Is The 811 Really That Bad?

[peestandingup]

Hello, everyone. Im new to this forum and new to satellite tv. I dont have service yet, but was thinking of joining Dish and getting the 811. Doing my usual research that I do anytime I buy anything electronic, I have read many problems with this receiver. Is this just normal stuff, or is this thing really a POS? I must have an HD receiver and since this is the only one Dish carries, should I just go with Directv and get theirs? I have read mostly good reviews on their Samsung HD receiver. I want my transition into satellite tv to be as painless as possible. Thanks.

P.S. How is the program guide? Can you set up profiles and see only the channels you want? Is it fast??

 

[mdonnelly]

Hello, everyone. Im new to this forum and new to satellite tv. I dont have service yet, but was thinking of joining Dish and getting the 811. Doing my usual research that I do anytime I buy anything electronic, I have read many problems with this receiver. Is this just normal stuff, or is this thing really a POS? I must have an HD receiver and since this is the only one Dish carries, should I just go with Directv and get theirs? I have read mostly good reviews on their Samsung HD receiver. I want my transition into satellite tv to be as painless as possible. Thanks.

P.S. How is the program guide? Can you set up profiles and see only the channels you want? Is it fast??

Welcome to the board.
Look through the 811 receiver discussion forum posts, and you'll see good and bad. My experiences are mixed, like most of us. The newest firmware release (P2.84, widely available soon) fixed the issues that had irritated me. Others still have problems. The 811 does have a Favorites feature, that lets you assign channels to a number of lists, and you can jump back and forth between the lists with one button on the remote. The program guide now goes out about 48 hours, and must refresh itself occasionally via satellite download. Annoying, but it only lasts about 30 seconds. You can also control the 811 Zoom functions from the remote, mostly useful for SD viewing. The receiver has a connection for an external OTA antenna so it can be used as an OTA digital HD/SD receiver, and the picture quality on OTA is excellent. Good luck in your research.

 

[ShadowEKU]

Ok.. I just left E*.. literally cancelled my acocunt on Friday. I had the 811. as soon as the new software release hit my box and it didnt solve my problems I placed my D* equipment order. While I dont know much about the Samsung HD receiver. I got the RCA (Value Electronics, if you are a member here you get 10% off) HD receiver and so far I am extremely pleased. I havent reset it yet in 3 days. that may not sound big but i was resetting the 811 daily (sometimes more). IMHO the 811 is a decent receiver but it has A LOT of bugs.

 

[bavaria72]

My 811 has been very stable (2.81). Very happy with it.

 

[Bernie Lomax]

I have no problems with mine. Knock on wood.

 

[ashoo]

I haven't had problems with mine. I am very happy with the OTA picture quality both HD and SD. As a preventive measure, I do a reboot once a week before I retire for the night.

 

[Paul_Medenwaldt]

I've been very happy with my 811 with 2.81 firmware.

Paul

 

[Pils]

It seems most problems happen to those boxes that receive OTA locals, may be wrong though. Something to look into. I am waiting for 2.84 updates to see if my problems fix themselves.

 

[keith]

Still on 2.81 here, and have the same problems as many - reboots, guide doesn't go out beyond 2 hours sometimes, guide reloading, ....

The biggest fix was back when they finally brightened up the SD picture output so it was in the normal range of brightness/contrast. Now the 811 is mostly functional, with irritating bugs that should have never made it past internal beta testing, let alone be shipped for 12+ months to customers.

2.84 appears to be a step forward, and I'll find out soon enough. My Dish contract runs out very soon and it's time to shop around, or stick around for the mpeg4 transition and see what Dish will do with the 811 boat anchor.

Keith.

 

[bobd]

I have p.284 it was a good download for me. I am happy now with my 811. I seem to get the new software when it first comes out so far no hard reboots no lockups no bsod the only thing that bothers me is mpeg4 that is to become standard now that I just spent $ 199 dollars to upgrade to the 811.

 

[WeeJavaDude]

My 811 is pretty stable. 2.84 seems to have a new "No Info" bug that some are running into. I have OTA and am happy that I upgraded from the 6000 to the 811.

The Guide is very fast.

 

[TomA]

I have had my 811 for a little over a year now and I have not had any major problems, and overall I am real pleased with mine. I live in Charlotte, NC.

 

[long_time_DNC]

I'm quite pleased with my 811 now (at P281). Extremely stable. The guide is very fast as well.

 

[BOYCOTT26]

I've had my 811 since march and overall it has been a very good receiver
for the money.Rebooting now and again can be a pain but not that bad.
At least it's not as bad as a PC.

 

[peestandingup]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and quick responses . It seems the 811 could go either way as far as quality and dependability goes. I am currently with Insight Cable using the Motorola DVR/HD 6208 receiver. So far, its been pretty good, but I hate the TV Guide setup they use and cable is too expensive for what it is. Most of my channels are still analog .

I have been researching this like crazy and it seems that allot more D* customers are happier with their HD receivers (Samsung & Others) than E* customers who are using the 811. I mean, there is an entire forum dedicated to the 811 and most of the posts are pretty negative.

Anyone had experience with both? Namely the D* Samsung SIR-TS360 and the E* 811? Thanks. The Sammy gets pretty good reviews at numerous places online, like CircuitCity.com

 

[kpeercy]

I've owned the 811 for two weeks shy of one year. It's been a very good receiver.

 

[ShadowEKU]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and quick responses . It seems the 811 could go either way as far as quality and dependability goes. I am currently with Insight Cable using the Motorola DVR/HD 6208 receiver. So far, its been pretty good, but I hate the TV Guide setup they use and cable is too expensive for what it is. Most of my channels are still analog .

I have been researching this like crazy and it seems that allot more D* customers are happier with their HD receivers (Samsung & Others) than E* customers who are using the 811. I mean, there is an entire forum dedicated to the 811 and most of the posts are pretty negative.

Anyone had experience with both? Namely the D* Samsung SIR-TS360 and the E* 811? Thanks. The Sammy gets pretty good reviews at numerous places online, like CircuitCity.com

I have experience with the 811 and the RCA D* HD receiver. I have not been with D* very long but from wha tI can tell the D* is alot better in my eyes. Now that isnt saying you wont like the 811. for waht it did and if you can get it for free its worth the price and headaches. but if you have to pay more than 299 for it go with D*.

This is just my opinion so please take that for waht it is worth.

 

[Barry Erick]

I like mine better than the RCA box I had with DirecTV.

As for a Samsung box, I would not touch one as their standalone set-top OTA boxes are crap. And that goes for every model they have made. I know of 5 boxes installed locally and none can keep up with movement without breaking up. Other sets (Panasonic, Zenith) do not.

 

[alocher]

I've had my 811 for 13 months now (got it installed during the first week that the box was released). It had significant problems at the start, but since the software updates in July, it has worked pretty well for me.

-- Albert

 

[peestandingup]

It sounds like the 811 was kinda crappy when it was first released, but now its gotten much better after all the updates. I probably will go ahead and get it. Thanks guys.