Anyone buy the 921 & 34" TV combo?

[kspeters]

Anyone buy the 921 & 34" TV combo? Just wondering what everyone thought of the tv, quality , features, etc. Seems like a good deal but am a little leary of the 921 after reading about it here. I need some good advice on the decision yo buy or not ot buy the combo or even the tv or reciever alone. Thanks for any input.
:lol:

[kspeters]

So no one has bought this combo. I'm really sitting on the fence here. Can't seem to decide whether this deal is too good to be true.

[ClaudeR]

I bought it, as well as many others here. Have you searched the threads? It is OK for the money, I paid $700 total, first time sub.

[kspeters]

Wow , for $700 bucks that is a heck of a deal. Yes I searched the site but didn't find exactly what I was looking for. There are some posts on the tv but was looking for more advice. Thanks.

[ClaudeR]

It's large and heavy, and shows a HiDef picture. The geometry is really messed up, and I've tweaked mine to a reasonable picture. TVs will continue to drop in price, but the $500 CRT is not a bad deal. If you have the room, direct view CRTs can produce the some of the best color palatte and viewing angles.

A similar unit from Philips can be found for $800 at BJs. Don't forget that Dish DELIVERS the TV - This is a HUGE advantage when getting a 34" CRT. I figure in another year or three, the plasma or technology de jour will be significantly cheaper, I will have had HiDef for that long, and save over $500 on the new technology when it comes along.

[mopar_chris]

I have had mine for about a month now & I love it. The 921 has worked great except for a few little hiccups with recording 2 shows at once, but I think that was operator error. The TV is great too, I have a DVD, PS2, PC & the sat plugged into it. The only thing I don't like is: when you are watching a standard def show that is not in widescreen the TV streches it out & it pixellates some. I can't figure out how to switch it back to standard size. I think it was a great deal & I'm glad I bought it.

[Savage112]

The only thing I don't like is: when you are watching a standard def show that is not in widescreen the TV streches it out & it pixellates some. I can't figure out how to switch it back to standard size.

Try pressing the * key on your 921 remote.

[swlauren]

So no one has bought this combo. I'm really sitting on the fence here. Can't seem to decide whether this deal is too good to be true.
Yep! i bought the combo. Have it two weeks and everything is OK. TV has a really good picture on SD and HD and the 921 is not showing any bugs yet

[ubankit]

I bought the 34" direct view tv & 921, mid December 2004. The 921 quit receiving after 3 days. It was replaced about two weeks later. I did get credited for the down time (AT120 + locals). The replacement 921 has worked ok (just some of the buggy problems that show up in the 921 discussion). The tv has a decent picture (it's not a Sony or Toshiba). It's heavy (170 lbs) so the fact E* delivered & set it up is a big plus! I purchased a "Stormark" model tv stand from Ikea in Houston for $65, the tv fits like it was made for it. My understanding is the tv is an RCA brand, and is a discontinued item with them. Oh yeah, I signed up for the HD pack & HBO to take advantage of the HD programming. I previously had a 501 so the dvr concept isn't new to me and I couldn't live without one after the 501. I'm well satisfied with the performance and the price, I don't think you can go wrong with this promo. I rec locals hd via ota, can get all the locals except pbs. The only downside to hd tv is that the sd picture really looks shabby now! I may be in the minority about E* bashing, I've been much more satisfied with satellite (5 yrs with D*, then 1-1/2 years with E*) than I ever was with cable (TWC in my area); it's nice to have a choice in providers and I never had that with cable. I'm rambling now....

[chewey]

I bought the TV back in Jan. 04. I didn't get it through Dish, I got the RCA version that was a floor model at Sam's Club for $1000. I thought it was a great deal and considering prices 1 year ago it was a good deal.

I used it with the Dish 811 for about a year, and recently got the 921. I have been very happy with both.

One of the coolest things about it is this feature that make the integration between your components and the tv really easy. When I press the sat button on the remote, both the tv and the sat receiver turn on.

Then if I press the vcr button, the tv automatically swtiches to the input I have set for the vcr (actually my ps2), for the aux button it swtiches to the dvd rgb input.

The tv has a great picture and I haven't had any problems with it.

For $700 it is a great deal. And $300 for the 921 is awsome too. I got my 921 at costco for $480.

[kspeters]

Thaks for the input guys, keep those cards and letters coming!!
I talked to dish the other day and the rep said that the promo would be good untill end of February.

[jgoggan]

I did the 40" plus 811 deal last year and was happy with it. The 40" went to my Dad (because I already have a 57" Hitachi RP) and the 811 went to EBay and I put the money to a 721. Ended up getting a great deal on an HDTV for my Dad and a cheap 721 for me. :)

- John...

[chewey]

Thaks for the input guys, keep those cards and letters coming!!
I talked to dish the other day and the rep said that the promo would be good untill end of February.


So what did you decide?

[kspeters]

I have not made a decision yet. According to dish rep I have untill end of Feb to make the call. I am going to look at HD tvs this weekend. It takes me a while to make up my mind as I like to do a lot of research. For one thing I don't know whether to go for the buggy 921 or wait for the 942, I have to do some comparisons betwent the two first. For $999 it's not a bad deal but just worried about upgrading down the line when the new format comes out. If I go witht he lease on 942 it may offer a better and less costly upgrade path. Any thoughts on that? The 34" tv gives me some concern, I wish I could see it in action before taking the plunge!!!! Does dish take the equipment back if I buy it and decide it's not for me? Or would I be stuck?

[jgra]

I got mine a month or two ago. Had some initial problems with the installation and such. Overall I have not problems other than the regular bugs with 921 with should be fixed with the next software upgrade. The television is great. Let me tell you a story I was having off and on some trouble with picture quality of the television, all the channels will fade a bit. I would get mad try to call dish then decide not to and try to fix myself. I would press the sd/hd button play around the wires in the back of the tv and little with wires in back of the receiver. Anyone to cut a long story short I found out that it was one of the wires and it was loose. For those times I would say to myself damn Dish they don't know what the hell they are doing. The motto is to have patience with these hunk of metal and wires.

By the way this is a really heavy tv so I would make sure that you are not moving anytime soon, this will be a mission to move.

Good Luck

[kspeters]

I'm getting closer to making the call. I'm leaning towards getting the combo and maybe also taking advantage of the voom promo they are running. $1 dollar to install with 6 month commitment. I figure the worst it can cost me is 6 months at about $54/month. Have to review this plan with the girlfriend. Thanks for everyone input.
jgra, sounds like you are happy with the picture on the tv?

[DJ Rob]

I have the 34" monitor and my only complaint is it is slightly out of focus towards the sides. Real noticeable when graphics/text are near the edges.
I don't know if this is common for this model or for flat CRT screens in general...
I may have a tech try to tweak the focus on it in the future since it has a one year warranty.
Otherwise it works and looks good.
It has plenty of inputs. And comes with a DVI cable.
I have a surround sound system so I've never used the built-in speakers.
I got mine for $499 a few months ago when they were running a deal for the Denver market.

[jgoggan]

Just to make sure you aren't missing the obvious, you don't have the TV in a 4:3->16:9 stretch mode, right?

You see this focus problem at the edges even when watching an anamorphic widescreen movie that takes up the entire screen (and have confirmed that you are in a standard 16:9 mode and not a stretch mode)?

Just want to make sure -- since, in the past, I've seen people complain about the edges being blurred when they were watching TV from their receiver that was obviously outputting a 4:3 picture and the TV was in a progressive stretch mode to make 4:3 take up the full 16:9 screen...

- John...

[David_Levin]

I have the 34" monitor and my only complaint is it is slightly out of focus towards the sides. Real noticeable when graphics/text are near the edges.

My big problem here was the advanced picture setting "scan velocity modulation". I have no idea what this is good for besides making the sides of the picture blurry.

I watch everything OAR (original aspect ratio). If it burns my $500 E* CRT - so be it. I'll be ready for an unburnable DLP by then.

[DJ Rob]

Just to make sure you aren't missing the obvious, you don't have the TV in a 4:3->16:9 stretch mode, right?

You see this focus problem at the edges even when watching an anamorphic widescreen movie that takes up the entire screen (and have confirmed that you are in a standard 16:9 mode and not a stretch mode)?

Just want to make sure -- since, in the past, I've seen people complain about the edges being blurred when they were watching TV from their receiver that was obviously outputting a 4:3 picture and the TV was in a progressive stretch mode to make 4:3 take up the full 16:9 screen...

- John...

I watch everything OAR too. And it affects my progressive scan DVD player when watching 16:9 movies. It's really noticeable when Discovery HD has graphics towards one side or another also. As they goes towards the edge, the more out of focus they are. This problem affects 2-3" on either side. I run this thing with scan velocity modulation off since that seems to make the whole pic a little fuzzy when it's on.

[jgoggan]

Ok -- just wanted to make sure it wasn't an obvious mistake. :(

- John...

[kspeters]

Update:
I ordered the combo today after looking at larger dlp sets. I figured for what they cost I can take a chance on this one and wait a few years for the sets to get better and cheaper. Hopefully I get a decent 921 with not too many issues. I don't mind tinkering a bit. Only thing I don't like is what happens down the road when the new format comes? Maybe Dish will give us a good upgrade option at that time. Unit gets installed on the 28th of Feb and I need to locate a good OTA HD antenna. I am in a hole and a ways (40 mile sor so) from the transmitter and need some help in determining what I need. Any suggestions?

[David_Levin]

Update:
I need to locate a good OTA HD antenna. I am in a hole and a ways (40 mile sor so) from the transmitter and need some help in determining what I need. Any suggestions?
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

[jgoggan]

Well, use that to get an idea -- they'll likely recommend a large direction amplified antenna -- and then ignore the actual ugly-looking one that they recommend and get an 8-bay Channel Master instead. :)

Of course, that is IF AntennaWeb tells you that you can get them at all. I've been very disappointed with AntennaWeb since they went to their new "more conservative" formulas last year. They now tell me that I can't get anything except my local PBS -- even though places like TitanTV and others tell me that I should be able to get 4-6 other stations.

I don't mind AW having a conservative formula -- but at least let me override it if I want to TRY to get some of the ones that they USED to tell me I could get...

- John...

[kspeters]

I'll take a look there, what kind of range can you get with the 8-bay Channel Master?

[jgoggan]

They say up to 60 miles for UHF. It is Channel Master's highest gain UHF antenna. It is a "Near Fringe" rated unit. I just think they look a lot better than the "classic" looking antennas when it comes to the size that you need for that kind of distance.

Solid Signal has them for under $50:

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANC4228

That doesn't include the mast though -- just FYI.

- John...

[kspeters]

Do you have one of these? Was wondering if they pick up strong vhf as well? I need both bands tpick up all mylocal channels. Looks promising though.

[jgoggan]

I don't have one up yet -- but my plan is to have one soon. It came recommended from many after collecting suggestions for some stations 40-50 miles away a few months ago.

The 8-bay is a UHF-only antenna. If you need UHF and VHF, you'll need to go with something else, sorry. One of the more "classic" designs. Channel Master makes some in their "Advantage" line that will do both. To get UHF from 40+ miles, you'd need to go with their 3019 or 3020 units -- which are about 8 feet wide and 11-13 feet long!

- John...

[kspeters]

Holy crap, my house might fly away,,LOL
I am looking into voom seriously to get HD, so if I can get a good antenna out of the deal greatr. I already have a tripod mast and rotor on the roof with a small amplified "bat wing" antenna which i don't think will work for HD.

[KSbugeater]

So, can anyone with this combo (921 & 34" CRT) tell me what the OTA 720p broadcasts look like on this setup (ABC and Fox)? Specifically, Monday Night Football and other hi-action sports. I just wonder how well the 921 converts 720p to 1080i. Three of the sports I like (baseball, football, and NASCAR) have heavy presence on Fox (but our local Fox doesn't have its DTV signal up yet anyway...) :mad:

Also, isn't ESPN HD in 720p?

[chewey]

So, can anyone with this combo (921 & 34" CRT) tell me what the OTA 720p broadcasts look like on this setup (ABC and Fox)? Specifically, Monday Night Football and other hi-action sports. I just wonder how well the 921 converts 720p to 1080i. Three of the sports I like (baseball, football, and NASCAR) have heavy presence on Fox (but our local Fox doesn't have its DTV signal up yet anyway...) :mad:

Also, isn't ESPN HD in 720p?


Fox and ABC look great. I can't really see any difference between games on CBS, Fox, ABS, and ESPN. Nascar on Fox last weekend was really cool. I wouldn't worry about the tv not doing 720p.

Also, not sure about ESPN, but all they show in high def is "3", "Tilt", and "Sports Center", and very little as far as high action sports.

[mnassour]

Folks....can someone please give me a link to this deal? It sounds like something I'd really be interested in. Thanks!

[kspeters]

Just call Dish and talk to CSR to get the deal.

[Bill R]

Folks....can someone please give me a link to this deal? It sounds like something I'd really be interested in. Thanks!

I would really shop around before you consider buying that set.

[mnassour]

Oh without a doubt. Does anyone here know who the manufactuer is, or have any real specs on it?

[kspeters]

I think thompson builds the tv

[Bill R]

I think thompson builds the tv

Yes, and they also had a slightly different version of the same TV that they sold under the RCA brand (that model has been discontinued). Consumer Reports did a 12 page report on TVs in their March, 2005 issue and RCA TVs had a higher failure rate than ANY other brand of TV.

[mnassour]

That's all good information to have. No Thompson TVs need apply in my house as I've had issues with them before. At any rate, it looks like I'm staying with Direct for my HD upgrade. It was hard to leave Tivo to begin with, and they did a nice credit on the bill to make it easier.

[DJ Rob]

An update to the problem I had posted in this thread before about my Dish 34" - out of focus towards the sides...

I went ahead and had a TV tech look at it since it seemed to be getting worse - and it's still under warranty. He saw the problem and tried to adjust the "dynamic focus".

It would not focus the sides so they are going to order a new dynamic focus board for it. Hopefully when they get that part, my problem will be fixed.

When he had the cover off of it, I did notice it has a Toshiba CRT.

I asked him if this TV was a cheap model.
He said that Thompson wasn't the best but not as bad as Phillips.

[David_Levin]

DJ,

Yes, it's been reported before that the set uses a Toshiba tube. There really aren't many 34" 16:9 tubes out there. I wouldn't be surprised if all are using the same tube. Unfortunately, I suppost that RCA makes the surrounding electronics.

How was the tech? Did you have to get a referral from Dish before calling Thompson? Any problems getting warranty coverage?

How long to get the new part? Let us know how it works out.

[kspeters]

DJ,

Yes, it's been reported before that the set uses a Toshiba tube. There really aren't many 34" 16:9 tubes out there. I wouldn't be surprised if all are using the same tube. Unfortunately, I suppost that RCA makes the surrounding electronics.

How was the tech? Did you have to get a referral from Dish before calling Thompson? Any problems getting warranty coverage?

How long to get the new part? Let us know how it works out.

Yes, all that would begood to know if down the road a person has an issue with the set.

[DJ Rob]

DJ,

Yes, it's been reported before that the set uses a Toshiba tube. There really aren't many 34" 16:9 tubes out there. I wouldn't be surprised if all are using the same tube. Unfortunately, I suppost that RCA makes the surrounding electronics.

How was the tech? Did you have to get a referral from Dish before calling Thompson? Any problems getting warranty coverage?

How long to get the new part? Let us know how it works out.

I did call Dish first. After this experience, it seems you don't have to call Dish to get service under warranty.
All of the repair companies that Dish referred me to refused to work on the "Dish" brand even though it is a RCA/Thompson set. I had called 6 places they gave me numbers to.

After 3 calls to Dish and not being able to get anyone to look at it, I just went to the RCA/Thompson web site and started calling every number for repair centers in my area. According to the results I got, that's where Dish was getting the numbers they gave me.

I found one that would do it. And they were great.
If anyone in the Denver area wants their name, send me a PM.
They didn't need a referral from Dish, just proof of when I bought it.

It took them a week to come out once I made an appointment; they were here yesterday. The tech said they should have the part in about a week. I'll keep everyone updated.

[kspeters]

My big problem here was the advanced picture setting "scan velocity modulation". I have no idea what this is good for besides making the sides of the picture blurry.

I watch everything OAR (original aspect ratio). If it burns my $500 E* CRT - so be it. I'll be ready for an unburnable DLP by then.

How do I force it to use OAR? All of my inputs comp, vid1, etc all push everything to widescreen. I realize on the 921 I can use the * button to switch but how does it work on other devices?

[DJ Rob]

How do I force it to use OAR? All of my inputs comp, vid1, etc all push everything to widescreen. I realize on the 921 I can use the * button to switch but how does it work on other devices?


You should be able to use the left and right arrow buttons to adjust to the aspect ratio when watching a 480i input like the manual says. If it isn't in 480i, I believe it displays automatically in the OAR.

[DJ Rob]

An update on my monitor repair...

RCA refused to send the new dynamic focus board to the repair shop - a board that goes for about $50 and is the size of a pack of smokes.
Instead, they made them come back out and get the TV so the shop can do a component level repair on it.

I'm not very happy about this. I have to now wait at least another couple of weeks without TV.

And it appears between paying for the pickup and delivery plus the labor to diagnose which component is bad on that board, it will end up costing RCA more for this than just sending the board in the first place.

[David_Levin]

You should be able to use the left and right arrow buttons to adjust to the aspect ratio when watching a 480i input like the manual says. If it isn't in 480i, I believe it displays automatically in the OAR.

Is that what it is? I have my DVD recorder set for 480p and the left/right arrows do nothing for the TV. All content is stretched to 16:9 (even when watching the DVD recorder over-the-air tuner). I believe non-widescreen (non-anamorphic) DVDs will also end up incorrectly stretched.

Same problem with component from my laptop (via an RGB to component converter). All content stretched to 16:9 even though the laptop is set for 1024:768. Makes it tuff to get proper aspect ratio.

I know the aspect adjust arrows work with SD sources, and don't seem to work for 480p/1080i. I haven't noticed if the work with a component input set for 480i (have to switch the cabling on my DVD recorder).

In general, with the 921 as the source, one of the format options will get you OAR.

[David_Levin]

An update on my monitor repair...

RCA refused to send the new dynamic focus board to the repair shop - a board that goes for about $50 and is the size of a pack of smokes.
Instead, they made them come back out and get the TV so the shop can do a component level repair on it.

I had "the dude" out for a Warranty repair on a 32" Toshiba. I was shocked when he sat down on the floor next to the open TV and whipped out the soldering iron. I always assumed they would just do board level swaps.

He said they are required to do component level repairs unless the failure is in the digital electronics (and a large IC needs to be replaced).

[DJ Rob]

Is that what it is? I have my DVD recorder set for 480p and the left/right arrows do nothing for the TV. All content is stretched to 16:9 (even when watching the DVD recorder over-the-air tuner). I believe non-widescreen (non-anamorphic) DVDs will also end up incorrectly stretched.

Same problem with component from my laptop (via an RGB to component converter). All content stretched to 16:9 even though the laptop is set for 1024:768. Makes it tuff to get proper aspect ratio.

I know the aspect adjust arrows work with SD sources, and don't seem to work for 480p/1080i. I haven't noticed if the work with a component input set for 480i (have to switch the cabling on my DVD recorder).

In general, with the 921 as the source, one of the format options will get you OAR.

Weird...

You should check to see if there's a setting for your DVD recorder. My 2 1/2 year old panasonic progressive DVD player has a setting in the menu in addition to 480p to tell it it's being used on a 16:9 tv versus a 4:3. There's another setting to tell it whether or not to automatically stretch non-16:9 video.

[harsh]

Is that what it is? I have my DVD recorder set for 480p and the left/right arrows do nothing for the TV. All content is stretched to 16:9 (even when watching the DVD recorder over-the-air tuner). I believe non-widescreen (non-anamorphic) DVDs will also end up incorrectly stretched.You must remember which mode the UHF Pro remote is in when you're poking buttons.

[David_Levin]

Weird...

You should check to see if there's a setting for your DVD recorder. My 2 1/2 year old panasonic progressive DVD player has a setting in the menu in addition to 480p to tell it it's being used on a 16:9 tv versus a 4:3. There's another setting to tell it whether or not to automatically stretch non-16:9 video.

I have the 16:9 setting (as far as I know all DVD players do - Anamorphic was in the original standard).

You also have a setting to automatically zoom non-Anamorphic letterboxed content? What kind of DVD player do you have? I've played with many and never seen a setting like this.

My Bravo can zoom 4:3 letterbox to fill a 16:9. Perhaps this is the same thing, but it's not automatic.

It seems to me that the 16:9 setting on the DVD player does nothing if the disc being played is non-anamorphic.

[David_Levin]

You must remember which mode the UHF Pro remote is in when you're poking buttons.

Yea, I got that.

Are you saying that when the DVI on your TV is selected, the left/right arrows (on TV mode), actually do something?

[DJ Rob]

I have a panasonic DVD-S35S.
It was one of the first $100 progressive scan players out there I think.

There's 3 settings in the play menu (hit display while a disk is in) where you can tell it how to play 4:3 content (while in 480p):

"zoom"
"auto"
"normal"

I think I have it set to "auto" and it keeps 4:3 content 4:3.
If I use "normal", it stretches the content to 16:9.
Zoom let's you set the ratio of the zoom.

Once it is set, it stays that way for every disc you put in it.

[harsh]

Are you saying that when the DVI on your TV is selected, the left/right arrows (on TV mode), actually do something?No, the left and right buttons do nothing in DVI+TV mode. Neither do the up and down buttons for that matter. I believe that the source device is uniquely responsible for determining the DVI display format.

I wasn't paying attention: do you have something other than a 921 hooked up to your DishDVI input?

[David_Levin]

No, the left and right buttons do nothing in DVI+TV mode. Neither do the up and down buttons for that matter. I believe that the source device is uniquely responsible for determining the DVI display format.

I wasn't paying attention: do you have something other than a 921 hooked up to your DishDVI input?

No, just the 921 on the DVI. But the same thing applies to the component input at greater then 480p (I'm not sure about 480i). The arrow keys do nothing.

4:3 content from the internal NTSC tuner of my DVD recorder ends up stretched (anamorphic DVDs are fine).

I also have a box for my laptop that converts RBG to component. It only supports specific resolutions like 1024x768. The DVD player software interprets this as a 4:3 resolution and sets the window size accordingly (to maintain aspect ratio). But, the TV stretches it to widescreen and I end up with a distorted picture (until I jump through a bunch of extra hoops on the computer).

[David_Levin]

Did a little more experimenting....

My DVD recorder has only three settings: 4:3 P&S, 4:3 LBX, and 16:9. These setting have no effect unless viewing an anamorphic DVD. If it's an anamorphic DVD and my setting is 4:3 LBX, the unit will add the top/bottom black bars (16:9 just passes through the distorted image to be stretched by the TV).

Got "Titanic"? Suprisingly this was NOT released anamorphic. When I play this using 480p/component on the Dish 34" I get a distorted picture (4:3 letterbox, being stretched to 16:9). This may be a limitation of my DVD player in that is doesn't distort a 4:3 letterbox for proper display on a 16:9 TV (but I don't think many do).

If I switch the component to 480i, then the TV aspect controls (arrows) will function, and I can play the DVD properly using the TV's "16:9 Letterbox" setting.

Picture looks about the same using the scaler in the TV, but I'm giving up the Faroudja in my DVD player/recorder (probably not a big deal at 34").

[DJ Rob]

An update on my Dish 34" monitor which is STILL in the shop almost 2 months after they started working on it:

According to the repair shop, the parts are backordered from Thomson at least another 2 months. So I probably will be without the monitor for a total of 4-5 months.
The shop suggested I call RCA/Thomson and complain to get the parts coming quicker.

I did that and they said they couldn't talk to me since it was the "Dish" brand. They told me to call Dish. I called Dish and they told me to call RCA again. I went through this a few times before giving up.

At this point, I'm telling everyone I know not to buy ANYTHING from Dish.

I emailed the Executive office at Dish last week but I haven't heard anything back either.

[David_Levin]

WOW.

That is completely inexcusable. I'd make a lot of noise at the executive office. They've got to be breaking some kind of warranty law. If it can't be fixed in a reasonable amount of time, you should get your money back.

[kspeters]

I'm sorry you having problems. I sure hope mine never starts acting up. How do theyexpect a person to be without their tv for months at a time? They should just give you a new one.