Another 811 Review

[kpeercy]

I got my 811 installed yesterday and I'm thrilled. The HD picture is great on my 1080i Panasonic 47" WS. The UCONN/Pitt game on ESPNHD last night was beautiful. I couldn't be happier with that part.

One of my main concerns was the ability of the OTA tuner. I live about 25 air miles from the CBS and ABC affiliates in Lexington, Kentucky. I can pick up the analog signals, but there are plenty of shadows, distortion, etc. Well, with the 811 OTA tuner and a $29.99 Radio Shack indoor antenna, I get both of them in digital perfectly. I get readings of mid 80's for CBS and high 60's-high 70's for ABC. Both come in great and I watched the CBS primetime lineup in HD last night OTA. Now if the NBC affiliate would get with the program and go digital, I'd be set.

I only have two minor gripes. The 4:3 programming on some of the channels looks a little "hazy" on my WS using component input, especially if I stretch the picture. This is not an issue at all with the 322 I also have installed in two other rooms, so this is either an 811 issue or an issue of cabling. Maybe if I use RCA cables on one of the other TV inputs and switch to them while watching 4:3 shows, that may solve my problem. The other gripe is that the "themes" function doesn't work on the 811 for some reason. I know the program guide is a known issue, but I really don't care about that. I have absolutely no dark picture problems that I've read about.

Again, I'm thrilled with the 811. I highly recommend it and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

 

[Oakenshld]

Kpeercy, I am on the waiting listfor an 811. I had one question. On my Samsung DLP, I have to switch inputs to go from OTA to Satellite now. Will I still have to do that, or are all of the signals with the 811 (Dish Programming regular and HD, OTA Digital signals) come into the same input and I just change OTA channels like I change Sat channels now?
Thaks for your input

 

[Carl B]

I also have a Sammy HLN507W DLP. I got my 811 on 12/19 and love it. Yes I do encounter most of the problems on the LIST, but the benefits make me have patience. Watching HD or even ED is awesome and SD is far better than it was through my 2700.

With the 811, you simply scan in your OTA DTV channels and add them to any of your Favorites. You then select them in the Guide. It is pretty seamless. However, as others have noted, there are some bugs associated with this. But they will be fixed.

OTA DTV is great. The SD is far superior to E* SD and the HD and ED must be seen to be believed. Keep your HD setup input on 1080i unless you are watching ABC in HD or ESPN-HD. Enjoy!

 

[kpeercy]

Kpeercy, I am on the waiting listfor an 811. I had one question. On my Samsung DLP, I have to switch inputs to go from OTA to Satellite now. Will I still have to do that, or are all of the signals with the 811 (Dish Programming regular and HD, OTA Digital signals) come into the same input and I just change OTA channels like I change Sat channels now?
Thaks for your input

Once you scan the channels in (really easy, just follow the manual), you'll just change the channels as usual. It's really easy.