Hughes HIRD-E8 as standalone OTA receiver

[smikolaj]

Can I use the E8 as an HD OTA receiver without a subscription? Also, would this unit require an access card? I am looking for an inexpensive way to receive my local HD OTA stations without having to buy a new tv set with a digital tuner and I found a good deal on one of these receivers. I searched the forums and couldn't find info on this.

Thanks.

 

[roashru]

yes, the directv hughes hird-e8/e86 receiver can be used for local digital tv even without a directv card (see link below). during its time it was very good but had a user defect if not ventilated properly the chips would burnout even though they had a heatsink glued to them! now the newer than that directv receivers that have cable tv in and dvi video out are mutch better the last ones made are the sony sat-hd300 (high demand not cheap) the lg lss-3200a (middle priced), and the hughes htl-hd (sometimes dirt cheap without a factory remote control) make sure to get one of these with software version 2.01.00. if your shopping by price i recommend the hughes htl-hd the last one i bought i only paid $16.00 u.s..

i havent updated my ota directv page yet about the directv program guide. to get the program guide to work for any directv receiver youll now need to get at least the 18 inch dish connected to the receiver and a directv card any p4 or p5 card will work it dosnt even have to be a "married" card. to get rid of the previous owners channels listed you will need to reset the receivers nvram.

http://home.att.net/~roashru/Directv.html

 

[techpuppy]

Roashru - GREAT information on your web page! Thanks for the info. It will make shopping for a secondary receiver much easier.

 

[Bulbman2]

E86

I 3 of the hughes e86 receivers all working great with out card or subscription. I am going to sell two of them because I am buying hd sets with built in tuners. they have served me well with no problems. I would highly recommend them


john

 

[sqamar]

Roashru thanks for the link. I just bought an LG LSS 3200a and no access card was included and was unsure if I needed one. THANK YOU for the list and the manuals !!! :up

 

[ghostman]

Ugh. The link shows the RCA DTC-210 as not needing an access card, so I bought one. But I can't access the Dish Type menu without it prompting me to insert one. :-(

So much for that list.

 

[roashru]

ghostman, my most "hands on" experience with varying satellite tv receivers are hughes and general instrument now motorola broadband i have updated that ota directv page i made with your experience.

below are confirmed no card needed directv receivers to select dish type.

hughes htl-hd
lg lss-3200a
sony sat-hd300

a must have document for hughes htl-hd owners (11mb): http://rapidshare.com/files/1100205/htl-hd.pdf

hughes hird-e86
hughes hird-e8
mitsubishi sr-hd5
philips dshd800r
toshiba dst-3000

http://home.att.net/~roashru/Directv.html

i also made an ota hdtv voom receiver (motorola dsr-550) page.

http://home.att.net/~roashru/Voom.html

 

[smikolaj]

Thanks Roashru. Does anyone know if there are any dishnetwork HD receivers that don't require a subscription to use the OTA receiver? I looked and I like their top 60 package and will most likely eventually subscribe to that but in the mean time I wanted to see what is out there for OTA. I know the 811 will work, not sure if there are any other models. I am also a big fan of just owning the equipment rather than leasing or signing contracts.
Thank.