Dish DTVPal / Echostar TR40 digital to analog converter - Page 25

I didn't think antennaweb was all that great. I use http://tvfool.com and got much better results.

cnet has posted a review of the dtvpal now:

http://reviews.cnet.com/tv-hdtv-tune...-32886696.html

So, CNET had an opinion on sensitivity and PQ.

So we have 1 review that says the DTVPal is able to pick up more channels than the Zenith DTT900 & 1 review stating the opposite.

Maybe I will just buy one of each, provided the new Zenith and the DTVPal are even available before my coupons expire in 2 weeks.

If that review mentioned anything about the program timer, I missed it.

You're right - they didn't say a thing about it!

The story of this converter just keeps getting more weird. According to the CNET review, the DTVPal and the TR-40 are actually different devices. Interesting...

Almost looks like CNET reviewed one of the beta units. The guide looks a little different. I wonder if their box had all the features the final version does.

In Scott's DTVPal review he used a Touchsmart PC as his television monitor, which presumably isn't a very large screen (doesn't LOOK very large compared with the keyboard pictured in his article). I wonder what the DTVPal PQ would be like tested on a fairly large CRT TV (say about 28") in comparison to a DTT900?

Edited on 6/13 to include the following additional comments:

One person posting on the Dish TV thread made note of the last sentence of the CNET review:

We noticed these differences [concerning video quality] on an HDTV--where the quality differences are more pronounced--so users of standard analog TVs will notice fewer differences.

(This indicates, to me, an oranges-to-apples comparison on the part of CNET. CECBs aren't intended to reformat TV images to any monitor with higher resolution than a 480i display, so naturally displaying DTVPal output on an HDTV could produce less-than-satisfactory results.)

Also, see davezatz's comment in this thread concerning displaying DTVPal output on a 32" CRT tube HDTV - PQ looked "pretty good" to him.

Many questions are yet to be answered. Hope they get sorted before my second coupon expires August 1.

Ah, Symbios, good eyes. It didn't look right, I see now the black vs. blue background on the EPG.

The info detail shown by SGuys is a lot less than what I get on Zenith, where I get two screens of description. Maybe DTVPal continues to a second page, but if not, then the Zenith has more episode detail. It runs out of space now and then, even with 2 screens. CNET picked a "no info available" example, unfortunately.

Davezatz, if you're still reading, I obviously didn't describe horizontal rabbit ears very well, lol. If the nose of the UHF points to the tower at 12 o'clock, then the horizontal arms spread to bask in the signal coming at it, so 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock. horizontal, and perpendicular to the signal point. That would make it less tippy, since the arms would be balanced, but it does take up a whole lot of space. But really, what you call Ch 4 is not real frequency Ch 4, so you shouldn't need the ears for that, anyway. My virtual 22 is on real Ch 4 until Feb, so I need 83" dipole until then. [My Terk's in the garage attic, where nobody bumps it.] Glad you found your channel; you can see real frequency numbers, and tower direction at tvfool.com or antennaweb.org. And I agree, real vs virtual can drive people nuts, but to get the right antenna, OTA folks need to know RF, too. And also need to know if there will be changes on Feb 19, since many stations return to where they are currently broadcasting analog.

Will Dish Network sell these directly? Also, is there a way to reverse the order of the program guide?

I had to register just to type this.

I just ordered my two coupons today June, Friday 13th. Which means I will be getting them in the mail on July 4th. A day of celebrations because I will then have 90 more days to make a "purchase". In short, ROFLMAO to all of you who ordered early.

After reading all pages, it's still not clear to me when or where this converter will drop. Can anyone give me more information?

Have you not read the last couple of pages?

Breaking story*

Digital TV coupons tough to redeem
Lawmakers seek to extend life of government-issued vouchers for converter boxes, as consumers find the devices hard to obtain.

Ahh it won't let me post the link. I'm going to try to post again. It says I need 3 posts.

*EDIT*

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/10/tech...V.ap/index.htm

Here is the link, sorry.

Damn you. I'll try one last time.

All my videos were of a 32" CRT tube HDTV. Picture quality looks pretty good, but I haven't compared it to any of the other devices.


It's not you, it's me. Regardless, that Terk sucks and if you saw my last video I replaced it with a simple single antenna that managed to get all the major network locals. I'm not sure how reception compares to the other converters, though I don't recall having to fiddle as much for reception with some of my other tvs/devices.

I looked at pictures of some of those other boxes, and the DTVpal has a more polished looking interface in most cases. (Benefit of reusing something that works, rather than starting from scratch...) I noticed some weirdness here and there, but really for $20 it seems pretty solid.

The only real bummer for me is that the remote can't be programmed to power on/off a television. (In thinking of my mom's usage case with her kitchen TV.)

But take it ALL with a grain of sand - I'm not following this space closely and won't be using one of these. Heck, I don't even know how to point an antenna.

Yeah, kind of figured you weren't an OTA DTV man when you assumed channel 4 was actually on channel 4 (that would be craziness...). But thanks for the videos! We were all starting to get a little twitchy with the lack of information floating around.

The current NTIA list of CECBs is split into two sections, one for those currently available and one for those approved but not currently available.

The DTVPal is on the not currently available list.

It is interesting that the EchoStar TR-40 is back on the list but it does not have the "analog pass through" asterisk as does the DTVPal:

https://www.ntiadtv.gov/cecb_list.cfm

One guess is that the TR-40 will only be released if people balk at paying $60 for what looks to amount to nothing more than a nice epg with middling performance.

Also, with all of the talk of uncertainty about tuners/SoC -- anything semi-definitive on what the DTVPal uses? And is the housing plastic?

Can some one tell me what button is pushed to get the bottom descriptions of shows on this display screen?

Some of the newer pics on satelliteguys does not show the bottom portion of this picture with the decriptions

If it's like the standard Dish remote you would hit the "right" cursor button. Then, as you keep hitting the "right" button, it moves up further through the programming blocks.

No your not understanding. The pictures from the satelliteguys only show a screen with the TOP part of the info. the part that says CHANNEL2 and Friends with the show times does not show at all? That is the question. How do you get the bottom show times and names to show?

I understand perfectly. Like I said above - you hit the "right" cursor button on the remote and the BOTTOM banner shown in that picture comes up.

Your Terk probably is better at receiving distant signals than that single antenna. The benefit (as you have seen) of the single is that it is omnidirectional, so you don't have to point it.

After all this, are you sure you don't want to try some OTA? Less compression, more choices than I'll bet you were aware of, FREE...

I'm sure the multitude of people whose misfortunes and concerns you registered just to laugh at are forming a line to help you.

I'm ok with that as long as post #2 isn't that the coupons didn't come in the mail by July 5th, or that they came with only 75 days left.

dtvpal.com is the official site. They don't say where or when. If you believe the CEO, it will be June 19th.

I have been enjoying digital tv for 2 months with a converter box, saving $60/mo without cable. Early coupon ordering does have its advantages.

Yeah, we all know exactly where and when to buy them - however, we are planning on buying ALL of them until the beginning of October, so you will just have to look for them on eBay at a healthy markup from us.


Oh well, you won't be able to use them on eBay anyway.

Honestly, I waited until the last day of March to order my coupons, which got them here in early May - thought that was the last day I could request them, or I would have waited longer. I have been lurking for awhile, following the trials and tribulations of the people here with empathy. You should try some. The launch date has been moved how many times? Enough that many people were willing to take a chance with pre-ordering from Provantage, which made them lose their coupons entirely.

BTW, here's from the Urban Dictionary:

ROTFLMAO

A chatroom abbreviation used mainly by imbeciles, usually in response to something mildly, often very mildly, amusing. People who use this type of shorthand should be avoided like the Spanish flu.

"I would've married her, but I found out that she goes into chatrooms and uses shorthand like LOL and ROTFLMAO. Therefore, I broke off our engagement and changed the locks to my apartment."

It's Friday. Is Dish going to have a Friday the 13th sale? Will Charlie (while wearing a hockey mask) be slashing prices on the DTVPal or is he just going to shove the knife in our backs? Don't keep us in suspense.