HDTVoice.com - High-Definition Television Talk - Radio Shack HD receiver from Accurion

Ratman

09-13-2005, 07:52 AM

You have to look for an HD receiver that is "QAM" capable.

LG and Samsung have receivers that can decode digital cable.

Be aware... these receivers will only be able to receive digital cable channels that are 'unencrypted'.

Why not just rent an HD cable box for ~$7 a month?

mountainman

09-13-2005, 09:01 AM

Wow, great price.

Does anybody know how well these receivers work? I'd like to upgrade from the VOOM box that I use for OTA signals, but if there isn't much of a difference then I'd rather not fork out the $89.00.

newdude

09-13-2005, 12:35 PM

Can Accurian work with Dish Network?

Ratman

09-13-2005, 12:42 PM

Nope.... it's OTA only.

newdude

09-13-2005, 12:46 PM

Is there any product outthere that I can buy that will work with Dish Network or should I just lease/buy the set-top-box from Dish Network. I am trying to save money. I have a JVC 40" LCD TV.

Ratman

09-13-2005, 01:09 PM

I believe the only option you have is to buy/lease from DISH. I could be wrong...

newdude

09-13-2005, 01:14 PM

Thanks for your help.

mountainman

09-13-2005, 05:28 PM

I was looking at the radioshack site on this receiver and it doesn't mention having a signal strength indicator. Does anyone have one of these units? Are they a decent buy?

kevinw

09-13-2005, 05:36 PM

I was looking at the radioshack site on this receiver and it doesn't mention having a signal strength indicator. Does anyone have one of these units? Are they a decent buy?
It does - More discussion
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=85763

mountainman

09-13-2005, 10:11 PM

Thanks kevinw!

Great thread! They talked about the signal strength indicator as well as comparing the Accurian to the VOOM box, which is what I have.

You fellas rock! :rockon:

bsr2002

09-19-2005, 01:31 AM

I was looking at the radioshack site on this receiver and it doesn't mention having a signal strength indicator. Does anyone have one of these units? Are they a decent buy?

LOvin it. :D Here's the signal strength indicator, very easy to get to. :)

mountainman

09-19-2005, 02:41 PM

That Accurian screen shot looks pretty snazzy. Thanks for the pic. I was getting ready to drive 30 miles to get one but the last one was snatched up. I bet they will be turning up on ebay though.
My ole VOOM box will just have to keep on chugging along!

Tstat

09-19-2005, 04:29 PM

I just got mine on Friday, so I could watch the Pats get killed in HD on Sunday. I REALLY like it. I have Cox HD, too- so I hooked this baby up with HDMI, and a crappy settop antenna. Chucked the antenna out the window and got some really good signal strength. It is easy to use- auto programming channels, channel guide, clock, signal strenth meters, etc- all work great. The remote is slightly weak (as posted before)- but once I programmed my Harmony, it works perfectly- just like all my other components. So, for $89 (display model- they gave me an extra year guarentee) you can't go wrong =)

erios

09-23-2005, 06:33 PM

Hi, first off, I'd like to say what a great site. I'd say it's fair to call me a noob when it comes to Home Theatre / Audio setups, so a site like this is a gold mine.

I've been reading this particular thread about the Accurian HDTV reciever and based on the majority opinions, you've all convinced me to get one. However, I have a question about the audio setup. From what I gathered, the HDMI cable does Video & Audio. However, I wanted to run the audio via my receiver out to my other speakers. How do I do this?

Let me clarify that I don't have an HDMI audio receiver nor one with digital inputs. I just want to do left and right (red & white inputs) speakers from my audio reciever.

Do I just do the following:
1. Hook up the HDMI cable to the back of the HDTV reciever and my TV
2. Run Stereo Audio cables (left and right) from the digital audio out on the accurian HDTV reciever to my audio receiver? / or to my TV

If I run it to the TV... do I then run stereo cables from the monitor out on the TV to my audio receiver?

please help??? :mecry:

Here's my list of equipment:

TV: Philips 30" HDTV monitor widescreen TV - 30PW8420
HDTV Receiver: Accurian - thing I got from radioshack
Audio Receiver: KENWOOD KR-V6070 DOLBY PRO LOGIC RECEIVER
Speakers: 2 Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers

Thanks in advance to everyone who can help.

erios

09-26-2005, 04:18 PM

nvm, I figured it out how to hook my sound.

Just a question for owners of the Accurian HDTV receiver, is it absolutely necessary to use an antenna to get signal?

Reason I'm asking is because I live in Boston, and from anntennaweb.com, I recieve about 13 digital ota stations under 5 miles from my apartment (zipcode 02135). Since I live in an apartment, I don't exactly have the option of use an outdoor antennae and was just wondering if the accurian receiver is capable of receiving signal without an antennae.

If it does need an antennae, I'll just go ahead and get an indoor zenith silver antennae. I just want to keep things as cheap as possible. thanks again.

Ratman

09-26-2005, 04:43 PM

Indoor or outdoor... you need antenna.
The Silver Sensor is a good starting point.

oman321

09-26-2005, 04:44 PM

Just try a cheap set of rabit ears, that close & you might just be in luck neighbor.

Ratman

09-26-2005, 04:47 PM

If all the channels for digital are UHF, 'rabbit ears' won't work (or won't work well). They are for VHF.

oman321

09-26-2005, 05:00 PM

Thought about that, I think they are mostly UHF around here.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2153141

This would probably work and keep it cheap, easy to return if it doesnt.

erios

09-26-2005, 05:11 PM

thanks guys, appreciate it.

erios

09-28-2005, 11:24 PM

oman321, since you live in the boston area, do you use an indoor antennae? If so, what kind? I had a mishap w/ amazon so my zenith silver antennae didn't come so I got a terk @ my local radio shack. Let's just say I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

So I'm lookin forward to the zenith silver antennae. What's odd is even tho there are 13 digital ufh stations under 5 miles from my apartment, the signal was absolutely horrible w/ the terk antennae.

erios

79ta

09-29-2005, 02:53 AM

i purchased this one as well, no complaints at all.... well worth the $90+ after tax... my only question is are any of you guys having problems with vhf stations?

wfaa ch. 8 in dallas is vhf, all others as far as i can tell are uhf. i'm having trouble receiving 8, but the others look terrific.

oman321

09-29-2005, 10:14 AM

I actually have Cable with Comcast. No OTA tuner in my set & and I wanted a video recorder when I got my Panny, so I currently have a Motorola 6412 for HD reception. I have helped out a few friends and family with OTA but these have been outdoor antennas. Being to close to the towers could present it's own issue but hopefully your Zenith should be ok. Lots of folks have a bad time with Terk.

erios

10-01-2005, 03:07 PM

ok,so thanks for all the info up until now. I've hooked up the accurian hdtv reciever along w/ my zenith antennae but I have another problem.

I've look on antennaeweb for direction settings which is fine. I'll get a decent signal around ~85% for the channels I want, but it'll only last for like a minute or 2 and then drop down to 49% for 30 seconds so I completely lose the picture / signal. Any ideas how to fix this?

Also, this might sound kinda wierd, but I noticed if I let the connection point between the antenna and the cable a little loose, I get a better signal. Any idea what might be causing this?

this is becoming too troublesome. if I can't fix this soon, I'm just going to return the reciever and cough up the extra money to comcast for an hdtv reciever through them.

Ratman

10-01-2005, 05:21 PM

Fluctuation of signal is nornally due to multipath. This can be a problem with any antenna. An indoor antenna only accentuates the issue(s).

It's probably not a problem with the receiver.

As for the loose connection it could be two things:
1) bad connectors
2) you reduce the signal and eliminate the rogue signal(s).

IMO... go to the attic or for best results, the roof with a 'real' antenna.

erios

10-01-2005, 06:13 PM

I live in the city of boston, I can't exactly install a roof antenna on top of an apartment complex. I do live on the top floor however, which I was hoping would be better for ota reception.

Ratman

10-01-2005, 08:27 PM

Sorry... I'd like to help, but the laws of physics take precedent.

If you don't have a good line of sight to the x-mitters and perhaps live in an urban area with tall buildings/structures, you may need to consider CATV (cable).

You can always try the Radio Shack 15-1880 if you haven't thrown in the towel yet.

mountainman

10-02-2005, 10:45 AM

Well, I was able to pick up an Accurian HD receiver afterall. The guy in Salisbury, NC said they had a unit that just come in from Pennsylvania. So I drove 30 miles to get it. Even though it was display, the unit's accessories were packaged like new. I got it for $89 and the warranty doubled.

I've had mixed results so far. At first I hooked up with component cables and the PQ looked pretty good. It seemed to pick up most of the channels that my VOOM box pulled in. (One notable exception was a Chapel Hill PBS station)

Yesterday, I was in Target and they were selling their RCA brand HDMI 6 ft cables for $9.99 (they were $39.99) so I bought one and hooked it up to the Accurian and my Toshiba TV. Perhaps it was the network broadcast- college football on CBS , but the HD just didn't look as sharp as the component.

My component inputs are really needed for other things so I would like to use the Accurian with the HDMI. But if it doesn't look any better today, I may return it and go back to the VOOM receiver. Before I got the Accurian, I had the VOOM hooked up with a dvi cable and an HDMI converter and it looked very good, so that tells me my TV's HDMI input should be okay. The Accurian has a lot of nice features, but if the picture doesn't look great, then the other bells and whistles are trivial.

I'll keep swapping stuff around and see if the picture gets better.

To be continued...

Ratman

10-02-2005, 12:31 PM

Just curious...

If you already had a functioning OTA-HD receiver, why did you purchase the R/S unit?
(Was it just for a S/S meter?)

mountainman

10-02-2005, 02:08 PM

I picked up the Accurian for several reasons-

1) I thought it might do a better job of picking up the OTA signals. Maybe a newer generation chip?
2) Since my VOOM box was used, it still had the channels on it from the guy in California and I couldn't get them off so when I flipped through channels, I had to go through his channels as well as mine.
3) I do like the Accurian's features, such as signal strength meter, freeze button, closed captioning ,as well as, direct HDMI to HDMI. With the VOOM, I have to use an adapter for the DVI.
4) Nice to have a cheap backup if something goes wrong with one of them.

I'm watching Redskins/Seahawks game now in HD on FOX 8. It looks great so the other game that looked so lousy must have been a network thing.

Ratman

10-02-2005, 02:43 PM

Just my thoughts:
1) Nah...
2) To remove unwanted pre-scanned channels. Try removing the antenna cable, perform a scan and let it complete (and obviously pick up nothing). reattach the antenna cable and rescan. It may clear out the old and only add what you want.
3) The meter is a 'nice to have', but you get 'em or you don't. As for the CC and freeze. I agree. The HDMI to DVI adapter is not hampering your picture picture quality, although you do get audio with HDMI is that's important.
4) I agree 100%. (And I'll probably regret not getting one for the same reason :) )

Enjoy!

JesseBott

10-11-2005, 02:08 PM

57U

10-11-2005, 02:31 PM

Are there buttons on the front of the unit that would let you navigate the user menus and turn off CC? Harmony remotes work all equipment, but that may be more than you want to spend.

mountainman

10-11-2005, 04:33 PM

Has anyone found a universal remote control that controls the accurian fully? I apparently purchased a floor model and it did not have a remote control (it was the last one in stock) and it has Closed Captioning turned on. I found a remote control that works (using the pioneer cable box codes), but the only buttons that work are the channel up and down buttons. I need to turn off closed captioning as it is turning me and my wife CRAZY! The remote i'm currently using is a Philips Magnavox 4-in-1 remote I purchased at Target about a year ago. Anyone have any confirmed working remotes?

Thanks in advance.

Don't take this as a smart a** suggestion, but did you check the foam packaging that came with the unit? The remote is almost hidden inside one of them. I didn't see mine at first.

As for the front buttons, I don't see a way to turn off the CC by using the menu options. Its funny that you can move the CC all over the screen, change the font, color, etc, with the front buttons, but can't turn off the CC without the remote. I'll keep fiddling with it and see if there is another way...

JesseBott

10-12-2005, 09:33 AM

Yes, I checked the foam twice and took everything out of the box. I read the post about the remote being in the foam before I bought the unit, and still found no remote. Unfortunately, I already have an expensive remote, which is one of the chameleon ones from Radio Shack (cost like $50 when I bought it last year), but it barely works with the unit and has no CC feature. As for those who claim that you can use the buttons on the front, TRY IT. Like Mountainman, I have tried like three times, going through all of the menu options. There is no way to turn CC on or off from the front of the unit. There are CC options in the menu itself, but nothing for turning it off completely, only to change where the CC is placed. It is a strange situation because my magnavox can control the tv channels PERFECTLY, even from like 20 feet away, but it cannot control anything else (no other features) - not even the power button. My radio shack chameleon can control power and channels up and down as well as the menu button, but has no CC button, but it only works once in a while.

mountainman

10-12-2005, 09:42 AM

I guess as a last resort you can take the Accurian back- especially since you didn't get a remote. The Radio Shack person should have checked that it had the remote.
Wonder if Radio Shack would send you a remote that works with the Accurian? I'd call them and find out my options.

57U

10-12-2005, 10:00 AM

As for those who claim that you can use the buttons on the front, TRY IT. Like Mountainman, I have tried like three times, going through all of the menu options. There is no way to turn CC on or off from the front of the unit.It was not a "claim", it was a suggestion...

bsr2002

10-12-2005, 07:49 PM

Has anyone found a universal remote control that controls the accurian fully? I apparently purchased a floor model and it did not have a remote control (it was the last one in stock) and it has Closed Captioning turned on. I found a remote control that works (using the pioneer cable box codes), but the only buttons that work are the channel up and down buttons. I need to turn off closed captioning as it is turning me and my wife CRAZY! The remote i'm currently using is a Philips Magnavox 4-in-1 remote I purchased at Target about a year ago. Anyone have any confirmed working remotes?

Thanks in advance.
The remote of the Accurian sucks rocks, I have heard that the Harmony remotes work well with them. I saw some improvement when I opened the front panel and left it open. The remote is working well for me after I did that :)