Got rid of my 811 today

[BobMcCarthy]

This is truly a flawed piece of gear. It never worked right from the beginning. My seven year old Echo Star 2000 is a much better box and is back up running. Dish Network has some nerve selling this equipment. For the first time in almost eight years I'm thinking of going back to cable.

Bob

 

[charper1]

Was that your one & only 811 box or had you tried another 811? Sometimes things happen. I have had my 811 a while without issues. What version did you have?

 

[tonyp56]

I would write Dishnetwork about how you feel at ceo@dishnetwork.com and let them have it, they are not going to make improvements until they hear from their customers.

Good luck,

 

[BobMcCarthy]

I had two boxes, the Echo Star 2000 and the 811. The SD quality was so poor on the 811 it might as well have been analog cable from 20 years ago.

 

[BobMcCarthy]

Thanks. I did write them. One has to wonder why the merger between Direct TV and the Echo Star didn't happen. At least Ford got rid of the Edsel.

 

[Kevinw]

I had two boxes, the Echo Star 2000 and the 811. The SD quality was so poor on the 811 it might as well have been analog cable from 20 years ago.

Yep, 811 sure is lousy for SD but then again itt is a HD receiver. HD looks great. Of course SD through the Components look good but not through the S-video.
What kind of TV are you using it on?

 

[GaryPen]

I have had my 811 a while without issues.

Wow. You must have some special, magical 811. Everyone elses has all or most the following problems with their 811's:

1. Dark image from SD outputs. (Some, including myself, also get a slight loss of detail in dark areas from one or more of the HD outputs, as well.)
2. Acquiring Satellite interuption when going from OTA channel to EPG.
3. Downloading EPG guide data way too often. (Always after an "acquiring signal", sometimes locking up or going into an endless loop of downloads.)
4. Intermittent closed captions.
5. Channel recall not working with OTA channels.
6. No OTA guide data. (A missing, necessary feature, as opposed to a bug.)

There's more. But, my old worn out brain cells can't recall them at this time.

 

[Kevinw]

Thanks. I did write them. One has to wonder why the merger between Direct TV and the Echo Star didn't happen. At least Ford got rid of the Edsel.

According to the government it would have been unfair to the consumer at that time to only have 1 choice for satellite. Unlike the monopoly cables has on an area. According to the governmnet cable is not a cometitor to satellite only another satellite company is

 

[GaryPen]

According to the government it would have been unfair to the consumer at that time to only have 1 choice for satellite. Unlike the monopoly cables has on an area. According to the governmnet cable is not a cometitor to satellite only another satellite company is

I used to be all for the merger. Then, I went back to Dish after being away for a year.

All I can say is 12 million DirecTV subs sure are lucky it never happened.

 

[Kevinw]

Wow. You must have some special, magical 811. Everyone elses has all or most the following problems with their 811's:

1. Dark image from SD outputs. (Some, including myself, also get a slight loss of detail in dark areas from one or more of the HD outputs, as well.)
2. Acquiring Satellite interuption when going from OTA channel to EPG.
3. Downloading EPG guide data way too often. (Always after an "acquiring signal", sometimes locking up or going into an endless loop of downloads.)
4. Intermittent closed captions.
5. Channel recall not working with OTA channels.
6. No OTA guide data. (A missing, necessary feature, as opposed to a bug.)

There's more. But, my old worn out brain cells can't recall them at this time.

Gary is correct about all these issues. BUT the original post was about poor SD output in comparison to an old Echo Star 2000. I have all the above issues too except for the dark picture through the HD outs.

 

[BobMcCarthy]

A Sony KV-30 XBR910.

 

[Kevinw]

I used to be all for the merger. Then, I went back to Dish after being away for a year.

All I can say is 12 million DirecTV subs sure are lucky it never happened.

Every time I see a Charlie Chat, I think the same thing...Dufus in Charge..

 

[WJMorales]

The 811 has more bugs than Microsoft products, but the unit works. The unit is an HD unit, which is suppose to be connected to a HDTV. If your connecting thru other outputs other than Componet or DVI you could not expect good results. All the issues listed here are valid, but don't stop you from watching TV, annoyning as they may seem.

 

[Kevinw]

A Sony KV-30 XBR910.

The reason I asked is that almost all HD tv's have poor PQ viewing SD programming. Using a HTTU disk does wonders for improving PQ.

 

[WeeJavaDude]

The reason I asked is that almost all HD tv's have poor PQ viewing SD programming. Using a HTTU disk does wonders for improving PQ.

What is a HTTU disk? The 811 is by no means the end of be all of HD Receivers, but it works nicely in my system. For the $149 I payed for it, I am a happy customer for sure.

But then again, I have it hooked up to a Sony GWII through the DVI port. I also have a power conditioner on the TV and the 811 and have excellent OTA lock with the 811. I rarely use it to tape VCR tapes so I hardely ever look at the SD out of the svideo.

I could understand not being happy with the svideo output and like some have stated this box does it best work in an HD environment and with component or DVI used. If you are only going to use the Composite or svideo outs, then other receivers will do a better job. Especially with the 811's dark video issue. I by no means would classify this box as a POS, but we all have our experiences and right to our opinions. For $149.00/199.00 it is a good deal in my book.

 

[boba]

Bob I agree with you. As a DISH/Directv dealer I am very glad Directv exists. I only sell DISH 311 & 510 receivers the rest of their line is not fit to be sold. The crap they have given to customers that just don't know what the product should perform like is unbelievable. Try Directv before you go to cable their product for the most part works right out of the box the first time.

 

[Grandude]

Wow. You must have some special, magical 811. Everyone elses has all or most the following problems with their 811's:

1. Dark image from SD outputs. (Some, including myself, also get a slight loss of detail in dark areas from one or more of the HD outputs, as well.)
2. Acquiring Satellite interuption when going from OTA channel to EPG.
3. Downloading EPG guide data way too often. (Always after an "acquiring signal", sometimes locking up or going into an endless loop of downloads.)
4. Intermittent closed captions.
5. Channel recall not working with OTA channels.
6. No OTA guide data. (A missing, necessary feature, as opposed to a bug.)

Gary,
Overall, I really like my 811 and consider it a great bargain at $149.
1. I'm don't mind the slightly darker images on the SD output, that is except for Mystery Monday on BBC which is broadcasting a very dark image, even for my 721.
2. I (almost) always switch back to a non-OTA signal before going to the guide and thus I never have the acquiring signal problem and
3. I never have the problem of downloading the EPG guide because of my adherance to 2. above.
4. I've found the closed captions OK, never intermittant, but find them to be too far behind the dialog for my preferences. Also I find that the only way to shut them off is to use the "Reset CC defaults" option as the other one never seems to shut it off.
5. I am also patiently waiting for OTA guide data. Hopefully soooooon!

Having both SD and HD outputs on at the same time plus the guide is reason enough for me to use my 811 rather than my $149 6000U.

Just wish I lived closer to San Francisco so I could get better OTA reception.
Neither the 6000 or the 811 are doing very well OTA for me because of my location.

 

[GaryPen]

1. The SD outputs don't effect me either. But, for a helluva lotta folks, it's a major deal.
2. Is that learned behavior as workaround, or just something that you do naturally. Because I invariably forget, and often hit the guide button while viewing an OTA channel.
3. Even without #2, I still get too many instances of downloading guide data, as others have reported.
4. The fact that you can't turn them off without a workaround would be considered a bug.
5. If they use the Gemstar info, the OTA guide info may not be all we are hoping for. A number of people have reported that info on TV Guide channel is incorrect!

I'm lucky enough to be able to mount my Silver Sensor about 40' or so above the ground. So, I get all but one SF/SJ OTA channel from up to 50 miles away. The problematic one has been OK with some software updates, not ok with others.

 

[Gordon Reid]

Wow. You must have some special, magical 811. Everyone elses has all or most the following problems with their 811's:

1. Dark image from SD outputs. (Some, including myself, also get a slight loss of detail in dark areas from one or more of the HD outputs, as well.)

My 811 is supposed to be installed Sunday (Dish screwed up and did not send the information out for installation - was supposed to be done yesterday). How prevalent is this problem and can you minimize it by adjusting the contrast using Video Essentials?

 

[Enforcer]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones again. I have had my 811 for about a month now and I have yet to experience any problems whatsoever. It has truely been a great receiver. I have had all the outputs hooked up and all of them are terrific. I am thinking about getting another one actually. Hopefully, they have fixed some of the issues. I have read some posts here and looks like it is slowly becoming a good receiver. Just my experiences.