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427Cobraman
Guest
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 Posted:
Wed Dec 22, 2004 9:23 pm Post subject:
Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST loca |
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I apologize if this is the wrong forum for the question. I'm planning
in the near future to get DirecTV and am currently only watching
broadcast. Several stations are brodcasting in HD here, but set top HD
broadcast converters are a rarity at the stores around here. The ones
I do find are $200 and up. I'd rather get a two-in-one setup (if they
exist) and be all good to go for when I do decide to go satellite. Any
recommendations? Thanks,
Alex |
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Seth
Guest
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| Posted:
Wed Dec 22, 2004 9:50 pm Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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"427Cobraman" <quartermiler1320@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1103732628.526449.305580@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | I apologize if this is the wrong forum for the question. I'm planning
in the near future to get DirecTV and am currently only watching
broadcast. Several stations are brodcasting in HD here, but set top HD
broadcast converters are a rarity at the stores around here. The ones
I do find are $200 and up. I'd rather get a two-in-one setup (if they
exist) and be all good to go for when I do decide to go satellite. Any
recommendations? Thanks,
|
All the sat-HD receivers I've seen do OTA-HD as well.
Where you are going to have difficulty is in getting one and NOT subscribing
to sat right away. These days just about everyplace that sells sat
receivers have a subscription requirement as the equipment is subsidized by
the sat providers. |
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Tom Morse
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Dec 23, 2004 2:00 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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"427Cobraman" <quartermiler1320@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1103732628.526449.305580@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | I apologize if this is the wrong forum for the question. I'm planning
in the near future to get DirecTV and am currently only watching
broadcast. Several stations are brodcasting in HD here, but set top HD
broadcast converters are a rarity at the stores around here. The ones
I do find are $200 and up. I'd rather get a two-in-one setup (if they
exist) and be all good to go for when I do decide to go satellite. Any
recommendations? Thanks,
Alex
|
How about a used RCA DTC-100 on eBay? You can use it for OTA forever and
never subscribe to DirecTV if you don't want to.
Tom
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427Cobraman
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Dec 23, 2004 7:20 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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Thanks for the info! I'll look into one of those. I went to Best Buys
website and it says purchased Sat receivers must be activated within 30
days. What happens if I don't? Does the DTC-100 lack in any features
a newer receiver would have for OTA? |
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Carl Keehn
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Dec 23, 2004 5:07 pm Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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"427Cobraman" <quartermiler1320@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1103768434.865260.36280@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | Thanks for the info! I'll look into one of those. I went to Best Buys
website and it says purchased Sat receivers must be activated within 30
days. What happens if I don't? Does the DTC-100 lack in any features
a newer receiver would have for OTA?
|
When you purchased the receiver, Best Buy would take a credit card number.
If the receiver were not activated within the 30 days, Best Buy would add an
additional charge to the card. BB and other satellite retailers are paid a
subsidy for each receiver purchased AND activated. If it isn't activated
within that time frame, they lose the subsidy. The cost of the receiver to
the consumer is also subsidized, DirecTV figures that they would make up the
subsidy in subscription fees. |
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Tom Morse
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Dec 24, 2004 12:24 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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"427Cobraman" <quartermiler1320@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1103768434.865260.36280@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | Thanks for the info! I'll look into one of those. I went to Best Buys
website and it says purchased Sat receivers must be activated within 30
days. What happens if I don't? Does the DTC-100 lack in any features
a newer receiver would have for OTA?
|
It may require an RGB to Component video adapter. That would depend on your
TV/monitor. The DTC-100 can directly feed a standard PC (SVGA) monitor and
provide full HDTV in that manner. The problem is that there are not too many
"big screen" SVGA monitors. Some of the DTC-100s for sale on eBay include
the adapter.
Buying used eliminates the "subscribe or else" problem.
Tom
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.818 / Virus Database: 556 - Release Date: 12/17/2004 |
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427Cobraman
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Dec 24, 2004 4:13 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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My TV is a toshiba TP71H95, and has component inputs, so I guess I'll
need the cable as well. Thanks again,
Alex |
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427Cobraman
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Dec 24, 2004 4:13 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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My TV is a toshiba TP71H95, and has component inputs, so I guess I'll
need the cable as well. Thanks again,
Alex |
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Jacques
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:24 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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Carl Keehn wrote:
| Quote: | The cost of the receiver to the
consumer is also subsidized...
|
This 'receiver subsidy' was probably a big deal several years ago when
the cost of the receivers (wholesale) would have been significant.
Nowadays, I'd guess that the wholesale cost (from the manufacturer) of
a basic receiver is probably about US$20 or so (whippity-doo). The
dish, mount and LNBF combined probably cost about the same as the
receiver. The whole package might wholesale for about US$40.
In other words: if there is a significant subsidy these days, it is
probably the 'free installation' (probably costs them US$75-100). |
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Seth
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:48 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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"Jacques" <lesgranddish@yahoo.fr> wrote in message
news:1103851494.917372.124390@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | Carl Keehn wrote:
The cost of the receiver to the
consumer is also subsidized...
This 'receiver subsidy' was probably a big deal several years ago when
the cost of the receivers (wholesale) would have been significant.
Nowadays, I'd guess that the wholesale cost (from the manufacturer) of
a basic receiver is probably about US$20 or so (whippity-doo). The
dish, mount and LNBF combined probably cost about the same as the
receiver. The whole package might wholesale for about US$40.
In other words: if there is a significant subsidy these days, it is
probably the 'free installation' (probably costs them US$75-100).
|
Nope. The most significant part of the receiver is the MPEG decoder chip.
More specifically, the licensing fee for the software contained in said
chip. Still about $75 by itself.
Then add in the rest of the hardware and software that makes it work. |
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Jacques
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Dec 24, 2004 7:30 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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Seth proposed:
| Quote: | Nope. The most significant part of the
receiver is the MPEG decoder chip. More
specifically, the licensing fee for the
software contained in said chip. Still
about $75 by itself.
|
I don't know where and when you read that, but US "$75" for a licensing
fee (or did you mean the whole chip?, either way...) sounds like old
information.
A long, long time ago (about a year ago...), I read that DVD players
had licensing fees totalling about US$35 per player. But now that DVD
players sell retail for as little as US$25, I'm prepared to believe
that perhaps the licesing fees for DVD players have been dramatically
reduced since then.
I suspect that the same sort of thing would have happened with
satellite.
For example - the cheapest DVB-FTA receivers (same technology, same
fees, but no 'subsidy' myth) are now as low as just over US$100 retail.
Wholesale is typically about 50% of retail. The cheapest DirecTV boxes
are made in MUCH larger quantities (a million at a time) and seem to be
more cheaply made than even the cheapest FTA boxes (no display for
example).
If you're looking at a price for the set-top-box chip (STi55xx), ask
about for the price in Qty 1,000,000 - you'd be amazed at the qty price
breaks.
I'll stand by my main point that the cost of the 'free installation'
likely exceeds the actual cost of the receiver subsidy (if any). |
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Bob Nielsen
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Dec 24, 2004 8:14 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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On Fri, 24 Dec 2004 03:33:28 GMT, Zoyburg wrote:
| Quote: | Tom Morse wrote:
[...]
How about a used RCA DTC-100 on eBay? You can use it for OTA forever and
never subscribe to DirecTV if you don't want to.
But isn't the RCA a crappy receiver? I've seen several broken ones for
sale on Ebay. The Toshiba/Mitsubishi/Hughes 1st generation HDTV clones
also seem to have some problems, though if you get one that works, it
may be okay for a good while.
Samsung also makes several HDTV/DTV and HDTV-only boxes that you can
find cheaply on Ebay, such as the SIR-T151 and such. Thing to be aware
of is that some of them are HDTV only, and won't receive NTSC (analog)
TV.
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You want ATSC, not NTSC for OTA HD broadcasts. |
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Zoyburg
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Dec 24, 2004 8:14 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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Tom Morse wrote:
| Quote: | [...]
How about a used RCA DTC-100 on eBay? You can use it for OTA forever and
never subscribe to DirecTV if you don't want to.
|
But isn't the RCA a crappy receiver? I've seen several broken ones for
sale on Ebay. The Toshiba/Mitsubishi/Hughes 1st generation HDTV clones
also seem to have some problems, though if you get one that works, it
may be okay for a good while.
Samsung also makes several HDTV/DTV and HDTV-only boxes that you can
find cheaply on Ebay, such as the SIR-T151 and such. Thing to be aware
of is that some of them are HDTV only, and won't receive NTSC (analog)
TV. |
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Seth
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Dec 24, 2004 8:14 am Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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"Jacques" <lesgranddish@yahoo.fr> wrote in message
news:1103855450.042660.210800@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | Seth proposed:
Nope. The most significant part of the
receiver is the MPEG decoder chip. More
specifically, the licensing fee for the
software contained in said chip. Still
about $75 by itself.
I don't know where and when you read that, but US "$75" for a licensing
fee (or did you mean the whole chip?, either way...) sounds like old
information.
|
Possibly. Been out of the satellite biz for a while, but that price held
for the 7 prior years at least. Things may have changed recently, but not
in anything I've read. But then again I don't read as much about that side
of the busines as I used to.
| Quote: | A long, long time ago (about a year ago...), I read that DVD players
had licensing fees totalling about US$35 per player. But now that DVD
players sell retail for as little as US$25, I'm prepared to believe
that perhaps the licesing fees for DVD players have been dramatically
reduced since then.
|
That was the software used by APEX, and a big cause of what dropped the
market price of DVD players as a whole. APEX uses more of a CODEC on their
platform rather than a dedicated MPEG decoder as is used by higher end DVD
players and Satellite receivers.
| Quote: | I suspect that the same sort of thing would have happened with
satellite.
|
Not that I'm aware of to the same extent.
| Quote: | For example - the cheapest DVB-FTA receivers (same technology, same
fees, but no 'subsidy' myth) are now as low as just over US$100 retail.
Wholesale is typically about 50% of retail. The cheapest DirecTV boxes
are made in MUCH larger quantities (a million at a time) and seem to be
more cheaply made than even the cheapest FTA boxes (no display for
example).
If you're looking at a price for the set-top-box chip (STi55xx), ask
about for the price in Qty 1,000,000 - you'd be amazed at the qty price
breaks.
|
Not building boxes I'm not really purusing vendors of parts.
| Quote: | I'll stand by my main point that the cost of the 'free installation'
likely exceeds the actual cost of the receiver subsidy (if any).
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But what source do you base that on? |
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Zoyburg
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Dec 24, 2004 2:46 pm Post subject:
Re: Is there a HD Sat receiver that also converts BROADCAST |
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Bob Nielsen wrote:
| Quote: | On Fri, 24 Dec 2004 03:33:28 GMT, Zoyburg wrote:
[...]
But isn't the RCA a crappy receiver? I've seen several broken ones for
sale on Ebay. The Toshiba/Mitsubishi/Hughes 1st generation HDTV clones
also seem to have some problems, though if you get one that works, it
may be okay for a good while.
Samsung also makes several HDTV/DTV and HDTV-only boxes that you can
find cheaply on Ebay, such as the SIR-T151 and such. Thing to be aware
of is that some of them are HDTV only, and won't receive NTSC (analog)
TV.
You want ATSC, not NTSC for OTA HD broadcasts.
|
Yes, but some receivers will receive BOTH ATSC & NTSC, whereas some
will receive ONLY ATSC. It's just a matter of convenience to avoid
having to switch inputs to see NTSC vs. ATSC. |
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