Samsung DTB-H260F ATSC tuner - Page 14

"That's what I thought. I have heard rumors of tuners with NTSC/ATSC/ClearQAM capabilities coming soon. Any truth to that? "


http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_b/LGline2007.html

This LG DR787T has ATSC/NTSC/QAM reception


I have been waiting to see more on this unit as this is what I have been looking for.

It records ATSC HD to DVD by downconverting and than upconverts when it plays the DVD back.

It has ATSC and NTSC.

It should have the latest GEN ATSC chip so should handle multipath.

-----------------------

The only issue is they have not started selling it yet and also I hope it does not cost too much.

-DonB2

If they they called this one their new low-cost over-the-air ATSC tuner, I hate to see what that cost.

Olevia37HD,

I hear you, it will probably be $400.00 if it is a Penny. But of course if I take back the Samsung which cost me $200.00........

-DonB2

So these LG's coming out are the only STB's with both ATSC and NTSC tuning? Sucks that they having extras like DVD playback and recording because that will raise the price.

Anyway, back to the H260, am I correct in saying that when the analog shutdown happens, the H260 will be able to receive all channels becasue in fact, all channels will become digital?

Actually, there are tons of people licking their chops over in the DVD Recorder threads who can't wait for something like that to be released .

I bet there's people who want nothing more than a tuner. Reason? Low price. I never said that extra stuff wasn't good, but for me, it's something I don't need and does nothing for me but cost me more.

And here's my question again.

Am I correct in saying that when the analog shutdown happens, the H260 will be able to receive all channels becasue in fact, all channels will become digital?

What mikemikeb said on the previous page. YES

I didn't notice. Sorry about that.

Anyone else having issues with the remote? It has very little range. Is it my box or other experiencing the same issue.

I was having the same problems. Sometimes I'd have to hit the button twice before it sends a signal. I tried replacing the Batteries with some better quality ones,didn't really Help.

I went ahead and just Transfered the functions to my MX-500 Universal Remote, works great now !

All OTA Broadcast channels in the US received with an antenna will become digital. Analog OTA Broadcasts received with an antenna will cease in Feb '09.

The forced analog shutdown has no affect on cable companies. They may continue to offer analog cable service. Locals may be converted to analog for subscribers w/o digital tuners or cable boxes.

OhioState87 ,

There may be other STB's that will have ATSC/NTSC tuners but I am just not aware of the maunufactures.


In regards to what stations will be available after the analog signals go away- I do not know about Cable but for over the air ATSC some will stay where that are frequency wise and some may move.

What any cable company will provide as ATSC in their basic tier is up for grabs.

The way I understand it the frequencies that are freed up will be used for emergency fire first responder frequencies. The may or may not be true, may be hipe just to sell the public on it and when it is all said and done all the freed up frequencies will be sold at profit for commercial use , I just don't know.

Any way supposedly we will not lose frequency locations for additionaly ATSC channels because the ATSC channels can be squeezed closer together that analog NTSC channels - at least this is what I have read don't hold me to it.

So if say they were 5 NTSC channels now and 5 ATSC channels in any given broadcast area with say 5 available frequencies and than after the analog goes away there will still be the capability for 15 different ATSC frequency channels. This is just a wag on numbers as I have not done the math on the frequency bandwidth available.


"The forced analog shutdown has no affect on cable companies. " - Wow never thought about this but I agree it is true. I guess the only thing that would get a small cable company to convert to digital would be the loss of customers.

-DonB2

Does anyone know how Samsung came up with DTB-H260 for the model number of this new set top box? It sure is different than their old "SIR" naming convention.

I have notice that sometimes I have to press buttons on the remote more than once especially when attempting to enter a channel number off of the key pad.

I do like the TV channel option. It is very easy to press TV channel on the remote and than select thru the digital channels available.

Arxaw,
One more thing the ATSC tuner software appears to change over time. Some of the earlier Samsung units go into reboot because they just are not compatible with the newer info being broadcast to them. Of course a programable USB port helps overcome this.

-DonB2

OhioState87, do you think the DTB-H260F is a low price?

Sure, it'd be nice and more convienient to have more standalone tuners coming out with both analog and digital. At this point, I don't see it though. Not OTA-only ones, anyway.

But, where there's a will, there's a way. You could always split the signal to either your set's NTSC tuner, or one in a VCR or DVD recorder. It's not perfect, but it's a solution.

I guess what gets me is the legacy info you get at some Televison station sites concerning the switch to Digital. In general they state that people still watching tv with an analog 4:3 tv will be supplied a cost effective - possibly goverment subsidized STB ATSC tuner that will work with their 4:3 tvs. Or in the meanwhile you can go to high end electronic stores and purchase an ATSC STB tuner.

Well all this probably made since as little as a year ago. But now it seems there are very few STB's for sale anywhere without a subscription to a Sat provider.

I don't even see a STB available at Walmart any more and they use to sell that USDTV tuner for around $200.00.

It appears that TV's are getting integrated tuners at a very fast rate and anyone left watching a Non HD compliant TV is not going to have a lot of options.

I think it is somewhere around 8 percent of USA population who subscribe to OTA NTSC only. Not a very large chunk of people to sell standalone STB's to.

So I guess in some respects I consider myself lucky that Samsung has even built this latest generation STB. I almost wonder if it is a copy of one they have supplied to a cable or Sat Provider in order to help cover the development costs.

-Don B2

analog TV will be around until early 2009.......in the electronics world that is a heck of a long time. Undoubtedly there will be a $50 to $75 ATSC set top box available by then, there are $50 ATSC tuners for personal computers now, but the computer supplies all the decoding horsepower. The market and the government don't really care about early adaptors, their attitude is " if you want ATSC digital TV now, pay for it".

The whole purpose for this thread is that Samsung has seen the niche market for a set top box and is supplying one....the DTB-H260F for $180. TiVo will be supplying a DVR with ATSC tuner, but you will have to pay for it (dearly !). In three years the entire market will be different, and all the early adaptors will have paid for the R&D.

Some background. I have an old Mitsubishi 65" CRT RP set with one component input.
Several years ago I got a Dish 6000 for both OTA and satellite reception and have also had Comcast cable with a 6412 STB. I now only subscribe to the Expanded Plus service with no Premium movie packages. For the last 2 years I have been using a CM4228 Antenna with rotor. I live in Charles Co, Md (Waldorf) and with the CM4228 and the Dish 6000, I was able to get all of the DC and Baltimore channels OTA by turning the
rotor. I am 30 miles from DC and 55 miles from Baltimore. DC is about due north and Baltimore is about at NNE. Over the past year the Baltimore channels slowly disappeared with only an occasional lock on channel 13.1 As the Dish 6000 was a 1st generation set , I thought it was failing as I had dropped DISH NETWORK about the time they went to MPEG4. I only needed to maintain a satellite signal for the OTA to work. After reading this thread, I decided to buy the new Samsung. As soon as I scanned for OTA stations, I received 34 digital channels between DC and Balt. with one CM4228 pointed at 20 degrees . I then scanned Comcast cable and found 300 QAM channels. Of course only about 35 channels are in the clear. These include all of the DC and BALT OTA digital channels. The QAM tuner about duplicates the OTA reception.
Faced with having to plug and unplug the OTA and Cable inputs and after finding that a splitter used backwards as a combiner would not work (OTA) I got an A/B switch and it works perfectly as long as you press the Antenna button on the Samsung remote. With this setup and the switch set to cable and an RF connection from the Samsung STB Antenna Out to an RF input on the Mitsu allows the analog cable channels to pass thru. When you go to OTA the passthru only allows several channels to get thru which are near the digital channels on the cable. The only thing I would need to allow me to be a couch potato would be an A/B switch with a remote. But as my component switcher is not remote capable, I change them both at the same time. In addition I route the Samsung SVIDEO out to another input and in some cases the SVIDEO looks as good as the Digital. The nice thing is that all outputs are active so I can watch HD CABLE and HD OTA in SD at the same time. Great for football games on cable in DC and different games in Balt OTA. Of course I can do the same thing with Cable HD STB and Samsang QAM. The difference between the 1st generation 6000 and the Samsung is amazing. I would be curious as how well a Silver Sensor indoor would do in my case. I use the optical DD output except for the SVIDEO and composite inputs which are accompaneid by stereo inputs. I have noticed one anonmaly where my neighbor has a QAM tuner in a Phillips HDTV and I use the QAM in the Samsung. We both subscribe to the same cable package. He can receive the MC channels and I cannot. Looking for an explanation for that. All in all I am extremely pleased with the Samsung STB.

Another thing I like about the DTB-H260F is how nicely it switched from one channel or multicast channel with the up/down channel button. Both my old Sir T 451 and also my built in Pioneer ATSC tuners are very clumsy at switching channels hanging for long periods of time. The DTB-H260F on the other hand appeard to surf thru channels as quickly as an analog cable surf.

m_vanmeter,

I just want to see the DTB-H260F available in more stores nationwide. I could not even find one in a local Circuit City here in Raleigh, NC. "They did not even know what I was talking about." I had to stumble into one 600 miles away in Binghamtom, NY. over Thanksgiving.

From other posts I have read on this forum, locating one of these Niche market units can be challenging.

-DonB2

Thats' because they'd rather sell something with higher profit margin like:
1. A complete digital TV with integrated tuner.
2. A satellite receiver w/ OTA tuner or a subscription to digital cable.

Well I followed the suggestion about connecting the "red" component lead to the video in plug on the tv and was able to get a black & white image (bearly readable) and was able to run the auto scan and wow. Got about 15 channels (actually more if I aim my indoor amp antenna differently) and all in full digital and stereo sound. Works great as far as picture and sound, but as was already mentioned, no menus, etc. Think I'll keep it (can always just sell it on Ebay), since at this point they're like hen's teeth to find. Can use it later if I just get an HD monitor (most are now HD ready though), which are cheaper.

Is there such a thing as a component to S-video cable? I won't hold my breath though.

Should be nice for anyone with at least component hookups. Are there other tuners that will work with just S-video or composite plugs?

Thanks for the help.

I am getting "happier" with this STB. Receiving " not earlier receivable" stations-could be the weather. Not part of 260 menus but happening over time. Sound is zero. The sound level has to be increased to max. Read other threads about the final STB,this isn't it. With it's timer function, I wish I could install a hard drive. The 91 xg is proving itself.

The Philips and the Samsung are both QAM but may not tune exactly the same channel ranges. And the MC channels are in a band your Samsung can't tune to.

Keeper; Remote directional, have to make effort.

This is not the first Samsung with "weak" IR remote problems. Previous HD receivers made bye Sammy for DirecTV suffered from the same problem.

I hate effort when related to HT.

Can this Sammy stretch the 4:3 material?

Thx

Yes !

jakesnakemd ,

Interesting that the red lead produces a fuzzy display on your tv. Did you switch to 480 on the back of the Samsung?

"as was already mentioned, no menus, etc"

So you are still not getting menus even when using the Red lead off of the component?

-DonB2

"Can this Sammy stretch the 4:3 material?"

One thing I like is that when I am watching a 4:3 feed on a HD channel and the station sticks the bars on each side I can Zoom the Samsung and get rid of the vertical bars. I can't do this with Pioneer. Now maybe the Zoom looses some of the image but I still like it better than looking at vertical bars.

-DonB2