HDTV Reciever (Toshiba) (1 Viewer)

[WillieM]

Has anyone heard anything about the Toshiba DST3000? I heard they were comming out with a new model this fall but i haven't heard anything about when or features or cost.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Willie,
The DST-3000 is a clone of the Hughes E86, and is made by Hughes.

I have one and it works well. The Hughes E86 version can now be had for under $500.

There are better stbs hitting the market right now, specifically the Sony HD200 and Zenith 520, both made by Zenith's parent company, a Korean mfg called LG, IIRC. The new Sonys and Zeniths are more versatile in that they will output 480i, 480p, 720p, or 1080i via component video. They do much better upconversion of 480i material and have better aspect ratio choices for presenting 4/3 material on widescreen sets. Their digital OTA tuners are better than the Hughes clone boxes. They do currently cost at least $700, however.

My DST-3000 has worked quite well for over a year now, with minimal glitches.

The main thing I don't like about it is that it won't output anything but 1080i via it's component video output, either native from HD sources or upconverted from ntsc sources. It will output native 480i, but only thru the S-video output. In order to get best picture quality from non-HD sources I have the box connected via both component and S-video and must switch tv inputs and the box's output mode for 480i.