Worthless channel guide...only Sony diehards will like this thing.
Written: May 01 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Picture Quality: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
|
|
| Customer Service: |
|
|
|
Pros: Numbers on the remote control haven't faded off...yippee. The menu system easy to navigate.
Cons: Poorly designed channel guide. Guide takes frequent breaks to update its info. Slow tuner.
The Bottom Line: This product is way overmatched by the Hughes Director Pack receiver - and I used to be a big Sony fan.
|
|
|
| epinionid12345's Full Review: Sony SAT B50 Satellite TV Receiver |
This review is for the Sony Sat-B50 receiver (not DirecTv customer service or picture quality - which I feel are adequate). Several months ago we changed from the Hughes Director Pack receiver to this Sony receiver and there's no comparison in which one is better.
Let's start with the channel guide, which for most channel surfers like myself, needs to be somewhat functional. On the Sony there are 2 types of guides - the normal guide which is a grid pattern like most people are used to, and the "index" which displays about 24 channels at one time, but no show information until you highlight that specific channel. Using the grid pattern, you use the direction arrows to highlight certain shows, but lo and behold the channel you're viewing changes to whatever channel you just highlighted on the grid. So instead of being able to read the information on one show while watching a show on another channel, you actually end up constantly changing channels and never really watch one thing...oh the genius of Sony. The "index" at least doesn't change the channel as you highlight other channels, but you only see what's currently on, not what's coming up in the next hour or so. And you don't see a synopsis of the show (only its time and title). And to top things off, every 15 minutes or so, the guide goes blank while it acquires new information from the satellite - this usually takes about a minute to do so it's very frustrating.
The Hughes Director Pack on the other hand, had a great guide that took care of all the above problems...it had a user-friendly grid and very rarely had to stop to download info from the satellite.
Only die-hard Sony fans could love the remote control for the Sony...it's the same styled remote from the 80s, can't control any DVD players, and the button you press to setup the codes for different video equipment is too easy to accidentally push. I've had to reset the codes so many time s with this thing. The only good thing is the labels on the keys have withstood the test of the time...they're not fading at all, unlike the Hughes remote. But the Hughes remote is so much better designed and functional, it wins hands down in this category as well.
The Sony receiver also takes longer to change channels...not too long, but compared to the Hughes and my neighbor's Samsung receiver, it's a noticeable difference.
All in all, there is no comparison between the two systems. The funny thing is, in the past I was always one of those guys that automatically bought only Sony TVs and audio equipment. But the Hughes product came with the promotional satellite package. It's so much better, that it's made me re-think my opinion of Sony...they're way behind in this piece of equipment.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 100.00
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
epinionid12345
|
|
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.