Need feedback on STB's

[beccher]

Ready to buy a STB and Sat Dish....

went to AmericanSatellite.com.... saw some compettive prices on a pkg deal of a receiver and a dish....


Don't know what pkg to get...or what brand STB....

I've been researching different STB for a while now and can't decide which one...(Willing to spend $$$$ for quality and less hassle)

Also...what dish should I get(((definitely going w/ direct TV)))).....the whole dual or triple LNB is confusing...right now I think i'm going w/ the triple LNB....


For the dish and a receiver @ americansatellite.com I can get a pkg deal for under 800$...

What do you guys think?

[Hook n Mouth]

and it is a good stb, but one thing bugs me. I have a 4:3 set, and the bars on top and bottom are grey and cannot be changed to black. I have a hard time watching with grey bars, and black bars don't bother me, so I am forced to zoom to fill the screen when watching a 16:9 image. Other than that, the stb is great, great HD picture, changes channels fast (I hear that the Panasonic is frustratingly slow), the menu is also pretty good. Be careful about the RCA stb as it only has a RGB output, and you need to buy an adapter to use component.

[beccher]

hey hook-n-mouth....

I'm new @ this whole Satellite...HD thing....

What Sat dish do you have...a dual or triple LNB....Dish network or Direct TV?

I also have a 4:3 TV....Sony xbr450 36".....

[doug m]

Try this for a good explanation of LNB's, dishes, etc.

http://www.geocities.com/jfaje/lnb.html

Also, Blockbuster has a deal that is pretty hard to beat. $30 (at least at the Blockbuster near me) for an oval dish, receiver, and installation. Plus, you get a card worth 52 free rentals (1 a week for a year). Then you can purchase whatever HD STB you want, and not be tied to a particular package.

Let me know if you are interested. I can give more specifics on how to get this deal.

[Hook n Mouth]

Unfortunately, the learning curve for the HDTV thing is pretty steep, so you are on the right path in learning as much as you can before you shell out any $$$. I have DISH Network, however, I didn't get the 6000 receiver for HD for a few reasons. First, I would have to get a second dish, and install it (a pain), Second, I just bought the PVR from DISH, and they don't have a PVR that can get HDTV yet. Third, the 6000 is $499, plus another $139 to get the 8vsb adapter so that you can get OTA digital signals. So when you add it all up, I was way over a grand. So I bought the Toshiba DTS 3000 and use it for OTA only for $439 (floor model) and am sticking with just OTA for now as far as HDTV goes. Starting from scratch, if you want to get into HDTV, Direct Tv is probably a little better as they have one dish (but 3 lnb's), and a better selection of receivers. The HD content over the satellite is pretty similar, but Direct TV has HDNET which is probably the best thing out there right now. For a 4:3 TV, the only problem with the Toshiba DTS 3000 is the grey bars on the top and bottom that you can't change to black, I hate grey, its bright and destracting, other than that, its a pretty good unit. Good luck!!!

[sts3001]

The BEST in terms of picture quality and sound is a C-Band 4Dtv satellite tv system.....More SD & HD channels than any satellite tv provider. master broadcasts, very little or no-compressions to degrade the picture.....
The SD programming looks and sounds as good as a DVD......

Also 5 HD channels available.....

Systems from $1500 +.....But definitely worth it!

You get what you pay for with this set-up....just like audio equipment, tv's etc.....
You wouldn't think satellite tv could look so good when compared to the pizza-pan(2nd generation, compressed)....I know...I had one !