My RCA DSS receiver is an investment!
Written: Oct 29 '01
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Pros: Guide Options, reliability, remote control
Cons: No "autoscan" for channels, you have to remove channels you don't get manually.
The Bottom Line: A fast, reliable receiver that is very easy to customize. It's a pleasure to use on a daily basis
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| cspu's Full Review: RCA DRD502RB DIRECTV System |
I've been a DirecTV subscriber since 1997. When I bought my house I had narrowed my choices down to RCA and Sony. The Sony's were more expensive and they came with an ugly dish. That's it, I made my decision based on the looks of the dish! Four years later, I think I made a good choice!
The DRD502RB came as part of a package. I got the dish (with dual LNB), remote, and receiver. I paid $299 for just the hardware, the "free" deals were pretty scarce back then.
Basic Setup
I'm going to skip the actual installation of the dish and cables and go straight to setting up AFTER the connections are made. This is where you begin to use the receiver anyway. The DRD502RB will set itself up! All you have to do is subscribe to DirecTV, plug it in, press "MENU" on the remote and then scroll down to setup. The receiver will check all the connections and set itself up. It really is painless! That's the basic setup, you can watch TV.
Custom Setup
One of the great features of the DRD502RB is that you can configure the on screen appearance for your own personal preferences. You can get to any configuration menu by pressing the "MENU" button on the remote and then scrolling to the option you'd like to change.
GUIDES
There are three different guide settings. Two of them allow you to watch your current program while giving you basic programming information. The third is more comprehensive and gives you all the information you could ask for. You even have the option to sort the guide by movies, sports, etc. You can set your default guide in the options and that is the one that appears on your first press of the "GUIDE" button on the remote. Subsequent presses of "GUIDE" will bring up the next two versions. Any one of them is a max of three presses away.
PROFILES
The user can set up to four profiles. I can see where this would be useful if there were a lot of people with different viewing preferences in the house, but for just two people one profile has been enough. You can setup your profile by deleting channels that you don't watch, you can even customize your own guide. There are even several built in pictures that you can select to represent your profile. Once you've got it created, you can name and save it. Profiles are selected by pressing the "USER" button on the remote. The DRD502RB will scroll through profiles with each button press until you reach the one you want.
Other Features
RCA came up with something called "Home Control". Using various add on devices, you can control things like lamps with your DSS receiver. I'm not sure they are even still doing it, but it is a feature.
Spending Limits - Users can set the maximum spending limit for pay per view. This feature helps to make sure that unauthorized users can't buy that $29.99 WWF match!
Rating Restrictions - You can set the maximum rating that can be viewed on your system. A setting of PG will not show PG-13 or R movies without permission.
Password - The password overrides spending limits and rating restrictions. Anytime a user attempts a function that is restricted they are prompted for the password. Many setup functions also require the password when it is enabled.
Scout - You can setup the receiver to look for your favorite programs. Press "MENU" and then scroll to scout, type in the program name and press ok. The receiver has to be off for Scout to work, a pair of binoculars lights up in the title bar when Scout has found something.
Impressions
Well for over four years I've been using the DRD502RB. I'm very impressed with the reliability. I've grown accustomed to the on screen translucent guide and if I visit someone with a different type of receiver it just doesn't look right! Video and sound reception are crystal clear, channel surfing is smooth and quick. The guide pops up almost immediately (some receivers take a long time to "retrieve" the guide). The range of the remote control is outstanding. There's no need to point it directly at the receiver.
The only "bad" thing (which is more annoying than bad) about the DRD502RB is that there is no way for it to automatically remove channels you aren't subscribed to from your profile. My Hughes receiver has this function so that all the extra channels are filtered out of the guide. I've searched high and low for this functionality in the RCA, it isn't there!
Summary
The DRD502RB has served me well. I have no intention of ever replacing it (unless it dies on me). I'm comfortable with the remote and the guide. It has every feature that I want and some I don't need. It doesn't have some of the fancier stuff for you home theater buffs, but for normal couch potatoes this is a great receiver!
An investment huh? Yep, I paid $299 for the whole system 4 years ago. It came with a smart card that stores the subscription information. I recently found out that the card it came with (letter designation "H") is in high demand. This receiver with an untampered "H" card is going for $300 on ebay in 2001!
P.S. I never needed customer service, but Epinions makes me rate it.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 299
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Epinions.com ID:
cspu
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 in Electronics |
 - Top 500 |
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Location: The Island of Misfit Toys (Alabama)
Reviews written: 115
Trusted by: 96 members
About Me:
Sarcastic car audio enthusiast, motorcycle rider, and hunter... and I make NO apologies for it!
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