Sylvania 6900DTE ATSC/HDTV Broadcast Set-Top Box Receiver
Great picture and sound, but I would change...
Overall, I am satisfied with this box. The digital picture is perfect (of course), and the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround (which requires a digital cable and surround-capable receiver) is also perfect. The volume of the audio source often goes from loud to quiet (or vice versa), especially when switching from Dolby 5.1 surround to normal stereo (or vice versa), but I think this is caused by the broadcast stations, and will probably become less of a problem as stations pay more and more attention to their digital broadcasts, especially when they start to phase out their analog broadcasts. Since I use a normal CRT television with 4:3 aspect ratio, I also can't help but notice another problem, but since it only occurs with some networks and not others, I assume it is also something the broadcast stations could fix: If you are using the \\"Letterbox\\" display mode, and a station is displaying a non-HD program over an HD signal, the top edge of the letterbox area will often contain one or more lines of very distracting \\"flickering\\" lines. I don't think you would see these lines when viewing an HD signal with a 16:9 television set. Finally, there are two improvements I would like to see on this Sylvania box: (1) The remote does not have an \\"Aspect\\" button, so if you want to change to Letterbox or Zoom or Full, you have to press the Setup button, press the Down button twice (to get to the Display options), press the Enter button, press the Down button once (to get to Display Modes), press the Enter button again, use the Up and Down buttons to choose one of the Display modes, press Enter, and finally press the Previous button a couple of times in order to clear all of the menu stuff off of the screen; and (2) the on-screen EPG (Electronic Program Guide) is so painfully slow that you might not even want to use it. It creates a significant interruption with whatever you are watching, so you may only want to use it during commercials. Also, apparently, the program information for each broadcast station will only load after you have viewed that station for a varying period of seconds (or minutes), and all of the program information (for all channels) is lost whenever you turn the unit off. Every time you turn it on, you have to spend considerable time loading program information before the EPG becomes useful at all, and even then it is very slow and frustrating.h broadcast station will only load after you have viewed that station for a varying period of seconds (or minutes), and all of the program information (for all channels) is lost whenever you turn the unit off. Every time you turn it on, you have to spend considerable time loading program information before the EPG becomes useful at all, and even then it is very slow and frustrating.