Reviews for DirecTV Receivers?

[det058]

Does anyone know of a website or other source that gives reviews of the different satellite receivers on the market today? I have a couple of RCA receivers (sorry I don't know the model numbers) that I'd like to replace along with adding a 40GB DVR, but I'm not sure which brands are good and which aren't. I was hoping Consumer Reports would have something like this, but they don't. I've seen the Philips receivers advertised, but are they necessary better than the Hughes or RCA receivers? Is one brand head and shoulders better than the others or should I look for the best deal? Thanks for any tips you can give me, I appreciate the insight.

[Mark Holtz]

When it comes to DirecTV with DVR, it doesn't matter which model you get. They all come off the same assembly line and have a different panel attached. (Hint: If you know what you're doing, get a cheap 40GB model, then upgrade the drive yourself).

You may want to take a look at the receiver manuals (http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/learn/Manuals.dsp). While I can't give you a complete review, there are some neat features of the Hughes HBH-SA receiver which I like which is an improvement over the Dish 301 receiver. First off, it holds a seven-day guide (HAH-SA holds a fourteen day guide) which the 301 holds a 44 hour guide. There is also a "TurboTune" feature which allows you to set three sets of nine channels which you can quickly tune to. Also nice is a channel sorting feature which sorts by channel ID as well as channel #.

One gotcha to watch out for is that if you are using the RF output to a TV, and want to switch it from channel 3 to channel 4, you have to do it from one of the menus. There is no external "Channel 3/4" switch.

One freature which I WISH they would put on the remote is a dedicated TV power button. Both the 501 remote and the DirecTiVo remote have a "power" button to actually turn on and off the TV. But the 301 remote and the HBH-SA remote have you switching to "TV" mode to turn on and off the TV (although the 301 remote's AUX button will turn on and off the TV).

Hope that helps.

[MarkA]

"I was hoping Consumer Reports would have something like this, but they don't."

I've seen one in the past reviewing HD receivers (way back) and like EVERYTHING else to do with anything remotely electronic or complex (yes, even vacuum cleaners.... I've seen it) they screwed up the review and included outright madeup stuff. The point I remember from that one - they claimed the HD-15 RGBHV connector on the RCA box was proprietary and only RCA TVs had it. Somebody never looked at the back of most computers...

Consumer Reports is actually rather remarkable for just how often they make major mistakes or misinformations in their reviews.