Bought / Returned 921

[skierrob]

I bought a 921 receiver from Radio Shack the other day for $549. Returned it the day after I got it... I just can't believe how many things it couldn't do or how much more money it would cost me to make things work like I have them working now.

Right now I have a 510 receiver in the living room and a 311 in a bedroom. I live in a condo... we all share the same satellite dish and split it via a bunch of switches. So I've got 2 dedicated lines into my condo... 1 to the 510 and 1 to the 301.

So I find out I need 2 dedicated lines just to the 921. The only way I can get that is by buying a switch for $89 since I can't run another line from the switch in the garage to me. Strike one.

So, I think "I'll just run a line from the bedroom to the living room and use that line and output the same channel to two TV's (one HD, one SD) in the differnet rooms." Whoops... can't do that, cause you can't output HD and SD at the same time unless you go to "safe Mode" with 480P. Wait... I could do that with an 811, couldn't I? Strike two.

I want to have my local channels appear on channel 2, 4, 5, 7, etc. just like I have with my 510, 301, etc. Can't do that... at least not until a software update materializes. Strike three.

I wanted to get a better picture than the junk I see on my 510 on my HD TV. But the quality is just as bad on the 921. Strike four.

That and about 10 other reasons made me decide to just stick with the 510 for now. Why, oh why, couldn't Dish just make the 921 as feature rich as the 510 or any of their other receivers?

Now... what I really need is for Tivo to come up with an HD box that will take a signal from an 811 and record it in HD. Of course, I know I'm dreaming... Charlie will never let you output a digital signal with firewire.

Robert

 

[Jimmy J]

Ah yes, another happy E* customer...NOT! E*, got you by the grapes & squeezing to make wine!!!

 

[ShadowEKU]

Just a note... that SD "Junk" wont go away with an 811 or anything else really. it looks good on a small screen but as it gets bigger so do the compression artifacts.

921... yeah it has 2 sat inputs so that you can record 1 sat while watching or recording another...

I cant defend the SD/HD simultaneous output thats a little retarted. sometime soon maybe.

Sorry you were so dissatisfied.

 

[gpflepsen]

A little homework would have revealed all this and saved you the two trips.

Sorry.

 

[StevenD]

A little homework would have revealed all this and saved you the two trips.

I'll 2nd that! I really get tired of people coming here bitching about stuff that they should have known BEFORE they purchased the product.

But whats really funny is he did come here to do research and was told his existing wiring would NOT work with a 921. http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?p=186157

Yet, he still bought one!!!

Would you buy a refrigerator before measuing the hole it goes in to make sure it fits?

 

[markusian]

Are you saying that you paid $549 for something without knowing what it can and can't do?

Well... I never do that, especially when the information is very available on the net. But who am I to judge.

-Mark

 

[glenn z]

Excellent catch! I can ALMOST understand not doing the research first and buying the item. But this guy did the research, knew it wouldn't work and bought it anyway. That I don't understand.

I'll 2nd that! I really get tired of people coming here bitching about stuff that they should have known BEFORE they purchased the product.

But whats really funny is he did come here to do research and was told his existing wiring would NOT work with a 921. http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?p=186157

Yet, he still bought one!!!

Would you buy a refrigerator before measuing the hole it goes in to make sure it fits?

 

[iKramerica]

SD/HD is not gonna be fixed ever in the 921

The 921 is based on the 6000 chipset, while the 811 is based on a newer, better chipset. This is what a knowledgable tech told me. The old chipset can't do both HD and SD at once, no matter what software you run on it. The new one can.

It is similar to many eary DVD players that had a physical switch for component output, and then later ones with a limitation of not doing i/p output at the same time. Technology moves on, and the hardware you buy today was already outdated yesterday because what's now being manufactured (but not yet on the shelves) is always better.