Samsung SIRT150 DTV tuner any good? (1 Viewer)

[PaulKH]

Hi folks - I'm close to placing an order on a Samsung SIRT150 DTV tuner to get an over the air HDTV feed into my Pioneer Elite HDTV-capable RPTV.
Anyone have this tuner or know if it's any good? Specs look great, and the price is right.
FYI: I have no interest in Dish or DirecTV.

 

[Jonathan Trueh]

I've had the T150 for about 3 weeks now and it's been great. The tuner is very sensative. I can pickup all the stations in my area. I right in between DC and Baltimore so I've got a good array of channels to watch.
[Edited last by Jonathan Trueh on October 25, 2001 at 11:12 PM]

 

[Jim Garbern]

I'm very pleased with mine. I get all the Detroit area HDTV stations which are about 35 miles away with just a simple Radio Shack double bowtie antenna and amplifier. BTW, there's a $100 rebate, although I still haven't received mine yet. http://www.samsungusa.com/event/dvd_...ner_coupon.pdf

 

[Gary_E]

Paul,
I've used the T-150 for about 3 months and it performs very well. The channel scan is a little slow but once it locks in on a channel it keeps it tuned in. I got mine from wallmart.com but I still haven't received the $100.00 back from the rebate yet.
It's a light unit about the weight and size of a DVD player. It does not have a fan so it is silent while operating and it doesn't get hot which is a plus in my component rack.
Hope this helps,
-Gary

 

[Mike I]

The Samsung 150 has received some excellent reviews....Go for it...It is a great box for those who just want OTA digital signals and no sat...
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[Scott Merryfield]

I have been quite pleased with my SIR-T150. I use a Radio Shack amplified indoor antenna and can pull in all six Detroit area digital stations from about 20 miles away. I am experiencing a minor bug with audio dropouts, but there is a software patch that is supposed to address the problem. I just have not gotten around to applying the fix (there's an easy work around).
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My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 3

 

[PaulKH]

Thanks VERY much everyone - I ordered one today.
I also went out to Radio Shack and got their new antenna targeted specifically for HDTV reception. Don't know if that's just pure hype, but it sure is cool looking.

 

[PaulKH]

Got the tuner today, but only got one channel working with the antenna I bought. It wasCBS so I got to see the college football in HDTV - simply breathtaking.
Now if I can just improve the signal strength... one thing I don't get - if I put an antenna on my roof, aren't they very directional? From antennaweb.org it looks like most of the DTV channels are in the same direction, but if I remember right not all of them, so what do I do in that case?
Finally, do each of you connect the SIRT150 with component or RGB connection? My TV accepts either.

 

[tommy_esq]

Jim and Scott- do you have the antennas you are using mounted on your roofs or inside?? I am in your area and considering buying this unit...

 

[Jim Garbern]

Tommy
Mine's indoors, with a RS 15-1168 amplifier http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fn ame=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F002%5F004%5F004%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1168 . I also tried the integrated amplier VHF/UHF antenna that I think Scott uses (the 15-1862, http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fn ame=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F002%5F004%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1862 as well as a Silver Sensor. Although both of these worked, they were more directional and needed to be redirected for some channels. I found the homely double bow tie (with amplifier) to be both sensitive and relatively non-directional so I don't need to reposition it to get any of the available channels. Each receiver location varies with respect to interference and multipath, so you may need to experiment. RS stuff is accessible and they have a good return policy if something doesn't work out. There are some omnidirectional as well as directional rooftop antennae out there. There are electric rotors to make redirection a relatively easy task, so I'm told.
BTW, the new firmware does fix the audio dropout problem.
[Edited last by Jim Garbern on October 28, 2001 at 05:01 PM]
[Edited last by Jim Garbern on October 28, 2001 at 05:02 PM]

 

[PaulKH]

Jim - sounds like all your DTV stations are on UHF, is that right? I think one or two here in Atlanta are on VHF. Looks like I'm gonna need a big roof antenna. Did some more experiments today upstairs with the indoor antenna... got 3 stations, but pretty unreliably and with lots of futzing with the antenna.
Anyone using an outdoor antenna?

 

[tommy_esq]

Jim- thanks for the info and links! Can you link me to the "double bow tie" at RS? I've read a ton of posts on this thing, but haven't seen a pic or the specs. Does it have a model number? Thanks!

 

[Jim Garbern]

Tommy:
Most but not all HDTV transmitters use the UHF band, which is the case for all the Motown DTV stations:
Here's the link on the RS antenna, which is for UHF only: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fna me=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F002%5F002%5F008%5F001&product%5Fid=15%2D623
There's lots of good info at the Keohi HDTV site: http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/usefu...eous_tips.html
Also, the
AVSforum, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forum...?s=&forumid=25
and http://www.hometheaterspot.com/cgi-b...f=55&SUBMIT=Go
have lots of posts about outdoor antennae.
Several people seem to have good results with the Double bow tie antenna installed in their attics.
Even though it's a site set up for Sony HDTVs, Jim Christian has posted a wealth of info on a variety of HDTV related topics at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sonyhs10
[Edited last by Jim Garbern on October 28, 2001 at 10:23 PM]
[Edited last by Jim Garbern on October 28, 2001 at 10:24 PM]
[Edited last by Jim Garbern on October 28, 2001 at 10:27 PM]
[Edited last by Jim Garbern on October 28, 2001 at 10:29 PM]

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Tommy,
The antenna I'm using is specifically designed as an indoor unit with a built-in amplifier. I have it setting on top of the center speaker on my 56-inch RPTV. Reception will drop out occasionally. I may still install an outdoor antenna at some point, but right now I am not watching much HDTV (just the college games when I'm home and some PBS -- I tried watching some of the ABC and CBS primetime programming, but did not care for the shows).
I did apply the firmware upgrade to the SIR-T150 this past weekend. The tuner no longer has any audio dropout problems on CBS or UPN. This was just in time, too, since I spent Saturday afternoon flipping between the Florida - Georgia HD game on CBS and the Michigan - Iowa game on ABC.
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My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 2
[Edited last by Scott Merryfield on October 29, 2001 at 10:03 AM]

 

[tommy_esq]

Scott- what antenna are you using? I would prefer an indoor model, and preferably one that I can use in the den instead of mounting in the attic (haven't been up there since I bought the house last year!).
This looks like the unit I am going to buy, hopefully before the $100 rebate offer ends. How long did it take all of you to receive your rebate checks?
Another question- how big of a difference do you notice between a 1080i and 720p broadcasts?
Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Tommy,
I am using a Radio Shack "Amplified Indoor TV Antenna" (part # 15-1862). It has a 36dB gain, and has separate UHF and VHF elements. This unit worked better in my situation than the Radio Shack double bow-tie UHF antenna (both with and without an external amplifier).
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My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 2

 

[PaulKH]

Update - I now realize I can only receive ONE DTV channel (CBS) with my indoor antenna (Radio Shack 15-1890 amplified). I'm now debating whether to send back my SIRT150 or go for broke and get a roof antenna. I have a lot of trees around my house - am I wasting my time? The one DTV channel I can get is pretty steady with the indoor antenna which is encouraging though. I'm surprised I can't get other channels since they're all in roughly the same direction.
Further update... massively confused here... antennaweb says some channels are on different numbers than my SIRT150 says they're on. I THOUGHT I wasn't getting other DTV channels because they're on diff. #'s so I thought they were just regular broadcasts, but now when I look at channel '2' (according to the Samsung) which is ABC - I see 'Alias' in full widescreen HDTV (WOW!!!!!!!).
If I fiddle with the antenna I see 2 Fox channels 5-1 and 5-2 ??? (World Series) - not widescreen but still looks terrific.
Another thing I note is how AMAZINGLY BETTER the sound is from broadcast DTV than cable. I feel like a caveman discovering fire! A bit scary, a bit confusing, but exciting as hell!
[Edited last by Paul Higginbottom on October 30, 2001 at 09:42 PM]
[Edited last by Paul Higginbottom on October 30, 2001 at 09:42 PM]

 

[tommy_esq]

Is sound on a DTV broadcast DD 5.1?

 

[Andy L]

I believe that only ABC and Showtime are broadcasting in DD 5.1. Even those broadcasters don't appear to have it on every show. The schedule at http://www.hdtvgalaxy.com/broad.html shows the HD broadcasts and their sound scheme as well as resolution (480p, 1080i...).

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Is sound on a DTV broadcast DD 5.1?

It depends on whether (1) the network is broadcasting in DD5.1 and (2) you local station is passing on the DD5.1 signal, or downconverting to DD2.0. In Detroit, the ABC affiliate recently started transmitting everything in DD5.1, even if the source material is not in that format. I have not noticed any other Detroit stations broadcasting anything in DD5.1.
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My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 2