But at FREE, I am fine with it. The only thing that ever really bothers me is having to reset it sometimes to get the guide working right.

 

[GaryPen]

Of, if you are a techie like me, you get bored if you never get to tweak or debug the box..... the bugs don't really bug me at all.

If the HD didn't work (and work well) I'd probably not be happy with it.

But at FREE, I am fine with it. The only thing that ever really bothers me is having to reset it sometimes to get the guide working right.

Or, if you are a techie like me, it will piss you off no end, because you just want to watch TV without the workarounds, reboots, and basically doing at home what you do at work all day. That's why I use a 510 for most viewing, only using the 811 for HD.

But, as Nathan points out, it is worth FREE. Anything more than $99 is a rip.

 

[smodak]

Or, if you are a techie like me, it will piss you off no end, because you just want to watch TV without the workarounds, reboots, and basically doing at home what you do at work all day. That's why I use a 510 for most viewing, only using the 811 for HD.

But, as Nathan points out, it is worth FREE. Anything more than $99 is a rip.

I totally agree with GaryPen. If I am watching OTA locals and forget the receiver to put back on a satellite channel for a day, next day I have to do check switch/obtaining signal/downloading info etc.etc.etc. to get it working again. Same happens if I turn off the receiver for a day. My wife was saying, "So much for hi-tech, It takes half an hour to turn on the tv. By the time 811 stabilizes, the show would be over." And I paid $399 for it retail from dishstore

 

[GaryPen]

And I paid $399 for it retail from dishstore

Ouch!!!!

 

[NightRyder]

I totally agree with GaryPen. If I am watching OTA locals and forget the receiver to put back on a satellite channel for a day, next day I have to do check switch/obtaining signal/downloading info etc.etc.etc. to get it working again. Same happens if I turn off the receiver for a day. My wife was saying, "So much for hi-tech, It takes half an hour to turn on the tv. By the time 811 stabilizes, the show would be over." And I paid $399 for it retail from dishstore

Bummer

Was it Sears? If so they'll take it back.

NightRyder

 

[GaryPen]

He bought it from DishStore. I hear those guys are pretty mean and strict.

Seriously, though, since they run this place, have you though of asking them about returning it?

 

[smodak]

Seriously, though, since they run this place, have you though of asking them about returning it?

Then I have again to do ceo@echostar.com and haggle with them to get one from dish, not to mention signing another years contract. I can live with this $399.00 piece of S*** as long as dish fixes the issues. I really hope they would fix the stability issues and half-hour-boot time (and we say Windows is bad ) which drives me nuts!!!

 

[GaryPen]

What do you mean "get another one"? I was talking about returning it for a refund. At the very least, have Dish replace it (free of charge, of course), if they release one with updated hardware.

Scott inferred that there is indeed a hw issue that Dish is working to correct. Personally, I felt that the "bad chip" comment from the Tech Chat pretty much said there was a bad chip used in the early 811 units.

 

[smodak]

What do you mean "get another one"? I was talking about returning it for a refund. At the very least, have Dish replace it (free of charge, of course), if they release one with updated hardware.

Scott inferred that there is indeed a hw issue that Dish is working to correct. Personally, I felt that the "bad chip" comment from the Tech Chat pretty much said there was a bad chip used in the early 811 units.

I would definitely need some kind of HD receiver for my HDTV. Can't afford 921 (even if they become available). So I am stuck with 811. I would definitely try to get the one with "good chip" from dish once and if they are available. But if I return the current one to dishstore (for a refund), I will have to get another one from Dish or some other source if I want continue to watch HD, correct?

 

[WeeJavaDude]

I would definitely need some kind of HD receiver for my HDTV. Can't afford 921 (even if they become available). So I am stuck with 811. I would definitely try to get the one with "good chip" from dish once and if they are available. But if I return the current one to dishstore (for a refund), I will have to get another one from Dish or some other source if I want continue to watch HD, correct?

I know that there is a rumor about a bad chip being fixed to correct the dark video problem but this has yet to be confirmed or denied and at this point a software fix might be the solution. I would say we are at least two weeks away from yelling foul. Hopefully we will know more by then.

I am sure a lot of people will yell foul on May 1st, but being in the industry I do allow some level of schedule slip. Actually since none of these dates are official hard date and just estimates given at a point in time I don't put a lot of faith in them.