[STayfair]

I bought the SAT HD100 last week....setting it up was a snap and I had been receiving a beautiful picture for all my OTA stations...HD on ABC was outstanding.


Today I was playing around trying to see if I could get any HD broadcasts through my AT&T cable (particularly CBS, I had heard they were broadcasting in HD on channel 35 on AT&T cable - no luck -) and I seem to have messed something up that I'm having a hard time fixing.


I cleared the channels that I had previously found using the channel auto search function of the box...now when I use the channel auto search feature....I get nothing. Nothing meaning the percentage indicator that shows it is searching for channels never moves.


When I check the signal strength of my antenna, it shows a great signal (all in mid 80's to mid 90's for signal strength - except CBS, which I'm still getting at low 70's).


I've also noticed some of the settings in the various menus are black or greyed out...meaning they are not accessible unless you have a dish...which if fine because I don't have a dish...but they were not blacked/greyed out before..


Lastly...when I hit the menu button on the remote and the on screen menu comes up...I don't get all nine menu options like I did before, only menu option 1 (system), 4 (properties), and 5 (exit) are available.


What the heck did I do???? or is the box malfunctioning?


Please help..


Tom

 

[markrubin]

I would check simple things first:


-unplug unit from AC line for 10 seconds


-check that you reconnected antenna to the proper input with good cable/connector


hopefully it is something easy


Mark

 

[STayfair]

Heya Mark, thanks...


I'll give unplugging it a shot...as far as plugging the RG6 back in..that seems to be fine because my signal strengths are all in the 80's and 90's for my locals.


Hope I figure something out.


Tom

 

[STayfair]

Well...so far unplugging and plugging back in did nothing...not sure what to do at the moment...back to the drawing board.

 

[STayfair]

Wheww...upon closer review, it seems unplugging has done the trick. After plugging it back in I was able to get the auto channel search to find my locals again, I'm back in business!


But holy cow was the color bad...I was watching the Cubs game on WB and their uniforms were green! Supposed to be blue for those who don'e know/care. I couldn't get them back to blue...someone mentioned somewhere that the Sony receiver might be doing something like that...hope not.


Thanks again Mark

 

[Benji]

Tom: Do yourself a favor--take the Sony receiver back and get a refund. Then go find a store that sells the Hughes HIRD-E86 receiver and buy it. The Hughes runs circles around the Sony and is considerably cheaper. It's easier to use and has more and better features. You'll be thanking me for this advice. I've tried the Sony and would not recommend it to my worst enemy. There's a good reason that Sony has discontinued this receiver.

 

[Stanton]

TELLING SOMEONE TO RETURN THEIR UNIT JUST TO BUY THE ONE YOU HAVE DOESN'T ANSWER HIS QUESTION! Posts like that don't help anyone.

Back on topic--You're initial problem was correctly diagnosed as a "hard boot" restore. I think you're latest problem (which you may have already found), is one of your component cables not being plugged in. If all three are *not* seated properly, you'll get whichever color *is* plugged in dominating. If that isn't it, *then* you should consult w/Sony (under warranty).

Good luck, and you remove the fan if you can't stand the noise (you can search for relevant threads).

 

[Benji]

Quote:

Originally posted by Stanton TELLING SOMEONE TO RETURN THEIR UNIT JUST TO BUY THE ONE YOU HAVE DOESN'T ANSWER HIS QUESTION! Posts like that don't help anyone.

I would agree with you to a point. But one of the reasons for forums like this are to inform people of better ways to improve their home theaters. The SONY receiver is a problematic receiver. He's only had the receiver a few days and could easily return it for a full refund. The Hughes is cheaper than the SONY and a much better receiver and I feel I'm doing him a service with this advice. I'm sorry you don't happen to agree.

 

[JorgeGVB]

Quote:

Originally posted by Benji I would agree with you to a point. But one of the reasons for forums like this are to inform people of better ways to improve their home theaters. The SONY receiver is a problematic receiver.....

I would have to agree with Stanton about your comments. The problem with your first post Benji was it sure sounded like another case of Sony bashing to me. I don't think I have ever read a thread about the HD-100 on this forum without the same few people jumping in to bash the unit. Stayfair was looking a specific solution from HD-100 owners for a particular issue he was having. Your post didn't offer a solution and he didn't give enough info about his HT setup to offer him advice on which STB he needed.


Sony has sent out patches to correct the problems most people had. There are plenty of us who still own the HD-100 on this forum and are very pleased with its picture and performance. None of the HD STBs are perfect, they all have problems from what I have read on this forum. God only know for sure, but I read nearly all of them before buying my unit. I am sorry you had a problem with your Sony unit, but you were able to exchange it and some of the others that were dissatisfied got refunds from Sony. Why not let it go already?

 

[Roger Clark]

I don't happen to agree either with anything you just said. I've owned the Hughes and Sony as well and chose the Sony. I have a 65" calibrated RPTV and preferred the picture quality of the Sony. I prefer it's guide and it also has the 480i/1080i variable output option the Hughes doesn't have (a real pain for me).


I have had no problems with the Sony at all. In fact there are many threads here with problems with the Hughes (Mits/Toshiba variants too) receivers right now while the Sony problems have pretty much been resolved.


All the receivers have had teething problems, even the great new Zenith entry that was going to be the one to have everything.


He simply needs to make his own decision about which he likes the best.

 

[Benji]

Roger: The problem with the Hughes receiver was the disappearing Advanced Program Guide. Hughes has fixed that problem. I haven't seen any complaints from Hughes owners the past couple of weeks since the fix. I appreciate the fact that SONY owners like their receivers and want to defend its reputation. I was just offering another option to an individual who was having issues with his receiver. Sorry if I ruffled any feathers, I didn't mean to. I did have a SONY briefly and it worked 100% according to the manual, I just didn't like it and much prefer the Hughes.

 

[trich]

OK this is my last post on this subject, because it has been beat to death over the last year. I have had a HD100 for over a year. I have local digital and local HD and Directv. Every time I read where someone says this stb is a peace of junk I just shake my head. I have five grand kids 4 to 15 years old. The inputs and channels have been changed a million times. The poor old remote had been droped.kicked,slunge,diped, lost and the 4 year old likes to use it for a hammer.

The stb or remote has never been in the shop. Would I buy the same box and tv again, you bet...............................

 

[Jim Boden]

trich:


Couldn't agree with you more. I've had a SAT HD-100 for several months and just love it. I've never had a problem with it and I get a stunning picture on a 50" plasma, even on SD channels but, of course, more so with HD.

 

[Stanton]

I've been trying to sit on my hands on this one, so you saved me the agony.

BTW, anyone who says the Hughes STB is more "feature rich" or "easier to use" is nuts! (yes, I tried one before buying my HD-100). OOOPS, I did it

 

[btmoore]

what is this??? A Sony HD-100 emotional support group. Give me a break! I love how owners rush to the defense of their STB. You have to give Sony credit, they have done an excellent job of developing brand loyalty. No I am not a sony basher, I have thousands of dollars of sony HT gear all of which I love (for the most part), there are only 3 things in my 2 AV systems that are not Sony. DVD = JVC; Speakers = Klipsch; HD-STB =Hughes. I am not going to go into it, but needless to say the dvd and HDstb are not sony is because of bugs. By far the most defect ridden POS I have every had in my AV systems has been the HD-100. Sony has done a great service by no longer selling or making these. Sure other HD STB have had their share of problems but damn Sony screwed up with this POS in both the equipment and how they handled customer care. I am just glad they finally bought mine back at the price I paid for it.


Let me put it this way, my hd-100 experience was the worst experience I have ever had with any equipment I have ever owned. How this box ever made it through QA testing I will never know. Yep I am sure some of the defects have been fixed but they have a long way to come to rebuild the goodwill they have lost with me.


Regards,


Brian

 

[TomF]

Having experienced both units, I had to add my $0.02 worth.


I bought the Mits SR-HD5 which was problematic for two months and then went into a constant reboot cycle. When I took it back to the dealer, he loaned me a Sony SAT-HD100 for the 2-3 weeks it took to diagnose my Mits as being dead as a door nail and get a replacement.


I didn't particularly care for the Sony interface and the Mits APG is far superior than the Sony guide, which doesn't integrate the OTA digital channels with the regular satellite channels. There is also no program data displayed for any of the OTA digital channels. The LCD on the front is a nice touch though.


The brand-new replacement SR-HD5 that I got has exhibited none of the problems of the original box and has run flawlessly for more than nine months. The two upgrades that Mitsubishi has provided has made the APG much faster than before and the program data much more reliable.


Just like btmoore, most of my other equipment is Sony: ES receiver, two DirecTiVos, CD jukebox, CD changer, DVD player, LD player, cassette deck, and even my linear turntable! My HD receiver, VCRs and TVs are all Mitsubishi.


The Sony SAT-HD100 just didn't work as well for me as the Mits SR-HD5.

 

[krs7272]

I have to laugh everytime someone new asks a question. When it involves an stb the question is almost always ignored and the stb is bashed and why something else is better is always the anawer.


Chris

 

[Benji]

With all due respect to Sony STB owners, I believe if any of you had 2 identical TVs side-by-side, 1 with a Sony SAT100, the other with a Hughes (or clone) connected to it today Thursday July 30, 2002, you would break down and agree the Hughes (or clone) is the superior box. The only major problem with the Hughes was the APG. That's been fixed. There are no other problems. They now perform flawlessly. The 2 biggest advantages-a much better program guide and NO FAN NOISE! The only advantage for Sony-the front display on the receiver.

 

[btmoore]

Quote:

Originally posted by Benji With all due respect to Sony STB owners, I believe if any of you had 2 identical TVs side-by-side, 1 with a Sony SAT100, the other with a Hughes (or clone) connected to it today Thursday July 30, 2002, you would break down and agree the Hughes (or clone) is the superior box. The only major problem with the Hughes was the APG. That's been fixed. There are no other problems. They now perform flawlessly. The 2 biggest advantages-a much better program guide and NO FAN NOISE! The only advantage for Sony-the front display on the receiver.

The Sony variable output mode is a nice if it makes sense/works for your tv. It did not work for my Sony 10HT I had to up-convert to 1080i or down to 480i the variable mode just confused the projector. Not sure there would be an advantage for a 16:9 tv but on a 4:3 Wega it was nice that it would auto resync to 480i for digital stations that were not up-converting like my local UPN station. But most of the stations up-convert their 4:3 into 1080i or 720p so there was typically no advantage in the variable output mode. On a 4:3 36xbr400 it was just a 4:3 box in a 16:9 box, e.g. a box in a box.


Too bad the box had too many other problems, i do wish the Hughes would do 480i out the component outputs, Sony had it right there. It is just broken in lots of other areas.


Regards,


Brian

 

[kelliot]

Quote:

Originally posted by Benji The only advantage for Sony-the front display on the receiver.

Another one is that it will output 480i component to feed a Phillips DVD recorder.