How do E* HD receivers compare to HD-STB's w/ OTA?

[costanza]

How do E* HD receivers compare to ordinary HD-STB's in reception of OTA HD? I had a Samsung 151 HD-STB that wasn't sensitive enough to reliably display my HD locals even though all the antenna's are within 10-15 miles.

 

[oljim]

My Dish921 is better than my T 151 but all my stations are over 42 miles, you need a better ant.

 

[gpflepsen]

I'd say the only shortcoming of E*'s OTA DTV receivers is the lack of PSIP info.

 

[TuxCoder]

I agree with gpflepsen but would like to add an observation of my own regarding sensitivity. My standalone OTA digital receiver (Hisense/USDigital DB-2010) does much better than my 921 under low signal levels. I don't know if it's a difference in the physical tuner chip, and/or a better FEC implementation. But both are connected with identically short, well-terminated RG6 runs from the splitter. On low enough levels the DB-2010 is still able to hold audio & video (worst case just audio) while the 921 is dead in the water. Or when the signal fluctuates, the sequence is: both fine, 921 drops out, in, out, DB-2010 drops out, in, 921 comes back, etc...

Now just last week I replaced my antenna with a better one with near 100% signal quality on all my stations so I can't easily do those comparisons any more.

 

[mudder1310]

I've found my 811 to not be as sensitive as the T151. I got better signal levels with the sammy on the same antenna just 5 miles from towers.
On a similar note, the digital channel scan is hit or miss as well. I was able to lock on all the local digital channels if I went and input the channel on the "add DTV" menu when I could only pick up two or three with the scan.

 

[Harry]

I have an LG 4200 and it outperforms the 811 in every detail. Better picture, better reception and faster response. (I use the same antenna and pre-amp for both)

The LG's picture is "richer" where the 811 looks washed out when looking at them side by side. I assume the 811 being washed out is from the dark video fix to the 811 soon after it was released.

The LG will pull in stations that the 811 can't. (Stations are 45 miles away)

It will take the 811 upto 10 seconds to lock on certain stations the LG locks on right away.

For OTA, an OTA STB is far better than the 811. (At least my LG is)

 

[jbcheshire]

I have an LG 4200 and it outperforms the 811 in every detail. Better picture, better reception and faster response. (I use the same antenna and pre-amp for both)

Harry,
Where did you get your LG4200 and can you give me an estimate to how much you paid??
Thanks.

 

[Carl B]

Originally posted by Harry
The LG's picture is "richer" where the 811 looks washed out when looking at them side by side. I assume the 811 being washed out is from the dark video fix to the 811 soon after it was released.

I agree with the washout from an 811 via DVI. I b_____d about it back when that software rev fixed the s-video darkness issue, but it didn't draw much consensus on this forum.

Some suggested just adjusting my Sammy DLP. Well, that worked for the component video feed, but there is less adjustment available with the DVI feed and I can't get it back to the desired PQ. Not to mention that when the settings are all screwed-up to make the 811's feed look passable, then any other feeds via DVI (I only have one input, but multiple sources) look overly dark.

I'm sure it is too much to hope that the E* software engineers might correct this problem in a future software update. I have noted the problem to E* via email to their tech site. The response was a thank you and they would pass on my issue.

If I dump E* this fall for Comcast, I'll be looking at the LG 4200 for my OTA.

 

[boba]

I had a SIR-T151 and a DISH 6000 and a Hughes E-81 and a Hughes HTL-HD the T151 was the best tuner,HTL-HD next the E-86 and finally DISH 6000. I sent the Samsung back for a software upgrade and after 5 months of problems they replaced it with a SIR-T451. The 451 is better than the 151 and the best of all my OTA tuners the DISH 6000 is still the worst but it is the oldest of the Tuners.

 

[Harry]

Harry,
Where did you get your LG4200 and can you give me an estimate to how much you paid??
Thanks.

I believe I got it from Gochnauer Home Appliances & Home Video & Audio Electronics Center Online. I paid about $250 for it. That was several months ago.

Cousin's Video is listing it at $258.

Cousin's Video Link

 

[jynx]

I got fed up with the 811 freezing when using it for OTA HD. Got a Mits with built in tuner. Much better picture (richer, great color, excellent contrast without having to boost cointrast control which I had to do with the 811) and no lock ups. However, the 811 performs very well on all five of the satellite HD stations(I guess we call the movie channel HD). It's impossible to be objective, but my wife and I both believe that ESPN and Discover HD usually produce the best pictures and they're from the 811 (but I assume a different chip set than used for OTA).

 

[tonyp56]

I got fed up with the 811 freezing when using it for OTA HD. Got a Mits with built in tuner. Much better picture (richer, great color, excellent contrast without having to boost cointrast control which I had to do with the 811) and no lock ups. However, the 811 performs very well on all five of the satellite HD stations(I guess we call the movie channel HD). It's impossible to be objective, but my wife and I both believe that ESPN and Discover HD usually produce the best pictures and they're from the 811 (but I assume a different chip set than used for OTA).

Most likely the reason for PQ difference is because not everything that is OTA is actually in HD. (though I believe ESPN-HD don't show much HD either)