Suitable for most users
Written: Nov 20 '03
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Pros: Reliable, good picture and sound
Cons: Lacks a lot of features that you'll probably need at some point
The Bottom Line: This is the receiver Dish Network gives away for free, and it probably works out just fine for most users.
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| HawgWyld's Full Review: JVC TU-DP301DU Digital Satellite Receiver |
I'm actually rather surprised this receiver has only received one review (before mine, of course) as this is pretty much the standard receiver issued by Dish Network. While this unit is made by JVC, it's branded as a Dish Network product, so I'll refer to it as such.
Dish Network calls this little unit the DishPro 301 and is the one commonly given to customers. Have you seen those deals for free installation and three or four receivers from Dish Network? These babies are the "free" receivers handed out and, if you want something better, you'll have to pay for it. In essence, this receiver has no digital recorder and is not capable of handling HDTV signals. It's important to note that the unit does receive standard digital signals and provides an outstanding picture on most television sets. However, there's a lot of difference between HDTV and standard definition TV signals -- just think of a standard signal as halfway between analog and HDTV, and you'll be fine.
Fortunately, this receiver will likely fit the needs of most users. The unit is reliable as heck and produces a great picture and stereo sound. While I've read of software problems on some Dish Network receivers, I haven't had any with the DishPro 301. Honestly, we had two units installed and really haven't thought about them since -- in terms of reliability, that's about as good as you can expect.
The unit is, of course, primarily accessed by a remote control which allows the user to select programs, deal with interactive services such as Dish Network's excellent weather forecasts, customize programming lists and etc. By far, my favorite feature is one which allows me to scroll through my program lists and have the tuner automatically switch to television shows when they air. I'm not sure exactly how many hours worth of programming can be selected that way as I've only selected about six hours worth of shows at a time. The unit can also be configured to start your VCR to switch to a program to be recorded.
Navigating through program lists is simple enough. The unit stores several hours worth of programs and accesses them through a common grid displaying the station on the left-hand side of the screen, the times on the top of the screen and the programs for the selection stations and times. That's the feature I use the most and, fortunately, navigating through it is simple. Customizing programming lists is handy as several people can customize the list to display their favorite networks, thus avoiding wading through 150 available channels.
So, this unit is basic and very functional. Unfortunately, it does lack a few bells and whistles I'd like to have. First, and most annoying, it doesn't have enough memory built in to store several hours worth of programs. In other words, it has to update programming lists from time to time by downloading them from the satellite -- an annoying process which takes about 30 seconds to complete. That can really be a drag if you're wanting to check, say, what movies AMC is airing for the next 24 hours and the blasted receiver has to update constantly. I'm told this annoyance is avoided on the receivers featuring digital recorders as program lists are stored on the internal hard drives of those nifty units.
Some Dish Network receivers are two-channel units. Sadly this is only one channel, meaning you can't use a picture-in-picture feature on a television set to view two programs at once. Also, you can't watch one channel while using the VCR to record the programming on another.
Speaking of VCRs, the units shortage of outputs comes into play here. You've got an S-video output, a set of RCA outputs and a coaxial output. In my case, that means I've got the RCA plugs running to my surround sound system and the coaxial output running to my VCR. Naturally, the picture and sound quality isn't as good on the coaxial output, and I'd rather not "daisy chain" the RCA signals through both my VCR and surround sound system. Oh, and there's no composite output on the receiver -- that would have also been welcome.
Finally, there's the telephone jack on the unit. Want to order pay-per-view movies? You'd better plug in the blasted phone, then. I realize this feature is impossible to avoid since my satellite dish is a one-way, receive-only unit. I'll upgrade to a two-way satellite as a requirement to receive local networks next month. Perhaps having a two-way satellite will do away with the need for a phone jack. I don't order pay-per-view stuff, anyway, so I haven't been too annoyed by the "phone jack" feature.
All in all, this receiver works very well in my home and I figure it works fine for most people. If I need any of the bells and whistles this lacks, I can always upgrade.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
HawgWyld
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Ethan C. Nobles
Location: Benton, Ark.
Reviews written: 1438
Trusted by: 495 members
About Me:
The oxen are slow, but the earth is patient.
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