I purchased the DST3000 on eBay (great deals there on them, folks.) without the DirecTV signup, since I merely needed a set-top box for tuning in the free on-air HDTV signals in the Boston area. The unit was the first piece of my new HDTV setup to arrive. Rounding it out is a Toshiba 42" Widescreen projection TV and a Toshiba progressive scan DVD player. I went with brandmates figuring that I had a better chance of unit to unit compatibility.

As soon as I opened the box, I wanted to hook it up to my nine year old 27" Sony Trinitron. (The DST3000 also converts digital TV signals back to analog, so it can be used with a standard TV) I had a few days to wait for my new TV, so why not get used to the unit in the meantime. I would advise the same for everyone not familiar with a satellite box and going into HDTV.

Before I go any further, I have to mention RECEPTION. You need a decent outdoor or attic antenna and need to be in an area that has stations broadcasting digital TV. Yes, you can use rabbit ears if you're in a good area. Many people now have cable or satellite TV service. Unfortunately, most cable companies are unable to pass the digital TV signals over the cable. This would also include so-called "Digital Cable". I have read that even some "digital cable" is not HDTV compatible at present. So even if you have cable or satellite service, it is likely that you are going to need an antenna hookup to pick up local channels in HD. Check with your cable provider to see if the digital HDTV signals are available first. The DirecTV satellite service currently has only two digital HDTV channels, so the main (and best,cheapest) way to get HDTV is still "over the air". I was in luck. Boston has several stations running around the clock in digital HDTV. I bought a $29.00 Radio Shack outdoor antenna and put it in my attic to receive the stations. In this move back to the 70's way of getting TV, I found that I have decent reception, and aiming the antenna was easy because HDTV is much less fussy. There are no ghosts, shifting images or snow on digital broadcasts. The analog channel 2 for example, is snowy and loaded with interference on the antenna. When I selected the digital channel 2, the picture was BETTER than with cable! This is true of all digital channels. If there's enough of a signal, the reception will be awesome. If there isn't, there's no picture at all... Having cable AND an antenna system is easy. Just buy an RF A-B switch from where else? Radio Shack.

After looking the considerable manual over and thinking that it might be easier to get a pilot's license, I made the quickie connection, the RF cable one, just as most VCRs are hooked up, and I got into it. I had to do some fiddling and got frustrated a couple of times, but in a couple of hours, I had everything humming and all set up, including the remote, which is lighted and now controls my VCR, TV and DVD player. The buttons are well thought out once you get used to them. If you have trouble programming a VCR, you are going to have trouble with the DST3000 (or any other digital HDTV receiver). The best bet is to get a techie friend to help you. Once it's set up, you will discover that it is pretty easy to use after all... A plus is that the unit will scan and find all the channels, both digital and analog, during the setup process. Just as with a VCR, the DST3000's RF (cable) output is channel 3 or 4 selectable. My cable provider uses channel 4, so naturally my VCR and TV are set to that as well. However,I found that setting the DST3000 and TV to channel 3 yeilded better results for some reason. Try the opposite one in your setup, too. The dual hookup is easy when you use the antenna/cable RF switch already mentioned. Of course, the very best HDTV picture can only be delivered to the screen by using the "component" input and output jacks, which are included on the DST 3000 and virtually all other HDTV equipment. I used the cable type connections simply because my old TV doesn't have component jacks. I'll cover that when I review the Toshiba 42H81 HD rear projection TV in the near future.

The unit itself is made by or at least licensed by Hughes, the satellite TV people. Similar ones are sold under that name and the Mitsubishi name, too. In my research, I read about annoying fan noise on some other units, such as Panasonic and possibly Sony. The Toshiba has no fan, but does need to be well ventilated. I also read about slow channel changing speed compared to regular TV "surfing". The Toshiba, once set up, "surfs" well between non-digital channels, but has a short delay displaying digital channels. It wasn't bothersome to me. It comes with enough cables and stuff to complete basic RF ,A/V, and HDTV installations. Of course it's also a satellite receiver made for DirecTV reception, and it can be put on line by subscribing to DirecTV and installing a small dish later on if you like. The DST3000 even helps you align the dish for best reception.

The HDTV experience comes with lots of new jargon, which you have to get used to. Mainly, the screen resolutions such as 480i, 720p, 480p, 1080i, 540p, and so on. These are NOT BMWs! Fortunately, the DST3000 can receive and display all of them automatically. Then there are the screen shapes, 4:3, 16:9, letterbox, and so on. The unit is very good at handling them. It can display the HDTV image on a regular TV screen in a number of ways, with CROPPED being the best. (The picture is clipped at the sides, but is full height, has no distortion, and has no black bars). It was very easy to get used to. There are also new channel numbers and identifications to learn, but it's not difficult. For example, Channel 2 (WGBH) Boston broadcasts on the old analog channel 2, but also has digital channels 2-1 and 2-2 broadcasting different programs! The DST3000 makes them easy to find and tune in. These and other abilities of the DST 3000 make it a good choice to use on an analog TV or regular screen shape HDTV ready set, such as the Sony XBR series and other brands as well. My old Sony is a perfect example. I was amazed with the improvement in picture quality. The converted HDTV signals look sharper, and the colors are better and brighter than when the set was new. The picture quality blows cable away completely. The DST3000 gave my old Sony a new life! (At least for another few days until my 42" Toshiba arrives)

In addition to its video capabilities, the DST3000 has all sorts of sound options. I have chosen not to complicate this review with them, but it has all the audio features to go with digital HDTV. If you have caller ID, plug the DST3000 into a phone jack and it will pop up caller ID info on the screen, so you can choose not to answer the phone if you are glued (probably) to the HDTV programming!! What will they think of next? The unit also has signal strength metering of all the channels, which you can check at any time. You can have a list of favorite channels and categories if you like. You can set the appearance of the menus to your liking, too. And there's even more...

During my own personal research,I found a very interesting HDTV web site. It's a great place to start learning about the technology, equipment, and programming. Just go to www.hdpictures.com

In closing, I was very impressed with this unit based on its performance with my non-digital television. I have also seen the unit displaying on a projection HDTV and it was spectacular. I can hardly wait to hook up my new TV to it! By playing with it on my old TV, I'm now ready to plug in and instantly go widescreen HDTV in a few days.

Update: I connected the unit to my new TV via the "Color Stream" component inputs and outputs (using cheap, "regular" cables). As expected, the picture was amazing. There are some quirks and irritations with HDTV, mainly the often scant "real" programming. After seeing it, you want MORE, MORE, MORE. The Oscars would have been awesome in true widescreen. I think programming will pick up soon, and I'm surprised that the manufacturers haven't begun advertising HDTV sets. Screen shapes and resolutions are controllable on the tuner AND TV, which can be a little confusing. Watching regular TV on these things is a little different in that the image needs to be stretched to fill the screen, or you get grey or black bars. The manual advises stretching because images of the bars can eventually burn into your display and spoil it. The stretched or cropped image takes some getting used to.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 525