jimbo1

Put an order in for a Zenith DTV 1080. No one has one. Talked to the Zenith gal at HQ and she said they might be out in Oct. I was talking to a Sony tech guy at Sony and he had a Sat HD 200 sitting in front of him. So they do exist in the flesh. I am trying to find out when the retailers will get them. Promos say September. First guy who gets one has my order. It looks pretty good. No one has reviewed it vs the Zenith that I know of. Anyone know anything else about this new product?

tomrhyne

I assume you are referring to the HD-SAT520. There is also an HDV420 (non-satelitte receiver). The latest I here on the 520 is September (probably in time for CEDIA, which is late September.)

I bought my DTV1080 from Robert at Royal Electronics and have an order in for the 520 from him. Contact him at:

Royal Electronics
>> 3781 J. Nova Rd.
>> Port Orange FL 32129
>> 386-756-1775
>> 386-756-3411 fax
rob_in_vero@angelfire.com

In addition, Cousins Video has them listed on their website. I just received an email from Zenith saying they would be out in September.

Tom
<><

jimbo1

Hi Tom. Thanks for the information. The Zenith DTV 1080 looks like it will be a great product. The competing product, with maybe about the same specs is the Sony Sat HD 200. The press release can be read at http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/2587

The Sony product is in production. I talked to a tech guy and he had one in front of him. All my stuff is Sony and it would be nice to get this Sony product. The press release says it will be out in September. So it looks like a horse race between both companies. There seems to be a little more information out on the Zenith DTV 1080 Sat 520. Sony is a little more secretive. Whatever one appears first I will probably get. Thanks for the information. If you find out anything else, please drop me a line at

jimbo1mcm@aol.com

Jim McManamy

tomrhyne

Jim,

I completely misread your first post. I saw the reference to the Zenith DTV1080 and the mention of the SAT HD200 and skipped right over Sony. Sorry. The DTV1080 is no longer being manufactured. The HD-SAT520 is new and hopefully will be out in September. It can be seen with specs at:

http://www.zenith.com/index.asp?url....asp%3Fcat%3D42

Good luck!

Tom
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jimbo1

HI Tom. Got a reply from a Sony rep that the Sony Sat HD 200 will be available at the retail level in late September. It will be a tough choice between that and the Zenith, if the Zenith comes out earlier. Have you been happy with your DTV 1080?

tomrhyne

Jim, I read a post on another forum that said that LG Electronics of Korea (the owners of Zenith and manufacturers of their HD receivers) is going to make HD boxes for other companies. I believe, but am not 100% certain, that they are going to make the Sony box also. If that is correct, then the Zenith and the Sony will be essentailly the same. I'll check and see if I can find that post. If I can, I'll let you know here.

Tom
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tomrhyne

Jim, I found the info on avsforum. Below are the quotes. The last one was my Gary Merson who evaluates and writes articles for HD magazines. Have you seen a picture of the Sony? If so is it available on the web? I can't find a picture anywhere.

IP



Tom
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jimbo1

Tom, that is very interesting,ie. LG possibly making the box for Sony. LG is Korean, if I am not mistaken. The Korean and Japanese have not been best of friends. Perhaps we have a detente! I really don't care who makes it as long as I can get one!
Did Zenith make the HD 100 for Sony? I almost tend to think not, but Zenith is kind of the leader in this niche, so anything is possible. It is kind of strange that both companies say their units will be available in late September. I know the CDEA show is the 29th of September. Do you have any threads to contact Gary Merson? Maybe he would know more. Thanks for the help. You would think that a product like this would be allowed more publicity. I guess each product division has just so much advertising and publicity money. Thanks. JPM

tomrhyne

Jim, I don't have his email address, but since I am a member of the avsforum and so is he, I sent him a private message, asking the question. When, and if he responds, I'll let you know what he says. Yea, if it is true, it will probably be the first time a Korean has manufactured a Japanese box!

Tom
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tomrhyne

Jim, Gary responded that indeed the new Sony is manufactured by LG Electronics, the owners of Zenith. Therefore, the boxes will probably be identical except for cosmetics. I believe Zenith has better customer service, so that's who I will purchase it from.

Tom
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jimbo1

Thanks for the info. Business makes for strange bedfellows. I placed an order for the Zenith Sat hd 520 with Rob, per your suggestion. Rob sent me a reply stating that they had placed the order with Zenith in April and that he felt that they should be on the first distribution go around. Can't wait. Were you happy with the DTV 1080 as a first generation STB ?

tomrhyne

The DTV1080 produced an excellent HD picture and its upconverter for NTSC programs was much better than the one in the Mits I have. However, there were some audio dropout problems which I concluded could not be fixed with software changes and also there was a Panorama stretch mode problem with DirecTV viewing. I complained enough so they bought my unit back. I am convinced these will be fixed with the next gen and that's why I have my order in for one.

I hope you told Robert I sent you.

Tom
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HDave

Any word yet on the Sony HD200

jimbo1

They are in limited distribution. The people that have them like them. Check out ..AVS Forum

johne44

Just got one from www.onecall.com -$899. The main stream stores around here (Circuit City, Tweeter) won't see them until October, and in limited supply.