Some shortcomings in hardware
Written: Oct 26 '00
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Pros: Great service, small footprint
Cons: Poor guide feature
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| adjensen's Full Review: Sony SAT-A4 Digital Satellite System |
I originally bought a Sony DirecTv box in 1997 and never regretted the purchase. I bought a SAT-A4 earlier this year because I wanted to get the next generation of satellite receivers. In particular, I was interested in the feature that allowed you to see what was on other channels without changing the current channel.
I won't get into a detailed analysis of DirecTv service, and whether it's better or worse than cable / broadcast / Dish. That's something of a religious issue with most people, and my satisfaction with it will not likely change any minds. I think it's great, though.
This box is about 2/3 of the size of the old Sony receiver, which was a nice surprise. The first warning of a potentially bad purchase, though, was the realization that the one feature I really wanted, "see what else is on without leaving the current station," only works in the "Icon Selection" mode, where you can only see the other channel's shows one at a time by highlighting the channel's icon. That isn't a very good way to do things, and I never use the feature.
Another major downside is the channel guide. It is MUCH slower than the one on my old box and has a considerably lower memory (so there are fewer days ahead you can look). It's constantly putting up the "Downloading Guide, please wait" message, which is very annoying. I called customer service, hoping that it was a problem with my box, but they said that was normal.
Finally, if you lose the remote control, you're in trouble. You can use the controls on the front of the box to switch channels, but it's very slow and cumbersome. The "joystick" piece of my remote broke off after a couple of months of use, and, although it still worked okay, it was a bit disconcerting to see it break that easily.
All in all, I'm still happy with DirecTv, but I think that this receiver is just not up to the snuff of the earlier generations of Sony devices.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 200
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Epinions.com ID:
adjensen
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Member: a.d. jensen
Location: Grand Forks, ND USA
Reviews written: 143
Trusted by: 111 members
About Me:
Now blogging reviews at http://kandsmil.blogspot.com/
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