My observation is with DVI on a Pioneer Elite 630. Items I believe have been resolved or improved:
1)Menu EPG to two days and the Video on menu repaired. (Believe it or not this was my major complaint with this unit)
2) Remapping the locals to be next to the OTA digitals.
(Now I can see what is on my locals--Not as effective
as a menu on the OTA channel but better than nothing.
3) Colour more accurate on SD channels. (This might explain why some are seeing an improvement with S-VHS.)
4) No more wait for menu after watching OTA digital.
(This at first was my main concern until I learned that if you punched in a E* channel first and then went to the menu you did not have to wait most of the time)
5) There has been a resizing of the SD channels. (Once I figured out how to do this on my Pioneer the problem for me went away--so this resizing has basically not done much for my viewing.)
6) Audio dropout has been improved (However, it has not been eliminated. I used to get drop out 1 out of every 5 times I went to HDNET. It has happened only once since the upgrade.)
Things not touched at all?:
1) No menu for the OTA channels. (In my area CBS, ABC and FOX have multiple channels that show different shows. EXample--CBS here is 24/7 HD. In the morning and the evening on the first location .01 is the digital HD program and on the second location .02 is the analog program. If the analog program is national it will be upconverted to HD. If the analog program is not national a HD program different from the analog program will be on the digital location. Fox will show the local hockey games in HD on .01 and the Fox national programing on .02. ABC does tricasting during college playoffs (football and basketball)
2) You still cannot move between an OTA channel and an E* channel seemlessly by using the recall button. (You still have to input the channel you want to switch to. When you press the recall to go from an E* channel to the OTA channel and you have multiple locations on the channel it will not go back to the channel you were watching but to the highest location--Ex. 52.03 instead of 52.01)
3) You cannot successfully remap your OTA channels all the time. Some work--some do not.
4) As meantioned allready--the audio dropout bug on E* HD channels still shows up--just not as often.
5) No OpenTV yet. ( I will not use this feature but those who do will have to wait longer.)
6) The dreadded 49% signal lock out (While I still believe this to be a signal strength reception problem and not the 811 I have noticed that now the receiver will lock and show picture and audio at 60% and above instead of 65% and above. I can now watch the WB digital where before I could not.)
Items I would like to see done with the next fix:
1) I would really like to see a better flushing out of the OTA menu providing info on the local digital channels and the full function of the recall button.
2) I would like to see an implementation of the SD/HD button that would allow the 811 to change its output from the highest HD setting you have set to a 480p setting.
3) Total elimination of the audio dropout on E* HD channels. I hope this gets repaired before E* starts adding more HD stations. Seems like they will have some time to repair this one.
4) Improvement over OTA digital locking if possible. I do not know how much you can effect receiver sensitivity with software but if it can be improved lets improve it!
5) A new menu option that allows you to set the black level, white level, colour and tint of the output of the 811. I know that with DVI most sets allow for those changes but I like to change the input device and leave my tv settings alone.
6) OpenTv function--for those of you who will use it.
Overall I am very satisfied with the way the 811 is working now. My wife doesn't complain about the remote and the menu anymore and I really like my HD. Just hope E* can start delivering more HD content. Heck, I would really like to get USA 480p, Sci-Fi 480p and FX 480p. These will probably be know as USA-Widescreen etc., etc. These stations will be going live this spring and summer. Boy, I hope the new Stargate Atlantis is 480p!!
1)Menu EPG to two days and the Video on menu repaired. (Believe it or not this was my major complaint with this unit)
2) Remapping the locals to be next to the OTA digitals.
(Now I can see what is on my locals--Not as effective
as a menu on the OTA channel but better than nothing.
3) Colour more accurate on SD channels. (This might explain why some are seeing an improvement with S-VHS.)
4) No more wait for menu after watching OTA digital.
(This at first was my main concern until I learned that if you punched in a E* channel first and then went to the menu you did not have to wait most of the time)
5) There has been a resizing of the SD channels. (Once I figured out how to do this on my Pioneer the problem for me went away--so this resizing has basically not done much for my viewing.)
6) Audio dropout has been improved (However, it has not been eliminated. I used to get drop out 1 out of every 5 times I went to HDNET. It has happened only once since the upgrade.)
Things not touched at all?:
1) No menu for the OTA channels. (In my area CBS, ABC and FOX have multiple channels that show different shows. EXample--CBS here is 24/7 HD. In the morning and the evening on the first location .01 is the digital HD program and on the second location .02 is the analog program. If the analog program is national it will be upconverted to HD. If the analog program is not national a HD program different from the analog program will be on the digital location. Fox will show the local hockey games in HD on .01 and the Fox national programing on .02. ABC does tricasting during college playoffs (football and basketball)
2) You still cannot move between an OTA channel and an E* channel seemlessly by using the recall button. (You still have to input the channel you want to switch to. When you press the recall to go from an E* channel to the OTA channel and you have multiple locations on the channel it will not go back to the channel you were watching but to the highest location--Ex. 52.03 instead of 52.01)
3) You cannot successfully remap your OTA channels all the time. Some work--some do not.
4) As meantioned allready--the audio dropout bug on E* HD channels still shows up--just not as often.
5) No OpenTV yet. ( I will not use this feature but those who do will have to wait longer.)
6) The dreadded 49% signal lock out (While I still believe this to be a signal strength reception problem and not the 811 I have noticed that now the receiver will lock and show picture and audio at 60% and above instead of 65% and above. I can now watch the WB digital where before I could not.)
Items I would like to see done with the next fix:
1) I would really like to see a better flushing out of the OTA menu providing info on the local digital channels and the full function of the recall button.
2) I would like to see an implementation of the SD/HD button that would allow the 811 to change its output from the highest HD setting you have set to a 480p setting.
3) Total elimination of the audio dropout on E* HD channels. I hope this gets repaired before E* starts adding more HD stations. Seems like they will have some time to repair this one.
4) Improvement over OTA digital locking if possible. I do not know how much you can effect receiver sensitivity with software but if it can be improved lets improve it!
5) A new menu option that allows you to set the black level, white level, colour and tint of the output of the 811. I know that with DVI most sets allow for those changes but I like to change the input device and leave my tv settings alone.
6) OpenTv function--for those of you who will use it.
Overall I am very satisfied with the way the 811 is working now. My wife doesn't complain about the remote and the menu anymore and I really like my HD. Just hope E* can start delivering more HD content. Heck, I would really like to get USA 480p, Sci-Fi 480p and FX 480p. These will probably be know as USA-Widescreen etc., etc. These stations will be going live this spring and summer. Boy, I hope the new Stargate Atlantis is 480p!!
