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Dish DTVPal / Echostar TR40 digital to analog converter - Page 9

post #241 of 6751
5/13/08 at 8:52am
Provantage is not accepting orders for any converter box today. Apparently the coupon program processing site is down for a planned upgrade/maintenance and they cannot accept orders until the site goes online again. I was asked to call back Wednesday.
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post #242 of 6751
5/13/08 at 9:15am
"Cancelled" and "replacement unit" that is an odd way of referring to a name change. Other online retailers are just using both "DTVPal" and "TR-40" in their description. I don't care what they call it, as long as I can find it.

I haven't seen it on the FCC list, but the name DTVPal is approved as a CECB box, so my guess is that the exterior beautification did not require retesting. It is a little awkward to find it, if one has to look under Echostar, DishNetwork, SlingMedia, TR-40, and the final name "DTVPal."

Thousands, I hope I'm not too late when I make up my mind. I'm expecting stores may be limited as to how many they get for the first batch, and taking coupons before they expire will make Provantage popular.

"Redeem" is not quite accurate, if they are using the process described in the FAQ upthread. Redeeming is what Convertmy.tv did, and that was against rules. No point in making it look like a Max Media disaster, when it is something entirely different.
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post #243 of 6751
5/13/08 at 10:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dampier View Post

I can confirm that ALL orders for the TR 40 are in the process of being cancelled. The unit no longer qualifies for the converter box coupon, and as Provantage has already processed the existing orders by redeeming the $40 value from the card, they have no choice but to simply give customers credit for the value as it cannot be reloaded on the card.

I just got off the phone with Provantage customer service regarding this. They have thousands of pre-orders for this box, so it's taking them some time to process all of the cancellations, but no orders for this unit will actually be processed. Instead, they are recommending the TV/Pal replacement unit for new customers and are supposed to transfer existing orders to that unit as well (as far as I know, it's the same thing as the TR 40 - just a name change).

In fact, because of the DTV processing site maintenance underway today, Provantage is not accepting ANY converter box orders today. They want people to call tomorrow. I suspect this is going to be an issue with a lot of retailers. There is a maintenance notice on the DTV merchant website about a planned outage although I didn't pay attention to the exact details.

Existing orderers may want to doublecheck they are on course to get the replacement box automatically.

Does this mean I can still "pre-order" DTVPal from ProAdvantage with my coupon which expires in 10 days?
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post #244 of 6751
5/13/08 at 10:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TalkingRat View Post

"Redeem" is not quite accurate, if they are using the process described in the FAQ upthread. Redeeming is what Convertmy.tv did, and that was against rules. No point in making it look like a Max Media disaster, when it is something entirely different.

Exactly. Provantage appears to be doing it the correct and legal way by authorizing the cards instead of redeeming them. When a retailer authorizes a card, they have up to 60 days to wait for the box to become available, at which point they can redeem the card and ship the box.

So essentially, by preording this box, you have extended the life of your card by up to 60 days. Great news for those with coupons about to expire...
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post #245 of 6751
5/13/08 at 12:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by biker19 View Post

Kinda worries me that Provantage still lists the item as the TR40 - didn't they get the memo about the name change. It also lists no specs - seems this was a rush on their part and probably other retailers to catch the early coupon holders.

I guess they finally read the memo. I hope they post some specs when they repost the item as DTVPal.
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post #246 of 6751
5/13/08 at 12:10pm
All I know is that I have 'till June 27th to use my coupons, and I'm not going to jump the gun on anything that's not definite. That's all I'll say.
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post #247 of 6751
5/13/08 at 12:36pm
I just placed a pre-order with Provantage for 2 DTVPal. My coupon expires in 10 days.
Hopefully, this "new" name item is the same as TR-40. I was charged 42.50 each and 11.35 shipping. With the coupons, net is 16.35 total.
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post #248 of 6751
5/13/08 at 12:59pm
I also just pre-ordered two units, $16.35 net price
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post #249 of 6751
5/13/08 at 1:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rammitinski View Post

All I know is that I have 'till June 27th to use my coupons, and I'm not going to jump the gun on anything that's not definite. That's all I'll say.

I guess I'm missing something here. Have there been any test results published on this unit. I know it looks good on paper, but I mean, people are pre-ordering sight-unseen -- based on what. How do they know this box is going to have adequate tuner performance or no heat problems or no audio problems, etc? Wasn't there just a whole bunch of people who got burned pre-ordering a Maxmedia box? I'm not saying it's the same thing here, but I would be more than a little leery of pre-ordering anything after that.
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post #250 of 6751
5/13/08 at 1:18pm
they ship fast, i ordered a CyberPower Systems
1085 10-Outlet Surge Protector - 3600 Joules 15A RJ11/RJ45/Coax and it came the next day.
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post #251 of 6751
5/13/08 at 1:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelson View Post

I guess I'm missing something here. Have there been any test results published on this unit. I know it looks good on paper, but I mean, people are pre-ordering sight-unseen -- based on what. How do they know this box is going to have adequate tuner performance or no heat problems or no audio problems, etc? Wasn't there just a whole bunch of people who got burned pre-ordering a Maxmedia box? I'm not saying it's the same thing here, but I would be more than a little leery of pre-ordering anything after that.

There's really no way to know what we'll be getting. But having seen what's out there now, and with two expiring coupons in hand, I think I'm gonna takes my chances. And Echostar is a pretty reputable company, how bad could it be?
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post #252 of 6751
5/13/08 at 2:04pm
I also just placed an order (5 minutes ago) with Provantage for 2 DTVpals. The system to process the coupons is up again. Total was $16.35 & will ship in late June/Early July. I mentioned that they haven't changed their web page yet from the TR-40 & the rep said it will be updated in 48 hours. He said I will get an email confirmation on the order.

Thank you AVS forum & members for the wealth of information you provide.
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post #253 of 6751
5/13/08 at 2:09pm
Just ordered mine. It was a pretty pleasant experience.

Fingers crossed...
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post #254 of 6751
5/13/08 at 2:23pm
dampier,
Take a look at the last couple of posts on the Echostar thread. Apparently open for business again.
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post #255 of 6751
5/13/08 at 2:30pm
All Website, IVR and E-Services coupon redemption services will be unavailable during scheduled maintenance.

The NTIA does post Planned System Outage for the T.V. Converter Box Coupon Program

The Next scheduled maintenance is:
Sunday, May 18, 2008 from 2 A.M. EDT - 8 A.M. EDT.
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post #256 of 6751
5/13/08 at 3:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelson View Post

I guess I'm missing something here...people are pre-ordering sight-unseen -- based on what. How do they know this box is going to have adequate tuner performance or no heat problems or no audio problems, etc?

You are right that there is a lot of unknowns with the DTVPal.

The only thing really known is the MicroTune MT2131 according to MicroTune.
It is also in all the Falcon Digital boxes so you might want to check out the Sansonic thread.
The Gridlink GLT-200 is also FREE like the DTVPal in a what looks like a metal case however minus a EPG and timers.
So far the MicroTune was suppose to have better performance but people are reporting that it doesn't.

I have also been thinking about the TVGuide EPG.
I had a RCA Guide+ T.V. that also had a built in TVGuide EPG on it that would refresh each night over a Cable connection and took several hours, not to mention the EPG was slow.

This picture was the PIP version.


We also don't know what it will look like.
HDTVexpert does have this image of a Digital TVGuide EPG watching channel 3-1
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post #257 of 6751
5/13/08 at 4:18pm
A few features are confirmed by SolidSignal:

Quote:


EPG (Electronic Program Guide) time zone specific. You can see what will be showing up to a week in an advance. (area dependent) Parental control user adjustable. Basic cable or satellite subscription service is no longer needed!

Customizable closed caption (fonts, size and position on screen) with a 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio.

Completely programmable and software update enabled
ATSC tuner
RF out port
NTSC modulated out channel (3 or 4) selectable
IR sensor
Parental control
Auto Power down / Auto Scan
Manual channel set up
Digital close caption
Analog passthrough
Electronic Program Guide
VCR Timers
Composite Video Out / RF Out
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post #258 of 6751
5/13/08 at 4:19pm
A few features are confirmed by SolidSignal:

Quote:


EPG (Electronic Program Guide) time zone specific. You can see what will be showing up to a week in an advance. (area dependent) Parental control user adjustable. Basic cable or satellite subscription service is no longer needed!

Customizable closed caption (fonts, size and position on screen) with a 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio.

Completely programmable and software update enabled
ATSC tuner
RF out port
NTSC modulated out channel (3 or 4) selectable
IR sensor
Parental control
Auto Power down / Auto Scan
Manual channel set up
Digital close caption
Analog passthrough
Electronic Program Guide
VCR Timers
Composite Video Out / RF Out

I think I read somewhere from Echostar that the EPG would be instant.
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post #259 of 6751
5/13/08 at 5:50pm
please merge these two threads!!!

maybe "DTVPal formerly Echostar tr-40" or something like that????
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post #260 of 6751
5/13/08 at 6:57pm
Thank you, rat. I fully admit it is tempting. My last voucher expires 6/18. If nothing better comes along by then I may flip a coin to decide between the Zenith and taking a chance pre-ordering the DTVpal. I do want it to be real and successful, because I really want the TR-50 (or what ever they rename it to).
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post #261 of 6751
5/13/08 at 7:08pm
me too, although that is even more vaporware. I haven't seen anything more than the trade show demo.
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post #262 of 6751
5/13/08 at 7:29pm
I suspect the TR-40 / DTV Pal will be real enough - I intend to pre-order one myself.
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post #263 of 6751
5/13/08 at 7:32pm
I'm sure they will both be real, but right now the TR-50 descriptions are nonexistent, other than that trade show video. But that's another thread...
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post #264 of 6751
5/13/08 at 7:44pm
Just received my confirmation on my TR-40 0rder from Provantage. on the email they sent it's listed as DTVPal Digital-to-Analog TV Converter . I had already contacted them asking if my order would automatically be changed from the tr-40 to the dtvpal they said it would, now hopefully it will just become a reality....
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post #265 of 6751
5/13/08 at 8:32pm
All boxes have these features............................... Unique DTVPal features
• ATSC tuner .................................................... • Program search
• RF out port .................................................... • Event Timer (Scheduled to occur daily, weekly or Mon-Fri)
• Digital close caption ........................................ • Uses customer’s zip code to confirm the time zone for EPG
• IR sensor ....................................................... • Software Update enabled - according to solidsignal
• Parental control .............................................. • TVGuide EPG
• Auto Power down / Auto Scan ........................... • Advertisements on EPG
• NTSC modulated out channel (3 or 4) selectable
• Electronic Program Guide
• Composite Video Out / RF Out

We already know it will have:
Analog PassThrough, 7-day EPG, External Power Supply, Event Timers
I don't think they will call it VCR Timers as it has no IR Blaster.

I did not know it would have software update enabled.
It must update over the air as it does not have a upgrade port like the Tivax or Artec does for example.

Some boxes do have a Manual Channel feature but it's not documented like the Sansonic
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeBiker View Post

You can use the signal strength meter to manually go to a physical channel.
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post #266 of 6751
5/14/08 at 1:57am
^+1
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post #267 of 6751
5/14/08 at 6:08am
2 separate questions:

1. Everything I'd seen on this unit showed an MSRP of $39.99 or $40, so I'm just wondering how Provantage is charging more? It doesn't seem the sort of practice Echostar would allow. And on a side-note, I wonder why SolidSignal (or anyone else) isn't accepting pre-orders for these since apparently the 60 day authorization window is a valid feature of the coupon program. I guess it all just boils down to the principle of paying over MSRP that's bothering me and I wish there was a way to avoid it (my coupons expire very soon). Whacking on that extra bit has certainly hurt Provantage's reputation in my eyes - it just smacks of blatant greed to me.

2. One of the big extra features of this unit to me is the 7 day EPG. But I'm left wondering if it is meaningful or meaningless. Does anyone know where to check to find out which broadcasters send out more than just current/next show info? Or is this some sort of other service entirely that provides the full 7 days of data over the air?
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post #268 of 6751
5/14/08 at 6:40am
Provantage could be the cheapest, it depends on the shipping.
I have heard for one box that it is $6.95 shipping with Provantage.

That makes them $0.50 less than SolidSignal.
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post #269 of 6751
5/14/08 at 6:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MythSpell View Post

2 separate questions:

1. Everything I'd seen on this unit showed an MSRP of $39.99 or $40, so I'm just wondering how Provantage is charging more? It doesn't seem the sort of practive Echostar would allow. ?

MSRP Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price..


Oh and by the way, watch the prices on all of the various boxes drop to 40 dollars, all over the place, once the market gets flooded with them.


John
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post #270 of 6751
5/14/08 at 7:01am
Any word on availability in a brick-and-mortar retail outlet? I'll probably order online, but if I can save a few bucks and pick it up locally I'll do that.

Personally I liked the name TR-40 better. DTV-PAL? But I need the NTSC version, not PAL!

And I liked the boxy TR-40 prototype better too. This new design looks like some newfangled IKEA memory foam pillow. Let's hope marketing didn't mess with the circuit board.
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