My 811 review

[Harry]

This is kind of long but after the posts I've made criticizing the process, it's only fair to give a review. I finally received my 811 last Friday (1/16) after the initial install date of 12/26 and a 1/5 reschedule that didn't happen either. It was worth the wait even though I blasted E*! (They still deserve the criticism on their marketing/handling)

Quirks. Having read the problems others have had, I did experiance the either no picture or no sound on occassion when switching between OTA and Sat. Seems to have settled down. The worst problem I experianced was losing the 110 sat signal altogether. 119 was there and I checked my other receiver and 110 was there, but not on the 811. After thinking through the problem, I determined that the 811 is temperature sensative. I had a fire going at the time and the room had gotten warm. After cooling down the room, 110 came back. (No, it's not near the wood stove and it is in the open) So, once I determined heat was the culprit, I've had no problems since. Maybe one of the Tech's can confirm this. Even my other receiver showed temperature "tamtrums" after the wife covered the cooling vents by placing stuff on top of it. (Finally convinced her not to do that!)

Programming. HDNet, HDNetM and DiscHD are the best. Good shows and great HD. ESPNHD is a laugh. I've seen one actual HD game, everything else is SDTV converted (actually stretched to 16:9). Don't waste your time with ESPNHD. HBOHD is pretty good, depending on the movie they show. Even the older shows on HDNet are pretty darn good in HD.

OTA. Here was a really nice surprise. I live about 40-50 miles from the transmitters. With analog, I could kind of get a watchable picture with a Terk42. After getting the 811, I bought a Phillips amplified VHU/UHF rabbit ear/loop combo for $25 from Walmart. (upto 45db gain, adjustable) I figured I would try it first before putting alot of cash into a Channel Master and amp. After playing with it, I get CBS, FOX and PBS with signals from low 70's to mid 80's. This from a cheapie antenna! ABC's signal stays at 49, no matter what adjustment I make and am unsure if the NBC affiliate is even transmitting a Digital signal. I watched the AFC Champ. game in HD, OTA and it was spectacular to say the lest. The NFC game on Fox wasn't really HD but definately higher Resolution. PBS is HD all the time. The Fox station is transmitting two channels, the network feed and the local broadcast. I do not believe they are setup for HD content yet but still has a great picture. They will be there soon though.

My Setup. The 811 is connected to my Hitachi 46F500, 46" RPTV. It's a grate TV and I was quite pleased with the HD picture it has. I was concerned it would be grainy but it is not. I am connected with Component cables. I will try DVI when I can find a cable at a decent price. The TV has it's own upconversion to either 520p or 1080i. Before the 811, the shows were better than SDTV but stuff like games got blury on action shots from a far vantage point. With the 811 conversion, it is way better. I have been using basic cable to get the locals and now I can dump cable altogether now. (C-ya Pig!)

Overall, it has been a good move. $149 for the receiver is a good deal and they way it handles OTA is very good and a bonus, IMHO. Using the signal meter in the add digital menu is very handy. The only complaint I have is it does not do channel recall between OTA and Sat. You get recall in the mode you are in, kind of strange I think.

I give it an 8 on a 10 scale.

 

[Sparkman]

Harry,

The problem you have with ABC is what I have with PBS. I also have a guide that is all mixed up. From what I've read on the forums, these are all known problems & will hopefully be fixed soon. I don't use my 811 too much right now, my main TV with HD is using the 6000. I am finishing in basement over the next 3-4 months and the 811 & plasma will go there. The 811 is currently backfed to another TV. If the problems aren't fixed after the Super Bowl, I will switch out the 811 for awhile and go back to my 4000 receiver while I'm remodeling and rehook up the 811 when I'm done. Hopefully all the bugs will be gone by then.

 

[Harry]

Sparkman;

I just talked with the ABC & NBC affiliates here and they are at low power so that explains why I am not getting them. Neither seems like they really care about it saying maybe next year they'll increase the power! (Yet try to get a waiver and they'll deny it!)

My guide seems ok, just doesn't go out very far. I am not sure how the locals are supposed to work with the guide. I do not get any info from them except it says local programming.

The good news, for me anyway, is the Super Bowl will be on CBS and I get a good signal from them!

now, if ESPN would actually do HD, life would be grate!

 

[hannonpi]

I had some people come out and install an rooftop ant. it was about $170 installed. I get a ton of channels here in Los Angeles now. I tried the TERK TV55 prior to that didnt work well at all. If you can afford it the rooftop ant. is great. Now they just need to fix the darn program guide!!!

paddy

 

[Sparkman]

Our PBS is not at low power, in fact one of the best signals. Their signal comes in fine on the 6000 & my Toshiba OTA receiver. But the 49% is a known problem.

 

[Harry]

Our PBS is not at low power, in fact one of the best signals. Their signal comes in fine on the 6000 & my Toshiba OTA receiver. But the 49% is a known problem.

I've not seen anything about on the 49% thing. When I first hooked up my Phillips antenna, 49% was all I saw. However, after playing with positioning and adjusting the gain, I get PBS at 70-72%. Also, the El Paso stations (CBS and FOX) are at 80+%, which I find phenominal as they are 40+ miles away in hilly terrain and i get them via the $25 antenna. Always a good picture and sound. I found the receiver will lock on in the mid 50's but is not stable enough to provide a consistant picture/sound.

I am in the process of testing an old 10 element, outside antenna. I may try it out this evening, time permitting. I can live with getting only PBS, CBS and FOX but am curious if I can get the lower power ABC/NBC stations. I will check it without any amplification and if I get no results, will buy an amplifier and try it out. I am not hot on spending $100-$150+ for an antenna setup. The amp will run about $20 I think.

I'll let you know what my results are.

 

[peid]

I only ever get 49% on my local NBC channel.

All the other come in at about 90% and they are all on the exact same tower, located 5 miles from me.

 

[Harry]

I only ever get 49% on my local NBC channel.

All the other come in at about 90% and they are all on the exact same tower, located 5 miles from me.

Call your NBC station and ask them what power output they are at.

I called mine yesterday and he said they are putting out only the minimum required. He also said that right now, there is little HD programming and very few sets to watch it with. His demeanor said to me, "we don't care if you are getting a signal or not and don't expect us to do anything about it."

I also called the ABC affiliate and he was more helpful. He was going to send a person out to measure the signal at my location. He did say they probably would not increase power until next year, but may increase it some if the measurement at my location is really that low. (it is!)

All the transmitters are located on the same tower so don't make the assumption they are all doing the same thing.

 

[Sparkman]

I've not seen anything about on the 49% thing. When I first hooked up my Phillips antenna, 49% was all I saw. However, after playing with positioning and adjusting the gain, I get PBS at 70-72%. Also, the El Paso stations (CBS and FOX) are at 80+%, which I find phenominal as they are 40+ miles away in hilly terrain and i get them via the $25 antenna. Always a good picture and sound. I found the receiver will lock on in the mid 50's but is not stable enough to provide a consistant picture/sound.

I am in the process of testing an old 10 element, outside antenna. I may try it out this evening, time permitting. I can live with getting only PBS, CBS and FOX but am curious if I can get the lower power ABC/NBC stations. I will check it without any amplification and if I get no results, will buy an amplifier and try it out. I am not hot on spending $100-$150+ for an antenna setup. The amp will run about $20 I think.

I'll let you know what my results are.

Harry,

Here is the thread from DBStalk that deals with the 49% signal problem.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=22092&highlight=811

 

[Harry]

Harry,

Here is the thread from DBStalk that deals with the 49% signal problem.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=22092&highlight=811

Thanks for the link.

I've seen the same thing, but in my case, I believe it does relate to the signal itself. It appears that if the strength does not make it out of the mid 50's, it bounces anywhere from 0 to 49 to 52... When I do get a lock, the signal still bounces but by only 2 or 3 points. In all cases of bad/no reception, all stations have acknlowedged they are at low power or using a temporary antenna, as in the PBS case. The bouncing signal strength is odd though. I may try and reseat the module to see if maybe it came loose during shipping.

The 6000 vs 811 the guy was talking about obviously shows there is a difference between the units.

 

[Hitachi/811]

better gaming picture since you got 811?

I couldn't help but notice...I am getting the 811 soon and I am curious as to how you set it up to get a better picture while gaming..was it the inputs?Because mine is grainy hooked directly to the tv.

Ross

 

[ROLLTIDE]

I couldn't help but notice...I am getting the 811 soon and I am curious as to how you set it up to get a better picture while gaming..was it the inputs?Because mine is grainy hooked directly to the tv.

Ross

The 811 has nouthing to do with gameing .



811 DVI hookup
XBOX Component
PSX 2 Component
DVD component
Replay Svideo

That's how I have mine set up and the picture is great