Hughes E86 or Samsung TS160 ? (1 Viewer)

[BenMV]

I'm looking at purchasing a Directv HD STB - either the Hughes E86 or the Samsung TS160 (or others?). Are there any reviews or opinions on which is the better STB?

Also, I'm interested in which STB has better OTA performance?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Brajesh Upadhyay]

Given those two choices, I'd go for the Samsung. You may want to do some research here.

 

[BradZ]

I went through the same decision recently. There are pros and cons to each box. In the end I decided that since all boxes have problems of some sort I'd get the cheapest.

I've had the Hughes for a week now and HD is wonderful. SD stuff is a little soft and since it outputs 1080i only on component I can't use my sets own widescreen format modes. The Hughes only allows for windowbox (i don't use this mode for fear of burn-in), Full (i don't use this mode because everyone is fat and i find it disturbing) and Zoom (i use this mode almost exclusively because it keeps proportions correct and fills the screen- though it does cut off the top and bottom of pic).

I could switch outputs on the TV and tell the box to output 480i for SD, but I'm too lazy for that. I'll live with a softer cropped picture for SD or watch it in another room.

To me the Samsung wasn't that much of an upgrade- yes it keeps the 480i active at all times on composite/s-vid, but it has the same widescreen format modes as the hughes.

I really think the question is whether it's worth it to upgrade to the Zenith 520 since it has a nice progressive stretch for SD material (and supposedly upconverts better too.). At this point I didn't feel that feature was worth the extra $200, but I think about it alot. If I could do it over again I think I'd still choose the Hughes, but I really would consider the Zenith more. If I was willing to spend $100 more for the Samsung, I'd go ahead and spend $200 more for the Zenith.

 

[BenMV]

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

I already own a Directv TIVO and I was planning on just using the HD STB for HD broadcasts (Directv and OTA). Also, my Mits only has composite or RGB inputs.

So - based on that is the Hughes the right way to go?