Pansonic TU-HDS20 Picture Dropouts (1 Viewer)

[Matt Rising]

I have been using my Panasonic Tu-HDS20 STB for about 6 months now and haven't been able to receive a stable HD/DTV picture from it regardless of what I try (both OTA and DirecTV.)
Using the Channel Mater antenna recommend for my area I can receive all of the DTV stations in Baltimore but their pictures drop out to a black screen. There is a 30db amp in line and no splits. Analog reception on all of these channels is pretty good with very little multi-path interference.
To be sure that I had my antenna rotor settings correct I called each station and confirmed that their analog and digital signals originated from the same tower--they do in all cases.
2 weeks ago I slapped a 2-LNB oval DirecTV dish on the house and despite getting a steady %85 signal strength from satellite 'B' (%92 from satellite 'A') the picture still drops to black screen every 60-90 seconds, and remains blanked for 3-5 seconds.
Anybody have a similar experience with the Panasonic STB? High signal strength but still losing picture? I'm beginning to think I've got a defective unit.
Any suggestions or similar experiences would be extremely helpful with figuring out what to do.
Matt Rising
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Matt Rising

 

[Rick Nichols]

Yes I had the Panny. Got it in mid january. I had a great picture and few if any drop-outs on OTA, signal strength at 100%. However in march I took the DirecTV plunge for more HD choices. Thats when the drop-outs started. I couldn't get a stable HD on HD sat. Had the instaler come back and re peak the dish, no luck. Took the unit back and the store (Ken Cranes, great cust support) exchanged it for another Panny even though the 30 days was well over with. The second Panny was just the same.
Started reserching the problem on the internet and found that manny people were having similar problems with the Panny. Panny cust support acknowledged the probs but offered no immediate solutions. Returned the unit and got the Mits HD-5 (the same as the Tosh 3000 and Hughs box, all built by Hueghs). The Mits has been perfect no drop-outs. I liked the features of the Panny, but it's just not ready for prime time. It has serious design flaws.
Rick
-NetBank, the UNETHICAL internet bank-

 

[Matt Rising]

Wow! Thanks for the reply, this is the kind info I was hoping for. Unfortunately I don't think I can return the unit because I purchased it in January. Perhaps E-Bay is the answer here.
Just out of curiosity you mentioned a '100% signal strength' on OTA signals. I have never found a meter that shows OTA signal strength. Am I missing something?
Matt Rising
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Matt Rising