****

FYI...I MAY HAVE MISSED THE POINT...???

...FYI..You can force the 260 tuner to any channel it picked up in it's scan and or enter the "channel-sub channel" number if active at the time to select it.

Many cable systems are not passing the program guide information from individual OTA DTV stations. Even without the guide, you can view the list of selected OTA DTV stations by going to the 260 channel list page of the guide menu.

You can force the tuner to the actual channel, but on cable you don't know what it is, only where the cable company virtually puts it...so use the list.

So if on cable with the 260 the OTA channel shows up in the list as 3-1 or 82-1 that's what you would use to "force it". But it must be on at the time, else it will indicate low signal or scrambled.
...

i dont think u understand what i want to "force tune" a channel to do.

let's me make this clear. for example, i have a pioneer dvr 640...it is able to pick up local analog channel, tnt, tbs, and food channel. lets say im away from home. and before i leave my home...cbs channel is the last channel i watch on my dvr. now at 8 pm...i want the device to automatically..the key word..automatically to tune to fox channel. with my dvr...i can program to change the channel from cbs to fox.

now with the 260...how is this possible when i have "no program" info to select from to make it on the reserve timer list to change from channel to channel when im not home? so i dont think "force tune" will work in my case.

something interesting...on my program guide...the channel like 1-2, 1-4 has name associated with it like cbs hd, nbd hd etc. so i know im able to view those channels. it only go up to like 1-30 with label (cbs hd, nbc hd, pbs hd etc.), and then next one is 80-1 all the way to like 140 or something like that with no names.

so i went into channel list to delete all the channels that was has no name associated cuz i though im will be not able to view it. i remember trying to delete channel 80-1 or 80-something...and strangely i was able to pick up a channel even though there is no name associated with it on the program guide menu. it was some type of betting channel...i think it was the horse tracking otb channel.

so if im able to pick up this channel..gods know what i can pick up. unfortunately, my 260 scan about 300 cable channel and 0 ota channel since i just took out my antenna and swap it with signal splitter instead.

so now i just have to go thru all the 300 channels one by one to see im able to pick up more channel? any1 here that live in nyc and uses their twc cable signal with their 260? if so, can u direct me to a specific channel i can test...cuz i dont think i will have time to go one by one to see if what other channels im able to get.

ps - i dont know if it help..but i have basic analog cable service or box with twc nyc.

There may be no agreement for TW to rebroadcast that station over their lines or something. It doesn't mean they're intentionally blocking it from you.

u mean cbs hd, nbc hd, pbs hd make a deal with tw to broadcast it over their line and "my tv" hd channel didnt make a deal aka give $$$ to tw to broadcast their channel and thus im not able to pick their channel thru my signal splitter?

I tried the cable that runs to my DLP TV where I can see the HD broadcast channels via cable, and I had the same results --- 0 channels.

I exchanged the STB, and the new one does the same thing. Basically there must be some difference between a Cablecard TV (without the CableCard installed) and the DTB-H260F with Comcast in Northern Virginia (formerly Adelphia). I found this article about the ability for a Cable company to be able to "address" the QAM tuner. That sounds likely on a CableCard capable tuner versus a pure QAM tuner.

www.hometheatersound.com/features/videonoise/vn_20040201.htm

Sorry to hear that.

Since you been doing OTA HD since 2000, you seem to know what you're doing. I also have two Samsung SIR-T165 in my office. They don't do QAM. Just NTSC and 8VSB.

My company has two cable card capable LG Electronics 54in sets (NTSC, 8VSB & QAM). They do not have a cable card in them but receive all Comcast Hartford, CT unencrypted QAM channels of which there are SDs and HDs.

1) CableCARD (currently one-way) is a technology built in a TV so that you can access scrambled and subscription programming without the cable box provided by the cable operator. But currently not ON-DEMAND which requires 2-way communications. Read their STB.

2) Would allow the set to display the virtual channels as they would appear on the cable tv companies STB. Most HDTV display channels as major-minor channel numbers, not three digits like 240 that appear in cable tv guides.

3) Appeases the subscribers who don't want to pay rental for a STB on a DTV capable set.

So I don't think that's you problem...I'm really stretching here but I have a saying if it doesn't make $cents, make change...

Assuming you don't have a bad run on 260s...Somehow we must get you to ground zero...

The "raw" cable feed input to the 260 isn't looping through a cableTV box, filter, amplifier and or splitter? And you didn't connect anything to the 260 RF output connector?

Is there a remote possibility to try the 260 on one of your antennas, even if it is the indoor one, just to appease the Gods and see if at least it acquires OTA 8VSB channels? It would be a start, and if it works, you would be able to see how it works with the "Antenna" switch" and the Guide Channel lists, then go back to trying QAM.

I'm stumped, if you DTV is still receiving unencrypted QAM, and it's display indicates SD or HD, then the second 260 should work...Does you DTV offer a signal level meter just to verify the signals are not too low or too high?

Try scanning as cable "standard" not HRC or IRC. Some systems gave those up when they went digital....

You may want to try the Comcast - Northern Virgina forum...you may find a neighbor that will allow you to test the 260 at their house...

Digital..It's either works or it doesn't..there's no in between like analog...When it doesn't work, it may be due to the signal just being out of the capture range, signal ingress from an OTA and also note in this forum, bad RF cables from the street all the way inside the home to the box could be in trouble where on box might work, another doesn't.

How is the analog reception on your cable channels 2 though to 99. Very Good? If the lower VHF 2-6 are snowy and the upper channels are not, could be a dirty, corroded or open connection. If the lower VHF 2-6 look good and the upper channels get progressively more snowy w/ghosting could indicate a staple or near short or crimp in the line or long line loss. Just grabbing at straws...

Does you cable card DTV break-up occasionally on the digital channels???

Good luck...I sure would like to know the outcome...

Z

Yes, I tried the raw feed. No luck. I also connected an indoor antenna to both 260s, and received 18 OTA channels. No problems there.

The HD broadcast channels on the DLP TV show 720p and 1080i. I sent an email to Comcast asking about receiving HD broadcast channels with a QAM tuner, and here is their response. I am stumped.

Thank you for contacting Comcast Communications.

In regards to your inquiry, with a High Definition built-in television you will be able to receive all HD programming from your local broadcast channels.

If you have any further questions please contact your local customer care center at 1-888-COMCAST, our representatives will be more than happy to assist you with your concerns.

Thank you for choosing Comcast.

I am almost interested in getting small LCD with QAM built-in just to try it. Currently, my 23" LCD with SIR-T165 receives the OTA channels with the indoor radio shack antenna. However, sometimes my wife has to fuss with the antenna if reception drops.

Yes, I tried the raw feed. No luck. I also connected an indoor antenna to both 260s, and received 18 OTA channels. No problems there.

The HD broadcast channels on the DLP TV show 720p and 1080i. I sent an email to Comcast asking about receiving HD broadcast channels with a QAM tuner, and here is their response. I am stumped.

Thank you for contacting Comcast Communications.

In regards to your inquiry, with a High Definition built-in television you will be able to receive all HD programming from your local broadcast channels.

If you have any further questions please contact your local customer care center at 1-888-COMCAST, our representatives will be more than happy to assist you with your concerns.

Thank you for choosing Comcast.

I am almost interested in getting small LCD with QAM built-in just to try it. Currently, my 23" LCD with SIR-T165 receives the OTA channels with the indoor radio shack antenna. However, sometimes my wife has to fuss with the antenna if reception drops.

So J...

At least it's not totally dead and you were able to view OTA channels. At least it verifies you're using the input connector on the STB...and you whitnessed the difference in placing the STB on "Antenna" verses "Cable"...which makes a difference.

Comcast indicated it should work, you do receive HD on another DTV and you actually used that cable and others to feed into the STB box, but it didn't receive.

You didn't answer if you cable analog channels (2-<99) are noisier or impaired in any way that may indicate a signal level or interfering signal ingress.

I don't think you noted if you happen to be in the back yard of a high power TV station tower...but I think you would have...

Puzzling that no (0) channels show up in the cable scan. When you're on cable, scan standard, push the round OK button, you see the bar graph move left to right, channels scanning, depending on what DTV channel you left it on, something like 2...72, 73...80, 81, 81...135. You see that and did not notice the channel numbers blink dark as it locates and stores the channels in the list?

Somehow, baring poor Comcast in Virginia cable service, or something unique about your drop, (you are at least a legal basic + extended package subscriber) it's like you're STB is not switching to cable or theres no signal getting into the box. That's why I had asked about the stinger, center F pin, usually 1/8 inch extended out the the F connector, not recessed or shucked in like when a cable is pulled back from the connector...

If the scan does not go to 135 (note it raps around depending on what channel it was last tuned to), but stops in the double digits, never displaying triple digits its just scanning AIR channels.

Still thinking...

Z

u mean cbs hd, nbc hd, pbs hd make a deal with tw to broadcast it over their line and "my tv" hd channel didnt make a deal aka give $$$ to tw to broadcast their channel and thus im not able to pick their channel thru my signal splitter?
Or something simpler, like trading for ad space.

So J...

At least it's not totally dead and you were able to view OTA channels. At least it verifies you're using the input connector on the STB...and you whitnessed the difference in placing the STB on "Antenna" verses "Cable"...which makes a difference.

Comcast indicated it should work, you do receive HD on another DTV and you actually used that cable and others to feed into the STB box, but it didn't receive.

You didn't answer if you cable analog channels (2-<99) are noisier or impaired in any way that may indicate a signal level or interfering signal ingress.

I don't think you noted if you happen to be in the back yard of a high power TV station tower...but I think you would have...

Puzzling that no (0) channels show up in the cable scan. When you're on cable, scan standard, push the round OK button, you see the bar graph move left to right, channels scanning, depending on what DTV channel you left it on, something like 2...72, 73...80, 81, 81...135. You see that and did not notice the channel numbers blink dark as it locates and stores the channels in the list?

Somehow, baring poor Comcast in Virginia cable service, or something unique about your drop, (you are at least a legal basic + extended package subscriber) it's like you're STB is not switching to cable or theres no signal getting into the box. That's why I had asked about the stinger, center F pin, usually 1/8 inch extended out the the F connector, not recessed or shucked in like when a cable is pulled back from the connector...

If the scan does not go to 135 (note it raps around depending on what channel it was last tuned to), but stops in the double digits, never displaying triple digits its just scanning AIR channels.

Still thinking...

Z

I don't notice any particular noise on the analog cable channels. Yes, I am a valid subscriber to basic, digital, HD, and DVR service. I just want stable HD on a third TV in house.

Yes, I am familiar with dark font for the channels that are stored in the channel manager. My Samsung DLP has a similar user interface. On the DTB-H260F, none of the channels turn dark. Yes, it scans all the way up to 135, or as you said it wraps around if you start in the middle. I scanned with standard, HRC, and IRC.

It has me totally perplexed. I might give it one more round this evening, but as for now I have the SIR-T165 reconnected with small radio shack antenna. BTW, the reception seems marginally better on the DTB-H260F for OTA but not enough to get me to keep it. It is much smaller than the old SIR-T165, which is nice.

i dont think u understand what i want to "force tune" a channel to do.

let's me make this clear. for example, i have a pioneer dvr 640...it is able to pick up local analog channel, tnt, tbs, and food channel. lets say im away from home. and before i leave my home...cbs channel is the last channel i watch on my dvr. now at 8 pm...i want the device to automatically..the key word..automatically to tune to fox channel. with my dvr...i can program to change the channel from cbs to fox.

now with the 260...how is this possible when i have "no program" info to select from to make it on the reserve timer list to change from channel to channel when im not home? so i dont think "force tune" will work in my case.

any1 ^^^^^? true of false?

Get one of those VCR+ type remotes that can be set up for the 260, program the remote to change the channel for you. Or simply don't leave the box on CBS when you leave.

Get one of those VCR+ type remotes that can be set up for the 260, program the remote to change the channel for you. Or simply don't leave the box on CBS when you leave.


hmmm...i have a harman kardon tc30 universal remote which is the same as the logitech universal remote. so i can program my remote to change the channel on my 260 at a specific time with vcr+ code? how so u enter that vcr+ code on the 260 or is u put that on the remote? but i gotta make sure the remote has a line of sight to the infrared of the 260.

anyway, i dont think logitech/harman kardon universal has this vcr+ capablity.

leaving to the channel i want to record will not work. let say i want to record something at 8 pm at fox hd, then at 9pm to automatically switch to nbc hd so i can start recording.

so i think i have to either go with vcr+ code which i highly doubt it would work or start complaining to my cable provider telling them to provide program info to my 260 box or i will start calling my lawyer. i dunno.

btw, my pioneer dvr 640 also have vcr+ capablity and i dont even use this feature...i just use the timer feature where i want to record to a any channel i wanna at any time i wanna.

I haven't even touched a VCR+ remote in over ten years, so I couldn't tell you the procedure for it. Best suggestion is to read the manual, slowly and carefully.

Also, I really doubt that throwing the words "lawyer" or "sue" at them as step one is going to get you very far. Call it a hunch.

Re: all those who want to do timed recording of HD chanels:

Use the electornic program guide feature on the 260 to select the channel and show at whatever time in the future you want to record something. The s-video and composite video and audio outputs on the 260 will automatically output whatever the box is tuned to.

So, when the device switches itsellf to the appropriate channel/show, if you use the s-video or composite outputs as inputs to your DVD recorder (I use the RCA DRC8052N) and make sure its clock is synched with the time on your 260, and that the appropriate input (AV1 if that is where the Samsung's output's are hooked into) is selected as the source to record, Viola! you can record whatever is being tuned into by the 260. Works like a charm for me.

So, when the device switches itsellf to the appropriate channel/show, if you use the s-video or composite outputs as inputs to your DVD recorder (I use the RCA DRC8052N) and make sure its clock is synched with the time on your 260, and that the appropriate input (AV1 if that is where the Samsung's output's are hooked into) is selected as the source to record, Viola! you can record whatever is being tuned into by the 260. Works like a charm for me.

Do you have to leave the power on to the 260, or will it wake itself up if you don't?

Do you have to leave the power on to the 260, or will it wake itself up if you don't?

Yes, you have to leave the power on.

And, the program info must be there to select the time you want the 260 to switch channels.

B.T.W. one station in my area WTVR-DT Richmond has data for a week ahead, most others have 12 hours.

If I understand vincentnyc correctly he already knows how to do timed recording via OTA ATSC antenna on his Samsung because the antenna is supplying the information to the epg.

But when he quits using antenna and uses cable with QAM he is finding that his cable provider is not passing the info to generate the EPG and consequently he will not be able to do timed recordings.

-DoNb2

If I understand Vincint correctly he already knows how to do timed recording via OTA ATSC antenna on his Samsung because the antenna is supplying the information to the epg.

But when he quits using antenna and uses cable with QAM he is finding that his cable provider is not passing the info to generate the EPG and consequently he will not be able to do timed recordings.

-DoNb2
Can't help there. I have Dish with a DVR. If I do want an additional DVD recording, I just select/schedule the AV2 input on the DVD player at the correct time and have the Dish's scheduler select the correct channel. When it is recordng a show, the output is also available on the Dish tuner box's s-video and composite outputs, which I have set up as the AV2 input to my DVD recorder.

You may be right in questioning the Radioshack splitter, but even with a theoretically perfect splitter the power level of the signal is going to drop.

I have no specific recommendations as to what splitter to use but can offer this information that derived from:

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/glossaryR.html#splitters

A perfect 2-way splitter delivers 1/2 the original signal power to each tap (3 dB loss). A perfect 4-way splitter would deliver only 1/4 the original signal power to each tap (6 dB loss).

The bottom line is that if you want to split 4 ways and not lose power you will need an amplifier to boost the signal back to the original signal power level. Even then noise from the amplifier will not provide the same signal quality of the original. The amount of degradation will depend on the quality and specs of the amplifier.

The parent page to the one cited above is a very good source of information about digital TV and is:

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/

dmatch

just got an atronix 3-way splitter that somone here recommended which is almost the same specs as the 2-way spiltter i had...1000 Mhz...one port said 7 dbs, the other 2 said 3 dbs...didnt notice any difference between my 2-way splitter vs 3-way splitter. WAYYYYYY better than the crappy radioshack one.

If I understand vincentnyc correctly he already knows how to do timed recording via OTA ATSC antenna on his Samsung because the antenna is supplying the information to the epg.

But when he quits using antenna and uses cable with QAM he is finding that his cable provider is not passing the info to generate the EPG and consequently he will not be able to do timed recordings.

-DoNb2

yes Donb2...u quoted me quoted me correctly. and by the look of it...it looks like im SOL. that's why i hate dvd recorders/ stb tuners that uses program guides to tune to a channel. it should instead allow u to tune to a channel base on the time u specify.

that's why the pioneer got rid of the tvgos guide feature from their previous dvr recorders and implement time recording instead and vcr+ (which nobody used anyway).

"WAYYYYYY better than the crappy radioshack one. " - I am pretty sure RS gets a few dollars for their splitters also.

-DonB2

fyi...just went thru all the available channels by browsing them one by one...looks like i got more channel than ota...plus i was able to view pay per view porno channel for free!!!! yes!!! i love my 260!

fyi...just went thru all the available channels by browsing them one by one...looks like i got more channel than ota...plus i was able to view pay per view porno channel for free!!!! yes!!! i love my 260!
Most likely your neighbors watching something through On-Demand, or as those with this unit like to call it, On Our Neighbor's Demand.

ok i mention before this before...i have my 260 connected to my logitech 5.1 surround thru fiber optical. well today...my surround sound system has turn off a total of 6-7 times by itself!!! someone here mention that a surround system here turn itself off for some reason like overload?

well i have my 5.1 also connected to my ps3 thru fiber optical and my dvr connected to it thru coaxial and it never turns itself off. i checked all my connection and everything is tight.

so it has to do with the 260...what else can i do to get rid of this annoying problem?

Maybe there's something wrong with the optical port the 260 is using. Swap it with the one your PS3 is using, if that fixes it take the receiver in for service.

Maybe there's something wrong with the optical port the 260 is using. Swap it with the one your PS3 is using, if that fixes it take the receiver in for service.

good thinking.... i did purchase a cheap $10 fiber optical cable from j&r store. dont know if it has do with it. but my other ps3 fiber optical is from monoprice though and it also cost about $6.

I've tried hooking one of these tuners up to three different Toshiba SDTVs using 480i output over component video and I get a heavy purplish tint on the screen. This tint does not appear when using the S-Video or composite outputs and I've tried multiple component cable sets. Also, when the device is hooked up to my Syntax Olevia HDTV I get a normal picture using 480i output.

Has anyone got any ideas what I should do? The SDTVs are the target for the device as my Syntax has an integrated tuner, but I'd really like to have the OSD usable. The shop where I bought this is an hour away and I'll try swapping units at the next opportunity, but if someone's got an idea that can save me a trip I'll be in your debt.

but if someone's got an idea that can save me a trip I'll be in your debt.
I know it's simple, but have you inverted two of the plugs? I'm not sure what happens when one does that...

By chance, are your Toshiba's "Component inputs" really "Color Stream" ?

Has anyone gone to this tuner from a LG LST-3510A? I'm wondering how the picture quality and reception compares.

I know it's simple, but have you inverted two of the plugs? I'm not sure what happens when one does that...

For giggles, yes. Swapped Pb and Pr with the result of a purple tinted picture with negative colors.

By chance, are your Toshiba's "Component inputs" really "Color Stream" ?

Toshiba has been calling all of their component video connections "Color Stream" AFAIK. All the TVs had various DVD players previously connected, including Toshiba, Daewoo, Sampo and Denon models. None of those players exhibited any problems.

Found this elsewhere on the net:

"First question would be, is this the first time you have used that input socket on your TV?

If so, this could just be a case of your TV having very poor factory default settings.

EVERY new HDTV that is shipped comes with default image settings, and I guarantee you that they will all need adjustment to get the best colour balances and image accuracies. I've known of people oblivious to the poor quality of their screen's output until they were calibrated by friends months after they were purchased, and their entire High Definition viewing experience was transformed.

The settings made are saved per connection on the TV."

Now I know you're using SDTVs, but the problem and solution might be the same.

I've tried hooking one of these tuners up to three different Toshiba SDTVs using 480i output over component video and I get a heavy purplish tint on the screen. This tint does not appear when using the S-Video or composite outputs and I've tried multiple component cable sets. Also, when the device is hooked up to my Syntax Olevia HDTV I get a normal picture using 480i output.

Has anyone got any ideas what I should do? The SDTVs are the target for the device as my Syntax has an integrated tuner, but I'd really like to have the OSD usable. The shop where I bought this is an hour away and I'll try swapping units at the next opportunity, but if someone's got an idea that can save me a trip I'll be in your debt.

Try using a different component cable set. I've seen RCA connectors that are out of spec enough that the center conductor doesn't make contact.

good thinking.... i did purchase a cheap $10 fiber optical cable from j&r store. dont know if it has do with it. but my other ps3 fiber optical is from monoprice though and it also cost about $6.

Does your receiver cut off with 5.1 decoding, just 2.0, or both? I don't have my samsung 260 anymore, but can you change the audio sampling rate the 260 outputs?

I've had this receiver for almost a month now. I'm solidly in the fringe with signals ranging from 65-150 miles away. I have 3rd, 4th, and 5th gen. LG tuners (LG LST 3510a, Hughes HTL-HD and D* H20-500 respectively) as well as the D* H10 and I had the Walmart US digital box for a while. Among these, the differences are fairly subtle with what seems to be a general trend towards greater multipath rejection but unfortunately at the expense of lowered sensitivity with the newer models.

With the new Samsung, the improvements in reception for me have been consistent and have held up over time and with changing conditions.The DTB-H260 is more sensitive and provides more stable reception than any tuner I've had/used to this point.

Toshiba has been calling all of their component video connections "Color Stream" AFAIK. All the TVs had various DVD players previously connected, including Toshiba, Daewoo, Sampo and Denon models. None of those players exhibited any problems.

FWIW, I tried this tuner with a 32" Toshiba (don't know exact model number, but it's about 3 years old, 4:3 format SD CRT) with "Color Stream" inputs and I got the exact same problem. A noticeable purple/bluish tint over everything. It does not happen with composite or s-video inputs from the tuner. The component inputs work normally with a Sony DVD player. I didn't really care because the Toshiba was only a temporary tv. The same tuner works perfectly over component with my new HDTV LCD. The only thing I can think is that it's a problem with Toshiba's component inputs.

Hope you figure out a solution!

I came a bit late to the Samsung party, but I decided that I would trot down to my local CC as they had one of these in stock. I have a collection of OTA boxes that include a couple of the RS Accurian boxes and one of the original Wallyworld USDTV/Hisense units. Anything I am actually watching in HD I watch on the big screen with my overhead FP unit using component up to 1080i. I do not have HDMI.

From what I previously read here and elsewhere, it looked like the 260F might fit the bill for me and improve my overall viewing quality, so I bought one.

Here's my take on it after spending a couple hours with it this morning:

Pros: More multipath tolerant and reasonably good sensitivity. As I don't have HDMI to compare, all I can say is that it looked great over component. It's also a nice space-saver.

Cons:

-They really need to do a serious software change to fix the 4:3 zoom, as it is not useful for anything, it's way too overscanned and there is no good way to view 4:3 if a station is broadcasting HD pillarboxed 4:3. You lose way too much screen real estate with any 4:3 TV, which is what I am using when I don't use the FP, and both of my older boxes do the 4:3 zoom correctly. I suppose they may fix this in a later update if people complain enough, but it is a deal-breaker for me, no excuse for it.

-No menus on composite (as others have noted). Even though I do have component inputs on my TV and this allows me to see the menus, I can't understand why they didn't put them on the S or composite output. My other boxes do this just fine.

-Analog audio output level is too low, even with the volume cranked all the way up on the unit. Since I do not have digital audio, I can't compare the two, but that is another problem.

This unit is very good in some ways, but not $180 worth. Too many minor annoyances, and despite getting one or two channels that I didn't get before, it's too much of a hassle to deal with its various quirks, so back it goes. I'm very disappointed as I really did want to have a more current-generation box like this, but I think I will just wait for one that has been more carefully thought through. Too bad it's essentially the only one out there in the pre-voucher world!

PhiloT, send that to Samsung! Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll land in the inbox of someone who will at least get those points considered.

dbsc, who knows -- there may be a lurker or two from Samsung reading these posts.

Cons:

-They really need to do a serious software change to fix the 4:3 zoom, as it is not useful for anything, it's way too overscanned and there is no good way to view 4:3 if a station is broadcasting HD pillarboxed 4:3. You lose way too much screen real estate with any 4:3 TV, which is what I am using when I don't use the FP, and both of my older boxes do the 4:3 zoom correctly. I suppose they may fix this in a later update if people complain enough, but it is a deal-breaker for me, no excuse for it.

-No menus on composite (as others have noted). Even though I do have component inputs on my TV and this allows me to see the menus, I can't understand why they didn't put them on the S or composite output. My other boxes do this just fine.



If you are using this on a 4:3 TV, you may want to consider one of the new ATSC recorders. Of course, via component, the resolution may be somewhat less, as all of these so far have "SD tuners". I think in general the separate tuner market is in limbo right now -- there will be some real cheap ATSC SD tuners out there in a year or so because of the FCC mandate and the coupon program, and there will be a bunch of DVD recorders (which all seem to have SD tuners now). But it seems like nobody wants to make a separate ATSC HDTV "full def" tuner, since most TVs have them built in now. Samsung is almost the only game in town right now, and I wonder if it will get any better!

If you are using this on a 4:3 TV, you may want to consider one of the new ATSC recorders. Of course, via component, the resolution may be somewhat less, as all of these so far have "SD tuners". I think in general the separate tuner market is in limbo right now -- there will be some real cheap ATSC SD tuners out there in a year or so because of the FCC mandate and the coupon program, and there will be a bunch of DVD recorders (which all seem to have SD tuners now). But it seems like nobody wants to make a separate ATSC HDTV "full def" tuner, since most TVs have them built in now. Samsung is almost the only game in town right now, and I wonder if it will get any better!

Looks like probably not. I just think it's astonishing that these guys went to the trouble of building a STB without thinking about how people would use it. It really would take so little to fix the glaring flaws that handicap this box, it has so much else going for it. I searched through the Samsung web site for contact info to suggest some changes as dbsc suggested above, but they sure don't make it easy. Looks like you can e-mail from the FAQ area, but I think that's bound to be pretty low-level communication. If anyone has any better contact info, I'd love to get it.

I think you are correct about the industry, which appears to be holding its collective breath waiting for the coupon program and the $60 STBs. A lot can happen in a year.

As I have said on several occasions, a large group of older, rural and/or low-income folks are going to be very surpised to find that they are without any options at all for FREE OTA reception in 2009. Marginal NTSC signals can be watchable, but there is no such thing as marginal ATSC/8VSB, either you got it or you don't. Unless someone develops receivers that are both sensitive and effective at rejecting multipath, a substantial number of the estimated 19 million U.S. homes that are OTA-only are going to be 100% out of luck. It's a real shame that Congress and the NTIA got sold such a bill of goods on this transmission technology, but I guess we're stuck with it now.

A very interesting recent (Mar. 19, 2007) presentation on this subject from the NTIA's perspective can be seen here:

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/dtv/DTV_PublicMeeting_031907.htm

Pay particular attention to the section called "Consumer Education Strategy", and the "options" for those consumers...!

Also, there is a very interesting video (WMV) with with a Q&A session on this page:

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/dtv/media/ntia031207.wmv

Lots of very good questions from the general and tech industry press on this subject. You can decide for yourself how well they are answered.

They really need to do a serious software change to fix the 4:3 zoom, as it is not useful for anything, it's way too overscanned and there is no good way to view 4:3 if a station is broadcasting HD pillarboxed 4:3. You lose way too much screen real estate with any 4:3 TV, which is what I am using when I don't use the FP, and both of my older boxes do the 4:3 zoom correctly. I suppose they may fix this in a later update if people complain enough, but it is a deal-breaker for me, no excuse for it.

Don't count on a fix for it, the previous model the SIR-T451 has the same problem.

dbsc, who knows -- there may be a lurker or two from Samsung reading these posts.
Yeh, it would be cheap and effective market research for them. But....

Yeah, the more I think about it the future Gov predicted ATSC STB for around $50.00 or approximately 100 postage stamps will probably only be SD res and forgore the HD capabilities.

And the Jury is still on on whether we will see true HDMI and Compontent HD on the DVD recorders that are coming out.


PhiloT- if you get ahold of Samsung tell them it is high time they included a remote with some decent range.

And maybe bigger buttons :)

I ahve pretty much given up using the OEM remote but I see I have to do some relearning on my replacement remote to gain Mute/CC combo.

-Donb2

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/dt...ting_031907.htm

I made some comments in bold concerning the URL.

Display All DTV Formats. - What would they be?

RF & Composite(3 RCA Plugs) - Pretty Basic

Programmable remote control - Odd option

Battery operated converter boxes - Why?


Disqualifying Features
•Integrated video displays –No TVs or monitors
•Audio/video recording or playback –No DVD, VCR. HDDVD, BlueRay
•Digital outputs –No HDMI, DVI, VGA
•Sale conditioned on purchase of another item

So much for using the coupon towards a DVD recorder.


In general the user they are going to be handing this coupon out to appear to be a very low end - just want to get a picture on the screen user.
-DonB2

In general the user they are going to be handing this coupon out to appear to be a very low end - just want to get a picture on the screen user.
-DonB2

Precisely. But since they are just really getting around to announcing these restrictions, it seems clear that it was in the manufacturers' best interest to adopt the "wait-and-see" attitude about introducing any new STBs until it was all settled. In the video, I loved how the NTIA guy dodged the question about how many manufacturers were on board with this. Is "several" just one more than two?

As it stands, this Samsung DTB-H260F box would not qualify for a coupon purchase.

While the "coupon boxes" may be less than desirable for people who may be reading this forum, you can bet the same manufacturers will release one or more models that include some or all of the "disqualified" features in order to upsell consumers at the retail level.

I can hear it now, "Naw, you don't really want one of those boxes, this one over here is a MUCH better model..."

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/dt...ting_031907.htm

I made some comments in bold concerning the URL.

Display All DTV Formats. - What would they be?

RF & Composite(3 RCA Plugs) - Pretty Basic

Programmable remote control - Odd option

Battery operated converter boxes - Why?


Disqualifying Features
•Integrated video displays –No TVs or monitors
•Audio/video recording or playback –No DVD, VCR. HDDVD, BlueRay
•Digital outputs –No HDMI, DVI, VGA
•Sale conditioned on purchase of another item

So much for using the coupon towards a DVD recorder.


In general the user they are going to be handing this coupon out to appear to be a very low end - just want to get a picture on the screen user.
-DonB2
Well, yeh, the whole purpose of the rebate is for low-income people who might otherwise lose reception and be pissed. It's not for buying new products for our home theatres. If it were so, it'd really cost the government(us) a bundle! As it is, so many have cable, sat, and/or will buy HDTVs, it won't be needed for most. But who knows how it will shake out. I mean, most of the U.S. public are not like the people here, who actually know a little about TV. Even with the education campaign, we may have people getting these cheap boxes and the rebates that don't need them.

RichBenn,

That is why I find this one odd:

Programmable remote control.

Maybe it is suppose to seemlessly work with a 4:3 tv.

DonB2

ISTM these coupon boxes also have utility for use with VCR and DVR, so it isn't just for "low income" people with old display units.

scott s.
.

RichBenn,

That is why I find this one odd:

Programmable remote control.

Maybe it is suppose to seemlessly work with a 4:3 tv.

DonB2

That would be my quess. You can currently (with your 4:3 NTSC TV) just use your one remote for everything. I'd guess the overriding principle was "make it transparent, as much as feasible while being economical".

Of course, watching that video (posted above, for those that are reading) makes it clear they worked out the details with manufacturers and others. So it's actually kinda surprising they didn't get too far from the mark.

However, none of this helps us looking for a quality HDTV tuner like the Samsung. (OK, feeble attempt to get back on topic! :) )

"ISTM these coupon boxes also have utility for use with VCR and DVR, so it isn't just for "low income" people with old display units."


As long as the VCR or DVD recorder has either RF or Composite input.

-DonB2

As long as the VCR or DVD recorder has either RF or Composite input.
I have yet to see a consumer VCR without at least RF input, and I've only spotted two or three that lacked composite in.

ISTM these coupon boxes also have utility for use with VCR and DVR, so it isn't just for "low income" people with old display units.

scott s.
.
Well, their "stated" policy is not "low income", but some members of congress used those terms when they were talking about it. I guess "piss off as few voters as possible" is the real purpose behind the bill. But it's a no win for them, really. Spend money -- taxpayers unhappy. Don't spend money -- people without tuners very unhappy". Keep NTSC? Companies that gain from the opened up frequencies are unhappy.

Hi, folks. In an effort to return this thread to its actual Samsung topic (thanks for the reminder, Rich!), and feeling largely responsible for getting it off-topic, I have started a new thread here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10192278

My apologies to those who had to wade through all these posts trying to learn about the DTB-H260F!

I got the DTB-H260F a week ago from J&R .

At first I just connect the STB to an old RG-59 cable and put it outside trough my appartment window and I was able to get close to 10 channel in HD and SD from Buffalo/Toronto.

Since with the Terk antenna the signal is much better ...still need improvement I'm doing more testing....I put the antenna outside in a wooden shed beside the house work OK depend of the position and the weather ......
maybe an 4221 outdoor antenna ?...will see :)

For one thing that little box work great !!

Location: Toronto at Warden ave. and Kingston road area basement apartment facing south

Okay, back on the 260 - I found this adapter (http://www.svideo.com/comp2svideo.html) (discontinued) that claimed to convert the 3-RCA component to s-video passively, with only some loss in color. There is actually a thread here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=545225) where someone was asking after such a device too.

Was it real, and if so why can't we find them cheap? It would make a good alternative for those of us currently stuck using the 260 composite/s-video out - we'd gain the use of the menus and guide etc.

I would LOVE to find this kind of cable, if it even worked half way !

The "boxes" I've found that do this were running $500 or so.

I would LOVE to find this kind of cable, if it even worked half way !

The "boxes" I've found that do this were running $500 or so.
Here is the newer one about to be released to solve a similar problem for a new AppleTV box:
http://www.svideo.com/appletv2tv.html

AppleTV Converter
COMP-SVC (Pre Order - Avail. April 30)padUS$139.00

I gotta say, I liked $40 a hell of a lot better.

ok i mention before this before...i have my 260 connected to my logitech 5.1 surround thru fiber optical. well today...my surround sound system has turn off a total of 6-7 times by itself!!! someone here mention that a surround system here turn itself off for some reason like overload?

well i have my 5.1 also connected to my ps3 thru fiber optical and my dvr connected to it thru coaxial and it never turns itself off. i checked all my connection and everything is tight.

so it has to do with the 260...what else can i do to get rid of this annoying problem?
Yesterday, I heard a click from the receiver.
I lost picture and sound.
The receiver was on but somehow the input was switched, it still said input TV but I had to hit the input for TV on the remote to get the picture and sound back.
It was very strange got me a little worried.

it still said input TV but I had to hit the input for TV on the remote to get the picture and sound back.
What exactly said this? If the video out on the box stopped working you wouldn't see any kind of information from it.

Or did you mean that it switched between the cable tuner and the antenna tuner? If that be the case I'd be forced to ask if the click was actually something landing on that button of the remote and clattering on the floor after.

It's not that I don't believe something happened, I'm just trying to eliminate the simplest causes before blaming the hardware.

I finally ordered one of these puppies for $180. No tax or shipping, too. Probably not the best deal but it's from a reputed authorized dealer so I'm happy.

I finally ordered one of these puppies for $180. No tax or shipping, too. Probably not the best deal but it's from a reputed authorized dealer so I'm happy.
I think I paid about the same for mine. I've been very pleased with it.

Ed

So it looks like a 261 model is vapor. Does anyone know anything about firmware upgrades for the 260? As in are there any planned and how would they be applied?

As many have said here having the menus over composite would make things a lot better, and proper scaling of 4:3-in-16:9 transmissions.

Returned mine to CC just tonight. I was very reluctant to do so, but it's just not a finished product, IMHO. If they ever do upgrade/fix the dumb issues, I'd buy it again.

Has anyone seen/tried the Zinwell (AKA Winegard) ZAT-600HD? I may open a thread on that one...

Has anyone seen/tried the Zinwell (AKA Winegard) ZAT-600HD? I may open a thread on that one...
Apparently someone else had that thought, not sure if they did it or not:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9316146&&#post9316146

What exactly said this? If the video out on the box stopped working you wouldn't see any kind of information from it.

Or did you mean that it switched between the cable tuner and the antenna tuner? If that be the case I'd be forced to ask if the click was actually something landing on that button of the remote and clattering on the floor after.

It's not that I don't believe something happened, I'm just trying to eliminate the simplest causes before blaming the hardware.
No the AVR clicked it does that when changing sources something about a clamp.
THe AVR still said input TV.
The OP said that his was completely turned off.
I too thought the cat must have sat on the remote but the input source on the AVR was still TV.
First time this ever happened, hopefully the last.

First time this ever happened, hopefully the last.
I guess I'm out of ideas for good reasons it would do that. If I notice anything odd like that I'll be sure to investigate and report here.

Maybe there's something wrong with the optical port the 260 is using. Swap it with the one your PS3 is using, if that fixes it take the receiver in for service.

ok i did a quick test tonite...first i swapped the my 260 optical cable with my ps3 optical cable..problem still exist..it turns off by itself every once in while. then i swapped the optical ports between my ps3 and 260 and i still got the problem. my ps3 didnt turn off while im playing blu-ray movie or game.

so is my 260 optical port defective? should i try to return it asap?

so is my 260 optical port defective? should i try to return it asap?
The first question, you'd have to get it checked out to know for certain. You could try setting the 260 volume to half and see if that makes a difference. As to the second question, if you can exchange it easily - meaning where you bought it will just swap for another - it couldn't hurt to try.

The first question, you'd have to get it checked out to know for certain. You could try setting the 260 volume to half and see if that makes a difference. As to the second question, if you can exchange it easily - meaning where you bought it will just swap for another - it couldn't hurt to try.

why would changing the 260 volume to half would make a difference? my volumn is control my logitech surround sound system. when i change the volumn on the 260 either way to no volume or max volumn...it didnt make my channel i watch louder or quieter...only when i change the volumn on my logitech 5.1 then i hear a difference.

and yes i bought it from circuitycity..i have up until next week to return my defective 260.

I realize you have a stereo system you're listening to. The 260 has it's own built-in control though, the reason I suggested turning that volume down was to find out if you're overloading the input circuitry of your receiver.

I realize you have a stereo system you're listening to. The 260 has it's own built-in control though, the reason I suggested turning that volume down was to find out if you're overloading the input circuitry of your receiver.

yes i turn it down before this problem occurring...right now it is in the middle. so when i go home tonite..should i turn it all the way down, middle or all the way up?

if i follow ur steps tonite and this problem still occur..then it mean my 260 optical port is defective and return it asap? please let me know. thx.

It's hard to tell you "this part is broken for sure" without being able to see what it's doing myself, all I can give you is a best guess based on what I'm reading here.

If you've already got the volume down on the 260 itself there's really no need to try it twice. Like I said before, if it's easy to get a replacement (and you said it was) then you may as well do it. Just tell them the volume doesn't work right and you'd like to exchange it for another.

It's hard to tell you "this part is broken for sure" without being able to see what it's doing myself, all I can give you is a best guess based on what I'm reading here.

If you've already got the volume down on the 260 itself there's really no need to try it twice. Like I said before, if it's easy to get a replacement (and you said it was) then you may as well do it. Just tell them the volume doesn't work right and you'd like to exchange it for another.

yes i think the best would be to return it to the store and order online again cuz the store doesnt have them...dammit..that mean i have to wait another 2 weeks.

If you're returning it to the store you bought it from, just raise a little stink about them not having one in stock. Don't be rude, just get the point across that they should handle replacement within a reasonable time.

If you're returning it to the store you bought it from, just raise a little stink about them not having one in stock. Don't be rude, just get the point across that they should handle replacement within a reasonable time.

yes i just called 1 circuity store and they have 1 in stock. but im very skeptical they will have it. cuz last time when i went to another store and they said they have 1 "open box" in the system...they coudlnt find it.

but i will give it a try anyway today to see if they can find that 1 they said.

I realize you have a stereo system you're listening to. The 260 has it's own built-in control though, the reason I suggested turning that volume down was to find out if you're overloading the input circuitry of your receiver.

The volume button on the remote does not affect the digital output, only the analog.

At least on my Denon 3300, if the digital sound out is set to PCM on the 260, the volume control has effect, but not when set to DD.

scott s.
.

just as i expected...there was none 260 in the store even though the system said 1. im gonna check another store tomorrow...they said they have 2 in their system.

i found something interesting...here are my current setup:

1. westinghouse 37' w3 1080p lcd monitor
2. analog twc cable box
3. samsung 260

i have my cable box connected to my westy tv thru composite...all stuff are reported 480i on the lcd screen when i press the info button on my tv remote. now i have my samsung connected to the tv thru dvi and set my 260 to 1080i max in the back of the unit...and when i press my tv "info"...everything i watch is alway reported 1080i on the lcd screen. but i know better...when i press 260 "info" button..it tell if the content are either 1080i, 720p, or 480i. and i know sometime 1080i/720p shows arent hd content cuz of the black bars left and right.

but anyway...i was watching some movie on my 260 that are 480i. now the picture quality are a little bit better than the 480i content on my cable box connected to the tv thru composite.

now my question is this...the stuff im watching on my 260 which i know are 480i...are they upconverted to 1080i by my 260 unit? or is it my tv that is doing the upconvert? or is it even upconverting at all or my eye is playing trick on me?

For the component and HDMI outputs the 260 puts out whatever resolution the switch is set for, so I guess the answer is yes, it's upconverting when needed. If you unplug the box and switch it to 480i, it will then downconvert any HD content. The composite and s-video outputs are fixed at 480i though.

For the component and HDMI outputs the 260 puts out whatever resolution the switch is set for, so I guess the answer is yes, it's upconverting when needed. If you unplug the box and switch it to 480i, it will then downconvert any HD content. The composite and s-video outputs are fixed at 480i though.

then how come when i bought the 260...it didnt say it in the specs anywhere that it upconvert content?

Dunno, but it's on page 10 of the manual.

If I had to guess, it doesn't specifically say the word "upconvert" on the box because it can do either one as needed, or in the case of a 1080i program when the box is set to 1080i for example it does nothing at all to it. In comparison, an "upconvert" DVD player is intended to make smaller video bigger, and since that's it's (only) selling point over an ordinary player they're bound to hype it up.

ok went to another cc store and they have 1 available..bought it...will see tonite and over the weekend if this unit have any audio problem with the optical port like my defective one.

I have a 260, and use it exclusively to receive qam signals from cable. I've noticed recently that all references on the Samsung site and even on the packaging of an actual unit refer to it as a "HDTV Terrestrial Receiver" and say that an antenna is required, etc., with nary a mention of the qam capability. What's the deal? Are newer 260 units still able to do qam, or has this function been disabled? Just curious.

I'm pretty sure that all of them can do QAM. Anyone beg to differ?

If you look in the specs it will say "8-VSB, QAM (free channel only)" or something to that effect. The QAM capability of the box isn't nearly as useful as the OTA since not all cable providers transmit any content in unencrypted QAM and those that do only transmit a few. It seems that's their take on it, so they're talking up the OTA capabilities more than the QAM.

Yes - this box is being touted for it's OTA capabilities - the thinking is that most people who would get HDTV over cable are getting it via a box from their cable company. Given industry trends - I'd say that just about everything EXCEPT stuff available OTA will eventually be encrypted QAM, it's just a question of when. Comcast Chicago is already doing this.

I have the most basic (cheapest) cable and HS internet from my cable provider. At present, all the expanded basic channels are available in clear digital format, so the QAM capability of the 260 is a wonderful thing! I figure the cable co. is gearing up for the digital switchover and will eventually rearrange channels so they'll replace the existing analog ones. Right now, I don't care about HD--just using old-fashioned 480i and lovin' it!

all the expanded basic channels are available in clear digital format
If Charter did that here it might be worth $15 a month! Sadly your situation is the exception, not the rule.

Oh, and don't bring it to their attention. They may not be doing it on purpose.

I have a 260, and use it exclusively to receive qam signals from cable. I've noticed recently that all references on the Samsung site and even on the packaging of an actual unit refer to it as a "HDTV Terrestrial Receiver" and say that an antenna is required, etc., with nary a mention of the qam capability. What's the deal? Are newer 260 units still able to do qam, or has this function been disabled? Just curious.
The Samsung predecessor model, the 451, also did not advertise the QAM feature. Looking on the box said nothing about QAM and I don't recall if there was brief or no mention in the manual.

I had assumed that some early version did not support QAM and a later version did, but the packaging and manual were not brought up to date.

For some reason Samsung plays down the QAM capability.

Just had a thought. OTA signals are free as the breeze, but QAM does provide the possibility to receive digital content on cable at a--ahem--bargain price. So maybe Samsung isn't advertising QAM for that reason. It may tend to make the cable folks cranky. Of course, this capability is there with any QAM-capable TV.

Also, I haven't done a science project to prove or disprove this, but I wonder if the number of channels picked up on a cable scan depends on the setting of the resolution switch on the back of the 260. With the switch set to 480i, I get about 350 hits. If it were set to 720p, would it only look for channels with a 720p signal? If that's the case, the number of logged channels would decrease considerably at the higher resolutions.

Man, I gotta quit thinking about this stuff and get to something important, like my taxes!

For some reason Samsung plays down the QAM capability.

Maybe it's because QAM is an afterthought to them instead of a part of the product design.

For instance, QAM channels can have three digits. ATSC channels have only two.

You can enter a two digit channel and then a "-" and a subchannel number.
But if you enter three digits, it won't accept a sub-channel number.

Just had a thought. OTA signals are free as the breeze, but QAM does provide the possibility to receive digital content on cable at a--ahem--bargain price. So maybe Samsung isn't advertising QAM for that reason. It may tend to make the cable folks cranky. Of course, this capability is there with any QAM-capable TV.

Also, I haven't done a science project to prove or disprove this, but I wonder if the number of channels picked up on a cable scan depends on the setting of the resolution switch on the back of the 260. With the switch set to 480i, I get about 350 hits. If it were set to 720p, would it only look for channels with a 720p signal? If that's the case, the number of logged channels would decrease considerably at the higher resolutions.

Man, I gotta quit thinking about this stuff and get to something important, like my taxes!

<->

The 1080I / 720P / 480P / 480I setting is for the display monitor used, has nothing to due with the channel scan "hits". All QAM channels are detected.

What I've noted for the cable scan, standard, HRC and IRC did provide a different results. So one should make sure what their cable system operates with...HRC provide more viewable channels on my system.

Z

Also, I haven't done a science project to prove or disprove this, but I wonder if the number of channels picked up on a cable scan depends on the setting of the resolution switch on the back of the 260. With the switch set to 480i, I get about 350 hits. If it were set to 720p, would it only look for channels with a 720p signal? If that's the case, the number of logged channels would decrease considerably at the higher resolutions.
I'm pretty sure that switch is so the 260 will up- or down-convert the signals to match the TV it's hooked up to rather than getting used as a channel filter.

ok i have a dilema...i still have my so call "defective" 260 with the optical port problem. yesterday..it just turn off once for the whole day...and today when i went home and watch some stuff on my 260 for about 3-4 hours and so far it hasnt turn off at all.

i have the 2nd 260 replacement which i bought today...should i plug that in tomorrow and give me a try for a couple of day and see how it goes?

i just dont get it...why my 260 cuz my surround system to turn off every once in a while and sometime it doesnt happen as often like the other time when it happens 6-7 in about 3 hours! and other time it doesnt happen at all like today.

im afraid if i start using the new 260..it may have more bugs then my current unit....man what should i do?

Is anyone aware that Toshiba is coming out with a HD tuner/DVD recorded STB for close to the price of this samsung;

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-images/models/d-r550/docs/d-r550_spec.pdf

It is on this list of DVD recorders with ATSC tuner.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9531163&&#post9531163

Most DVD recorders with digital tuner (all released so far) don't pass HD signal, or 5.1 audio. It is downconverted for recording 480p, and then upconverted (on some models).

Is anyone aware that Toshiba is coming out with a HD tuner/DVD recorded STB for close to the price of this samsung

Seems that folks believe this Toshiba will not pass a live HDTV signal to the TV, but only 480p. Of course, it will record at regular DVD resolution, 480i, and upconvert during playback.

Have you seen something in the documentation to indicate this will pass a live HDTV signal?

DrBri99; He beat me to the punch. I haven't seen that thread.
wildwillie6; well, I guess that makes that useless to use as a tuner.

See my sig, as that would appear to apply to it.

I haven't seen that thread.
So many threads, so little time.

You blink your eye and something changes.

Anybody who buys expensive/fragile TV or computer-related electronics SHOULD get a very good surge protector. The cheap ones at SuperDollarWorld or whatever don't count (Consumer Reports found out a while back that they don't protect too well against surges).

I have a Hitachi 59 series TV with built in digital tuner. It has been established that these tuners downconvert all signals to 480i then upconvert to 1080i resulting in a softer picture.

Anyway I just purchased and hooked up the Samsung 260. The OTA HD broadcasts are now much sharper and the color appears to be more accurate.

From what I've read the Samsung 260's are supposed to be a better tuner for receiving and locking on signals. My problem is that there is 1 channel that the Samsung won't recognize. My Hitachi picks up the channel with no problem. It actually is a fairly strong channel. What gives? :confused:

Ok...just plugged in my 2nd Samsung 260 unit. Watch it all day and just tonite watching cast away on TNT hd. And my surround sound system just turn off by itself!

So wtf could it be the cause of it? We already conclude that it aint the optical cable or ports on the surround sound system.

I'm really confused. Wtf could it be?

We've established that it's not the cable, not a short somewhere and probably not the 260. That leaves your receiver itself. Do you have another you can use/borrow to see if it also shuts down?

I have a Hitachi 59 series TV with built in digital tuner. It has been established that these tuners downconvert all signals to 480i then upconvert to 1080i resulting in a softer picture.

Anyway I just purchased and hooked up the Samsung 260. The OTA HD broadcasts are now much sharper and the color appears to be more accurate.
That's because you're bypassing that goofball built-in tuner. If it's really set up to downconvert then upconvert bypassing it is probably a VERY good idea. Me personally, I'd raise hell with wherever I bought it as well as with the manufacturer, that's a pretty backwards way of designing a tuner.

From what I've read the Samsung 260's are supposed to be a better tuner for receiving and locking on signals. My problem is that there is 1 channel that the Samsung won't recognize. My Hitachi picks up the channel with no problem. It actually is a fairly strong channel. What gives? :confused:
Digital tuner = ATSC only tuner, or ATSC/NTSC? In other words, how sure are you that the missing channel is actually an ATSC channel? They can label an NTSC tuner "digital" if the tuning itself is done electronically. It's a dirty loophole that's bound to come back to bite a few people.

Digital tuner = ATSC only tuner, or ATSC/NTSC? In other words, how sure are you that the missing channel is actually an ATSC channel? They can label an NTSC tuner "digital" if the tuning itself is done electronically. It's a dirty loophole that's bound to come back to bite a few people.

This is a Dallas, TX station broadcast in analog (8) and digital (8-1, 8-2, and 8-3).

I'm pretty sure that switch is so the 260 will up- or down-convert the signals to match the TV it's hooked up to rather than getting used as a channel filter.

That's correct...

We've established that it's not the cable, not a short somewhere and probably not the 260. That leaves your receiver itself. Do you have another you can use/borrow to see if it also shuts down?

yeah maybe the reciever. i bought my logitech surround system like 2-3 months ago...so can't return it. im just gonna call logitech tech support on monday to see what they say.

:o Well... I solved my own problem. Turns out I had a bad coax cable going to the 260. Weird how all the other channels came in crystal clear at 57 miles from the towers.

Bought my 260 Thursday at Circuit City.

I read an article a couple of months ago about a couple that was still "renting" their phone from the phone company, AT&T I believe, and after years and years, their total cost of the phone was over $2000 in rental payments. Good Lord, you can buy a phone at Walmart for $15, but they just did not know. This got me thinking about my cable service and the equipment rental.

The first thing I did was buy a cable modem at Staples and take the TWC modem back. I know this only saved me $3/month, but it was only the start.

It occurred to me that I am watching TV very little these days and recording very few programs that I am not justifying the $20/month, $240/year, charge on my TWC cable bill. Also, my Samsung DLP has a built in QAM tuner, so I am picking up HD DTV on our system. I may have just gone back to analog channels and no STB, but it just seemed a shame to have a HD capable Syntax Olevia and not to get any HD channels on it at all.

I have been reading this thread and decided to go with the 260 and take my TWC STB back. I kept checking with the Canton and Akron BB and CC, but they either never heard of QAM digital tuners or did not stock them. Finally last week, I saw that Canton CC had them in stock, so I went there Thursday. They were not out on the floor and the salesperson did not know that much about them, but he did look up CC on the internet and saw that they were supposedly in stock at his store. He checked inventory and, sure enough, there was two of them. I got one with a $25 dollar gift card, so the final price was $165.

By the way, I asked the salesguy about the article in the paper about CC terminating their personnel as BB is way ahead in sales and he said that was true and this CC has let go its top three highest salaried salespeople. Oh well, that's competition for you. Anyone remember Sun TV and Appliance?

Back to the 260, I brought it home, took out my TWC STB, and replaced it with the 260. Easy installation, pass the cable in and out and plug the HDMI cable in. Turned the 260 and TV on and had my usual channels on analog. Next, I sourced HDMI and ran the channel scan. Sure enough, I picked up 14 DTV channels with four HD ones.

I did alittle tweaking in terms of deleting no and low signal channels and set things up for my viewing. That was it. Took the TWC STB and remote back on Good Friday and dropped my bill $20/month. Can you believe TWC was charging me .75/month for the remote?

So, at $165, my payback time is 8.5 months, which should take me to December. By then, it's paid for itself. The only thing I miss is ESPN HD, but no one said life was ever going to be easy.

FINALLY !!

Just grabbed a 260 from Amazon/JR . Seemed every time I was diggin' out the CC, the units were on BO.

My "old school" SIR-T151 has found a new home -via- Ebay.

Question: are there any reasonably priced, hard drive based recorders [PVR] that would work with the 260 ? Thinking I could do a pass thru using componet cables.

Question: are there any reasonably priced, hard drive based recorders [PVR] that would work with the 260 ? Thinking I could do a pass thru using componet cables.

There's nothing that can record HD from the 260 that way, but you can record HD downconverted to SD, using most any DVD recorder that has a HDD. Unfortunately those units are becoming scarce as a result of the recent FCC mandate that all new devices that can receive OTA broadcasts must have a digital (ATSC) tuner. See the DVD Recorders forum for information about what's available and where:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=106

If you can't find a DVD recorder that has component inputs, feed the 260's component output to your TV, and its S-video output to the recorder. The 260 doesn't display the on-screen menus and displays via S-video or composite video, so they won't appear on the signal the recorder sees, but you'll still be able to see them on the TV so you can tune channels, etc.

The aspect on the s-video out will be messed up doing it that way for anything except a real SD program.

I'd say a better bet is to build your own. A computer with a video capture device that has component input should work to record HD. You'd have to pick up a powered component video splitter to use your HDTV then, unless the computer could "pass through" the video signals.

(edited, because I forgot the 260 doesn't let you use HDMI and component at the same time)

Just get a HDTV tuner for a PC so you can record one HD channel and watch another HD channel on the DTB-H260F. I use both the DTB-H260F and the OnAirGT alot.

There's nothing that can record HD from the 260 that way, but you can record HD downconverted to SD, using most any DVD recorder that has a HDD. Unfortunately those units are becoming scarce as a result of the recent FCC mandate that all new devices that can receive OTA broadcasts must have a digital (ATSC) tuner. See the DVD Recorders forum for information about what's available and where:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=106

If you can't find a DVD recorder that has component inputs, feed the 260's component output to your TV, and its S-video output to the recorder. The 260 doesn't display the on-screen menus and displays via S-video or composite video, so they won't appear on the signal the recorder sees, but you'll still be able to see them on the TV so you can tune channels, etc.

Yeah, the recorders w/HDD would probably do the trick. No real need for the burner side of the contraption, but the HD is most deff needed. Really not wanting to burn various episodes, but, if thats my only choice.......so be it. It would certainly be nice to simply dump a "feed" into a HDD/Media Tank and then distribute via my Media Server. Ah well...... so much for simplicity :)

dbsc & jeff2631: Just spent a week or so wrasslin' an HTPC. Not exactly my idea of a "good thing".
Used both a Haup and a Cats Eye HD tuner card.
My opinion is: HTPC's are deff not ready for prime time.

dbsc & jeff2631: Just spent a week or so wrasslin' an HTPC. Not exactly my idea of a "good thing".
Used both a Haup and a Cats Eye HD tuner card.
My opinion is: HTPC's are deff not ready for prime time.
Funny, I slapped a FusionHDTV 5 Gold RT card in a 4 year old Dell Precision and it performs flawlessly as my HTPC.

there is a usb port in the back of the samsung 260 for firmware upgrade.

as u may know...i complain about the force tune problem several thread back. do u think if i talk to samsung they would do a firmware upgrade for all of us to resolve this problem?

:) performs flawlessly :)

Read 1000's of threads re: HTPC , and you'll get: 33/33/33 - good/bad/ugly

I'm not interested in HTPC, but thanks.

there is a usb port in the back of the samsung 260 for firmware upgrade.

as u may know...i complain about the force tune problem several thread back. do u think if i talk to samsung they would do a firmware upgrade for all of us to resolve this problem?
The phrase "force tune" is new to me.

I think I recall your explanation in an earlier post. Let's see if I have it right.

By force tune, do you mean the ability to select a future-scheduled program and have the tuner automatically select the correct channel when that program starts?

I have 2 older HD set top boxes, both from DirecTV (an RCA DTC-100 and a Hughes E-86). Both can select a program from the DirecTV electronic program guide (for all satellite channels and local OTA digital channels) and schedule it for future viewing and/or recording by an external VCR or DVD recorder. The recording choice can trigger the external recorder to start recording using an IR "mouse" pointed at the front of the recorder.

The difference between what I have and what (I think) you want is the program guide. My experience with OTA PSIP-based program guides is that they look ahead a few hours rather than a few or more days. I suspect the stations get to choose how far ahead their PSIP program guide reaches. The DirecTV program guide provides me with about 14 days of advance programs, making it much more useful in selecting future programs.

Am I even close to what you are trying to accomplish?

The phrase "force tune" is new to me.

I think I recall your explanation in an earlier post. Let's see if I have it right.

By force tune, do you mean the ability to select a future-scheduled program and have the tuner automatically select the correct channel when that program starts?

I have 2 older HD set top boxes, both from DirecTV (an RCA DTC-100 and a Hughes E-86). Both can select a program from the DirecTV electronic program guide (for all satellite channels and local OTA digital channels) and schedule it for future viewing and/or recording by an external VCR or DVD recorder. The recording choice can trigger the external recorder to start recording using an IR "mouse" pointed at the front of the recorder.

The difference between what I have and what (I think) you want is the program guide. My experience with OTA PSIP-based program guides is that they look ahead a few hours rather than a few or more days. I suspect the stations get to choose how far ahead their PSIP program guide reaches. The DirecTV program guide provides me with about 14 days of advance programs, making it much more useful in selecting future programs.

Am I even close to what you are trying to accomplish?

close...but like i said..the reason i cant "force tune" because i dont use ota antenna and thus cant even get future program guide. i use my existing cable signal and it provides no program guide info what so ever and thus can't select a show to force tune to.

now if samsung come out with a firmware to bypass the need for a program guide all together and use time and date to force tune a channel...that would be an excellent idea!!!

If Samsung is going to put out a F/W update -
1. Make the menus visible from the S-video / composite video ports.
2. On those ports - if it is a 16:9 image ( like a standard HD program) - letterbox it. Better yet - give us some formating options. Treat it like a 4:3 COMPONENT 480i output.

If they would do those 2 things - this would be a great box to start their "DTV Coupon box" from. All they would have to do is not build in the HDMI / Component video / TOSLINK ports.

The idea about a channel / starttime / end time (for a VCR like recording) would also be nice. But this box isn't really being sold as a "free QAM tuner" for digital cable - it just so happens to do it.

Do I use the cables that this comes with to hook it up, or do I buy component cables? Right now I have my TV, Receiver, and DVD Recorder hooked up using component cables and digital optical. What configuration do I hook this up with? The cable from the wall goes to this? Then this to the TV or DVD? Any help or suggestions would be great...
Thanks!!

Ok...So I hooked it up last night. I did get the basic HD Channels, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc...they look great on my new LCD TV...however, I couldn't get the guide to show any information and I couldn't get my regular cable channels, just the HD. So, in order to watch regular cable TV, I had to switch my TV from the Tuner Component, back to TV and that made the picture look grainy. So I unhooked the Tuner and put the cable back how it was through the DVD recorder to the TV and it looked normal again. Am I doing something wrong? I'd like to be able to run the regular cable through the Tuner so as to not switch back and forth. Also, how do I get the guide to work?
Any information would be great on how to work this tuner or even a better way to connect everything. I loved the way the HD looked, but don't know if that justifies $180 if I can't get it to do anything else....

Ok...So I hooked it up last night. I did get the basic HD Channels, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc...they look great on my new LCD TV...however, I couldn't get the guide to show any information and I couldn't get my regular cable channels, just the HD. So, in order to watch regular cable TV, I had to switch my TV from the Tuner Component, back to TV and that made the picture look grainy. So I unhooked the Tuner and put the cable back how it was through the DVD recorder to the TV and it looked normal again. Am I doing something wrong? I'd like to be able to run the regular cable through the Tuner so as to not switch back and forth. Also, how do I get the guide to work?
Any information would be great on how to work this tuner or even a better way to connect everything. I loved the way the HD looked, but don't know if that justifies $180 if I can't get it to do anything else....

Samsung really screwed up when they made this box by not outputing the menus on the NTSC (Composite and S-Video) outputs as well as the component / HDMI outputs. Your new LCD TV should have either or both of the component and HDMI inputs, so use them instead.

To pass regular cable through the Samsung the unit has to be powered on. It appears the RF pass through is active without power the cable signal will be attenuated.

Ok...So I hooked it up last night. I did get the basic HD Channels, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc...they look great on my new LCD TV...however, I couldn't get the guide to show any information and I couldn't get my regular cable channels, just the HD.

Are these HD channels through QAM/cable or OTA?

To pass regular cable through the Samsung the unit has to be powered on. It appears the RF pass through is active without power the cable signal will be attenuated.

To avoid this problem, get a two-way coax splitter and a couple of short lengths of coaxial cable, and feed the TV and STB "in parallel" rather than "in series".

I have a tuning issue.

I'm on Time-Warner in Wilmington, NC. For some reason, the HD channels for FOX and CBS were switched and now they seem to be out of the range of my Samsung!

It seems that when I do my channel scan, I can pick up 79-2 (NBC) all the way up into the 180s (I only have basic cable so I can only get networks and PBS anyways). But FOX was switched from 100-13 to 78-something and CBS was switched from 100-4 to 78-something. Anything below 79 I can't seem to get to and it's frustrating as hell. I've tried reprogramming, etc...but to no avail.

Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong? I try typing in the direct channel for CBS and FOX and it won't work...just kicks it out like I typed a bad number. I didn't think there was a "range" on this box...

I have a tuning issue.

I'm on Time-Warner in Wilmington, NC. For some reason, the HD channels for FOX and CBS were switched and now they seem to be out of the range of my Samsung!

It seems that when I do my channel scan, I can pick up 79-2 (NBC) all the way up into the 180s (I only have basic cable so I can only get networks and PBS anyways). But FOX was switched from 100-13 to 78-something and CBS was switched from 100-4 to 78-something. Anything below 79 I can't seem to get to and it's frustrating as hell. I've tried reprogramming, etc...but to no avail.

Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong? I try typing in the direct channel for CBS and FOX and it won't work...just kicks it out like I typed a bad number. I didn't think there was a "range" on this box...

***
Hi GM3131,

I had noted when comparing the Cable Scans for STD-HRC-IRC, on my Comcast CableTV, STD scan lost the lower channels 74 through 78 too. So I compared scans from Standard, HRC and IRC. Again on my Comcast CableTV System, HRC provided the most channels, including the ones below 79.

So see which scan you used, note the channels you get in the "view list" and settle for the one that gets you the most without problems. Or ask your CableTV contact what system do they employ, standard, HRC or IRC...

Hope that helps...

Z

Thanks for the feedback. I tried doing what you said and now I'm running into worse problems...now I can't even pick up the 79's! This basically renders my HD box useless as all 4 channels I can watch (5 if you include TheTube) are all below 80...now it won't go below 81. :(

Is there any way to force this thing to scan from channel 1 on up, or to get it to recognize these other channels...this is frustrating as hell...

At sporadic but moderately regular intervals, my H260F is acting as though the "channel down" button was pressed on the remote. Sometimes as often as every few minutes. Needless to say, this is... annoying.

I've tried isolating all sources of infrared (all remote controls) and then I tried covering up the IR port on the H260F. It still happened. I have to assume at this point that it's something internal to the unit.

Has anyone else run into something like this? Anyone have any suggestions for any debugging tips? Or is it time to dust off the warranty and see what recourse I have?

Well... got my 260 via UPS the other day and hooked it up to the RS1. Damn!!! It sure looks good. It took a while to get it set up properly but it sure looks nice. My cable provider doesn't pass too many HD channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW, PBS and UNIVISION). Each of them also comes with their simultaneous SD digital signals, but that's it. No other stations. Is this standard or are most people getting more stations?

Oh BTW... I wasn't getting an AC3 signal via the toslink cable, but I switched ports on my receiver and it worked like a charm. Strange... but it appears unrelated to the 260.

I got mine the other day and hooked it up to my LCD....The HD looks great...I have standard cable from Comcast, so i get the local broadcast HD channels....does the guide work for anyone else? The channel guide on mine doesn't work, not sure if its because I have basic cable.....

Each of them also comes with their simultaneous SD digital signals, but that's it. No other stations. Is this standard or are most people getting more stations?
Only a few get many stations, the norm seems to fall somewhere between 4 and 8 for those who can get signal via QAM.

Avsforum070414.doc
Thanks for the feedback. I tried doing what you said and now I'm running into worse problems...now I can't even pick up the 79's! This basically renders my HD box useless as all 4 channels I can watch (5 if you include TheTube) are all below 80...now it won't go below 81. :(

Is there any way to force this thing to scan from channel 1 on up, or to get it to recognize these other channels...this is frustrating as hell...

****
Hi...and FYI to other systems...Some "answers" to what one might be considered normal...Short story made long winded...Sorry...

I monitored my re-scan tonight and noted it operated much like other auto channels scan devices. It would start from the channel I was viewing, proceeding up one by one to 135, then go to channel 1 proceeding up one by one until it got back to where it started as the bar graph grows left to right...

At each point when it was tuning, if it found a channel, whether encrypted or not, the "major" number (74, 76, 78, 80...etc.) would blink indicating on the raising bar graph that the scan found a channel and saved it to the list.

An interesting observation, although I get channels 0, 3-1, 8-1, 20-1, 20-2, 30-1, 30-2, 61-1, that during the scan the box doesn't "blink" on those numbers. I believe those are the virtual numbers of the OTA channels that my cable is really carrying in the "physical" 82 number channel "block", at least that is were they were prior to the re-labeling. So my "blinking" didn't occur until the channel scan got up to 74 in my case. And if I was viewing any of the above virtual OTA prior to the channel scan, it would always start on 82-->through-->135-->1-->through-->81, then done with 365 channels...in my case...The Channels on the List is what you punch in...

You can enter a channel directly that is not in the list by just entering it. But it must be on to get it. I assume the scenario would be you never did a scan or you accidentally deleted it from the list. You know it's there, you enter it and then used the add button to put it back in the list...if you wish.

Haven't accidentally locked out channels by choice (delete), rating control or parental locks.

I guess it depends on --> All in MY case on Comcast:

- Cable system capacity and policies on unencrypted (free-OTA) verses encrypted (pay) --> Basic + Expanded Basic = all analog, plus wide band internet. No premiums, No On-Demand, No digital services, No phone...have food and two pets.

-Type of system Std, HRC, IRC --> In my case HRC worked best. Std dropped channels below 79, IRC caused much breakup and loss of channels...

- No filters in cable entrance --> Came out with Internet.

- Others have indicated low signal level to the box, bad splitters, bad connectors --> I have multiple splitters where my box is down two splits, -7 dBm from the entrance. Splitters good to 1000Mhz. There are times when one or more cable OTA get pixilated...I believe that's more "generally" cabled related than box related.

- Note from the time I purchased the DTB-H260F --> My cable company has been in the process of re-alining cable channels. That the QAM of the OTA digital channels that were initially were in the upper 82-dash range, and I believe they still "physically" are, now have been cable "virtually" relabeled to only appear as the virtual OTA channel major-minor numbers like they due if one was watching from an OTA antenna...(They don't know what to call my local PBS, because we don't go by a channel number, just CPTV, so it is channel 0 for now as the Hartford Digital OTA is not on...yet...Or they just goofed, and it's first on the list!).

- OTA reception...dynamic. Better than the SIR-T165 IMOP. But don't have an antenna at home. Took it to my office...another story...

- Note the TV guide works great on OTA antenna like the SIR-T165.

- Note the TV guide currently does not work on my cable as they are not passing any OTA station specific PSIP / EPG at this time. The program ratings do pass. It does display the OTA station call letters my cable system adds, but not for the other QAM cable channels...just lazy???.

I couldn't replicate any one else’s problems, like:

- Channels changing 1--> The IR remote has a very narrow receive angle, have no other devices that have faked it out, wife, kids, pets not playing games...No one sitting on remote like a distant relative...No IR quartz heaters in house...Sunlight not issue...but if you're channel map got corrupted by your cable system changing the mapping and you haven't re-scanned...maybe??? Rescan? Do five finger salute... off, AC power unplug, wait...AC power plugged back in, on, boot. any difference? Service / connections? Or a bad box?

- Channel changing 2 --> The multitude of "free" ON-Demand that pops up above 83 (in my case) may give the illusion of channels changing as neighbors, etc. play with it, FF (through commercials), FF & REV to repeat "good" parts, Stop, Pause, on multiple channels but in different places in time-line...channels turning off when neighbors get tired...Seen that done that...

- General set-up --> I don't have a home theatre, watching on an old color analog 27 RCA in 4:3 . Y Component Menus w/L+R audio on one input in 16:9 letterbox. S Video w/L+R audio on another input. Aspect and Menus only on component. Fixed aspect on S & Video, which depending on program...actors look a little tall in the saddle - but I say, it takes 20 pounds off their weight that cameras tend to add!!!

- Audio - Analog PCM setting. Yes...Depending on channel, could be low or high---> STB Audio 100%, TV @ 25-50%. Haven't played with DD5.1 connected via an optical digital cable to an old Sony STR-DE997 yet...so cannot confirm optical issues...for that matter, haven't connected audio on an 997 either...another story.

- Purchased STB to see how HD worked in the field for cable / ota. Part of what I do...or don't?

I agree Samsung missed the boat not having menus and aspect adjust for video and S.

I "miss" the operational functionally, features and NTSC tuner the Samsung SIR-T165 (No QAM tuner though) has. I have one that is on an analog Sony color 4:3 set in my office and I keep it in letterbox and all aspect ratios are correct for digital or analog. Depending on what I'm watching, it's either 16:9 / 14:9 letter box, or "picture" box 4:3 if a 4:3 commercial goes by in digital. All analog channels are obviously correct full 4:3 screen handling correctly...Don't know why the firmware change on the DTB-H260F??? Samsung Clueless???

- My "free" QAM at the moment, Saturday April 14, 2007 at 0100 AM EDT...
Comcast Bolton System (Basic + Expanded).

DTB-H260F QAM STB (Digital VS Cable Ready TV Analog)

HD - Open QAM:
0 WEDH-HD PBS 1080i 16:9
3-1 WFSB HD CBS 1080i 16:9
8-1 WTNH HD ABC 720p 16:9
20-1 WTXX HD WB 1080i 16:9
20-2 WTXX Tube 480i 4:3
30-1 WVIT HD NBC 1080i 16:9
30-2 WVIT We 480i 4:3
61-1 WTIC HD FOX 720p 16:9

SD - Open QAM of "Basic" services unless otherwise noted as *Expanded:
74-1 CVC Public (5)
74-11 CVC Gov Acc (17)
74-16 CVC Ed (19)
76-8 NECN (20)
77-7 TBS (16)
77-9 ESPN (29) - Noted no default audio from QAM? - (*Expanded).
79-1 C-SPAN (22)
79-2 C-SPAN2 / MSG (98) Time shares
79-7 CNN (62) - Noted no default audio from QAM? - (*Expanded).
79-9 HSN (71)
79-10 QVC (23)
79-12 Headlines News (61) - Noted no default audio from QAM? - (*Expanded).
80-2 WTXX (11) WB
80-3 WUVN (18) IND
80-4 WVIT (4) NBC
80-5 WCTX (9) UPN
80-6 CPTV (7) PBS
80-7 WFSB (2) CBS
80-8 WHPX (10) PAX/ION
80-9 WRDM (13) IND
80-11 WTIC (6) FOX
80-12 WTNH (8) ABC
81-1 CT-N (15)
81-5 Jewelry / Horse Racing etc. (96) Time shares
81-7 WGBY (12) PBS
81-8 WWLP (14) NBC
81-10 CN8 (3)
81-11 EWTN (21)
81-12 Color Bars - Noted no default audio from QAM?-(*Expanded).

83-3 ON DEMAND promos. Displays with two pictures.
83-6 > 121-9 Noted Random on HD / SD Demand.

And I just realized that all of the analog services that are offered on analog basic are SD in open QAM, but not the Expanded that I also subscribe too, except the four I get wth no audio. With an "authorized" digital cable STB, the Expanded SD is there?

Now the question, should I ask that I should get my analog Expanded Basic service which I subscribe too, be delivered by SD open QAM too because I have my own box? Don't care about premium services...Interesting...

Does anyone's STB or DRC ready TV (without card) on Comcast in CT get all their Basic and Expanded Basic too or just Basic by open QAM?

That's it. Noted no new additional "free" Cable provided QAM OTA this week...nuts...

Z

I got an HDMI Cable for mine and connected it to the TV but am not getting any sound from it. I had to hook up an A/V cable to my Tuners AUX input...does this make sense? I thought HDMI carried sounds as well. What could I be doing wrong?
thanks.

You have to go into the DTB-H260F menu, setup, sound output to PCM if your HDTV does not have Dolby Digital.

I'm pretty sure I have it set right....i'll check it again...i shouldn't need anything else besides the HDMI right?

I have an optical cable to my surround sound system for Dolby Digital. If I want sound out of my HDTV, I set the DTB-H260F to PCM. If I want Dolby Digital out of my surround system, I have to set the DTB-H260F to Dolby Digital which also turns off the sound on the HDTV.

i have one digital out on my tv, it goes to my tuner, i have another digital out on my dvd recorder that goes to my tuner as well....there is a digital out on the tuner, but i have no where to plug it to....what is the best way to set this up...

My surround sound system has two digital inputs. I have the optical from the DTB-H260F and a coax digital from my HTPC.

I'll mess around with it, maybe its the settings on my tuner?...

sorceror ,

Are you experiencing this channel change issue via ATSC OTA or QAM?

One possible explanation is that the local ATSC stations are not xmitting the channel info correctly which is confusing your box causing it to flip channels.

This has happened in the past for people with the box rebooting. Maybe flipping channels is a similar issue.

I can't recall how obvious the infrared eye is on the Samsung but maybe you could place tape over it to at least rule out stray IR interference.

I am still betting on station channel issues.

-DonB2

I'll mess around with it, maybe its the settings on my tuner?...

I think it is the receiver itself.
I bought two, one for myself and one for my daughter.
One of the units did not have sound with HDMI.
Looks like a common problem with them.

oh...not good....looks like i may return it....anyone know of a cheaper alternative to this tuner? i like getting the free HD, but don't know if its worth $180....

anyone else have this problem with the HDMI and sound....i'm getting sound, but had to hook up audio cables in addition to the hdmi...

Are you sure that what you're hooking the 260 up to is even monitoring the HDMI input for a sound signal? It's possible the 260 is doing exactly what it's supposed to but your TV or whatever isn't.

That could be it too....I have the HDMI from the tuner going to the TV....then I have a digital optical from the TV going to my receiver....i also have a digital optical from my dvd to my receiver....what could I have wrong?

You might not have anything "Wrong" - it may just be that your TV doesn't pass the DD from HDMI over to the TV optical out. Take your toslink from the TV and hook it into the Samsung (TOSLINK now goes from Samsung directly to A/V reciever) and see what you get. It may also be that your TV can't decode the DD and you need to set the Samsung to PCM mode if you want to us only the HDMI. That would also be something to try.

thanks, i'll try that tonight....

this is the same as having the audio cable from the tuner to receiver, except its the digital optical....it still won't be running sound from the hdmi...

sorry, i'm new to this....what is the advantage of HDMI over component cables?

Not as bulky, HDMI is digital, component is analog. Some sort of copy protection is (for content producers) is built into HDMI. That's as much as I know about HDMI.

Anybody know if you can stretch the image and not zoom? I don't like having the top and bottom cut off. I'd rather have people look fatter ;)

You're talking about SD content on a HDTV I assume.. why you'd want to screw up the aspect ratio like that is beyond me. But your answer is to use your TV itself to do the stretching.

Are you experiencing this channel change issue via ATSC OTA or QAM?

QAM for sure, and I think it showed up once or twice when I was messing w/ATSC. (Reception wasn't optimal so I just put it on QAM rather than worry about getting a better antenna.) I had the IR receiver pretty well covered before but I'll do some experimentation soon with more thorough IR elimination.

I only recall it happening at night, but I don't watch much TV during the day, so I can't be sure. Given the angles and distances, I can't really see it being interference from a neighbor's remote, but I suppose it's possible that something in the house is emitting IR.

I might bust out my Sony video camera with IR mode. You can literally see the light flashing from remotes when the 'nightshot' mode is on.

QAM for sure, and I think it showed up once or twice when I was messing w/ATSC. (Reception wasn't optimal so I just put it on QAM rather than worry about getting a better antenna.) I had the IR receiver pretty well covered before but I'll do some experimentation soon with more thorough IR elimination.

I only recall it happening at night, but I don't watch much TV during the day, so I can't be sure. Given the angles and distances, I can't really see it being interference from a neighbor's remote, but I suppose it's possible that something in the house is emitting IR.

I might bust out my Sony video camera with IR mode. You can literally see the light flashing from remotes when the 'nightshot' mode is on.

I saw on another post where the local cable company was moving their digital stations around ALOT. So he had to re-scan every other day. This doesn't sound like your problem exactly, but I thought I'd mention it.

I might bust out my Sony video camera with IR mode. You can literally see the light flashing from remotes when the 'nightshot' mode is on.

Any digital camera will do that. It does not need to be in nightshot mode.

Jay

Does anyone know if there is a "shortcut" to the Signal Strength Meter?

Currently, I have to press menu, arrow over to channel, arrow "up" to the Signal Strength, arrow "right" to display it.

It would have been nice to have it right on the channel/info display... instead of the bar representing how long the show has been on :)

Nothing in the manual was of any help with it. If anyone else figures out how to jump right to the meter I'd like to know as well!

The best thing I could think of would be to have a learning / programable remote that can do macros. Another blackmark....

Yeah create a Macro for Signal Strength- I agree it should be a one button press. I use it all the time.

I also wish it would save numbers showing peak strength it went to -like my Pioneer does- and also what signal strength dropped to.


BTW has anyone dared yet to try sticking a USB stick or USB HD on the USB port just to see what will happen?

It sure would be great if all we had to do is stick a USB external HD on the USB port, go to EPG select a show to record, and walk away. :)


Sorry for day dreaming ;) But the more I look at what the latest generation of digital DVD recorders can't due the more I wish I could stick my 80 gig USB drive on the Samsung USB port.

-DonB2

I doubt there is any software in the 260 to turn it into a DVR.

I'm also not going to be the first to stick foreign devices on unknown ports of my $180 OTA box. :)

I just found a PDF (9.8 MB) of the instruction manual for the 260, but the forum software here is destroying the URL so I can't post a direct link.
http://www.google.com/search?query=DTB-H260F_om.pdf

[QUOTE=dbsc]I doubt there is any software in the 260 to turn it into a DVR.

I'm also not going to be the first to stick foreign devices on unknown ports of my $180 OTA box. :)

****************

Well, it's part of what I due to past time. A USB cable plugged into a powered port did not acknowledge with new device found with WinXPpro, whether device was powered up after connection or powered up before connection.

Pushing internal "S1" to see if warm-boot would establish connection...made no difference. No data lost, unit returned to original channel.

A USB mem stick boots and powers up. Yet no added menus to DTB-H260F to indicate presence. Power STB off to remove USB mem stick. USB Stick still functional.

Haven't tried a USB Xover cable...yet. Don't know if device is intended to be master or slave...Since it powers up a USB mem stick, appears to be master.

Are the USB ports on Motorola STBs active, master or slave? Can you connect them to a computer or just to a drive??? Xover cable used???

If there was a firmware upgrade provided, manufacture would have to get it in via the USB port via a terminal program.

Z

At this point, all the samsung DTB-H260F tuners are still under warranty, correct?
Is the warranty good if the unit is purchased used?
Has anyone had one in for repair?

any1 here know if the 260 usb port will charge the ps3 controller?

my experience as well: mine also lost all channel call signs and their virtual channel numbers.

and I have quite a few duplicate channels - see my earlier posts.

I haven't found a cure yet.

I am on my 2nd 260F: the first 260F did exactly the above. it would also give out some random time/date when you switch from channel to channel.

I have had my 2nd 260F for a week and so far it has been great: it remembers the call signs, give out the right time/date. BTW, I am using it on cable.

didn't sound like those units are that reliable. knock on wood.

I am on my 2nd 260F: the first 260F did exactly the above. it would also give out some random time/date when you switch from channel to channel.

I have had my 2nd 260F for a week and so far it has been great: it remembers the call signs, give out the right time/date. BTW, I am using it on cable.

didn't sound like those units are that reliable. knock on wood.


I just returned my 260....It never gave the correct time or date, wasn't even close...not that big of a deal though...the guide wouldn't work either....i'll give another one a try soon...

Just received my DTB-H260F. I connected it to my TV via HDMI cable. Set audio to PCM since Dolby is not supported by my TV and I'm not getting any audio. I then ran the RCA audio cables to my TV - just in case - and still no audio. I see some people here are having trouble with the optical or HDMI; however, I don't see anyone having trouble with ANY audio. I'm wondering if I just have a defective box - can anyone help?

Regards,

Marc

I had mine connected with HDMI and got no audio, but did get audio with rca cables....

jzareski,

Thanks for the USB info!!! You are more daring than me!

The Samsung just seems so close to being able to dump digital to the USB port with its built in EPG schedule.

Although I really don't know if USB is fast enough to copy to anyway.

-DonB2

No Signal on all channels,

Last night I tried selecting the Samsung on my tv and got "No Signal Found" on every stored ATSC channel.

I powerd it down and back up and than it worked as normal.

In the past when I reported this I thought that it was only a few channels it could not find. This time it was all channels.

At least I was able to get it working again.

Maybe somehow it thought it was in cable not antenna mode.

-DonB2

No Signal on all channels,

Last night I tried selecting the Samsung on my tv and got "No Signal Found" on every stored ATSC channel.

I powerd it down and back up and than it worked as normal.

In the past when I reported this I thought that it was only a few channels it could not find. This time it was all channels.

At least I was able to get it working again.

Maybe somehow it thought it was in cable not antenna mode.

-DonB2

If it should happen next time, see what it indicates in the upper left hand corner box where the channel number is.

DTV AIR or DTV Cable...Believe me, it is very easy to accidently press that button.

I found out that Comcast Bolton, CT. System is also indicating (by the "info" button) whether the OTA DTV is truly OTA or via a studio feed. Some broadcasters in our state are on a direct fiber feed to Comcast. Guess what that means???

When there is a storm, compare the broadcasters that are only OTA verses via Studio feed....Neat...gives you an idea how good they come into the head end...

Don't know if they due it in any other franchise...

Z

So has anyone seen any new ATSC STB's available besides the Samsung?

Is the market for these really that small?

-DonB2

the only quirk i found with this samsung 260 is it doesnt allow u to set the time u wanna...thus it is alway displaying incorrect time. i dont know how the hell samsung didnt allow this simple feature on this unit.

So has anyone seen any new ATSC STB's available besides the Samsung?

Is the market for these really that small?

-DonB2

Did you see this one?:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=638769

RichBenn,

Nope and thanks.

Sometimes I have trouble making myself aware of other forums on this site.

I especially have fun trying to relocate a post I made using the search function.

Obviously user error.

-DonB2

the only quirk i found with this samsung 260 is it doesnt allow u to set the time u wanna...thus it is alway displaying incorrect time. i dont know how the hell samsung didnt allow this simple feature on this unit.

there may be some problems with the unit. My first 260f had that problem on QAM but not ATSC, and my 2nd 260f displays correct time for both QAM and ATSC.

so you may want to go back and swap it.

came here looking for tuner reviews but found only the hardware forum. i want to hookup an hd tuner to my dell 24" lcd via hdmi to dvi. can't find any 1080p tuners (not supported by the networks yet?). is this unit one of the best ones to get or other better options? tia.

It works well enough - I use an HDMI to DVI-D cable to an LCD display and it works fine.

It works well enough - I use an HDMI to DVI-D cable to an LCD display and it works fine.

"works well enough"...i take that as half hearted endorsement of this type of setup? is 1080i the best available ota tuner? the lcd will not display in 1080i so 720p is the best it will display.

I agree that it works well enough. I'm not going to rant and rave about it since it's basically the only device of it's kind available right now. (If you want to tune QAM and ATSC). It has a few quirks, but it pretty much does exactly what i need it to do.

For me, the most annoying thing is that you don't get any programming guides over QAM. Which TOTALLY sucks.

Not really the devices fault though.

came here looking for tuner reviews but found only the hardware forum. i want to hookup an hd tuner to my dell 24" lcd via hdmi to dvi. can't find any 1080p tuners (not supported by the networks yet?). is this unit one of the best ones to get or other better options? tia.


Look at Reception hardware and it will help with your particular setup. 1080p is BluRay or HDDVD. 1080i/720p is OTA.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=25

"Works well enough" means that the picture is fine - it's just not "big enough / in aspect ratio "on my monitor (a 17" Samsung LCD 4:3). I would greatly prefer a larger 16:9 display to really take advantage of the 260. The 260 WILL let you adjust the aspect ratio / zoom options to best fit on the display for the program - letter box, full, pillor boxed, whatever. Since the 260 with the monitor is my sole means of viewing HDTV - it's better than nothing - but I realize it could be better than it is with the right display.

came here looking for tuner reviews but found only the hardware forum. i want to hookup an hd tuner to my dell 24" lcd via hdmi to dvi. can't find any 1080p tuners (not supported by the networks yet?). is this unit one of the best ones to get or other better options? tia.



No OTA TV station doing 1080p yet, just 480i SD, 720p HD and 1080i HD. I don't think any TV station will add 1080p until past analog shutdown as they put allot of $$ in running analog and digital setup now. Until analog shutdown and sell the old equipment they might start looking adding 1080p as now allot of new Tv's set are 1080p capable. Only Blue-Ray and HD-DVD can put out 1080p and ota the highest is 1080i.

-Willie

I don't beleive 1080P is part of the ATSC specs - so NO broadcasters will be doing 1080P broadcasts. About the best you can hope for is that your display will convert the 1080i to 1080P seamlessly.

hi everyone. i'm a total rookie at this so i'm hoping someone can help me. i have the h260f and comcast cable. my brother has a the comcast HD box and can get all the channels. i've hooked everything up and have configured my samsung unit to auto program all the channels. however, i notice that i can not get to the channels in the range of 12 through 80. i think i can return this samsung and get the comcast tuner and it should do fine but i'd like to keep this samsung. anyone out there have a similar problem and able shed some light on this for me? thanks in advance.

dell widescreen 24" lcd (2407wfp) does not display at 1080i. at least it cannot display 1080i from the upconvert dvd player. 480p/720p/1080p upconverts without a problem. now to find the best price for this tuner...

hi everyone. i'm a total rookie at this so i'm hoping someone can help me. i have the h260f and comcast cable. my brother has a the comcast HD box and can get all the channels. i've hooked everything up and have configured my samsung unit to auto program all the channels. however, i notice that i can not get to the channels in the range of 12 through 80. i think i can return this samsung and get the comcast tuner and it should do fine but i'd like to keep this samsung. anyone out there have a similar problem and able shed some light on this for me? thanks in advance.

It will not tune analog or encrypted digital, you will have to use the tv tuner for analog.

"came here looking for tuner reviews but found only the hardware forum. i want to hookup an hd tuner to my dell 24" lcd via hdmi to dvi. can't find any 1080p tuners (not supported by the networks yet?). is this unit one of the best ones to get or other better options? tia. "

Why are you asking if there is a 1080p tuner out there if your Dell can't support 1080p?

Please unconfuse me.

-DonB2

Well, add another who is not receiving an audio signal to the TV via the HDMI connection. Got video, no audio. The TV is set to "HDMI Auto", the 260 to PCM. Had to run connectors from the "Audio Out" on the 260 to the "Audio In" on the TV and also went Component for the video. Eliminated the possibility of a bad HDMI cable as when it was connected to my DVD player, got audio to the TV via HDMI.

Just talked to Samsung and they profess ignorance of the problem.

I don't think any TV station will add 1080p until past analog shutdown

Not until a long time after analog shutdown. A 6 MHz channel isn't enough bandwidth for 1080p, at least with MPEG2 compression. It's barely enough for 1080i which requires half the data rate.

Broadcast 1080p would require a new set of channels with larger bandwidth, or a switch from MPEG2 to MPEG4 or some other improved encoding algorithm. I think either of these would require new hardware at both transmitter and receiver.

jtbell ,

Back when Direct first started offering MPEG4 it got me thinking that ATSC OTA is outdated already being at MPEG2.

Don

I don't beleive 1080P is part of the ATSC specs - so NO broadcasters will be doing 1080P broadcasts. About the best you can hope for is that your display will convert the 1080i to 1080P seamlessly.


1080p is part of 18 formats ATSC specs.

"came here looking for tuner reviews but found only the hardware forum. i want to hookup an hd tuner to my dell 24" lcd via hdmi to dvi. can't find any 1080p tuners (not supported by the networks yet?). is this unit one of the best ones to get or other better options? tia. "

Why are you asking if there is a 1080p tuner out there if your Dell can't support 1080p?

Please unconfuse me.

-DonB2

the dell lcd supports 1080p (see above post). does not support 1080i or at least it cannot display 1080i from my upconvert dvd player.

Hey...

New subscriber here at AVS, but loved using it as a resource for years. Finally think I MIGHT be able to contribute a little back to the group???

PURCHASE: I won bidding for 2 of the Samsung DTB-H260F's on ebay, used and without remotes for about $70 each + shipping. Had skimmed the reviews and pulled the trigger based on the rave reviews for tuning ability (pull in tougher signals/multipath/etc) and inexpensive price for such a new unit. Was looking to get the additional digital channel content on my older non-HD TVs. Was a little concerned since the seller I purchased from had not hooked them up nor tested them... and was selling many that same way. But I have them hooked up and they work just fine.

REMOTE: Was planning on using/programming a universal remote somehow, but didn't judge how difficult that would be. With the only set top box button being power, obviously a remote is a requirement. After trying a couple existing universal remotes, and failing, I ended up buying 2 Harmony 670's for $105 each at a local CompUSA that is being closed (Also found the Harmony 520 at Wal-mart for under $100 each). Obviously would have been cheaper to buy units with remotes... but I've rationalized it since I use the Harmony's for nearly every AV component in the house. :)

HD 'ready' TV: I have a LCD 16:9 HD ready TV that I first connected units to. Using the component input, the on screen display showing 'weak signal' showed the units were operating right away. It wasn't until later in the day when I had exhausted trying to get standard universal remotes to work, and had picked up and programmed the Harmony remote, that I was able to use the setup to scan for over the air signals. Also learned at this point that unit does not tune the NTSC (standard TV) nor the analog cable signals (I've got to read the WHOLE thread next time!). Obviously I can still use the built in NTSC tuners in my older TV's, but a pain to switch inputs. I've rationalized this by reminding myself that the old analog signals are kaput in 20 months or so?

SD TV: One of the units is for my living room TV, which my wife makes me hide in a armoire (TV cabinet), and is an older standard analog TV with just coax, composite and S-video inputs (no component or HDMI). When I first hooked up a unit here thru S-video, I had no signal... double checked the output switches on back were set correctly and tried all the combinations, still nada... I tried the trick of using just one of the component outputs to the composite input (which is suppose to show a off color display with menus)... still nothing. I ended up moving the unit back to my Kitchen HD ready TV, redoing all the setup/channel search etc. then changing the screen ratio to 4:3 as the last step, and returning the unit to the standard TV. It then worked fine with the s-video output. The signal is squeezed though for some of the stations, and my Harmony remote 'Aspect' button seems to do nothing? Also, I didn't realized how much of a pain not having an on screen channel display would be... BUT decided this time NOT to just rationalize it away!!!

ON SCREEN MENU WITH SD TV???: I have an unused RCA TV downstairs that is 480i (standard definition) BUT does have both component and the XBOX inputs (just a second component with different connector). I took one of the set top boxes down there today and was able to confirm that with the back selectors set to 480i and Component (Y Pb Pr) this STB did sent and the TV did display a standard 480i signal thru the component connections. So... all that is needed is to somehow convert the 480i component signal to a S-video connection??? Even possible??? After checking around online I THINK??? I found such a thing??? There is a Infocus brand Component to S-video connector I've found. It warns that it is for 480i only and is not for progressive signals... I'm quite sure we have a 480i signal here, and can only assume they are using "progressive" as in '480p/720p/1080p' which again is OK since that's not what we have here.

I will try and post a link describing the adapter cable here;
(Dang can't use linky since I'm still a JONG) Try this; search for 'spvideoadpt' at resellerratings place???
(FYI: I'm not trying to sell anything or link credit/etc anything!!!)

I've ordered a couple of these connectors and will repost when UPS Ground gets me them and I've tried it... I'd love comments from the more experienced tech guys, and caution everyone who is using this box on a SD TV that I am NOT SURE YET that this will work!!! I do think it could work, and am sure enough to order 2 to try it out. I guess even if I am wrong (the S-video connection is non-standard or something?), someone may have learned something from my near book length :eek: post here???

How about the real name of a website than just "resellerratings place" ?
EVERY Component to S-video adapter I've seen is at least $160.

Site controls will not let me enter anything even close to a URL... even when I changed it to D O T C O M at the end it refused to let me post. I wonder if even this one will get thru? Anyway, you can use the D O T C O M as a clue! :)

Also want to point out that all the converting from a HD signal like 720p or 1080i down to the 480i is being done by the set top box in this example. I think the expensive units you refer to are also doing that function?

URL for the item timvwcom found - http://shop.resellerratings.com/PD-22849937/vk-22849937

BTW - if you had said shop dot resellerratings dot com /PD-22849937/vk-22849937
that should have worked

Another comment - it looks like this cable is to go the other way - S-Video to component - to those projectors listed in the description.

THANKS Scooper!!! I tried to reply to your PM but message was blocked again due to the auto quote of your entering the found URL, figured I'd send it here.

Here is exact text from resellerratings;

(S-Video To RCA Cable, Manufacturer: InFocus, PN: spvideoadpt, UPC: 000049018349)

SP-VIDEO-ADPT is a component to S-video adapter cable for InFocus LP500/530, InFocus X1, and the ScreenPlay 4800 only. It is only compatible with 480i signals. Not for use with progressive signals.

And here from Infocus web site (I ordered directly from them);

Description: Supports connection from the S-Video port on your InFocus digital display to Component Video for use with DVD players, HDTV Receivers, etc. Compatible with 480i signals; not for use with progressive signals.
UPC Code: 797212569936

I can read first bold as FROM COMPONENT TO S-VIDEO, second as S-VIDEO TO COMPONENT, and the last as an output from DVD or HDTV INTO a TV??? (Edit; Scooper could be right if used to go from a S-video output on DVD etc to a 480i component input on TV/Display? I assumed the reverse.)

Will find out in a few days I guess? :)

Please post your results - if it works - I'll be getting one pronto.

Because of Scoopers insightful comment about the possibility of this cable working in reverse of how I would need it too. I spent a couple minutes searching for info on the models of Infocus projectors that are listed as compatible...

For the 2 of 4 supported projectors I checked, there are NO standard component inputs, but ARE S-video inputs... meaning (I think) it IS LIKELY to work the way I wanted. Using a 480i component output and going into a S-video display input.

Thought I'd let you know what I found. Let me know if you find more...

Here is some more from an old review of a 3rd supported Infocus projector (X1).

The connector panel features a single VGA port through which you may feed either computer SVGA or XGA signals, as well as HDTV 1080i, 720p, and component 480p. There is a special seven-pin S-video port that is a bit different than you find on most projectors. You can use it as a regular S-video input, but it can also be used as a component video (480i) input as well by using a special cable adaptor that comes with the unit. It is not particularly clear in the manual, but the S-video/component port does not recognize component 480p, and conversely, the VGA port does not recognize component 480i. So you need to make sure to feed these signals into the appropriate ports.

What the??? Now I have no idea... Anyone have this projector? Is there some sort of S-video input format selector??? Or are they talking about the CABLE being different??? I'm going to stop looking online and wait for the cables... :)

(Edit: I lied, here is more from different spots on the interweb thingy.)

From projectorcentral dot com;

So the alternative, S-video, is a MUCH better solution. An S-video cable actually carries two separate signals, one for luminance (Y) and one for chrominance or color (C). The Y signal is the same as in the native component video format. And the C is simply a combination of the B-Y and R-Y color difference signals. (Sometimes you will see S-video referred to as Y/C.) By keeping luminance and chrominance information separate on two wires it prevents most of the signal degradation that is inherent in the conversion to single-wire composite video.

And from michaeldvd dot com;

Remember that the component video signal is split into three parts; black and white information (Y), and two colour difference signals (Pb and Pr). The S-Video connection keeps the all-important black and white (Y) information separate, and combines the colour difference signals into a single colour signal (C). Instead of three separate signals going to the display device, there are now two separate signals.

As you would expect, combining the two colour signals results in a degradation of the colour information. In the grand scheme of things, this is a fairly minor degradation, and you still get an exceptionally good picture from this signal.

(Second Edit...)

Even more from online... this time I think it is bad news. From videoessentials dot com describing the process of creating S-video from component;

The best possible picture quality can be obtained when the component output(s) of a DVD player is routed to the display device's component input, assuming both player and monitor have this capability. If this type of interface is not available, the next best option is the S-Video, or Y/C coupling. In this case, the DVD player internally combines the two color difference signals to the C of the Y/C. That's accomplished by first reducing the amplitude and bandwidth of both signals, then phase-modulating each of them onto their own 3.58 MHz carrier. The two modulated carriers are placed on the single channel, making up the chrominance, or "C" part of the S-Video signal. The other half of the S-Video connection, the "Y" or black and white component, is carried over from the luminance channel of the component signal. The "Y" side of the S-Video signal is delayed in time to compensate for color signal processing time. Otherwise it should remain unaffected in quality. If you have an opportunity to compare the component video with the S-Video you'll notice a loss in color detail and an increase in noise in the color portion of the signal from the S-Video connection.

"You've sunk my battleship..." Argh...

"You've sunk my battleship..." Argh...Yep, unlikely the *dongle* is doing all that.

Probably just has extra pins for (480i) component in.

I thought that dongle looked a bit "cheap" to be the real solution....

The projector s-video "adapter" was actually covered elsewhere on the site at least once. Too lazy to search for it right now though.

Can someone tell me why it's so hard to just couple the other two wires to get an s-video out of component if the only difference is those two are a combined signal? Or at least have some simple circuit to couple the other two signals?

timvwcom ,

I'll never understand what happens to the missing remotes in those EBAY ads.


-DonB2

"the dell lcd supports 1080p (see above post). does not support 1080i or at least it cannot display 1080i from my upconvert dvd player. "

Sorry still don't see your other post that says the Dell supporst 1080p. I must be blind.

-DonB2

S video to component.

I think Bose units have a cable that converts S video into Component. But the kicker is it is done internally thru software.

Consequently the cable will not work on a standard S Video out.

Maybe that is how the Infocus does it.

-DonB2

I picked up one of these from CC for $160 as an open-box special, to use as a QAM tuner for my Comcast service. I just wanted to get my local network affiliates; if anything else happened to be distributed in the clear, I considered it a bonus. I can receive the ABC and CBS affiliate, but the NBC affiliate is apparently delivering both HD and SD content on adjacent subchannels and the tuner is having fits because of it. It won't lock onto one or the other reliably, and will often "reboot" as has been reported elsewhere in this thread. When it does lock onto the HD stream, the picture is gorgeous. It just won't stick around for long :(

My bigger problem is that the tuner generates an annoying high-pitched oscillator whine while it's on. Is this common? I tried searching the thread, but nothing came up. I can return it to CC, but I'm not sure what they'll replace it with since it was open-box. I'm also wondering if the noise is related to my inability to pick up the NBC affiliate.

I picked up one of these from CC for $160 as an open-box special, to use as a QAM tuner for my Comcast service. I just wanted to get my local network affiliates; if anything else happened to be distributed in the clear, I considered it a bonus. I can receive the ABC and CBS affiliate, but the NBC affiliate is apparently delivering both HD and SD content on adjacent subchannels and the tuner is having fits because of it. It won't lock onto one or the other reliably, and will often "reboot" as has been reported elsewhere in this thread. When it does lock onto the HD stream, the picture is gorgeous. It just won't stick around for long :(

My bigger problem is that the tuner generates an annoying high-pitched oscillator whine while it's on. Is this common? I tried searching the thread, but nothing came up. I can return it to CC, but I'm not sure what they'll replace it with since it was open-box. I'm also wondering if the noise is related to my inability to pick up the NBC affiliate.


Maybe you can return the open box item and get a new one using a $15 off coupon....

jdrumm ,

Slap an antenna on it and search for OTA channels and see if the whine goes away.

It could be that someone retured it because of that whine.

Very interesting observation about the two adjacent channels.

And BTW - mine makes no sound that I know of.

-DonB2

Finally picked one of these up through Circuit City online (now that there appears to be an abundance of stock in the channel), as well as the Philips PHDTV1 antenna.

I've read enough of this thread that setup was pretty easy. Plugged it in using the component cables (my HDMI input on the monitor is being used by an upconverting DVD recorder that is also my NTSC/analog cable tuner). Routed analog audio to the monitor directly, and hooked the optical audio to the AV receiver (had an issue with my first cable from Monoprice, but an old Monster I had around worked perfectly). Set it for 720p and component.

Plugged the antenna in, did a channel scan for antenna and immediately picked up 20 or so channels/sub-channels. I'm ~25 miles from the broadcast antennas here in LA, but it's pretty much line of sight from the house, and I don't have any obstructions between the antenna and the mountain (the room it's mounted in is on the 3rd or 4th floor equvalent).

Changed the daylight savings settings and time zone, and made sure sound was set to Dolby Digital and had a rocking HD experience.

Only issue I've run into to date:

The analog audio is very low. I ran the audio on the H260F up all the way based on recommendations in this thread, so the TV didn't have to do as much amplification, but there's a signficant disparity in how loud I have to run it compared to the DVD recorder and the TiVO. I may see if I can ramp down the sound on the DVD recorder to equalize the two better (I'm preparing to run the TiVO through the DVD recorders aux input to capitalize on the upconversion so Tivo volume disparity will disappear.). Any other suggestions are appreciated. I'm just trying to minimize the issues of going back and forth between inputs on the monitor and blowing out the speakers or startling everyone in the room. On the optical output to the AV receiver, the disparity is less noticeable.

Hi etrojan,

Regarding Samsung's low analog output volume, I don't have a good solution but, I have noticed low volume output on other Samsung devices. I have a Samsung MPEG2/DVB receiver and the Samsung SIRT451 HDTV receiver and they both have very low volume ouput compared to 4 other devices that I have. Even on a Samsung TV I have to turn the volume on the TV to at least 70% for comfortable listening. The other devices I spoke of only require about 10% for the same listening level. That difference can be quite a shock and is definitely irritating.

Misery loves company :-)

dmatch

Hello all!
Great forum, I am looking for anyone that shares this problem or if anyone has ever gotten help via samsung support about it - please review my email to samsung support below:
------------------------
The DTB-H260F zoom function does not work correctly. When tuning a 16:9 signal on a 4:3 TV or vice versa (4:3 signal on a 16:9 TV) The zoom function zooms the wrong picture - it does a straight digial zoom of the *distorted* picture and cuts off top, bottom, left and right, and the pic is STILL distorted. In the instruction booklet manual you have it explained correctly. The device does not zoom according to the manual diagram --it should crop sides(on 4:3 tv) or top/bottom(on 16:9) - with no distortion. Is there a fix for this? Can you make a firmware update to fix this? I do not want to have to return the product since the other features work.
-------------------------------------------
Any fix info is greatly appreciated!! I am sure it is not user error, as the instruction manual is very clear and correct in displaying how it SHOULD work!
Thanks

The zoom seems to work correctly for me on a 16:9 ratio TV. I believe it is suppose to do a straight zoom. When viewing a program that has left and right black bars, zoom will eliminate the bars and cut the top and bottom of the picture to maintain the aspect ratio.

If I have a 4:3 picture that is distorted like most 480i subchannels, I use the pillar box feature to correct the aspect ratio which undistorts the picture.

Thanks for the reply - it is harder to notice on a 16:9 TV - you have to make sure you are viewing a SIGNAL of the opposite type(press info to see signal type in upperright corner) some 16:9 signals are still broadcast in the pillarbox view, in that case, your zoom looks fine. In order to see what I mean, look in the manual on page 34/35. A 4:3 signal on a 16:9 monitor format - the FULL version will be distorted(too wide) looking, when you go to zoom the device will zoom that distorted image, rather than fixing the ratio and then zooming. On a 4:3 TV, it will zoom the narrow picture when viewing a *16:9* signal. I have both types of TV's and have seen the error on both. Remember to check the signal type in upper right(info button) to see this error.

Only the "Pillar" function will undistort a 4:3 picture which has been stretched to 16:9 and it adds the black bars on left and right.

I use the "zoom" function only when there are black bars on all four sides (top, bottom, left and right) and it eliminates all the black bars. But that is only for a 16:9 source signal.

On page 35 of the manual, it shows the 4:3 Source Signal as stretched in full mode and unstretched in zoom mode which seems like it should be for a 16:9 Source Signal. There is an error in the manual since it does not show what a 16:9 zoom should be.

You are correct in that it does not do a pillar box (undistort) and zoom at the same time. I'm just glad that it has the "pillar" function because my HDTV does not have that. I can then make my HDTV do a zoom of that undistorted picture.

Basically the device zooms incorrectly. I am not saying that it should zoom AND undistort, as a zoom is only a zoom. The device is zooming in the full(distorted) version of the image rather than the undistorted letterbox/pillar(depending on your TV) version when recving the opposite signal type. The manual is correct. This same diagram can be found on many hdtv format websites. This is a problem when receiving a signal type opposite to your TV, standing out more on 4:3 TV's. Now I have written and called Samsung and am currently working with their "level 2" support, but it is hard for one person to make a difference. It would be great if others reading this forum would speak up and contact samsung support(via phone). If many people mention it, we all might be able to get something done such as a firmware update.

A casual observation...

Using the QAM side, I've noted as others, the STB may indicate in one dialog box encrypted signal or low signal on channels detected but not decoded.

Well, I receive all the open QAM & HD OTA offered in the clear that I am aware of, but wondered about that phase...or low signal.

The DTB-H260F has ten bars representing signal levels. Mine appear to be ten light grayish bars rather than "blue" as the manual suggests. I took the explanation of one to ten bars represented signal strength (like a cell phone), not that ten bars would be displayed at all times and filled in with a "blue" color in an increasing shading fashion...so I thought...(beginners luck?)...

Although I could be color blind, gray and blue are close... could someone provide typical bar graph results of their OTA and QAM signals representations and is the color an obvious "blue"?

Do the "blue" bars actually represent individual signal levels, changing per channel or QAM group, and do you witness a difference between reception and none reception signal strength?

I guess it may be time to remove all the upstream splitters too...Because it appears I'm at minimum signal level...or color blind...or both...

I'll bring it into muppet labs tomorrow and connect it to a tower feed...

Time to experiment with an OTA and a 20 dB variable pad...

Thank you,

Z

There are always ten grey bars and as the strength increases the bars are colored blue.
The blue is definetly blue.
Signal is for each station.
You either get a picture or you don't.
I get a picture down to 2 bars in my area, most of the time my signal strength is at 7-8 bars.
This is OTA.

There are always ten grey bars and as the strength increases the bars are colored blue.
The blue is definetly blue.
Signal is for each station.
You either get a picture or you don't.
I get a picture down to 2 bars in my area, most of the time my signal strength is at 7-8 bars.
This is OTA.

Thank you The Hound,

Then I must be color blind, the display always looks gray not blue.

Since I get all channels, it would be a stretch with a no signal representation.

I'm at muppet labs now. I'm going to try it on an HD set and an OTA antenna to see if I get what the manual and you verified...

Thank you,

Z

Thank you The Hound,

Then I must be color blind, the display always looks gray not blue.

Since I get all channels, it would be a stretch with a no signal representation.

I'm at muppet labs now. I'm going to try it on an HD set and an OTA antenna to see if I get what the manual and you verified...

Thank you,

Z

Well, I'm apparently not too color blind. It appears the DTB-H260F - Checking Signal Strength bar graph only indicates OTA and not QAM signal strength. Maybe that's why they used the sat dish graphic to indicate an antenna and not OTA or QAM label. But it would have been nice to have a way to verify your cable / splitter feed to the STB...

So the results at Muppet Lab's, OTA 8 to 10 blue bars depending on channel with a static 10 gray bar display for QAM.

OTA and QAM operate and decode all known clear channels.

And so it goes...

Thank you,

Z

I "accidently" won two of these on ebay and only need to keep one of them. If anyone is interested please send me a message.
Thanks.

"Well, I'm apparently not too color blind. It appears the DTB-H260F - Checking Signal Strength bar graph only indicates OTA and not QAM signal strength."

I wish OTA gave numbers as well as bars. Not too fond of bars. Also I have been fooled twice looking at it thinking it was full strength when in fact is was zero strength.

-DonB2

"Well, I'm apparently not too color blind. It appears the DTB-H260F - Checking Signal Strength bar graph only indicates OTA and not QAM signal strength."

I wish OTA gave numbers as well as bars. Not too fond of bars. Also I have been fooled twice looking at it thinking it was full strength when in fact is was zero strength.

-DonB2

I'm with you on that one DonB2...

Z

Samsung is aware of the zoom design flaw I spoke of when viewing a signal opposite your TV type(4:3/16:9). They said they dont get enough complaints about it to do anything, so if anyone uses zoom and wants them to update it, you may want to call them - you will have to speak to level 2 before they admit the flaw.

As for the bars and signal - you are right jzareski they are hard to read, the difference between the blue and gray is hard to see. They should be green instead of blue or even clear instead of gray. I get a picture down to 2 blue bars but it will cut out now and then, 3 blue bars = stable for me.

On the Infocus cable issue... regards attempting the component to S-video connection at 480i. As read above, I had learned since ordering the cables that the combining of color channels in the conversion from component to s-video is anything but "simple" as mentioned at some places online.

Received the cables today via UPS. A NO GO! The S-video cable end is a non-standard 7 pin layout, vs my TVs normal 4 pin S-video input jack. Will have to send the cables back.

For those who want visuals I've made a simple page with 4 pics at my business web site. Since I can not post pics/links/URLs or anything close with my low post count... Will try this work around.
www dot timvw dot com slash whooohooo slash infocus_cables dot html

"They said they dont get enough complaints about it to do anything,"

Seeing as the units were out of stock for the longest time I can understand why they have not had many complaints.

-Donb2

timvwcom .

I really wanted VGA to component in the most awful way for my Samsung SiR T -100.

VGA worked great on a monitor but one color on Component was out and no obvious burned component or loose connection on the circuit board.

I even tried stealing a color from a chopped apart component cable but just ended up with overdriven smeered results.

A adapter cable was more than the unit was worth.

Ended up selling it as is.

-DonB2

New Member and my first post. Got sick and tired of ghosting, multipath, and snow for way too many years. Over the past week I've read through every page in this thread. Bought DTB-H260F on ebay Sunday. Got it yesterday and hooked the puppy up last night with great anticipation.

The autoscan immediately picked up 19 channels but it did not pick up any channels lower than 10 - nor could they be added. Antenna is RS 15-1862 (really quite good) in attic above garage next to second story window. Could previously pick up three channels in this range very well with analog OTA (one local, two distant but strong). Their digital frequency assignments are all still lower than 10. Entered 4-1, 8-1, and 9-1 (local station) to no avail. Any suggestions why I'm not getting anything lower than 10? Not sure where the problem is: the 260F, the TV, or the antenna. Should this question be moved to one of the reception threads?

Digital TV looks awesome, even on my 32" 4:3 Sanyo using component connections at 480i resolution, but there are plenty aspect ratio issues to figure out.

- Ghostbuster
(Central Texas)

Zip code please.

Just because you enter 4-1 , 8-1, 9-1 doesn't mean the channels are actually on those frequencies.

Their digital frequency assignments are all still lower than 10. Entered 4-1, 8-1, and 9-1 (local station) to no avail.

Those aren't the digital frequency assignments. Those are the virtual channel numbers, which by design correspond to the analog channel numbers. The digital signals are actually on different channels. For example, my 4-1 is actually on channel 59.

Your tuner can use the virtual channel numbers only after it has "found" them in a channel scan, or after you have helped it "find" them by entering the actual digital channel numbers. For example, if I reset my Samsung by doing a fresh channel scan, and it doesn't pick up 4-1 for some reason, I have to re-aim the antenna and then enter "59." If the unit then finds the signal, it picks up the 4-1 designation from the signal's PSIP data and the display changes from "59" to "4-1." Afterwards, I can tune to that channel by entering "4-1".

And in addition to all that jtbell has said I am wondering if your antenna is UHF/VHF or UHF only as this could effect some channel frequencies also.

You may find there is a local Texas forum on this site for you to go to. I am in NC and use the Raleigh one.

It really helps to get local input to your problems.

-DonB2

extreme northeast side of 76638, close to 76633 and 76712.

The analog channels sought are 4 (KDFW), 6 (KCEN), and 8 (WFAA). Their frequency assignment, based on antennaweb, are 4, 6/9, and 8, respectively. Entered all the possible options: 4, 4-1, 6, 6-1, 8, 8-1, 9, and 9-1 and got nothing. As far as other VHF stations are concerned, I got 11 and 13 fine.


green - uhf KWKO-LP 38 TBN WACO TX 129° 13.2 miles 38
* red - vhf KCEN-DT 9.1 NBC TEMPLE TX 156° 23.8 miles 9
red - uhf KWBU 34 PBS WACO TX 174° 19.3 miles 34
red - vhf KCEN 6 NBC TEMPLE TX 156° 23.8 miles 6
red - uhf KXXV 25 ABC WACO TX 168° 18.3 miles 25
red - uhf KWKT 44 FOX WACO TX 171° 19.8 miles 44
red - vhf KWTX 10 CBS WACO TX 169° 19.3 miles 10
* red - uhf KWTX-DT 10.1 CBS WACO TX 169° 19.3 miles 53
blue - vhf KERA 13 PBS DALLAS TX 13° 71.4 miles 13
blue - uhf KDAF 33 CW DALLAS TX 14° 69.0 miles 33
blue - uhf KSTR 49 UNI IRVING TX 14° 69.0 miles 49
blue - vhf WFAA 8 ABC DALLAS TX 12° 71.3 miles 8
blue - vhf KTVT 11 CBS FORT WORTH TX 13° 71.4 miles 11
* blue - uhf KWKT-DT 44.1 FOX WACO TX 171° 19.8 miles 57
* blue - uhf KXXV-DT 25.1 ABC WACO TX 168° 18.3 miles 26
* blue - uhf KWBU-DT 34.1 PBS WACO TX 174° 19.3 miles 20
blue - vhf KDFW 4 FOX DALLAS TX 12° 71.3 miles 4
blue - vhf KXAS 5 NBC FORT WORTH TX 13° 71.7 miles 5
violet - uhf KXTX 39 TEL DALLAS TX 13° 71.6 miles 39
violet - uhf KPXD 68 ION ARLINGTON TX 13° 71.8 miles 68
violet - vhf KDTN 2 DAY DENTON TX 13° 71.8 miles 2
violet - uhf KTXA 21 IND FORT WORTH TX 13° 71.8 miles 21
violet - uhf KDFI 27 MNT DALLAS TX 13° 71.8 miles 27
violet - uhf KUVN 23 UNI GARLAND TX 12° 71.8 miles 23

Hello AVS'ers,

I currently have a Samsung T-165. The picture it puts out is GREAT, but it seems like lately I've been having some issues with some local stations. There is one in particular that I believe to be the fault of the broadcaster, but I do get more sound dropouts and pixellization than with the Dish Network ViP-622 I returned awhile back. Would this new Samsung receiver be the cure for what ails me? I guess I'm not really sure how my receiver compares generationally to this new one. Thanks!

extreme northeast side of 76638, close to 76633 and 76712.

The analog channels sought are 4 (KDFW), 6 (KCEN), and 8 (WFAA). Their frequency assignment, based on antennaweb, are 4, 6/9, and 8, respectively. Entered all the possible options: 4, 4-1, 6, 6-1, 8, 8-1, 9, and 9-1 and got nothing. As far as other VHF stations are concerned, I got 11 and 13 fine.


green - uhf KWKO-LP 38 TBN WACO TX 129° 13.2 miles 38
* red - vhf KCEN-DT 9.1 NBC TEMPLE TX 156° 23.8 miles 9
red - uhf KWBU 34 PBS WACO TX 174° 19.3 miles 34
red - vhf KCEN 6 NBC TEMPLE TX 156° 23.8 miles 6
red - uhf KXXV 25 ABC WACO TX 168° 18.3 miles 25
red - uhf KWKT 44 FOX WACO TX 171° 19.8 miles 44
red - vhf KWTX 10 CBS WACO TX 169° 19.3 miles 10
* red - uhf KWTX-DT 10.1 CBS WACO TX 169° 19.3 miles 53
blue - vhf KERA 13 PBS DALLAS TX 13° 71.4 miles 13
blue - uhf KDAF 33 CW DALLAS TX 14° 69.0 miles 33
blue - uhf KSTR 49 UNI IRVING TX 14° 69.0 miles 49
blue - vhf WFAA 8 ABC DALLAS TX 12° 71.3 miles 8
blue - vhf KTVT 11 CBS FORT WORTH TX 13° 71.4 miles 11
* blue - uhf KWKT-DT 44.1 FOX WACO TX 171° 19.8 miles 57
* blue - uhf KXXV-DT 25.1 ABC WACO TX 168° 18.3 miles 26
* blue - uhf KWBU-DT 34.1 PBS WACO TX 174° 19.3 miles 20
blue - vhf KDFW 4 FOX DALLAS TX 12° 71.3 miles 4
blue - vhf KXAS 5 NBC FORT WORTH TX 13° 71.7 miles 5
violet - uhf KXTX 39 TEL DALLAS TX 13° 71.6 miles 39
violet - uhf KPXD 68 ION ARLINGTON TX 13° 71.8 miles 68
violet - vhf KDTN 2 DAY DENTON TX 13° 71.8 miles 2
violet - uhf KTXA 21 IND FORT WORTH TX 13° 71.8 miles 21
violet - uhf KDFI 27 MNT DALLAS TX 13° 71.8 miles 27
violet - uhf KUVN 23 UNI GARLAND TX 12° 71.8 miles 23
KDFW is NTSC 4, DTV 35 (so try entering 35-1).
KCEN is NTSC 6. DTV 9.
WFAA is NTSC 8, DTV 9 (but may switch to DTV 8 after analog shutdown).
The DTB-H260F can receive only the digital channels, of course.

KCEN and WFAA are in nearly opposite directions (and on the same channel). You are more than 70 miles from DFW, and that's a lot to ask from an indoor antenna. If you aimed a good outdoor antenna (maybe with a booster) toward DFW, I suspect you could get most of their stations.

Hello AVS'ers,

I currently have a Samsung T-165. The picture it puts out is GREAT, but it seems like lately I've been having some issues with some local stations. There is one in particular that I believe to be the fault of the broadcaster, but I do get more sound dropouts and pixellization than with the Dish Network ViP-622 I returned awhile back. Would this new Samsung receiver be the cure for what ails me? I guess I'm not really sure how my receiver compares generationally to this new one. Thanks!Yes. It should be a big improvement as far as sensitivity and multipath rejection.

Yours is probably 1st generation, while the new one is 5th.

Yes. It should be a big improvement as far as sensitivity and multipath rejection.

Yours is probably 1st generation, while the new one is 5th.

I didn't realize my old Samsung was THAT old! Thanks.

I didn't realize my old Samsung was THAT old! Thanks.Actually, I'm not sure. It could be anywhere up to 3rd generation, but they really didn't start making noticable strides until about the 4th. 3rd isn't bad, though. It depends on the overall tuner quality, too, as the 3rd gen LG's (3410a, 4200a, 3510a) are exceptionally good. It depends on how you're situated, too. If conditions are optimal, such as having a totally clear shot, decent height and not being more than 25 miles out, it probably wouldn't matter much what you've got.

Ghostbuster,

Gees, looks like you got the same Tower distribution problem, as we do here in Houston ! They’re all over the place ! :D

I’ve not had all that good luck with a Rabbit Ears/Loop Antenna like you’re using, but if you go to a more directional unit, you’re probably going to have to settle on the most concentrated amount of signals available to you. That set top antenna probably won’t reach out and grab the Towers that are very far away, which may be the reason for such a few received signals.

Just from what I see in your “listings” post, you probably should get a Rad Shack or Winegard Outside VHF/UHF that’ll reach out about 75 or more miles. Not that you can get a real good signal from that distance, but, I’ve tried to get the advertised range of the Antenna, twice what I really want it to receive.

I have a big UHF/VHF installed in my Attic, a choice you may be forced into, IF you can’t get it on a Pole outside. Good reception and lots of channels available, when you get a good Antenna up and running.

Hope this helps !

Have a good Day ! :)

New Member and my first post. Got sick and tired of ghosting, multipath, and snow for way too many years. Over the past week I've read through every page in this thread. Bought DTB-H260F on ebay Sunday. Got it yesterday and hooked the puppy up last night with great anticipation.

The autoscan immediately picked up 19 channels but it did not pick up any channels lower than 10 - nor could they be added. Antenna is RS 15-1862 (really quite good) in attic above garage next to second story window. Could previously pick up three channels in this range very well with analog OTA (one local, two distant but strong). Their digital frequency assignments are all still lower than 10. Entered 4-1, 8-1, and 9-1 (local station) to no avail. Any suggestions why I'm not getting anything lower than 10? Not sure where the problem is: the 260F, the TV, or the antenna. Should this question be moved to one of the reception threads?

Digital TV looks awesome, even on my 32" 4:3 Sanyo using component connections at 480i resolution, but there are plenty aspect ratio issues to figure out.

- Ghostbuster
(Central Texas)

Notes:

Other than the RS 15-1862 being an indoor antenna...???

You'll need to rotate it to optimize some of the channels as they are in diverse locatons...see below...

The Samsung DTB-H260F is a ATSC (Antenna) / QAM (Cable) tuner only, no NTSC analog.

Using a zip code of 76638 as an example, antenna.org (not necessarily accurate) indicates the following...Please note miles distance and direction...

I BOLD the digital channel, which is usually PSIP to the analog channel.

DTV Antenna
Type Call Sign Channel Network City State Live
Date Compass
Orientation Miles
From Frequency
Assignment

* yellow - uhf KXXV-DT 25.1 ABC WACO TX 151° 16.3 26

* yellow - uhf KWKT-DT 44.1 FOX WACO TX 156° 17.5 57

* yellow - uhf KWTX-DT 10.1 CBS WACO TX 153° 17.1 53

* yellow - vhf KCEN-DT 9.1 NBC TEMPLE TX 143° 22.7 9

* yellow - uhf KWBU-DT 34.1 PBS WACO TX 158° 16.7 20

* violet - uhf KNCT-DT 46.1 PBS BELTON TX 192° 41.1 38

And for:

green - vhf KCEN 6 NBC TEMPLE TX 143° 22.7 6 (Although FCC indicates DT 9)
Not sure why you're not getting 9, which is a lower powered DT station, which may be PSIP as 6-1. rather than 9-1...

FCC indicates: Miles may be excessive for your antenna and / or from much different general direction.
violet - vhf KDFW 4 FOX DALLAS TX 15° 75.9 4 35

violet - vhf KXAS 5 NBC FORT WORTH TX 15° 76.2 5 36

Hope that helps...try rotating antenna, if possible, for the other channels for test...


Z

Ghostbuster,

I’ve sorted your Towers by Azimuth, and included Boom Lengths and general aiming directions.
I’ve not had very good luck with Omni type antennas, so, a Yagi type Boom Antenna, is what I would recommend for your best reception. I’ve given links below, to RShack and Winegard, but they’re not the only manufacturers you may use. When aiming, don’t for get to subtract about 4* for Magnetic Declination given your location. You may link to TopoZone, for a more accurate number if you choose.

Antenna height is a key factor in reception, so, the higher you get it, the better. Just remember to use a set of Guy Wires about every 30’, 3 Lines for regular strength, and 4 Lines for anticipated high wind loads.

Also, I recommend a VHF/UHF/FM Combination Antenna. I understand that you are more interested in Digital, but, it will be several years before we’re “forced” into all Digital, and the quantity of channels you can enjoy during that period, will justify the combination, including FM !


Antenna Boom Length minumum 108”, Azimuth 13*
Tower 1a
vhf KDFW 4 FOX DALLAS TX 12° 71.3 miles 4
vhf WFAA 8 ABC DALLAS TX 12° 71.3 miles 8
uhf KUVN 23 UNI GARLAND TX 12° 71.8 miles 23
Tower 1b
vhf KXAS 5 NBC FORT WORTH TX 13° 71.7 miles 5
vhf KERA 13 PBS DALLAS TX 13° 71.4 miles 13
vhf KTVT 11 CBS FORT WORTH TX 13° 71.4 miles 11
uhf KPXD 68 ION ARLINGTON TX 13° 71.8 miles 68
vhf KDTN 2 DAY DENTON TX 13° 71.8 miles 2
uhf KTXA 21 IND FORT WORTH TX 13° 71.8 miles 21
uhf KXTX 39 TEL DALLAS TX 13° 71.6 miles 39
uhf KDFI 27 MNT DALLAS TX 13° 71.8 miles 27
Tower 1c
uhf KDAF 33 CW DALLAS TX 14° 69.0 miles 33
uhf KSTR 49 UNI IRVING TX 14° 69.0 miles 49


Antenna Boom Length minimum 20”, Azimuth 129*
Tower 2
uhf KWKO-LP 38 TBN WACO TX 129° 13.2 miles 38


Antenna Boom Length minimum 36”, Azimuth 156*
Tower 3
vhf KCEN-DT 9.1 NBC TEMPLE TX 156° 23.8 miles 9
vhf KCEN 6 NBC TEMPLE TX 156° 23.8 miles 6


Antenna Boom Length minimum 30”, Azimuth 171*
Tower 4a
uhf KXXV-DT 25.1 ABC WACO TX 168° 18.3 miles 26
uhf KXXV 25 ABC WACO TX 168° 18.3 miles 25
Tower 4b
vhf KWTX 10 CBS WACO TX 169° 19.3 miles 10
uhf KWTX-DT 10.1 CBS WACO TX 169° 19.3 miles 53
Tower 4c
uhf KWKT 44 FOX WACO TX 171° 19.8 miles 44
uhf KWKT-DT 44.1 FOX WACO TX 171° 19.8 miles 57
Tower 4d
uhf KWBU 34 PBS WACO TX 174° 19.3 miles 34
uhf KWBU-DT 34.1 PBS WACO TX 174° 19.3 miles 20

I anticipate the following with a Fixed Azimuth Antenna:
You will be only able to receive Tower Group 1, by it’s self.
You will be only able to receive Tower Group 2, by it’s self.
You may be able to receive Tower Group 3 thru 4d with one Azimuth setting (165*), but I suspect that you may have poor reception on Tower 3, and 4d if you try to get both.
If you favor Tower 3, use Azimuth of 163*.


One way around these limitations, is get a Motor/Rotator, and select the longest Boom Length required for good reception, as listed above. It does not hurt to have a longer than minimum length Boom, for Towers located at lesser distance. For instance: I’d select a 120” boom, for Tower Group 1, and expect excellent reception for Groups 2-4, should you redirect it toward them.

Even though an Omni Directional Antenna would bring in more signals simultaneously, I still would recommend a Directional Antenna, for the best reception.

Hope this helps !

R. Shack Antennas:
http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2032205&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189

Winegard Antennas:
http://www.winegard.com/offair/vhfuhf.htm

Magnetic Declination:
www.topozone.com

Have a good Day ! :)

Thank you all for your help and insight. It's becoming clear that this is really not a 260 problem but rather a reception problem, so I may move to that thread. With my current tabletop antenna placed as mentioned earlier I was able to pick up most of the major analog DFW stations rather well and had hoped that this unit would be able to get enough of their digital signal. But, so far they're either too weak or they are displayed with bunches and bunches of dropouts. BTW, I was able to get KCEN 9.1 and 9.2 last night, so I've got all the local digital channels - and the crispness and clarity of digital is simply amazing.

I just set up a H260F with HDMI connection to InFocus SP7200 projector. The cable is a 25' DVI with an adapter on each end to connect to projector and STB. I'm seeing horizontal flashes emanating from the top and bottom of the channel box graphic and occasionally during viewing, esp. high-motion scanes. Should I suspect the cable/adapters? I don't recall having these issues when connecting a HR10-250 (HD DirecTiVo).

TIA,
Todd/Indy

Ok...I used my tuner for a few hours on Saturday afternoon and it worked great. Then I switched back to the main TV source. A while later I switched the source back to the HDMI which is the tuner and it was green screen. I unplugged the HDMI cable and left it for a few minutes, then hooked it back up and it worked fine. This has happened a few times. Any suggestions...