Question about Receivers

[kabod]

I've had DirecTV about 10 months and have been very happy with it so far. (No HD, no Sports or Movies and only 3 PPV family movies so far). Cannot get cable were I live...
My problem...My setup came with a Hughes receiver that I was very pleased with. 2 weeks ago we took a close lightning strike that took out the receiver. (The only thing in the Media Center that got hit...although our 32in TV was degaussed but works fine). Customer Service was great and shipped a new receiver 2 days later. The new unit was the D10-300. I HATE IT! The menu is hard to read...no "Turbo" mode....no color coded program guide...etc.
And it seems to be losing signal more than the Hughes during rain. (Live on the Gulf Coast with BIG storms). Is there that much difference between the Receiver Brands? Do I need to call and see if I can get a Hughes unit back or is there an even better unit out there???
Any suggestions?

Blessings-

 

[dtvtier2]

If you call up directv they cannot garuntee what brand of receiver you are going to get. if you want a hughes receiver, you might call some local retailers to see if they have any them. Otherwise look around online, might try ebay. but you're out of luck getting one from dtv.

 

[boba]

Directv sold the Hughes Manufacturing facility to Thomson(RCA) so that brand has been RETIRED. Directv was supposed to replace the basic unit with a D-10 unit that would have many different manufactures but operate the same. What has happened is we have three manufactures 100(RCA), 200(Samsung), 300(Phillips) with different operating systems. You can try to have Directv replace it with a 100 or 200 if you don't like the 300. Or go to Ebay and buy a used Hughes that is the same model you are used to. I doubt you can get a receiver that hasn't been manufactured in over a year.

 

[mike5119]

Old Hughes Receivers

I have the old Hughes Receiver, SD HBD / HIRD-D1?, anyway it's a black unit that I can send to you free if you PayPal me the shipping charge ( I think $20 should cover from West to East) or you calculate the shipping cost from Zip code 92844. I just cancel DirecTV because I can't get 119 at my new location so the receiver are useless now.

Mike5119

 

[jalexand69]

Dear Kabod,

Like you, I think Hughes receivers are the best, and I do not have an advanced setup (e.g., HD, DVR, etc.). I hope the free offer works out for you. I have an Executive receiver, and it's much better than the Philips I had previously. In fact, I saw an executive receiver for over $100 on Ebay (from frantic bidding!).

I've heard good and bad remarks about D-10. If you want interactive features, that may be your only option. (As for me, I like the advanced features of the Executive Director, for I hope to complete my home theater system soon.)
j c

 

[Ely]

Have you tried using the S-Video or composite cable connections instead of the coax one for your new D-10 receiver? This receivers all the D-10s send out a HORRIBLE picture when connected to the TV with coax, Try using S-Video or Composite and you ll have a LOT better experience and crispy picture with them, Once you get that picture you will most likely be able to read the menus with no problem, I have three D-10 100 receivers One was given by DirecTV the two others I bought myself one from ValueElectronics for just $24 bucks! and the other one from my local BestBuy store.

I previously had Hughes and I must say I also believe they are VERY nice units and the menus are nice specially the ability to access favorite channels with one touch of the remote ( This is the ONLY thing I m missing from them ) but then again using Composite video or S-Video will give as much of a crispy picture as you can get from any receiver, try it.

 

[kabod]

I am using the S-Video connector...it's not the picture quality so much as the BIG difference between what I was used to with the Hughes and the D-10 in all around menu quality, navigation and features.
I messaged Mike5199 about his offer and hope that works out...

Thanks for all the replys folks! I am new to the forum and will be lurking about gleaning all the great info here...
I am a Television Producer and Director (and do a lot of my own engineering) for a large church in Pensacola and appreciate all the helpful responses that I've read to a vast array of questions on this forum...

 

[billbillw]

Ely, I think he is complaining about the small text and lack of customizable features with the D10. I had one for a few months and hated it. There is no choice of menu color, text size, Guide type, or anything. I hated having to press Guide twice to get it up and then had a terrible time reading the Guide because the text was so small. Keep in mind this was on my bedroom TV and the viewing distance from bed is probably like 12-15 feet and it is only a 27" TV. If I got within 8 feet, I could read it fine.
Thankfully, my D10 died on me after only a few months and I went out and found a Samsung SIR300 to replace it. The Samsung is much better unit IMHO. The interface is much faster, more customizable and guess what, I can easily read the Guide from up to 15 feet away on my small TV.