I'm getting the blinks...and I definitely don't think its a heat or airflow problem. My box sits in my basemnt with nothing on top of it, and them temp down there is a steady 60deg. Odd, my first one didnt exhibit this problem, but the video was messed up on all of the outputs.

Originally posted by barhoram
anyone able to get to the botton of the video dropouts? I just started having them and have reset the box with the card in and out. They were gone for awhile, but now they are back. This is my 2nd 360, and I have a 160 that powered off by itself before that. What is D* saying?? I'm about ready to ask for my $$ back until they can provide a box that works. Anyone done that yet?
About to do the same here. If they say anything about the 1yr contract I will tell them if they live up to their end of the deal then I will live up to my end.

Hmm, this is interesting. My receiver also worked fine last night. I did not do anything to it. I even left it on overnight and to my surprise it did not produce X745 message by this morning. I checked system info and there were no updates/patches. Could it be that DirecTV did something on their side? Has anybody who watched DirecTV programming last night on TS360 experienced dropouts?

To clarify, I did try Gary's "round dish reboot" trick, but I am positive that after I did that I experienced both droputs and X745.

yea, I started seeing dropouts after about 20 min. of powering up on all D* channels.

Does the 160 have component input (for DVD) and S-vid/composite input (for VCR,etc) like the 360? Also, is there an RF remote, standard or optional, for the 160? TIA

No on the Component input, don't remember if there is a composite input on the 160, and No on the RF remote.

My dropouts are getting faster and faster and have tried all of Gary's methods. it is most pathetic!

Originally posted by UncD2000
Does the 160 have component input (for DVD) and S-vid/composite input (for VCR,etc) like the 360? Also, is there an RF remote, standard or optional, for the 160? TIA

The 160 has s-vid and composite in/out. The 360 does not have composite in/out.

Is this normal?

I have a 16x9 TV and I have gone into the menu of the 360 and made the screen 16x9 and selected Panorama.
Ever since I did something manually to the box when I was flipping through 1080i 720 480 etc... whenever it goes to 1080 programming it will change according to the program its showing. If I go to a regular local or sat channel it changes format to 480 and it blacks out and then comes back up reading 480.
I find it annoying since everytime I go from EspnHD or a regular channel it blacks out for a second or two and then adjusts itself.
I'm concerned that it might ruin my TV in the long run...

Originally posted by chrome
Ever since I did something manually to the box when I was flipping through 1080i 720 480 etc... whenever it goes to 1080 programming it will change according to the program its showing. If I go to a regular local or sat channel it changes format to 480 and it blacks out and then comes back up reading 480.
I find it annoying since everytime I go from EspnHD or a regular channel it blacks out for a second or two and then adjusts itself.
I'm concerned that it might ruin my TV in the long run...

You probably left it in one of the "Native" modes (see page 13 of your manual).

You probably want it fixed at 1080i.

Use the Resolution button on your remote to select 1080i and it should stop doing that.

I was just having the dropout problem until AFTER I did the "round dish" procedure. Since doing that, I still have the dropouts and have woken up to the 745 message each morning.

Not only did the "round dish" procedure do nothing for me in terms of getting "hidden patch" downloads, I also started getting x:745's fast and furious after that. From 3 in 3 days to 2 per hour.

I would not recommend it. It's anecdotal for sure, but so was the original advice -- since we do not know *really* where it comes from.

Originally posted by BK EH
The 160 has s-vid and composite in/out. The 360 does not have composite in/out.

The Samsung TS-360 has composite, S-Video, and component inputs and outputs. I'm looking at one right now.

I've had mine running for about half an hour out on a tray table by itself with a fan blowing air on the top of it. The case is completely cool to the touch. The dropout frequency hasn't changed, one every 5-10 minutes. I'll leave it that way overnight and see if x745 reappears but at this point I don't think heat has anything to do with it.

Couple questions for those of you that have replaced a 160 with a 360 thru D*:

What did you put in the box to send the 160 back to D*? Am I reading the paper that accompanies the replacement 360 correctly in that its says to not send the remote? Do I also not send any of the cabling that came with the 160 initially?

Last one, did you send the 160 back in the 360 box or did you have the 160 box to send it back?

^^^^^^^^^^ I just bubble wrapped the 160 into the 360 box. I just gave back the 160 nothing else. I kept all the cables and such. D* just wants back the 160 nothing else and if you do send back the cables don't expect them to send it back....

Originally posted by Tonedeaf
Couple questions for those of you that have replaced a 160 with a 360 thru D*:

What did you put in the box to send the 160 back to D*? Am I reading the paper that accompanies the replacement 360 correctly in that its says to not send the remote? Do I also not send any of the cabling that came with the 160 initially?

Last one, did you send the 160 back in the 360 box or did you have the 160 box to send it back? I sent the 160 back in the 160 box. I included the remote and the instructions. Now I get to return the 360 and yews that will go back in the 360 box. I wonder what I am getting now. I hope it is one that works correctly...

Originally posted by Cheezmo
The Samsung TS-360 has composite, S-Video, and component inputs and outputs. I'm looking at one right now.

My bad... I meant a coax in/out (for VCR).

I am wondering about replacement too. (Mine is on order.) Somebody here already got the replacement and it was TS360 again, with the same annoying dropout problems. Does D* send to customers anything else beside this piece of junk? It seems like from the beginning of last week people are mostly getting TS360s

Resistance is Futile.


I believe the 'dish reset' thing is more involved with getting the unit to recognize the correct dish type and download the channel guide and has little if nothing to do with the access card/x745 issue.

My 160 had the dish problem when I first turned it on. It took it a couple tries to get it to recognize the new dish but it's ok now.

Since the 360 does not have coax out, will it still pass a cable feed out of a composite connection when the 360 is turned off?

I use the output of my DSS receiver to feed 2 other rooms. So when the box is turned off the other rooms can use tuners to view cable channels.

And did anyone find out if the part number MF59-00250A is the optional RF remote for the 360?

Originally posted by weedeater

I believe the 'dish reset' thing is more involved with getting the unit to recognize the correct dish type and download the channel guide and has little if nothing to do with the access card/x745 issue.

My 160 had the dish problem when I first turned it on. It took it a couple tries to get it to recognize the new dish but it's ok now.

This whole thread is eerily familiar to the 160 thread last January-March... :rolleyes:

While I do not know why the x:745 things are really happening, and hope my replacement is good, I have wondered about the 'dish detect' thing itself. While I agree 100% that it should work if it's there, I never had any issues with my 160, nor with the 360 that way. I simply set it to triple, set the area code and downloaded.

Any takers on how long it takes for the first EPROM flash upgrade to hit?!

I did not include the remote when I sent back the 160, but unfortunately, not all the buttons work with the 360, so I'll probably toss it.

I sent the 160 back in the 160 box, since they are different sizes.

I really like my "peice of crap". Much nicer than my old E86. Good market for E86's on Ebay by the way....

They are cetainly not pieces of crap. There are issues Samsung should have addressed, and if history is an indication, they will.

But they are not pieces of crap~! :cool:

Originally posted by BK EH
They are cetainly not pieces of crap. There are issues Samsung should have addressed, and if history is an indication, they will.

But they are not pieces of crap~! :cool: I AGREE !

Originally posted by BK EH
They are cetainly not pieces of crap. There are issues Samsung should have addressed, and if history is an indication, they will.

But they are not pieces of crap~! :cool:

If I could be reassured that the blinks and 745 freezes are software issues that will be fixed in time I will agree with you.

I reserve my opinion f they turn out to be hardware problems we are stuck with.

Allen

After raving about my perfect 360 for days, today I get home and have no audio from any of the outputs. My daughter said she powered it up with the old 160 remote, but that shouldn't be a problem. Also last night I connected both analog audio outs. One to my VCR and one to a modulator.

I've read most of this monster thread but don't remember anyone with no audio. Guess I'll try a reboot. Any other ideas?

resetting didn't help...

Did notice in the menus that my digital audio was set to PCM instead of Dolby Digital, and my analog output was set to mono, but changing them did not get me sound.

Did you try unplugging it for a few minutes to reset things?

I was just editing a channel list. The "blocked" column was highlighted and I pressed 355. As soon as I pressed select, it rebooted.

Looks like it is reproducable.

Take a Profile you haven't configured yet. Go to edit channel list. Select "block all". Move over to the "blocked" column and enter 3 5 5. Then press select. Boom.

Just tried unpluging, didn't help either. Guess I'll call Samsung tomorrow.

You might want to check that nothing has been changed on your reciever/processor. Like a tape monitor button being pressed, or speaker A being turned off. Do other sources have sound?

Yes other audio works fine. I checked all the obvious stuff. It's like the entire audio circuitry went out after I made used of all the audio out jacks at the same time. Maybe overloaded it somehow? Now the optical and both analog outputs are dead.

I couldn't find any way in the 360 menus where the sound could have accidentally gotten turned off.

It appears that a significant number of receivers where shipped with corrupt 12.03, re-flashing the receiver fixes the problem, but requires an RMA. Obviously the corruption "is" evident in dish re-configuration.

I am no longer advising on this product, because I cannot get Samsung to confirm product issues and when I do reach tech support, all issues are denied with an RMA. I strongly suggest revisiting the Toshiba DST-3100, now the RCA DTC-210 which includes an "actual" UHF remote.

I will acknowledge that many retailers are no longer advertising this product, unless requested. None of us need customer and distribution center phone calls at 11:30pm and so with the TS160's initial release on 1.0.03 & 1.0.06, lessons learned. With two new HD products in queue, (same vendor, Toshiba) available Mar 1, this is a final salute to Samsung.

If Samsung would prefer to re-start right, start with the last promissed upgrade for the TS160, never delivered, and enable caller id name to start with, large cell EPG would be a bonus, but the the 360 does not support it either.

Gary, I'm confused. Which issues are you saying are related to a "corrupt 12.03". The blinking? 745 errors? Inability to get guide data?

You say the corruption "is" evident in dish re-configuration. What there indicates if a unit is corrupt or not?

I will say that since my earlier post during the first 1/2 hour of watching since removing the 360 from my rack and setting it on a table with a fan blowing on it, I haven't seen any more blinking. Still anecdotal, but I'm starting to think at least the blinking problem is heat related.

Several of the issues are heat related, but the fact that distribution centers are simply re-flashing 12.03 and re-distributing units, is another acknowledgment of a larger problem. If in fact all issues where heat related, then u would not being seeing posts from some that have received RMA's and are no longer experiencing any issues.

The 745 problem is evidence you have a corrupted version of the software because dish select can't "lock" 110 channels. You can have *D ATS force a re-spool of 12.03, but that requires an an act of God. If you do convince *D to do this, your upgrade log will show OEM 12.03 01/04 or earlier and a re-spooled version of 12.03 w/current mo/04 of the request.

Remember the 360 motherboard is the 160 w/even worse ventalation in the new 360 case. Perhaps you suggest to *D you have 1.0.0. Can we say QA before ship or who is learning anything from past experience, obviously not Samsung.

I am having the same problems too. Spent a hal hour on the phone with D*
They decieded to send a new card. The thing still blinks.. I question the heat problem too. My unit is by itself, it does not get to hot. I am not sure if heat is a total problem, because why does it work perfectly with OTA digital for hours with out any blinks. I will call them after work tonight, because now I have no time to be on the phone to be wasting time.

Joe

Originally posted by bosjoe
I question the heat problem too. My unit is by itself, it does not get to hot. I am not sure if heat is a total problem, because why does it work perfectly with OTA digital for hours with out any blinks.

It all depends what is causing theh blinks. If the component that is overheating is only involved in satellite HD decoding (related to the satellite security or something) then that could easily explain why it happens on satellite HD channels and not OTA.

I had 745's the previous two mornings, this morning it is still working fine now that it is not "stacked". I'll probably look into some kind of fan directly above it in my rack mount system and reinstall it if it keeps working like this.

It happens on all satellite stations, not just the HD. This is a replacement of my 160 which seems to have a major heat problems. My 160 was shutting off after 15mins of being on. Still for the $99 deal I can't be totally mad, I had my dish replaced, now if I can get the box to be stable.

Gary, have you heard of anyone losing all audio capability on the 360?

I guess if we are still having problems when the new receivers are released we can get them to exchange them. Didn't someone say they have a 90 day warrenty on these receivers?

Yesterday I did an experiment almost opposite to what Cheezmo did. Last night I put my DVD player (which I know can run very hot) on top of the TS630. I tuned the receiver to Discovery-HD and then switched to watching 2.5-hour movie on DVD. To my total surprise, by the end of the movie my TS360 did not produce X745 message. Go figure...

Originally posted by vvrok
Hmm, this is interesting. My receiver also worked fine last night. I did not do anything to it. I even left it on overnight and to my surprise it did not produce X745 message by this morning. I checked system info and there were no updates/patches. Could it be that DirecTV did something on their side? Has anybody who watched DirecTV programming last night on TS360 experienced dropouts?

If the x745 dropouts are due to an issue with the code on the access card, and not the firmware of the TS360, D* could send updated code to the access card resolving the issue and you wouldn't see any changes on your end.

I'm not having any problems (at the moment) replaced my 160 last friday. It did however reboot all by itself yesterday, no blinking picture/or audio drops. the 'signal quality' meter jumps all over the place, but the locals seem ok..

jfklennon,

Can you go to your System menu and see what date the firmware was "flashed" on your receiver? I just want to see if, like Gary says, the "working" receivers have been flashed recently (Jan/Feb '04) and non-working receivers were sitting in the warehouse for several months. (I believe my firmware is dated 6/5/2003)

Just received a replacement 360 at work, will be installing it tonight. I had had the audio and video dropout problem, but never saw the 745 message. Thsi may be due to fact that I'm still hooked to a round dish until the ground thaws, the present dish location cannot see the 110 and 119 birds.

Good point vvrok!

Everyone please check "SETUP -> System -> System Upgrades -> Past Upgrades" and let us know if you are having dropout/x745 problems and if you have anything other than:

"12:00p Thu 6/5, 2003 1.2.03 Success"

Mine has the 6/5 date. I have had a few video dropouts and no x745 messages thus far.

6/5 on both of my units that have had "dropouts". I've never gotten the call X745. What is one to do?? Call D and ask for a 3rd repalcement 360?? This is getting to be a pain in the butt!!

Just got off the phone with Sammy customer service and they are going to forward this thread to their engineering staff. I don't know what will come of this. They also said that we should call D* and have them re-send the firmware to your ird.

Just got the 360 today to replace a 160 and installed it at lunch. The default dish was the Oval-3 but the unit has the 6/5 date and no patches under the service menu. Setup was no problem and so far so good...fingers crossed...

Just got off the phone with D* and they are going to send me another 360. They said that they are supposed to check each replacement before they send it to make sure it works. My question is how long do they observe the unit before they assume that it is a good unit? They couldn't take too long because it would bog down their whole system. They also said that the installer should not leave until we are perfectly sure that there is no problems. So I have a new 360 on its way and a installer scheduled for Saturday. I will post my results. By the way, a friend of mine has a 360 that was delivered by an installer and he has had no problems at all. Maybe we just got a bad batch of 360's from D*.

Originally posted by ccrutch
Just got off the phone with Sammy customer service and they are going to forward this thread to their engineering staff. I don't know what will come of this. They also said that we should call D* and have them re-send the firmware to your ird. The Samsung engineers already know of this tread and from what they tell me visit it regularly...

mine shows update 6.5.2003

Is there a way to lock in a channel so that if I rotate my antenna and scan for new channels it won't delete the stations from previous scan point?

I'm in kind of a sweet spot but I had an antenna installed yesterday and I was picking up digital signals from 110 miles away! I have 3 seperate stops on my antenna to pickup a major group of stations and the receiver only lets you pick a primary and secondary network area. Getting 16 stations so far. Zip code 61349 north central Illinois.

TIA

Well, Sammy engineers, if you are watching, then please help us understand why you have not released that last upgrade to the 160?! Since it's the same mobo in the 360, it should be no big deal!

Thanks!

And just so I do not hijack this topic, my replacment 360 arrived at the office this afternoon and I will check it out tonight.

Does anyone know if setting it to Native 1 willl eventually hurt a tv because of all the shifting back and forth?
If the Samsung guys read this, can you shed some light on this also please.

Originally posted by chrome
Does anyone know if setting it to Native 1 willl eventually hurt a tv because of all the shifting back and forth?


Why would you want to do this? If everything goes to 1080i, you get the benefits of up-conversion all the time. And your Guide doesn't go all flaky to 480i either.

On another note: the replacement 360 is up and running and all is OK for the past hour. Brand new unit too, a day older than my 1st (1/27 manuf. date), and both the system s/w and IRD info show v1.2.03 w/ no patches.

We shall see, we shall see... :)

Originally posted by BK EH
On another note: the replacement 360 is up and running and all is OK for the past hour. Brand new unit too, a day older than my 1st (1/27 manuf. date), and both the system s/w and IRD info show v1.2.03 w/ no patches.

What does it say in "Past Upgrades" for the flash date.

Looks like the restore to factory defaults fixed my total loss of audio problem.

I too got my replacement 360 on Sat and have had no problems so far(knock-wood) although I do have a bit of a problem getting all the OTA channels that I had gotten with my 160. When I put in my zip code, I get no response.(?) Don't really know where to go from here. Anyway, my upgrade is also dated 6/5/2003, in a brand new box that was never opened. Hope this helps.

If I restore to factory defaults, I lose my D* local channels and have to call for them to resent so that I can get my locals! Go Figure!!

I was watching local channel 21.1 tonight and starting noticing the video stuttering, pausing, and jerking a lot. I checked my Panasonic TU-DST50, and it is not doing it on the same channel.

I changed to another channel and back on the Samsung and the problem stopped.

Originally posted by Cheezmo
What does it say in "Past Upgrades" for the flash date.

There is nothing there... it's a virgin... and it's now doing momentary a/v drops every 10 minutes or so... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Nothing at all? Most people have the 12:00p Thu 6/5, 2003 1.2.03 item listed there.

Installed the replacement 360 this evening, so far no problems with drop outs. Had the 6/5 firmware, same as the one it replaced and it did not show any upgrades. The factory set on the type of dish was oval 3. The OTA signal meter was still not operating properly, but I can live with that as my antenna was aligned using my old box a Zenith hdv 420. Fingers are crossed!

Originally posted by gto5830
If I restore to factory defaults, I lose my D* local channels and have to call for them to resent so that I can get my locals! Go Figure!!
Your locals should show up after a while after a reset. Locals just take longer to come back.

The list of problems grows...

My local affiliate was having audio problems on their digital channel so I switched to analog (or DirecTV to watch Enterprise). Per the manual, Zoom1 should be appropriate for viewing a letterboxed program like that. A 16:9 show like Enterprise should be zoomed in and fill the screen.

But it is obviously stretched horizontally and quite a bit of the black bars are still visible at the top and bottom of the screen. In fact, even a 1.66:1 pattern still has black bars at the top and bottom!

That led me to pull out Avia, and not only is Zoom 1 not what it should be but, Pillarbox also quite obvously stretches 4:3 material horizontally. That really stinks!

It basically looks like all upconverted material is stretched horizontally by 10% (by my measurements of a circle pattern).

Somebody do the math wrong on their scaler?

Originally posted by Cheezmo
Nothing at all? Most people have the 12:00p Thu 6/5, 2003 1.2.03 item listed there.

OK... this thread is getting waaaay too literal.

There are no past upgrades... just the current flash!

Ok, I think I solved my a/v dropout problem. I was getting dropouts about every 5 min. until I turned on my DVD player that sits underneath the 360. This started to heat the 360 up a bit. After about 10 min. the dropouts became more frequent (about every 1 to 2 min.). I placed a cheep cpu cooling fan (Blowing upward) on top of the 360 and the dropouts stopped immediately. It's been going strong now for about 2 hrs. I guess heat really was the issue just like the 160. They should come with fans built in.
I have seen the fan being used in an earlier post with the 160 problems and that it seemed to solve most of the issues, makes since if they are the same motherboards. We shouldn’t have to add fans just to run this box.

Originally posted by BK EH
OK... this thread is getting waaaay too literal.

There are no past upgrades... just the current flash!

Sorry, it is just that the question on everyone's mind is if the "replacements" had a different date there for the initial flash. Presumably if they were "reflashed" they would, but who really knows.

Just another post on the TS360

Installed this morning and running all day with no problems on either D*, HD D* or OTA digital. Software revision 1.2.03 (no date)

Having some issues figuring out how to jump back and forth between 16:9 and 4:3 on my panny 6UY, but that is for another thread.

Tim

Originally posted by BK EH
Yes, Chris... they should change as soon as you arrow down to the new season from the drop-list and OK. That, combined w/ yopur x745, means a video problem., not an access card issue... call them.

Bill-

Thanks for the confirmation. I left on a business trip the next morning so I have still not done any more testing. I will on Saturday.

I also lost D* channels when I did a restore to defaults and had to call to get them back on. They did say they were missing some info in their system.

I also watched Enterprise last night on my 360. My local digital station's audio was fine so I stayed in HD format. However, I thought the pic still seem stretched. Isn't there a way to zoom on a 16:9 screen when viewing 16:9 format that is letterbox? I finally quit watching. I didn't think of switching to the standard station and trying zoom. Next time I will.

Originally posted by Cheezmo
Sorry, it is just that the question on everyone's mind is if the "replacements" had a different date there for the initial flash. Presumably if they were "reflashed" they would, but who really knows.

Not a problem, Steve!

My box was brand spanking new! Including a virgin access card. I simply put the bad box in and took the new box out, and shipped all the cables/books/remote back. I don't need to start a collection of that stuff if this one flakes out too. :p

I still had intermittent DTV-channel dropouts the rest of the evening, too. But, all else was stable.

Somebody please place a computer case fan on top of your 360 and see if it fixes the dropouts. It worked for me so far. Make sure the fan is sucking the heat up and out from the top of the unit.

I simply moved mine to an open space with no component below or above it. That has solved my dropout problem. I was trying to place it in a rack mount enclosure and had frequent dropouts. I will probably get a rack mount fan to blow over the top of it since I don't want it taking up so much space elsewhere.

Looks like they are very temperature sensitive.

Per Samsung customer support.....

Dear customer
The optional RF remote in not available yet, you can contact our distributor J&J International at 1-800-627-4368 www.samsungparts.com

Thanks for the heads up on the remote. If anyone notices that they are available please post. :) I'm going to need one.

We're all going to need them since the infrared remotes can't see into the refrigerator.

No video dropouts on my 360 last night. Only issue was a STB initiated reboot during the Tokyo Auto Show. No idea why it did it. All was still good afterwards. 2 nights with no video dropouts.

Originally posted by Cheezmo
We're all going to need them since the infrared remotes can't see into the refrigerator.
Good one Steve, I was just wondering how I'm going to build my rack system........ how about using a wine chiller with a glass door. You can buy them at Lowes.

I learned the codes into my Radio Shack 15-1994 universal remote and it works very well.

I'm wondering if the 1/8" RF remote jack on the back can accept wired IR signals from another room, like from a wired IR repeater.

Well I just got the replacement for my flaky 360.. They sent me a 160. It looked like it was shot out of a cannon. The box was dented adn It definitely was refurbished. Plugged it in and won't power on... Way tp go D*:(

Originally posted by ccrutch
Somebody please place a computer case fan on top of your 360 and see if it fixes the dropouts. It worked for me so far. Make sure the fan is sucking the heat up and out from the top of the unit.

I put one on an hour after I put mine into service since I followed this thread. I already had one on my Tosh DST-3000 which runs much hotter than the 360. So no dropouts since Monday. But I also get all my HD OTA; no HD from DTV which sounds like what is causing some of the problems with the x745.

It's actually a really cheap thing to do if you have an old cellular phone travel charger or any AC adapter just collecting dust. I bought the fan (12V DC) for $3.50 and used the travel charger to power the fan. The only thing you have to make sure with the charger is that it's amp rating is higher than the fan (just like having too low cranking amps on your car battery and it will not turn over). The voltage will determine fan speed. 12V and it's way too loud. But between 4-6V, it's nice and quiet and pulls out enough air to keep it cool.

Has anybody experienced pixelization on DirecTV HD channels, specifically HBO and Showtime. I also experience pixelization from OTA, but the local stations insist on using sub channels at the same time as HDTV. :(

Thanks.

Fans definitely help my 360. When I remove them the unit starts dropping out and gives the x745 error. Have had them on since Sunday and have had no problems.

Does anyone else have a problem where if you choose the panorama stretch mode all the HD programming is distorted? I have a toshiba widescreen & the 360. I have my res at 1080i & the format set to panorama. Do I need to switch the format each time I change to a HD program? I thought that the stretch mode was only to stretch 4:3 signals and leave true HD alone. Am I missing something?

Does anyone have a problem with the LNB Failing when you do a system test? I've had a tech over last weekend to repoint the dish, replace the LNB and now I have a replacement 360. Still, I get the LNB failure when I run the system test.

Oh, with the replacement 360, I'm still getting the flickering / dropouts, and I'm still getting the 745 error. I've called D* and they are sending another tech out this weekend to look at it. I've told them this is the last straw...if it's not fixed by this weekend, it will be buh-bye to D*.

Well I just got the replacement for my flaky 360.. They sent me a 160. It looked like it was shot out of a cannon. The box was dented adn It definitely was refurbished. Plugged it in and won't power on... Way tp go D*

LOL. Sounds like you got the one that I sent back to them. Acutally, I think both of the 360's that they have sent me for replacements have been used...boxes dented, double tape, etc . What are they thinking shipping these things out?? What the F are they doing?? If it has problems for someone else, its going to have the same problems for me. Anyone cancelled this $99 deal with D* yet? What are they saying about these issues that they can't fix?

Well if it is a heating issue, Its still unacceptable. They are sending me an other 360. Should have it on Saturday. They offered me 2 months of free Showtime for my troubles. I rather have a normal working machine.
Next I am ordering a wine cooler for my 360 :)

I received my replacement 360 yesterday from D*. The "X745" message has not appeared so far. However I AM getting the color fadeout problems where the pictures are a "greenish color" and the screen displays are "washed out". I'm using component cables hooked up to a front projector. For example the "summer" color option setting that used to display royal blue color now appear gray and faded. Anybody know of a solution to restore the color settings?
I sure don't want to have to order receiver #3! This is getting frustrating.
Thanks.
Tim

A day has passed and no drop outs with replacement 360, left the box on all day to see if heat is a problem as mentioned in thread. Did have one bug pop-up: had to adjust raster centering. Put box in standby mode for tonight, will report tomorrow evening whether or not it stayed the same.

Originally posted by rleslie
Does anyone else have a problem where if you choose the panorama stretch mode all the HD programming is distorted? I have a toshiba widescreen & the 360. I have my res at 1080i & the format set to panorama. Do I need to switch the format each time I change to a HD program? I thought that the stretch mode was only to stretch 4:3 signals and leave true HD alone. Am I missing something?

I've had some similar odd issues with the 360 and my Panny 6UY. I've actually got the 360 now putting out signals by default in 4:3 and letting the Panny do the conversion via the "Auto" setting. I find that the Panny does a nicer job of stretching the signal than the Panorama on the 360. When I want to watch HD, I go into the 360 menu and tell it I have a 16:9 display and then the Panny in Auto mod leaves things alone. I've tried setting the resolution on the 360 to 1080i/720p/etc and it hasn't seemed to make much of a difference.

So far this is my only complaint with the 360. Oh, well I also haven't figured out how to program the remote, but that is another story/thread.


Tim

Originally posted by rleslie
Does anyone else have a problem where if you choose the panorama stretch mode all the HD programming is distorted? I have a toshiba widescreen & the 360. I have my res at 1080i & the format set to panorama.

Yes. Where it stretches the picture, it looks like a fisheye or magnifying glass. It's really obvious when there is any panning shot. Started to get a headache a minute after I saw it for the first time and haven't set it to panorama since.

Had a major problem with my 369.
I can't pick up B or C sats with it. A comes in fine. Meanwhile my Philips TIVO receiver that sits right next to it picks up all 3 sats with an average 96% signal strength. Anyone else had this problem and find a remedy? D* is sending me a new 360 in a couple of days but I would appreciate any input on this issue.

Audio update - well I thought all was well, but I still have no audio on one OTA channel, 13 ABC. This channel's audio has always been different. They seem to always transmit in DD even if the source is not DD. I don't see any posts of them having problems on the local reception forum, so I think the 360 still has audio problems. Also had a few drop outs last night.

I shipped my E86 off 2 days ago to an Ebay buyer, maybe a mistake....

Noticed 1 video dropout last night while watching HBO-HD. All of my dropouts so far the 1 week I have had the 360 have all been on HBO-HD. Watched DiscHD last night for quite a while and didn't have any vid drops. Anyone else see a pattern in their drops, specific channel or time etc?

HBO-HD has had occasional dropouts for me lately, and I haven't even received my $99 T360 yet. My built-in DTC-100 is fine on everything else, but for maybe a week HBO-HD has been strange. Yesterday a green band appeared on about the lower 1/3 of the screen briefly. Not a signal issue as I'm showing 86 on that xp (#25 on 119 I believe).

Got my 360 last night. Installer isn't coming till monday, but there was no way I wasn't going to enjoy some OTA HD. With the crappy set top antenna I had I was able to get 1 DTV station (NBC). Wow does it make the cable stations look bad.

The only problems I've had are the antenna signal seems useless and I don't have a guide for the comcast cable. I do have the guide for the air and sat. Is that normal?

The things I don't like are that it didn't come with a RF remote, it doesn't have coax out to pass the cable feed through, its much larger than my old sony receiver (not HD), and the incredibly LONG LONG time it takes to boot.

I do like the combination of zoom/stretch and resolution options.

I only could watch ER and Jay Leno in HD. There audio was only 2 channel DD. Is that normal or is it supposed to be in 5.1?

I called D* to activate the Sat part but they told me they wouldn't and to pack it back in the box for the installer to install... I wasn't too happy about that, but nothing I can do...

Originally posted by timatraw
I received my replacement 360 yesterday from D*. The "X745" message has not appeared so far. However I AM getting the color fadeout problems where the pictures are a "greenish color" and the screen displays are "washed out". I'm using component cables hooked up to a front projector. For example the "summer" color option setting that used to display royal blue color now appear gray and faded. Anybody know of a solution to restore the color settings?
I sure don't want to have to order receiver #3! This is getting frustrating.
Thanks.
Tim A reboot, or a change of input settings would clear it up. I guess I was not the only one having this problem...

Originally posted by ColdBrew
Got my 360 last night. Installer isn't coming till monday, but there was no way I wasn't going to enjoy some OTA HD. With the crappy set top antenna I had I was able to get 1 DTV station (NBC). Wow does it make the cable stations look bad.

The only problems I've had are the antenna signal seems useless and I don't have a guide for the comcast cable. I do have the guide for the air and sat. Is that normal?

The things I don't like are that it didn't come with a RF remote, it doesn't have coax out to pass the cable feed through, its much larger than my old sony receiver (not HD), and the incredibly LONG LONG time it takes to boot.

I do like the combination of zoom/stretch and resolution options.

I only could watch ER and Jay Leno in HD. There audio was only 2 channel DD. Is that normal or is it supposed to be in 5.1?

I called D* to activate the Sat part but they told me they wouldn't and to pack it back in the box for the installer to install... I wasn't too happy about that, but nothing I can do... Just call them back and tell them you want to activate the receiver with the new card. They have done it for me.

My 2 cents:

Got this unit as a replacement for a Mits HD5(Hughes E86).

Pros:

The picture actually seems better.
No overheating issues.
No channel guide issues.
Picks up OTA signals better than the Mits.
More bells and whistles than Mits.
DVD looks pretty good when going thru the 360.

Cons:

The OTA signal meter is a waste! Shifts from 0-45-0-...
Even if the OTA meter worked, it's a pain in the a**. Why in the world would you design a meter that requires you to come out of the menu to change channels?????
The Mits allowed for you to simply press up or down on the remote to scan channels one at a time. The 360's quick view is no comparison.
Connecting the phone line screws up my DSL (haven't seen this in the thread, may be specific to me.) As a result, can't use caller ID.
Dates in the info guide: My Mits would give me day/month/year format for programs. The 360 just gives year (if any). Not very useful when trying to decide if a show is a repeat
The IR remote is very weak. My equip is behind tinted glass doors, but no other remote has had any problem whatsoever. And why have an option to resolve this (RF) then not have it available?????
The front panel indicator is nice, but how many people are in viewing distance of their front panel. Why no quick on screen display of that info??
Finally, and this might be trivial, when will manufacturers realize that people like consistency with faceplates??? Silver looks pretty but not when everything else I've got is black.

While this unit serves the purpose, I'm not at all impressed. It was the cheapest resolution to my Mits dying, but I'm hoping the HD-Tivo is better. Fortunately, I can still use the Mits for OTA, which is what I use to adjust my OTA antenna. If Samsung is indeed scanning this thread, I hope they at least address the OTA meter bug. A lot of my other 'Cons' may be more feature related, but I would think they could also be addressed.

Here's hoping,
Tony

I know I just asked this question, but I'll ask it again.

When I perform a system test on the 360, everything checks out ok except for the LNB Output. The LNB Output check always fails. This is my second 360, I've had the dish realigned and I've had a new LNB installed. Could anyone give me an idea of what could be wrong?

Thanks

Originally posted by timatraw
I received my replacement 360 yesterday from D*. The "X745" message has not appeared so far. However I AM getting the color fadeout problems where the pictures are a "greenish color" and the screen displays are "washed out". I'm using component cables hooked up to a front projector. For example the "summer" color option setting that used to display royal blue color now appear gray and faded. Anybody know of a solution to restore the color settings?
I sure don't want to have to order receiver #3! This is getting frustrating.
Thanks.
Tim

Tim, check that your component cables are seated properly. I ran into a similar problem, the cable carring the red signal was MIA, once I pushed all the cables back into sockets problem want away. Prior to that everthing had greenish cast.

Mr. B:
RE: Connecting the phone line screws up my DSL (haven't seen this in the thread, may be specific to me.) As a result, can't use caller ID.

Sounds like you do not have your phone jacks filtered. Unless you have what's called a 'home run' which is a direct line from the phone company NID (box outside on your house) to the DSL jack, you need filters on all your phone jacks. If not, you are compromising the speeds of your DSL and also your phone quality. Additionally, if you have an alarm system and no filters, you have compromised its ability to 'dial out' in a emergency.

They should have supplied at least 5 filters with your DSL install. Filters go in between the phone line and the wall jack. And, if you do have a home run instead and are having this DTV issue, then it likely was not installed correctly and is thus not a truly isolated home run.

BSH117:
Update: At first I thought LNB test did not work. After 45 seconds, I got an OK.

Tim:
The summer theme fading out was an issue w/ mine. See if you can change themes to spring, etc. I bet you can't. It calls for a return as it's a video problem w/ the unit. Good luck w/ number 3! ;)

Originally posted by BK EH
BSH117:
The LNB test does not seem to work on anyones' 360. It was not even present on the setup for the 160 -- they share the same motherboard and tuner. Don't worry about it.


My LNB Test reported "OK".

It takes a little longer than the others but after about 20 seconds it filled in.

Originally posted by herb s.
Tim, check that your component cables are seated properly. I ran into a similar problem, the cable carring the red signal was MIA, once I pushed all the cables back into sockets problem want away. Prior to that everything had greenish cast. If it is what I was experiencing the problem is different. Almost like the colors faded out... not a different tint.

Originally posted by Cheezmo
My LNB Test reported "OK".

It takes a little longer than the others but after about 20 seconds it filled in.

Yeah, the LNB test is the last one to reply when I run the test too. However, it eventually comes back "failed."

What dish setup are you using? I have the latest 3LNB one where all the switches are integrated in the plastic. I wonder if it has problems with the added "Sat C" kits.

I've had my 360 since Monday and have had only 2 "minor" problems.

The first happened Monday night. I was in the channel add/remove area. I added a channel then pressed exit on the remote. My audio immediately became tinny. I tried changing channels and a few other things but the tinny audio persisted. When I went back into add/remove channels the audio corrected itself. Then I used the "back" selections to exit the add/remove area and had no problems with audio since.

The second problem came last night. I have a weak signal on 119 to begin with due to trees that I will remedy in the spring. Last night we had heavy wet snow that coated the tree branches knocking out 119 all together. This caused my screen to freeze in a pixelated way and the 360 became non responsive. I hit the reset button and the system rebooted. The guide came back up with no problems and the 119 channels displayed no signal. Today the 119 channels came back after the snow dropped from the tree branches.

FWIW--

Manufactured date is 16-January-2004

Upgrade info - Current software 1.02.03, original software 1.02.03.
Past upgrades info - 12P 6/5 2003 1.02.03 success.

My 360 has been free standing with free air flow since the start and hasn't seemed overly warm to the touch (cooler than my tivo).

My initial setup was problem free and the OTA guide info was immediate.

My LNB Test was ok.

I'm typing with one hand while I knock on my wooden desk with the other, but I have to say so far I'm pretty satisfied with my 360.

I too have had the problem DACarter is having as to the digital ABC station in Houston. Have all the ota stations but no audio on this station.
Since I cooled the system with fans I have had no more drop outs or problems..

Originally posted by Cheezmo
What dish setup are you using? I have the latest 3LNB one where all the switches are integrated in the plastic. I wonder if it has problems with the added "Sat C" kits.

I have the 3 LNB dish that I got with the $99 D* deal. I'm really pretty illiterate on this subject and therefore not technical at all. I've had "professional" installer do all the installation. What is the Sat C kit?

I am on my 3rd receiver(160 - 160 - 360). My last one has been ok but I have had 2 lockups but it worked after a reboot.

Tonight when I turned it on I get 'searching for sat signal'. I realize its not the receiver because I now get that message on all of my receivers.

I called D* tech support and they told me to unplug the receivers. I think my response was ' can I talk to someone who understands your equipment'.

Bottom line: Its better to have a bad HD receiver that have a bad (newly installed per the $99 deal ) dish.

I called customer retention because I am tired of all my problems. I ended up speaking to a supervisor and explained that I am on my 3rd hd receiver and now I am having problems with my dish. He was absolutely no help. He told me that I AM NOT AWARE OF ANY PROBLEMS WITH OUR HD RECEIVERS. WTF.

To make mattes worse. They are not able to come out and fix my newly installed problem within a reasonable time frame. They did say I could contact someone locally and that they would pay for the cost of the repair.

I guess that was nice that they would pick up the cost but I needed some kind of confirmation that they would actually pay for the service call. I then told the supervisor that I was recording the conversation and WOW he did not like that. He was actually VERY ANGRY.

I need to post a link to the .wav file. His response was amazing.

The audio on Houston's KTRK ABC digital station does not work on my 360 either. :confused: This is the first glitch I have noticed with this box. Anyone else in another market get audio on ABC?
Sid

Originally posted by Darrin_R
I am on my 3rd receiver(160 - 160 - 360).

I called customer retention because I am tired of all my problems.

I needed some kind of confirmation that they would actually pay for the service call. I then told the supervisor that I was recording the conversation and WOW he did not like that. He was actually VERY ANGRY. His response was amazing.
Except for the fact that this kind of recording is often illegal, I love your comments!

We have all heard messages saying 'calls may be recorded for quality assurance', but now when a _customer_ records a call, also 'for quality assurance', they can't handle it!

Please send me a message to tell me how I could hear your call-thanks.

Not illegal in Texas.... only 1 party has to know the conversation is being recorded. You can't tape someone elses conversations as a third party. You are free to record your own without with out informing who you are speaking with.

Originally posted by bsh117
I have the 3 LNB dish that I got with the $99 D* deal. I'm really pretty illiterate on this subject and therefore not technical at all. I've had "professional" installer do all the installation. What is the Sat C kit?

The "Sat C kit" was used for the earlier oval dishes to add the third or "Sat C" LNB to pick up the 110 satellite. The current dish has all three LNBs integrated to the multiswitch, and a Sat C kit is not used. You should be all set.

SMK

Three whole days with replacement 360 NO drop-outs!!

I am still playing with my original TS360 while waiting for the replacement. (I called D* and they said since the replacement was ordered manually it might take up to 7-10 business days to get it!) So, since many people saw improvement after "cooling" TS360, I decided to try it too. I moved my receiver in a place where there is absolutely no other equipment within 2 feet radius and it is a good ventilated open area. So I connected everything to my TV and was watching D* programming for the past two days. I must admit that the frequency of a/v droputs and X745 calls reduced significantly initially. In fact, I believe I only experienced one a/v droput on the first night. However, I watched HDNet last night for 3 hours and a/v dropouts increased progressively, and eventually I got X745 message and black screen. I rebooted the reseiver but I still experienced infrequent a/v droputs the rest of the evening. I touched the receiver and it was barely warm. In fact it was much cooler than any of my other electronic devices (which by the way are all working fine!) So, at this point I really hope that the replacement receiver is way better that my current one.

Well it is definately an heating issue with part of the electronics... Last night I just watched OTA high def program and had not one problem. But when I did go to the satellite stations I get the cut offs on video and audio, then the 745.
Well this morning I put a fan on top of my 360 and now it works perfectly..

So my conclusion it is a heating problem with the electronics that access the data card.

I am waiting for my replacement receiver. So keeping my fingers cross that the new one does not have this issue.

Samsung needs to be reading this post.

Well it is definately an heating issue with part of the electronics... Last night I just watched OTA high def program and had not one problem. But when I did go to the satellite stations I get the cut offs on video and audio, then the 745.
Well this morning I put a fan on top of my 360 and now it works perfectly..

So my conclusion it is a heating problem with the electronics that access the data card.

I am waiting for my replacement receiver. So keeping my fingers cross that the new one does not have this issue.

Samsung needs to be reading this post.

This heat issue is interesting. Gary Whitaker touched on it in an earlier post.

My 160 is warm to the touch and never gets these issues. The 360, which has the same motherboard and tuner as the 160, and has about half the form factor in thickness as a 160, does not feel near as warm to the touch, either on top or on bottom.

So where is it putting the heat, I am wondering?

Just like your computer, you should have a system status screen that shows the temperature of your CPU and other significant components. The "trashed OEM flash", as I like to refer to it, is detecting temperatures out of operational parameters. What should be happening, like the TS160 1.0.10, is the receiver should force itself into standby to cool down.

That is not happening on the TS360, so two issues; 1) Re-flash of 12.03 fixes problem for most (if you RMA the unit). 2) Samsung better be spooling an upgrade soon to put the receiver in standby mode when true over heat occurs or there may be some ugly issues for Samsung this summer.

I am also sure that *D's patience with Samsung on these issue is now very thin, considering the past TS160 experience, the number of consumer & retailer complaints, and the per hour support & shipping cost to *D. It also seems a timely incident to see that *D has given Toshiba the go ahead to ship the DST-3100 next mo.

Gary Whitaker,
Tried to read this post and see over and over again you complaining about everything possible. It almost seems like you want to work for samsung or may know someone who does but are not that bright. If you want whine then goto the liquor store. This thread does not need another reese as the ts160 thread had. But he atleast helped. You full your posts will such bad knowledge that you dont even know what you are talking about.


Stop being dumb.. If you like your unit then great use it. If not get rid of it or atleast stop posting here with lies and or bad info

To add this (for the 160 and the 360 )both units run very hot. There are no fan as that would be another thing people would complain about. So the heat is just vented. And if the unit is not working correctly there is a problem with it. No fan is needed and there is no need for a upgrade to correct heat issues.

Stop posting lies

Originally posted by hdtvguru666
Gary Whitaker,
Tried to read this post and see over and over again you complaining about everything possible. It almost seems like you want to work for samsung or may know someone who does but are not that bright. If you want whine then goto the liquor store. This thread does not need another reese as the ts160 thread had. But he atleast helped. You full your posts will such bad knowledge that you dont even know what you are talking about.


Stop being dumb.. If you like your unit then great use it. If not get rid of it or atleast stop posting here with lies and or bad info

To add this (for the 160 and the 360 )both units run very hot. There are no fan as that would be another thing people would complain about. So the heat is just vented. And if the unit is not working correctly there is a problem with it. No fan is needed and there is no need for a upgrade to correct heat issues.

Stop posting lies

Sorry I am new, but owned a TS160 starting w/ver 1.0.3 eventually 1.0.6, and last 1.0.10, upgraded to a TS360 w/ver 12.0.3. Sorry for the following ugliness, but I am sick and tired of trolls regarding the TS160/360. They chime in from time to time on every forum, do not support the issue(s), reference no legitimate fact for reference, and slur their words in the process, nor would they post if they actually owned the product.

I wish Gary had been around on the initial release of the TS160 it was very painful. We are simply seeing a repeat on the TS360, but at least it's nice to know the cause. Gary posted, select Round Dish, Auto Detect, if your system crashes, you have the trashed 12.0.03 software, then posted an RMA is simple a re-flash of 12.0.03. Well gee, guess what software version my replacement had, and ironically it "was" the same receiver I shipped in 10 days ago. No crashes, no problems since.

If Gary is a retailer or distributor for the product, then he must be dealing with 10's to 100's of complaints daily. If anything, I feel sympathy for his position. The information to me, has been very beneficial, and reflects our individual experiences, nor do I disrespect his position to recommend alternative products, to lesson the pain.

I finally had my 360 installed today. I have been reading this thread for a week while waiting for the installer to come. I was anticipating all sorts of problems with this reciever, but I've had it running for 12 hours straight today in my enclosed equipment cabinet and it hasn't missed a beat. No dropouts, no reboots, and so far, no heat issues even in the elevated temps of my enclosure.

Let's see what happens the rest of the weekend.

Originally posted by Durango_2
Sorry I am new, but owned a TS160 starting w/ver 1.0.3 eventually 1.0.6, and last 1.0.10, upgraded to a TS360 w/ver 12.0.3. Sorry for the following ugliness, but I am sick and tired of trolls regarding the TS160/360. They chime in from time to time on every forum, do not support the issue(s), reference no legitimate fact for reference, and slur their words in the process, nor would they post if they actually owned the product.

If Gary is a retailer or distributor for the product, then he must be dealing with 10's to 100's of complaints daily.

Well, excuse me, Durango, but...

1) What trolls are saying *what* exactly about 160/360's?
2) Have you read this entire thread, or are you just trolling your own first post?
3) Gary Whitaker bounces in and out like a yo-yo, slamming like an expert but refusing to say who/where he is from.
4) None of his "suggestions" work.
5 ) Then he says: "To add this (for the 160 and the 360) both units run very hot." Which is totally untrue if one goes by touch, as I posted 3 posts above.

And please don't critique people for "slurring" words until your own grammer is A-1, OK? We are here to help!

And finally, when you say:
"If Gary is a retailer or distributor for the product, then he must be dealing with 10's to 100's of complaints daily. If anything, I feel sympathy for his position. The information to me, has been very beneficial, and reflects our individual experiences, nor do I disrespect his position to recommend alternative products, to lesson the pain."

Exactly what does that mean?!?
Other than pure speculation, why do you presume somebody that has done nothing but slam the unit is a retailer? Then, how has info beneficial to YOU reflected OUR experiences??

G'night from a concurrent 160-since-.03/360 owner... :rolleyes:

Why don't we all cool our jets and keep this thread on topic.

We all want to have a solution to the various issues we have had with our 360's. Not very productive to any of us to have the type of postings that this thread has had today.

Let's get back to the matter at hand.

IT WORKS!!

I did two things, and now my 360 has worked flawlessly for about 3 hours on several types of signals (digital OTA, HD DirecTV, SD DirecTV).

-I went into the 'service' menu, and did 'restore defaults'. This was to attempt to fix the menu color problem I mentioned above.

-I moved the receiver out of its 'component stack' and to a separate place with nothing above it.

Notes:
-The 'restore defaults' is supposed to cause some kind of channel or access loss, but I had no problem. Well, my 'local channels over satellite' did not reappear for about an hour; this was also true when I did a similar thing with a Hughes HTL-HD before.
-My menu color problem is probably just a 'user error'. It is not explained clearly in the manual, but to change the color for any user besides 'all channels', you have to 'edit that profile'. You can just go into 'preferences' and try to change colors, but if you are not using the 'all channels' profile, your selections just do not work. Luckily, the default reset I did put it back into 'all channel' mode, or I would still think it was broken.
-Now that the receiver is not mixed with other components, it really does run cool, in my opinion. Hmm... here is a note in the front of the manual. "Do not install near any heat sources... (including amplifiers) that produce heat." Guess what I had it mounted right above, before? :)

I'm still not receiving guide information for my Comcast cable. Is anyone getting the guide information for their cable provider?

the ota atsc tuner in the 360 does not seem to be as good as the one in the 160, I have both connected and the 160 locks in a dtv low power 60 miles out, while the 360 cannot until after sunset, is this something that can be fixed via a firmware update?

Talked to Samsung customer service to prove Gary Whitaker posts lies and while I was at it they told me the optional rf remote will be available in approx. 2 months and pricing is unknown at this time. :cool:

I noticed that when I select a channel (IE 61-1 when it isn't in the guide) that wasn't found by the auto scan function that it shows the channel as satellight. Is that because it can't find a signal on air or cable and defaults to satellight? Or can you select what input it should try to display for that channel?

I don't understand how the receiver could even think that any channel with a "-" in it could be anything but air.

I was running my TS360 in a "cool" place (well-ventilated open area away from any heat producing devices) for three days now and I am sorry to inform you all but this does not seem to help my TS360 unit. I am still getting periodic a/v droputs. IT DOES _NOT_ WORK!!! (At least not for me)

coldbrew unless it scans the channel then it thinks it's sat.. It always defaults to sat. Mabye directv will have hi def -X channels 1 day

vvrok theres def. a problem there. whoever said well ventialeted area would CURE ALL PROBLEMS was mistaken ( think it was gary whitaker) You say you have a/v drop outs from where? Sat, Air, Cable? All 3. Post your signal strength for what drops out.

I am getting a/v dropouts only on satellite channels. (OTA locals work fine.) The signal strength on all my sat channels is in high 90s to 100(max) I did matrix scan several times on all three satellites and none of transponders was below 94, I believe. The heat is no longer an issue for me -- I don't have a fan to attach to the receiver (it does not say in the manual I should buy a fan for TS360!) but I did put it in a open area far away from ANYTHING else.

vvrok well you shouldnt have to buy a fan. If you are getting drop outs and there is / are no problem with your lnb's and or cableing(probally not) then its a reciever problem. Call d* or samsung and get service to correct your problem

Originally posted by hdtvguru666
vvrok well you shouldnt have to buy a fan. If you are getting drop outs and there is / are no problem with your lnb's and or cableing(probally not) then its a reciever problem. Call d* or samsung and get service to correct your problem

I did put a computer fan on top of my receiver. This will at least allow me to watch it till the new one comes in. But we shouldn't need to have a fan on it. So call and have it replaced, AND PRAY that you do not get another bad one.

Joe

My replacement 360 has been running flawlessly since installed last Weds., not one audio or video dropout. Sitting in my rack atop my Dvd player same place as prior one; don't think heat buildup is the problem, just a bad batch or boxes or software.

Originally posted by bsh117
Does anyone have a problem with the LNB Failing when you do a system test? I've had a tech over last weekend to re-point the dish, replace the LNB and now I have a replacement 360. Still, I get the LNB failure when I run the system test.

I thought that the LNB test failure indicated that it was not getting a signal.

I had to re-align my antenna to get it to pass the test & display a picture.
The box calculated co-ordinates were off a bit resulting in no signal. Tuning & LNB both failed.

The Box said the Elevation was 36 & it needed to be 45.
The Box said the Tilt was 59 & it was 60.
.
I used a compass to set the AZ.

The Tech is supposed to come next Friday to install it, I could NOT wait for him.

I put a TV outside with the Sam TS-360, went to the setup mode, selected dish, went to signal "meter", turned up volume all the way.

The I went to the dish & moved the Az a little in both directions, I got a VERY weak signal, locked the AZ. Moved the Elevation & got a better signal. The better the signal, the faster the beeps from the Signal Strength "Meter".
Moved the Tilt & got a better signal. Locked all down.

Signal levels went from 0 to "96-100" on all transponders & Sats after final adjustment

It helped that my Dish is mounted on my deck post at chest height. Easy adjustments.

Tuning & LNB passed the system test.

The digital signals come in as 480 & the HD signals come in as 1080.

I have not tweaked the STB yet, but I did add a 1" spacer under each corner for better air flow.

The digital signals are better the the old analog signals from the Sony Sat-A2. I just kept the TS-360 Component cables to the monitor. Removed the S-Video cable.

My Panny 42PHD6UY liked the 480 digital on Component as well as from the S-Video.

I also have Cable with a AT-3250HD that messes up the signal conversion for digital & analog on S-Video & Component. It gives best PQ on Composite. The HD on Component is excellent.

The analog signal PQ from the old cable VCR was better that from the SA-3250HD. I guess they up-convert then down-convert the analog signal.

Red

I just got off the phone with D* and they are replacing my 360 with a new unit due to problems with "color shifting". Everything was looking good except occasionally the picture would take on a greenish yellow cast. This would happen on various channels and was an intermittent problem. Tried unplugging the unit as well as the button reset , this did not help. Checked the component cables, too. Also, I called Samsung and they thought I had a bad unit and suggested replacing the unit through D*. I'm pleased to report the tech department at D* was very responsive to my problem and offered to replace the unit without much hassle. (This wasn't the case when I had a bad 160 that would not pick-up the "C" sat. That was a hassle. this time they were a pleasure to deal with.) They did say I may get a Hughes unit in place of a Samsung depending what was on hand when the new unit ships. By the way, the direct phone number to tech support is 1-800-695-9251. Sure is easier than the regular number and all the menus. I hope the bugs get worked out of the 360, as I really like the size, look and operating guide . I'll post an update when I receive my replacement unit.

Mike

I received my Samsun 360 last Thursday and had been using it for 8 days without a single problem. I shut it down along with all my components for 2 days as I was going out of town.
I turned on the tv and 360 today and booted up to a x745. How is that possible? The temp in my house was about 65 degrees.

This was my first and only x745 so far. My 360 is in a well ventilated rack.
We'll see if it happens again..

Chriswgatv and Snathand

You can record your own conversation, especially when they announce that they might record for quality assurance. At that point both parties know that the conversation might be recorded.

I have read many times that it will take 7 to 10 days for a replacement. They told me that also. THAT IS B.S. There is no such thing as a manual order. I dont know why they tell people that, but they do. Just stay on the phone. Be persistent. Ask them why it is a manual order. Eventually they will want to get you off the phone and you will get your unit in 2 days.

Final point: D* customer service is really getting bad. I am so tired of getting different answers, depending who you talk to.

One more thing

An earlier post indicated that you could have 1.02.03 but some may have patches and others may not. That is absolutely incorrect

1.02.03

1 = version
.02 = release
.03 = patch

Why would you apply a patch without changing the firmware version number. How would you actually track the firmware.

I am not going to mention a name but please stop providing false information as if it were fact.

Oh yea. You were wrong about the scaler in the samsung also. Im not sure why you do this but stop!

This is only relevant in the Houston area, but I thought those on this thread might find it interesting. Several days ago I lost audio on ABC OTA digital. Found a thread on the HD-local reception list where other Sammy owners had also lost Houston ABC audio. So it appears only Sammy's are effected. Very strange. One guy fixed his by entering 00000 in the zip code, but it didn't work for me.

I got my Samsung Wednesday, wife complained of audio/video drops (black screen, no audio for like a second or two) This weekend got worse! Dropouts like every 5 minutes... :( and on any and every station. Called D*, they were kick arse, told me that it sounded like the unit was no good and that i would have a new receiver in 2 to 3 days!! :) I also had a problem with the OTA meter fluctuating wildly... 0,35,45,72 on a station whether i was picking it up or not.

Oh, and i don't know if this means anything to any of y'all, but the customer service guy after telling me they were going to end me a new unit, asked if i could go on hold for a second, came back all out of breath wanting to know how i had everything hooked up/my equipment, said they were trying to get a database together on problems they were experiencing with this particular unit. :P

Just got hooked up with my 360 Saturday. So far so good but I have a question. I get all channels OTA that I want but one. It does not pick it up in the scan. Is there a way to tune to that channel and then move my antenna? Do I have to move the antenna and then do a new scan each time to see if I can get that channel? Any tips are appreciated. Thanks.

Originally posted by offandon
Just got hooked up with my 360 Saturday. So far so good but I have a question. I get all channels OTA that I want but one. It does not pick it up in the scan. Is there a way to tune to that channel and then move my antenna? Do I have to move the antenna and then do a new scan each time to see if I can get that channel? Any tips are appreciated. Thanks. Go to local channels and put you zip code in. You will then get all the channels available in you area. That seems like the best way to do it.. The scan did not do it for me either.

Originally posted by Darrin_R
One more thing
1.02.03

1 = version
.02 = release
.03 = patch

Why would you apply a patch without changing the firmware version number. How would you actually track the firmware.

I don't know about firmware, but software patch numbers are very minor bug fixes, release numbers are for larger bug fixes, version numbers are major changes in the software.

1.02.04 would be a small change, usually one fix
1.03.00 would be a larger change, several bug fixes
2.00.00 would be a major change usually with enhancement additions

Red

I got my Samsung activated today after the installer came and installed the new dish. They didn't make me take the HD package like I thought they would so I can't test D* HD signal (unless there is a test channel). But I'm getting drop outs on E! channel right now (its dropped out 2 times while I typed this message). Also the vcr controler doesn't work on my Sony VCR (even though the remote does). My receiver is on a shelf by it's self so heat should not be an issue. I also still can't get the guide information for the cable.

I also question the quality of the conversion of the ABC 720p to 1080i...

I'm going to watch it a bit more and then call D* about the problems.

I have only had my TS-360 for 3 days at 10+hours/day with no drop outs.

It is on 1" stand offs at each corner. It only gets a little warm to the touch.

My signal strength is 96-100 on all transponders.

What is the results of your system signal test if you have drop-outs?

Red

My signal on 101 is one 86 and one 90, the rest are 97 and up. I am not get drop outs on comedy central. Who knows...

Update: Lost audio but not video on CC.

Update 2: I lost video and audio on CC...

Activated my 360 Saturday. No dropouts. Doesn't run warm at all. As others have noted, the OTA signal readings are useless. Readings the same on all channels: pretty constant 45 with occasional jumps to 65 and drops to zero. My built-in DTC-100 reads these same channels in the 82-100 range. The 360 was performing just about the same as the DTC-100 last night on WBBM-DT3 with occasional glitches. I am disappointed with the function of the screen formats on SD programming. Pillar Box does not yield a true 4:3 image. There is some horizontal stretch, so that the sidebars are narrower than they should be. Full seems to be OK, but Zoom 1, Zoom 2, and Panorama are not working properly. Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm not sure what use the optional RF remote would be since the 360 lacks an RF out jack. I tried connecting a VCR to the composite input, but as others have noted, the PQ was degraded a bit. I'm trying a DVD player through the component input, but so far am not seeing any difference. Is the 360 supposed to upconvert DVD input to 1080i, or does it just pass it through unchanged? I like the way satellite, OTA, and cable channels are all displayed together in the guide. Overall a nice unit, especially for $99, but the issues with the screen formats and the OTA signal meter need to be addressed.

My Panny 6UY likes the TS-360 Digital & HD output both on Component.
My TS-360 is not any good for OTA digital or analog reception.
It picked up 1 OTA analog signal above 13 & it was not usable.
My old portable TV picked up 4 & 2 were usable.
It found no Digital stations. Maybe correct or not correct.

My old Sony SAT-A2 had a "Favorites" remote selection. I could add my favorite channels to a list.

I can not find this on the 360. The closest I can find is a User list where I can delete a couple of hundred channels to get a Favorite list.

Is this the only way to get a 360 "Favorite" list?

How do I get the "week" list for a channel?
Do I just keep right arrow clicking in the Guide?

Only had the 360 since last Friday.

Red

Received a 360 Saturday (used a DTC-100 for about 3 years prior to this). Unhooked the 100, hooked the 360, called D*, and was up and running in less than an hour. Can see all local OTA channels, including HD (about 35 miles East of LA). The box has performed good, but not as good as the 100 in my estimation. I can never remember the 100 having any video drop-outs. Several have occurred with the 360 ... mostly on "action" scenes. All-in-all a nice receiver.

Originally posted by RedNecker
My old Sony SAT-A2 had a "Favorites" remote selection. I could add my favorite channels to a list.

I can not find this on the 360. The closest I can find is a User list where I can delete a couple of hundred channels to get a Favorite list.

Is this the only way to get a 360 "Favorite" list?

How do I get the "week" list for a channel?
Do I just keep right arrow clicking in the Guide?

Only had the 360 since last Friday.

Red

I have only had the Samsung for a week, so I am hardly an expert. You can edit the list of stations quite easily, though. The procedure is to go into preferences where you can edit one of the user's profiles. When you edit that profile, it will give you the choice of adding or removing channels. One option is to remove all channles. Then you can scroll down the list of removed channels and just add the ones that you want. I did not find this time consuming at all. Then, pressing the "who" button on the remote, change to that user, and you will be set.

In terms of getting a "week" list for channels, I am not sure one exists. But if you want to move around the guide quickly, you can press the "freeze" button on the remote while viewing the guide. This will put a time bar on the bottom that allows you to move ahead a day at a time with just one click.

SMK

Originally posted by offandon
I get all channels OTA that I want but one. It does not pick it up in the scan. Is there a way to tune to that channel and then move my antenna? Do I have to move the antenna and then do a new scan each time to see if I can get that channel? Any tips are appreciated. Thanks.

The best way to see if you can lock in an OTA that does not show up in a scan is this way:
- set the box to 'no dish' and let it reboot
- select an OTA that you can see.
- while watching it (i.e. not viewing the guide) type in that other OTA channel.
- it will go there and *if* the signal is strong enough, it will lock into the guide. Go to the guide now to see it.
- set the box back to 3LNB and let it reboot and the OTA will be there if it locked in in the previous step.

I cannot answer your 'antenna moving' question, as I have never done it, but you could try the above sequence again. Good luck!

drjohnc -- What is the built date on the back of your receiver?

So it looks like people are still experiencing a/v dropouts, even with receivers shipped as late as last Friday. Not good... (My replacement should arrive tomorrow.)

Originally posted by BK EH
The best way to see if you can lock in an OTA that does not show up in a scan is this way:
- set the box to 'no dish' and let it reboot
- select an OTA that you can see.
- while watching it (i.e. not viewing the guide) type in that other OTA channel.
- it will go there and *if* the signal is strong enough, it will lock into the guide. Go to the guide now to see it.
- set the box back to 3LNB and let it reboot and the OTA will be there if it locked in in the previous step.

When you say type in the other OTA channel, do you mean the actual broadcast channel (ie 29) or the mapped channel (ie 28-1)? In other words some channels, especially newer ones, may not have guide data available yet, will they show up this way? Thanks.
Sid

Has anyone tried using the RF or VCR input on the back of the 360 for a IR Flasher? Can it be done or do I have to stick the flasher on the front of the unit?

Rick

Originally posted by labmansid
When you say type in the other OTA channel, do you mean the actual broadcast channel (ie 29) or the mapped channel (ie 28-1)? In other words some channels, especially newer ones, may not have guide data available yet, will they show up this way? Thanks.
Sid

While I have seen in past that some people say to use the actual transmitted channel, I have always used the mapped xx-x format myself (and with friends) and it has worked that way every time. Try it that way first.

If it has locked in, it will show up in the guide without detailed info, unless that OTA transmits PSIP via OTA... very few do it right now. Then when you reset to 3LNB and it does a download again, the detail will be there if DTV has the PSIP info for it.

Three D* techs and one Samsung tech later I have a second receiver on the way.

According to D* tech the cable guide is not supposed to list programing information.

The problem with the Digital Off Air Signal Meter is a problem with my antenna and I should call an installation pro to fix it (I get all my HD perfectly).

The VCR control problem they couldn't help me with and wanted me to call Samsung.

The audio/video drop outs, they wanted to send a tech to my house.

At this point I called Samsung tech. She said that they knew about the audio/video drop out problems but had no solution. Basically all that can be done is to exchange the unit.

The VCR control they wanted to replace my ir blaster. I tried my old sony ir blaster and it made no difference. She decided since I need a new receiver sending another ir blaster would be a waste.

She didn't seem to know there was a problem with the OTA signal meter, and basically said it was because my receiver was defective.

The samsung tech told me to call back D* and get them to replace the receiver.

Called back D* tech and tell him what samsung said and after a while he agree's to send me a new receiver. (took 26 minutes)

Should have the new receiver Wed. I sure hope it fixes the problems!

RE: DTV said: The problem with the Digital Off Air Signal Meter is a problem with my antenna and I should call an installation pro to fix it (I get all my HD perfectly).

Well, if Samsung is really watching here, they will know that this is happening to all so far.

On my 160 it is rock solid on all my OTD HD, from 77-95, depending on station. So, I simply re-cable to the 360 and then it bounces like a yo-yo between 45 and 0 and 25 and 50 and 15 and 30 and so on, and so on....

It is clearly an issue w/ the software related to that area.

Bill, you're exactly right, I've done the same thing tonight...bouncing the cable from my 160-to-360 with similar results, not only does the signal meter bounce, but my reception is not as good. Using my 160 I can watch a low power 60 miles out, not so on my 360 it won't even lock it in! Can this be fixed via firmware??

Got my 360 a few days ago, but haven't received the dish yet, so I'm just using it for OTA reception for the time being. It's hooked up to a Sony KV-40XBR800 using the supplied DVI cable.

I have what I thought may have been electrical interference appearing on the screen - vertical white bars moving from right to left at a constant rate. After repositioning everything and powering everything within 50 feet off I realized the problem probably isn't electrical in nature. Doing further troubleshooting I realized the bars aren't there if I change the resolution to output something other than 1080i. If I force it to 720p or 480p/i they disappear. In 1080i or the native modes the bars are there while watching 1080i programming or while in the menus, games, etc. Unplugging the antenna doesn't help.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? If I use the component outputs instead of DVI do I sacrifice any picture quality or anything else? Using component connections I can run at 1080i without the problem.

Thanks in advance!

Bk Eh

On the bouncing OTA meter Samsung support tells me that this is the raw receive level (not average for any substantial length of time) and evidence of multipath activity. This means the signal is arriving at your antenna from multiple paths causing cancellation and sometime addition which will cause the strength to vary.

I live 5 miles from the transmitters at Portland but I live well below line of sight to the towers. There are hills, buildings and VERY tall (70+ft) trees (and lots of them) in the way.

Last week end, I put a 25 ft antenna tower on top of my 2 story house and the bouncing meter was less and gave somewhat higher values. I can now receive some HD signals without drop outs.

I requested that Samsung in the next firmware release provide a) a much longer averaged meter so the antenna can be better peaked and b) a way to change the channel from the antenna tuning meter.

PLEASE, everyone who discusses OTA with the Samsung support, please request something similar.

bert

After 3 days, my 360 seems to be working ok.

My TV is 16:9. Is there a way for the Samsung to *NOT* stretch a 1080i signal, but do stretch 480i/480p signals?

I received my 360 today through the $99 deal. I'm already running into some problems that sound similar, although not identical, to the ones that I've seen posted here.

The problem that I'm having is that the picture becomes VERY disrupted with compression blocks, sound drops out, and when it gets really bad forces the receiver into the "Searching for signal" screen for a few seconds. This seems to occur only on a couple of channels, and from my limited testing seems to happen after the unit has been on for more than 10 minutes (when it first boots up these channels come in crystal clear).

The problem is only occuring on HDNet, the HD PPV channel, and HBO HD (I don't have Showtime so I can't check it). I'm receiving HDNet Movies, Discovery HD, and the rest of the non-HD channels that I watch are OK at this time. This leads me to think that the problem has something to do with Sat B, as I think that's where these 3 stations are located.

Since this doesn't happen when the unit is first powered on I was thinking that it might be heat related... but since it only occurs on the Sat B channels I'm also thinking that it might be dish related. I am using the original triple LNB setup with the Sat-C kit installed. This setup was working fine with a previous HDTV receiver, so I'm pretty certain that it's not the aiming, but I was wondering if the newer integrated triple LNB has something different technically that the Samsung IRD requires. D* sent me the newer dish with the receiver, but I wasn't going to install it since I already have the other dish installed and aimed.

I have the receiver connected directly to the dish (the signal still travels through the Sat C hardware of course) and no other receivers are being used. The receiver is sitting on the top of my audio stand (no shelves above, completely out in the open) and there are no heat generating components on the shelf directly underneath it.

Has anybody else seen this problem? I know I can call D* but I was hoping that somebody on here can tell me whether it's a receiver or a dish issue. If it's a receiver issue I'll have D* replace it, if it's a dish issue I'll go ahead and get the integrated LNB dish installed.

Thanks!

My 5 day old 360 will not give me the option of a "signal strength meter', it stays blacked out in the options.

I have tried "no dish" & "round dish" & "3-LNB dish" with re-boots.

No OTA "meter" & no OTA UHF signals.
I live in a weak fringe signal area.

Is there a special way to activate the OTA "meter".
It works for the Dish.

Red

Originally posted by Gh0ztt
I am using the original triple LNB setup with the Sat-C kit installed. This setup was working fine with a previous HDTV receiver, so I'm pretty certain that it's not the aiming, but I was wondering if the newer integrated triple LNB has something different technically that the Samsung IRD requires. D* sent me the newer dish with the receiver, but I wasn't going to install it since I already have the other dish installed and aimed.

Thanks!

I have heard of people having problems with the Sat C kit install. You might benefit from installing the integrated triple LNB.

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not but I saw the rec on the Crutchfield site. Lots of pics.

Originally posted by CalypsoCowboy
Not sure if this has been mentioned or not but I saw the rec on the Crutchfield site. Lots of pics.

And a link to make it easy for everyone:

Samsung SIR-TS360 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-06NDFiGV27b/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=16&g=154850&I=305SIRT360&o=m&a=0&cc=01&avf=N)

To use the signal meter you must be locked on a digital station. Once you have done a scan and found a station, view the station and go into the menu and the option for signal meter will be available.

I had my 360 on installed on Saturday through the $99 deal. After having to bypass my 5x8 multiswitch, we were able to get everything working properly. The only problem I have had so far is a complete lock up with the box yesterday. After a quick unplug everything was fine.

My biggest problem was reprogramming my Pronto remote.

JT

Originally posted by Ledzep77
To use the signal meter you must be locked on a digital station. Once you have done a scan and found a station, view the station and go into the menu and the option for signal meter will be available.

Thanks,

It will not get a digital station. So I guess that is why it is not available. I am on the fringe area of reception.

I hope to borrow a LG-Hughes to try for a signal.

Red

In answer to vvrok's request, the build date on the back of my set is Jan 28 2004.

When I received the system from D*, it included a new integrated triple-LNB antenna. My current HD D* antenna had the 3rd LNB added, and contains a multiswitch and switch for the 3rd LNB. I choose not to have the newer antenna installed. Could the newer antenna design account for the many breakups reported? Again, I've experienced only a few breakups.

One item which is occuring with this set is the "muffled" volume on some HD channels, notably HBO-HD. It doesn't occur all the time, or with all programs, or just with a single program. Sometimes, the soundtrack is of so low a volume, the A/V receiver needs to be cranked past the halfway point to hear the program (Pioneer Elite receiver). Annoying, but not a deal breaker for me.

Another thought. The 360 has a serial port and the manual says it's for connecting a PC for data up- and down-loading. Any idea what this means? Can this unit be used with AV serial control systems? Can this unit be used with ReplayTV via the serial interface. I tried connecting this way, but the devices failed to "talk". I use the IR interface from the ReplayTV to control the 360.

Originally posted by jtm1471
I had my 360 on installed on Saturday through the $99 deal. After having to bypass my 5x8 multiswitch, we were able to get everything working properly. The only problem I have had so far is a complete lock up with the box yesterday. After a quick unplug everything was fine.

My biggest problem was reprogramming my Pronto remote.

JT
Just as an FYI you do not need to unplug the box to reset it. There is a reset button on the front where the card goes in. This button does the same thing as unplugging the unit.

Is anyone else getting frequent audio dropouts/glitches on Dinosaur Planet on Discovery HD. It is one of the few shows I've been watching on that channel and it is very annoying. Wondering if it is just me.

I have a TS-160 and it works perfectly. I have a Samsung 46" DLP and the picture is outstanding. I connect with DVI and set the resolution at 1080i, even though the native is 720. I use full format for non HD telecasts. Is there any reason or benefits to exchange my 160 and go with a 360?

I spoke with Steve at Samsung today, he practically told me I am a moron. I told him of the audio drop out problems on the TS360. "No reported problems with audio drop outs with audio!, RMA the unit!!". I told him this was the 2nd RMA and I was experiencing same problem w/TS160 audio drop outs I previously owned before the upgrade to TS360, but mostly on on Music Choice channels, he refered me to *D. When I asked why all the RMA's, was it a reflash of 12.03, or product defect, -click-.

Called *D. *D denies it's a service problem and offered me an upgrade to the LG specifically, that is "new"!!! Oh gee, tonight the TS360 is not on the Samsung web page unless you use the pull down and then the JPG image is damaged and specs have been removed? It's already in the archive list of products?? Am I not navigating Samsung's web page correctly??? The few FAQ TS360 that was ever posted have now been removed from Samsung's web site. This is not giving me a warm feeling about support for this product.

Just starting tonight, my new 360 start to black out between 1 to 3 seconds from time to time (1 min to 5 mins). Do you guys have any idea why? Do I have a bad 360? bug? Should I return it to DirectTV and try something else??? :confused:

Thanks in advance.

hlkc-

This is the 'standard' Samsung SIR-TS360 problem. Look for the other topics that discuss this receiver.

Durango_2 you probably are a moron. Everytime I talk to steve he is always very polite and quick to assist in my problems.

Can anyone who has had this problem report that a new receiver has completely fixed the problems? I am expecting my 3rd Samsung TS360 today, and am getting completly frustrated with this unit. It would be nice to know if I had just been unlucky in getting bad units...as opposed to a "heat" or other issued. I really can't belive they are heat related, as my box sits in the basement which is around 60 degress right now. Maybe it is too cold? lol

Updated. Just got my first call X745 from the unit today. What a joke. Hopefully the new box will fix....

Originally posted by hdtvguru666
Durango_2 you probably are a moron. Everytime I talk to steve he is always very polite and quick to assist in my problems.

You got to keep calling him back ? ? ? ?

Samsung people are definitely lying. I told them about a/v droputs the next day I installed my TS360, two weeks ago. From the posts on this forum I know many other people contacted Samsung tech support about similar issues. Samsung, stop lying to customers and go and fix your receivers!!!

As I said the woman I talked to at Samsung admited there was a problem with audio/video drop outs but they had no solution yet. So some of the Samsung techs are aware.

Same problem here.

The receiver works great then all at once the screen goes blank then come back on, then goes blank again then pixels on . The receiver is on the top shelf on a stack but the component's under it are not active all the time (line doubler, DVD player) a/v under all that. System was installed sat. had the dropouts , called direct TV sent out another card yesterday same results.

Whats left to do ?:confused:

Do the drop-out increase?

I have had my TS360 4 days before a drop-out, now after a few more days it is two or three an evening. They only last a second or two. It is usually, but not always, at the start of a commercial.

Red

RedNecker,

I did not notice any pattern on mine. Sometimes (very rare) I can watch for hours and experience only one or two droputs, but more often I get intermittent droputs on a more frequent basis. As I said I did not notice the pattern of increasing dropout frequency on my TS30. It has been very intermittent for the past two weeks. The receiver is almost like a person with rapid changing moods: there are some good days and there are some bad days. And then there area days when the receiver is out of control and you see X745 :)

Originally posted by RedNecker
Do the drop-out increase?

I have had my TS360 4 days before a drop-out, now after a few more days it is two or three an evening. They only last a second or two. It is usually, but not always, at the start of a commercial.

Red

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. The first day I had my 360 I experienced several video dropouts and one x745 that required a reset. The following morning I also had an x745 that required a second reset. Since that reset I have not experienced any video dropouts or x745s. Mine has been up and running now for about 3 weeks.

My problem (I posted on at length earlier in this thread) seems to only occur after the HD portion of the receiver has been on for 10 minutes or so, and only on the 119 (Sat B) channels. I discovered last night that if I watch some SD programming for awhile, and then switch back to HDNet it will come it perfectly for about 10 minutes, then the problem (continous pixelization/dropouts) begins. The other non-Sat B HD stations work all the time with no problems, but HDNet and HBO HD suffer from these symptoms. D* support said to wait and see if the new dish fixes the issue since they think it's a problem with the Sat B LNB... even though my old receiver never had problems with these channels (and the problem doesn't occur until the HD portion is on for awhile). They're coming out Saturday so I suppose I'll be calling D* back sometime later that day.

As I have stated before there is a heat problem with these units. But only while watching D* programming. OTA works fine.
If you want to see for yourself. Once it starts dropping in and out, put a fan to blow down from the top into the 360 receiver. Watch your dropout disappear. I took a computer fan placed it on top, and my video dropout are gone. Its a fix for now, but still unacceptable. Waiting for another box.
to come now.

Joe

When I talked to D* they said guide problems were related to heat. But never mentioned heat as a problem for audio/video drop outs.

So from all the treads, are there any people here not to have this black out problem? Are we just keep sending 360 back and forth to D*? Can someone share with me 1 successful story?

Thanks in advance.

I'm not going to go back and read through this whole threat but I remember reading at least one who had it replaced and it solved the problem.

I moved mine away from my other equipment and that solved the problem. I'm pretty sure I'll want to get it replaced but I'm waiting to hear that people are getting replacements that are clearly performing better or perhaps to see if a firmware upgrade comes down the pipe that solves the problems.

I posted this once before but I dont recall which thread.

Some people seem to have problems with the OTA reception when compared to other STB's. I was originally using a diplexer to combine/split the signal and my OTA reception was great. I then ran a dedicated line for OTA and my signal went way down ( I was using the 160 at the time). I even completely lost one channel. I troubleshot the problem but I could not resolve it. I put the diplexers back online and my reception was again cystal clear.

I know this technically doesnt make a d@mn bit of sense. But it worked for me. So if you have poor reception you might want to try it.

HLKC

I have had my 360 and all is well. I lost audio once which required a reset, but only once. I even put my DVD player on top of the 360 to see if it would fail. It did not.

I also reported earlier that I moved my TS360 far away from other equipment, but in my case it did not help completely. I believe the frequency of a/v dropouts reduced somewhat which indicates to me that heat has something to do with it, but I still find it unacceptable to have these intermittent dropouts on a $500 receiver. (I am not planning to spend any extra $$ to buy an external fan for this receiver. If it is a design flaw, Samsung should issue a recall and rectify the problem.)

I just got my replacement receiver from D* couple of hours ago. It is TS360 again, in what appears to be a brand new box. I will install the receiver tonight and report back about any issues. I keep my fingers crossed...

Wow, after reading this entire thread I'm ready to send my unopened 360 (D* replacement) back. I had a problem last Thursday with my 160 going into a reset loop while tuning a local OTA channel. D* had no clue how to fix it and offered to send a new box out. I was finally able to get the 160 working again and haven't had a problem since then.

I think I'll take my chances with the 160 and if I need to have the box replaced in the future maybe Samsung will have sorted out all of these issues with the 360. Although, with D* standardizing the STB design, I don't think we're going to get much help on resolving these issues with the 360.

My first 360 had the AV dropouts and the X745 problem. The new one has been used for about 2 weeks now with no problems. It still has the useless OTA meter, but from what I read, they all do.

I have had my 360 for about 2 weeks now. At first I noticed only an occasional video or audio drop but it has gotten worse. My receiver is on an open shelf all by itself with plenty of air. Last night during the Michigan vs Michigan State game the audio drops got worse as the game went on. By the end of the game I was getting a drop every 15 seconds or so. I wonder if it has something to do with the fast movement on the screen that maybe makes it run hotter for something like that.

At any rate I called D* to explain my problem. They had me check my signal and reset the receiver. Signal was strong. Now they want to send a tech back out to check the cables. I don't understand why if I'm getting a 90%+ signal they would think it was the cable. Even more so that it seems to be a known problem. Oh well its their dime to send a guy out. They said if the cable was not the problem they would send a new receiver.

The video drops seem to be most noticable on HBO. The audio drops seem to happen on all. But I can say I don't recall ever seeing either a video or audio drop on Discovery HD.

I do have black out/drop in all HD Channels. It took me 15 mins explain to the guy that since I have a good signals ALL the time, therefore there is nothing to do with the cable. Finally I talk him out not to send a guy out and waste my time and just send me another receiver. My 360 replacement is on the way and it should be here before the weekend.

Originally posted by Mike*Walker
Wow, after reading this entire thread I'm ready to send my unopened 360 (D* replacement) back. I had a problem last Thursday with my 160 going into a reset loop while tuning a local OTA channel. D* had no clue how to fix it and offered to send a new box out. I was finally able to get the 160 working again and haven't had a problem since then.


I have had no problems at all with my 360 except for the OTA meter going all over the place. No drop outs, no x745 messages. My unit is in an open wooden rack on its own shelf. This is connected to the new dish with the 3-LNB and.

I too was very concerned with all the negative comments in the thread but I haven't had any problems at all.

Originally posted by timcarlson
I have had no problems at all with my 360 except for the OTA meter going all over the place. No drop outs, no x745 messages. My unit is in an open wooden rack on its own shelf. This is connected to the new dish with the 3-LNB and.

I too was very concerned with all the negative comments in the thread but I haven't had any problems at all.

Hey Tim.. wanna trade boxes.. :)

For personal use I am done with TS360 and TS160 due to Samsung's denial history and lack of support to acknowledge and resolve Music Choice audio drop outs still present on the TS160 1.10 and overall audio dropouts that have now returned to the TS360 12.3. Had both and both went bye bye today. I received two RMA'd LG's for the time being and audio appears to be stable. As soon as the Toshiba DST3100 or RCA DTC210 are available, I will report.

If you hook up a diplexer and get a better signal than using a direct cable, the cause might be a signal-to-noise problem; the noise being a ghost signal or multipath.
When amplifing an analog signal, it sometimes is better to reduce the input to the amp to a minimum level at the input. By doing this the ghost signal, that is usually weaker, can be reduced to way below threshold at the input, and will be even furthur below the main signal at the amp output.
I'm not sure how multipath affects a digital signal, but maybe using a diplexer as an attenuator is reducing the ghost signal to a level that doesn't confuse the main digital signal?
So, if you have an amp on your antenna, or have strong signals at your location, or have multipath ghosting, then reducing the signal at the input to the receiver might just give you a better overall digital signal strength, but will degrade the weaker analog signals.

No.. And don't you try and come looking for my working sammy :). I don't plan on ever touching it or moving it a single inch!!!

oops.. meant to add in a quote

Originally posted by bosjoe
Hey Tim.. wanna trade boxes.. :)

I've had my TS360 for a few days and no video droputs yet. However, I was watching Discovery HD tonight and noticed the audio dropping about every minute. My Sony receiver has a blue light for the 5.1 sound and it seemed to drop out for a tenth of a second each time. Every so often I would also hear a pop in the sub woofer. I didn't see the same issues watching other HD channels without 5.1 sound.

Originally posted by jbradway
I've had my TS360 for a few days and no video droputs yet. However, I was watching Discovery HD tonight and noticed the audio dropping about every minute. My Sony receiver has a blue light for the 5.1 sound and it seemed to drop out for a tenth of a second each time. Every so often I would also hear a pop in the sub woofer. I didn't see the same issues watching other HD channels without 5.1 sound.

That sounds like my problem where I get short audio dropouts/glitches watching Dinosaur Planet on DHD. I don't get it on other Discovery programming (such as the arctic show I watched yesterday). What show were you watching?

I tried using the analog outputs to see if it was just a problem with my Parasound decoder, but the problems were there too.

"Samsung's SIR-TS360 offers a level of performance and ease of use never before seen in this category," said Frank Romeo, Director for Samsung's Digital Set-Top Box Group. "From versatile connections, like DVI, to selectable format outputs, and fast response program guide, the SIR-TS360 provides an unparalleled HDTV experience."

I beg to differ!!!!

Anyone have an email address for Mr. Romeo?? I've got a link to send him with 24 pages and 500 posts that HE should be aware of. A google search turned up FrankR@sea.samsung.com, but has him listed in a different position. It just pisses me off each time I try and reset my box to get rid of the dropouts and call X745 and I see the Samsung and DirecTV logo on the front of that thing, and neither will accept responsibility for the problems of thier products.

email sent

Originally posted by Cheezmo
What show were you watching?

It was a show about building custom cars called "Rides". I hadn't noticed these dropouts on other channels like HBO. I'll watch a little more closely on other channels to see if they have a similar problem. I've had this A/V receiver for 4 years and never had this problem. It's not really annoying, but the LED display resets every time the droput happens and that draws my eyes off the TV. I wonder if it's just a poor job on the audio track for some of the content?

Well, I installed and activated my replacement receiver last night. I don't want to rush to any conclusions and I want to give the new receiver some time to settle it, but I must admit that I experienced several a/v dropouts when I watched hockey game last night. This is not a good start. The replacement receiver is a brand new box, manufactured on Feb-12. (The first box was built on Jan-15.) So Samsung had the whole month to fix the a/v blackout problems. As I said, I will give it couple days and if I still see a/v droputs on consistent basis by Sunday, I will be calling D* again.

Here's something new. The OTA signal meter on my 360 was actually giving a constant reading (45) for several minutes today on WBBM-DT3. My built-in DTC-100 was reading the usual 82-88 for this channel.

I won't be passing DVD component signal through the 360 in the future. The PQ is fine, but any CC present on the disc are removed. I like the CC better because they are usually in the black bar at the bottom of a 2.35 film, whereas the subtitles are in the picture area.

On a deep fringe analog UHF channel, the DTC-100 delivers a noisy color picture but the TS360 just gets black & white. The 360 has a great guide and I like the search function, but I miss the ability to enter the actual digital channel number as you can with the DTC-100.

How long do your audio and video dropouts last? I just got my box yesterday and connected it via DVI to my TV, and optical out to my receiver. Occasionally the video and audio will disappear together for about 1 second and reappear.

What's weird is, sometimes the audio sounds like it's slipping. It's hard to describe... it sounds like a small part of the audio was stretched to fill a gap (like "how are y-y-you doing"). Eventually the audio starts losing sync with the video (I posted a separate thread about this).

I'm just wondering if this is caused by just bad dish alignment and heavy rain (got some good rain out here in LA yesterday), or if I'm unlucky and experiencing the same problems as everyone else?

Originally posted by UncD2000
I miss the ability to enter the actual digital channel number as you can with the DTC-100.

You still have that ability. See the dash key on the remote just below the 7? Key in your OTA channel then hit the dash and key in the corresponding number that maps to your digital channel. Hit OK or enter, forget which one, on the remote or wait and it will switch for you.

Maybe he means he doesn't like that he has to use the remaped channels. On mine it moved 29-1 through 29-3 to 45-1 through 45-3 but left 29-4 where it is... I don't really follow that one. But I don't understand how it figures out where to remap them to.

Originally posted by Tonedeaf
You still have that ability. See the dash key on the remote just below the 7? Key in your OTA channel then hit the dash and key in the corresponding number that maps to your digital channel. Hit OK or enter, forget which one, on the remote or wait and it will switch for you.

Originally posted by barhoram
email sent



I'm sure you will keep all of us posted on anything that transpires.

cornflakes,

A/v dropouts most people are talking about here usually lasts not more than 1 sec. I know for sure that they are not dish- and/or signal-strength related because I have two other DirecTiVo boxes connected to the same dish with the same type of cables and I never experience a/v dropouts on my TiVo boxes. Also, if your dropouts were due to rain, you would have got "Searching for satellite signal" message on your TV. Did you see this message on your screen yesterday?

Originally posted by cornflakes
How long do your audio and video dropouts last? I just got my box yesterday and connected it via DVI to my TV, and optical out to my receiver. Occasionally the video and audio will disappear together for about 1 second and reappear.

What's weird is, sometimes the audio sounds like it's slipping. It's hard to describe... it sounds like a small part of the audio was stretched to fill a gap (like "how are y-y-you doing"). Eventually the audio starts losing sync with the video (I posted a separate thread about this).

I'm just wondering if this is caused by just bad dish alignment and heavy rain (got some good rain out here in LA yesterday), or if I'm unlucky and experiencing the same problems as everyone else?

My drops in most cases are less than a second. Last night during the Rockets Cavs game on ESPN I was geting an audio drop every 8 seconds like clockwork. Just like I did the night before during the Michigan Michigan State game. I called directv back but they still insist on sending a guy out even though I checked the line.

I also tried laying a newspaper over the vent holes on the unit to see if the drops would increase. I saw no change over a couple of hours and when I removed the cover it didn't feel hot at all. Just barly warm.

I'm not going to say yet if my new receiver fixed my problems or not but they said if it didn't I have to have a tech come look at it. Even though Samsung said it would be a waste of time.

The bad thing is I don't have any D* HD channels to test the sat HD.

Crap, I was hoping my dropout symptoms didn't match up with the others here, but they do. Thanks for the responses, Ledzep77 and vvrok. I didn't get a "searching for satellite" message, and my drops do last for about a second or less. Plus it's sunny out and I'm still getting drops (though it's more like once every half hour or so).

UPDATE: I received a return email and phone call from Frank Romeo from Samsung. He was not aware of any of these issues, and I gave him an update of the problems my last 3 boxes have had, as well as encouraged him or his engineers to check out this thread. He promised me a call back, and hoped to get back with me with an update by tomorrow. Will keep you posted.

Originally posted by dacarter
After raving about my perfect 360 for days, today I get home and have no audio from any of the outputs. My daughter said she powered it up with the old 160 remote, but that shouldn't be a problem. Also last night I connected both analog audio outs. One to my VCR and one to a modulator.

I've read most of this monster thread but don't remember anyone with no audio. Guess I'll try a reboot. Any other ideas?

160 remote control seems to work different . I accidently used 160 remote on 360..and it shuts off...

so i think its better off not using 160.

Originally posted by lgs269
Has anyone hooked up their 360 using the RGB output? On my unit when set to 1080i, the RGB output displays a dark picture. It actually becomes darker at random intervals and is very much unwatchable. In addition, the pictures sometimes takes on a blueish or pinkish tint and then suddenly blooms to an almost white image - very alarming. The only setting that displays a normal image is at 480p/480i. I have a DTC100 with RGB to compare with and the RCA has no such problems.

I just received my DIR-TS360 the other day via the $99 D* offer. I have an older Sony KL-W9000 LCD 50" monitor that only has RGB for other that 480i input. I had been using an RCA DTC-100 for years with great success with this display, but sold it since I'll be getting the HD DirecTiVo and planned to move/pair my Panny TU-HDS20 with the Sony. I have a SD TiVo in the meantime, but at $99, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a current gen HD STB. I figured I could always sell the Panny later.

What I noticed was that true HD signals from D* (DiscoverHD, HDNet, etc.) would cause the same unwatchable color issues at 1080i over the RGB. This did not happen on signals upconverted and I'm pretty sure it didn't happen on any OTA HiDef (but not sure if it was true 1080i, like prime time CBS). The unit was set to 1080i and not one of the other res settings. It consistently happened on those channels. Since I have an NEC HT1000 in my HT, I tested the 360 with the same RGB cable in 1080i and it worked flawlessly on all HD channels. I determined that it must be my display for this RGB issue. The Sony is rather old, but still going strong with 7000 hours on it.

I reconnected the 360 back to the Sony and was about to tweak the service menu when I tried 720p res. Bingo. No color problems, but the display needed to be centered and resized. Once that was done, I now have a great picture via 720p over RGB to this older monitor. Definite improvement in the combined guide, channel speed, etc. over the 540p DTC-100. (However, I do have other concerns with the Samsung 360 that I'll post separately.)

I was wondering what display you are using to connect the 360 to? And have you tried 720p? Is it on all the HD channels or just certain ones?

Originally posted by freeness
The DVI connection doesn't work right. It won't work with any 1080/720 output. If I set the output to 480 it's fine. Using native mode, only SD programming will work, all HD programming comes up all snow. Samsung says it's a problem with the HDCP handshake. I have a Toshiba 65HDX82 which is HDCP. On the Hughes HTL the DVI works fine on that.

Also the OTA signal meter is a joke. It goes 43, 10, 0, 65, 73, 10, 45, 45, 45, 63, 10, 0, 91, etc regardless of how the antenna is pointed. It does this on all OTA HD channels. Again Samsung tech support is looking into it, but they think it's a firmware problem.

I wasn't planning on using my new 360 with my HT1000, but wanted to test the DVI-HDCP capability and compare it to RGB in an A/B setting. I also found it does not work well displaying 1080i or 720p over my 5 meter cable. This is the same cable that works just fine with my DVI V880 1080i DVD player to the HT1000. The picture would look great for a few seconds and then flash and eventually end up with total snow. This was the same at 1080i and 720p. Down-converting to 480p worked fine over DVI.

I figured that maybe it was a cable issue (even though the V880 shows up as 1080i perfectly @ 5 meters). I hooked up the shorter cable supplied with the Samsung. WORSE. Snow all the time above 480p and the 1080i resolution reported by the HT1000 showed 540p. What's up with that? It's got to be a bad (weak?) signal from the Samsung.

I'm at firmware 1.2.03. I've never received the X745 message or any guide issue. The 360 is adequately ventilated. I have not experienced drop-outs, but I am close enough in DC to get strong OTA signals and my SAT has always been very strong from the dish. I can't say about 5.1 audio because I'm not set up for digital audio in that room. I have an oval dish from the Para Todos days with a Sat C kit installed. I've never had any issues with my other HD receivers (Panny and RCA), but neither has DVI-HDCP. I also have the jumping signal problem, but so does everyone and I don't really care enough to make this a show stopper.

Is there some DVI fix (as mentioned in an earlier post about 1.2.06) or is that just wishful thinking? I've only seen a few posts concerning this DVI issue and realize that not everyone is using DVI. Hence, this may not be noticed right away by all 360 owners. If you're using DVI, can you please post your display type, resolution setting, cable length and quality, and what you're experiencing?

Right now, for $99 this unit is working fine since I'm connecting it via RGB. However, I expect to upgrade the display at some point and want to know that the Samsung will work over DVI. I'm going to call Samsung and D*, but would like to here what other's are experiencing too.

Thanks....

I am on my second 360 and it is hooked to my GWIII via DVI with the cable that came in the box. Output Res is set to Native 1. I have not had a problem with this box, no dropouts at all. When I watch HD on sat, it comes in perfect and shows 1080i, DVDs are 480i and SD sat is 480i. I don't get any OTA where I am, so I have never used that function.. Have to say I am completely happy with it, so far.. Forgot to add, DVD is hooked up via component cables, and 360 is hooked into sound system via optical cable.

Originally posted by stevenjw
If you're using DVI, can you please post your display type, resolution setting, cable length and quality, and what you're experiencing?



Sony 34XBR910 connected to 360 by the supplied DVI cable running at 1080i. DVI works flawlessly. My 360 has ocassional dropouts like others that has nothing to do with the DVI connection.

sounds to me like your older equipment has a DVI issue that does not happen on new equipment.

Allen

I have the 360 connected via DVI to my Sony KP46-WT510 with the supplied DVI cable at 1080i, no problems yet.

Ok, I've finally had enough...3 360 receivers, too many drop outs, too many X745 errors.

I've just cancelled my D* subscription and comcast cable will be here tomorrow to setup!

Here's to life after D*!

Got my 360 as a replacement for a 160 today. Must say, I like the look of the 360 much better -- it is far shorter and the LCD clock is a nice touch.

I had the issue with no guide data for the OTA digital stations, but the posted fix worked great.

DVI 1080i output to my Sony GWIII is flawless.

However, I am getting some audio and video dropouts on the local OTA stations, but none so far on any D* channels.

Originally posted by rgrizza
DVI 1080i output to my Sony GWIII is flawless.
And just why are you outputting a 1080i signal, to a TV that displays all signals natively at 788p?
You would probably be better off, setting it to output it at 720p than 1080i. Those sets have a 1386 x 788 fixed pixel display, so they can't actually display anything higher than 788p. And anything above or below that, gets converted to 788p anyway. So no matter what, you won't see a 1080i signal, at anything other than 788p. And sending them a signal at 720p instead of 1080i, would probably be a lot better due to not needing as much conversion to make it fit it's native display properties.

Originally posted by Johnla
And just why are you outputting a 1080i signal, to a TV that displays all signals natively at 788p?
You would probably be better off, setting it to output it at 720p than 1080i.

Except that most HD content is 1080i, so now it would be doing two conversions, first downconverting to 720p, then upconverting to 788p. I would think it would be preferable to do the one downconversion from 1080i to 788p. Actually, the 360 does have the native option (if you can get it to work correctly), which would be the best of both worlds, one upconversion for 480/720p, one downconversion for 1080i.

You'd still probably be better off setting it at 720p, for a fixed pixel display like DLP or LCD. Than at 1080i, no matter what the programming is actually at.

Despite my 46" DLP being native 720, and my neighbor with a 56" DLP being native 720, the PQ was better setting the 160 or 360, connected with DVI, to 1080i. It eliminated the white lines that are on the edges of the screen that you get setting it at 720. Native1 did not look better than 1080i.

i have been following this thread for about 2 weeks (ever since i got my ts360). i must be lucky...i have not had one problem with the receiver to date except that i could not get a picture once while turning my tv and receiver on. i had to unplug the 360 and let it reset...no other problems to note.

so far so good!

I only have A/V drop-outs while watching HD, Cable & DirecTV.

I do not have OTA.

Red

Originally posted by Johnla
You'd still probably be better off setting it at 720p, for a fixed pixel display like DLP or LCD. Than at 1080i, no matter what the programming is actually at.

I think this is an interesting topic. I, too, have been lucky with a flawless 360 (other than the useless OTA signal meter).
I have my 360 set to output 720p to my GWIII. Since this is closest to the native resolution of the tv, it seems the way to go, but who knows?
Has anyone else compared these settings on a fixed panel display and noticed a difference?

I've been flipping between 720p and 1080i on the 360 and I'll be quite honest: I have a hard time deciding which looks better. The picture is great on either output mode. I haven't tried the Native modes yet -- I'll have to give that a shot.

Got my receiver two days ago, everything is working fine, no problems that others have had. No dropouts on audio or video and guide info loaded with no problems. I did notice that in letterbox mode, my picture is not 16 x 9 like my Hughes E86 receiver. Instead of getting 1.77, I'm getting 1.54 on my 4 x 3 Toshiba with all 16 x 9 programming. Has anyone else experienced this? Everything is set up correctly on the box for my Television. Even the other modes stretch modes show the same ratio other than the equal crop mode (zoom 1 I think)

One thing to remember on all of these settings is unless someone has your same TV, connected the same exact way and all other things being equal, their suggestions may prove moot. I tried an HTL-HD, based on several posts stating that it had better PQ than my Samsung, and on my DLP it was not the case. The suggestions are useful but you need to try things yourself to find out.

Originally posted by PUTINBAY
Got my receiver two days ago, everything is working fine, no problems that others have had. No dropouts on audio or video and guide info loaded with no problems. I did notice that in letterbox mode, my picture is not 16 x 9 like my Hughes E86 receiver. Instead of getting 1.77, I'm getting 1.54 on my 4 x 3 Toshiba with all 16 x 9 programming. Has anyone else experienced this? Everything is set up correctly on the box for my Television. Even the other modes stretch modes show the same ratio other than the equal crop mode (zoom 1 I think)

Probably similar to the problems on a 16:9 TV. The "Pillar Box" mode produces an image stretched horizontally (or perhaps squeezed vertically) by 10%. Similarly, the Zoom 1 mode which should produce a non-stretched 16:9 image (appropriate for letterboxed movies on TCM, etc.) squeezes the image vertically resulting in a similar 10% stretch and significant black bars top and bottom on 1.85:1 material.

Someome did their math wrong on the stretch modes, that is for sure.

My set is carefully calibrated and measurements were done with Avia's circle hatch pattern fed through the component input 480p (output at 480p also).

Originally posted by ajw22
Sony 34XBR910 connected to 360 by the supplied DVI cable running at 1080i. DVI works flawlessly. My 360 has occasional dropouts like others that has nothing to do with the DVI connection.

sounds to me like your older equipment has a DVI issue that does not happen on new equipment.

Allen

I find it very hard to believe that the problem is at the NEC HT1000 end since I'm not the only one seeing this problem. It could be, but it's DVI-HDCP works fine with 1080i from my V880 and other people's D1 players. None of this equipment is that old, all less than two years I think.

I'll discuss this with Samsung and NEC. Maybe it's HDCP related. I need the RGB output for now, so don't to swap for a HD-HTL. And if it is the NEC, I'll need that fixed or my HD TiVo might not work either.

Anyone else that's having issues, please list you display. Thanks....

Well I've read about half of this thread in anticipation of my 360 arriving two days ago. The bottom line is two fold for me.

#1
While I've had my Hitachi 51swx20 for almost a year we've been watching SD all that time. So I'm just plain impressed with the PQ of HD and the ease of having local channels and sat stuff all on one guide (not having to switch inputs to get locals).

#2
While the program info came up fine I am getting dropouts on SD & HD. I have also had to reboot a couple times due to ext. messages. I don't seem to be having any heat issues although I have my DVD player sitting on the 360. I took the DVD off the 360 for a while to see if the dropouts decreased and they did not.

I have the installer coming out again on monday to move my dish. I may possibly have a pointing issue but we'll see.