[Hornet]

I just went out and bought a Mitsubishi 55" Widescreen and a Zenith SAT520 HD converter box, and a nice pair of antennas to pick up the local channels.


My first problem is.....I bought the DVI cable, and it's pretty much a no brainer as to where you plug it in..........but my problem is, all I get through it is sound....no picture. I called Directv and the people there acted like they had never heard of DVI cable......so they had me hook up my system using the Red, Blue, & Green cables that came with the Zenith converter box, then take the red and white wire's and hook them to transmit the sound........all through Componet 1.


My Question is, how do I use the DVI, and what input would I use to pick it up? Ant A didn't work, nor anything else I tired.I loked in my owners manual for the tv, and it looks as if I mi ght need a nother cable called a Monitor Link Control/RS-232....but I didn't see anything about it in my Zenith manual, nor did the guy at the store telll me I need it......and he was pushing everything else under the sun.....so I don't know why he wouldn't have tried to selll me that if I needed it.


Next, I can't get my antennas to pick up any local channels.....and I have no idea why I can't .........do you guys have any suggestions, or things I can look for.........or tell me what I need to do.because I am lost trying to pick up local HD channels.....and I know I do get them, because I already looked them up in my area.


Also.....is there any trick to changing formats, or how each station is being shown on the tv? When I go from watching ESPN(HD), to another normal channel(say FOX), or any local channel.....the picture is pretty bad..worse than your normal difference from HD to regular tv.......do I need to change it from 1080l on the Zen convert to another setting when I change channels?


Thanks for your time and help!!!!

 

[Randyhat]

There is a small switch on the back of the Zenith 520. It toggles between DVI and Component and/or composite connections. The 520 is probably set for non-DVI connection.


Regarding the antennas: Signal strength and direction are the main factors in getting your antennas dialed in correctly. Go to http://www.antenna.org It has a handy little feature online to help you point your antenna.


Randy

 

[Hornet]

Thanks for the help!!! I think that switch was definitely my problem.


I went to the antenna site, and I see what your talking about, but I don't see on my antenna how I would know to dial it in at 250 degrees........vs......300 degrees........or whatever........does the Zenith box have a setup that I would need to go through to get started with the local hi def?

 

[Randyhat]

Actually I gave you the wrong site address...it's antennaweb.org instead of antenna.org. In any case you will need to use a compass to point the antenna. The position computed on antennaweb.org will give you the approximately compass heading from your location. Just point the small end of the antenna on that setting and it should be a good place to start. Depending on the strength of your signal you may need to do the last bit of dialing in manually. The Zenith has a signal strength indicator that can be helpful.


Once you have your antenna positioned correctly you can go into the setup section in the receiver and have it search for and add your OTA channels. (EZ channel scan).


Randy