Model 6000 is a must for your home theater
Written: Mar 01 '02 (Updated Jun 06 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
|
|
| Picture Quality: |
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Customer Service: |
|
|
|
Pros: HDTV and great satellite at a reasonable cost
Cons: Constant fan noise of the HDTV module
The Bottom Line: If you're interested in satellite and HDTV, this is the best (and cheapest) alternative available to introduce yourself to both.
|
|
|
| scoob-5's Full Review: EchoStar 6000 Digital Satellite System |
We have been with Dish for 3 years now and we love them. I bought this Model 6000 receiver and accompanying HDTV module in summer 2001 as one of the core pieces for our home theater. With the constant updating Dish performs (behind the scenes with the built-in modem), this has really turned into an exceptional all-around receiver. The fact that locally broadcast channels (both analog and HDTV) are seemlessly integrated into the channel system makes it the complete system.
The receiver without HD module is typical (read great) Dish Network. Nothing fancy on the outside - so it fits perfectly in a professional-looking theater setting. Meanwhile inside is a fantastic array of functionality and intuitive operations.
Addition of the HD module and an appropriate antenna to pick up your local channels turns this receiver into a very powerful beast. As the other reviewers have said, real HDTV images are so far beyond even DVD that you must see it for yourself on a properly set up display (read Avoid Circuit City and Best Buy). Head to your local hi-fi audio video store (like Tweeter or a trusted local independent) and check-out the HDTV. Imagine having this in your home, every day. That's what we have because of the model 6000.
There is one annoying thing about this receiver: the noise from the HD module's fan. It is always on whilst plugged in and is such a high pitch I'm not sure what they were aiming for. If you watch TV and movies at theater-like sound levels, the noise becomes unnoticable. otherwise you'll pick it up during quiet passages and when muting. But it's not a deal breaker if you have the luxury of increasing the volume to compensate.
Some folks complain that the channel guide interface doesn't allow for picture-in-picture and that the interactive weather channel is not available with this model. This is not a problem for us as we rarely use these peripheral items whilst in the theater. They are available on the 4700 model we have elsewhere in the house and they are nice to have, but it's not a high priority for us.
I previously failed to mention the myriad ways to connect the 6000 to your HDTV. You can use either the standard component video connectors or the 15-pin RGB connector. Either of these will give the same great pictures, but it's nice that they include the flexibility of both connections. (s-video and composite video won't give you HD) Note that recently a more-or-less agreed upon standard for HD connections has been introduced: the DVI-D (or DVI-HDTV) connector that is not present on this version of the 6000. I'm sure they will work on that connector in the near future (if they don't already have it) and that will make the 6000 even more "future-proof."
The most important thing about the model 6000 is that the price is right for a complete Dish Network receiver and HDTV module. This is still true in mid-2003. If you own an HDTV-ready TV or monitor (or better yet a front-projector), and you don't want to be a slave to your local cable system's inferior picture and higher prices, look seriously at this Dish system.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 450 total
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
scoob-5
|
|
Member: Scoob
Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Weekend orange cone dodger.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.