Jul 20 Podcast #540: 4 Great TVs, Home Tech Trends and more on the DTV Green Dish
There was a disturbance in the HT Guys force after our initial revue of the DTV Green Dish, a.k.a Dishtenna so we decided to post a little bit of an update to the original review. We also discuss four very highly rated HDTVs you should consider if you're looking to buy a new one and ten technology trends that may change the way you live.
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- The HDTVs With The Best Picture Quality
- Top 10 Emerging Tech Trends That Will Change Your Home
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The HDTVs With The Best Picture Quality
"For people seeking the best picture quality only, the models below will fit the bill. Each TV scored at least an 8 in our performance sub-rating, and we've ranked them in order of which TV we think delivers a better overall picture." Read full article.
Top 10 Emerging Tech Trends That Will Change Your Home
From Electronic House:
"There’s a lot of innovative technology looming on the horizon, ready to change the way we use, live in and enjoy our homes. At the recent Consumer Electronics Association Line Show in New York City, journalists, including myself, gathered at a special reception co-hosted by CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association) and home control manufacturer Savant, to hear about some of the biggest up-and-coming technologies expected to shake up the consumer marketplace." Read full article.
Reader Comments (5)
This is a comment on the DTV Green Dish antenna. I don't ever post anything like this-- so bear with me, guys. We are the delighted owners of the DTV Green Dish antenna. My husband like to0 order and try just about everything he sees advertised. I, however, am so skeptical that I throw out all ads without ever looking (and wasting time). We went on line to check out another antenna called CLEAR CAST which was advertised in our AARP magazine. In scrolling around I found DTV Green Dish too. y husband insisted we investigate it (of course). Against my "btter judgement" (I thought)) we did call and order it. My husband in his earlier years (he is 80 now) once held a job installing antennaes and he knows something about receptions, etc. We now have the Green Dish where the technician installed it on a pole in oour back yard and we receive so many stations that all i do is keep telling my husband is "This HAS to be illegal!. We will now have no sattelite or cable bill of $70.00/month which we have been paying for years. No one is going to believe this, but it's true. At least WE know its true and now maybe we can let our relative know as they see it perform. Thank God for this blessing that offers people like us on fixed incomes the savings of NO SATTELITE BILLS anymore.. Anthank you Mr. Rivera for inventing this marvel.
I wrote a long comment explaining about how it is ABSURD that anyone would even question Ara and Braden's integrity, but I have decided to paraphrase with one sentence instead:
Even having never met Ara and Braden, I would trust these guys with my first born, and I would not even think twice about it. (You could also substitute "first born" for "Pioneer Kuro TV" if that makes more sense to you.)
Great show. Keep up the great work!
Well, first let me say that I was not ignoring Braden's admonition last week about taking Green Dish up on their professional installation. I had already ordered it without installation before last week's episode came out. Also, I listened to this week's #540 before listening to last week's #539 just yesterday. It seemed too easy to screw up and I (thankfully) didn't. Point it due east, go a couple of points north and tilt it up a little. If I lived in a trouble area like the Guys do then, yes, I certainly would have sprung for install.
Could I be receiving more channels using the professional installer? Maybe, but I doubt it. The next closest transmissions come from Ventura or, maybe, Santa Barbara and seeing as how I'm right up against the mountains of the western San Fernando Valley (and quite a bit higher than the coast) I didn't see anything to be gained. I'm getting all the major nets in crystal clarity and even get a channel I'm falling in love with very quickly, but TVGuide.com doesn't think I should be receiving ME-TV and doesn't provide a listing in my zip code for it! It's like the old TVLand, showing a bunch of terrific old B&W shows and even the newer Newhart, MaryTyler Moore show and similar. The only thing I missed was the Angels game on ESPN tonight.
The only other device to add will be a TiVo next month when the new shows start. Cable internet and TiVo service still come to $90 less per month than I was paying for Uverse so I can easily justify buying the MLB channel to throw onto my Roku box, especially now that I don't have to live under Uverse's internet traffic cap. Living the good life after cutting the cord, all my receivers and the modem went back to AT&T Saturday morning. Thanks, Guys, for bringing this product to my attention!
Look, doubters. It's a question with a binary answer: either the antenna works or it doesn't. You don't have to believe us but give it a chance and see what your experience is like. Try it, you might like it.
Hey Guys,
I enjoy being called "a disturbance in the HT Guys force." I think I'm going to use that -- "Disturbance in the Force Freddie." ;-D I didn't mean to insult by questioning whether you knew OTA signals go in and out, and I certainly never meant to question your integrity. (Aaron K., please note that all my posts after the very first one were specific replies to specific posts by some other poster(s) which were subsequently removed.)
I can understand why you're too busy to do an "objective comparison" of the Dishtenna to another antenna (no reason it needs to be a 9 foot Yagi), so I went ahead and emailed Green Dish CEO Dan Rivera with an offer to do it myself! I have a 4221HD antenna that the Green Dish should BLOW OUT OF THE WATER if the claims on dtvgreendish.com are accurate.
Hopefully, we can get some hard data -- grist for the ever grinding mill of Science. Just how great is the Dishtenna? Or to put it another way: What hath Rivera wrought??
Best,
Fred Wenger
Well, Dan Rivera has turned down my offer to provide free testing and free advertising for his product. Why should it be like pulling teeth to get ANY objective information on the Dishtenna? Every major antenna on the market has published gain, beam width, and front to back ratios at minimum. But not the dishtenna. The design is supposedly patented -- but NO PATENT NUMBER on the dtvgreendish site! Not even any tvfool reports from any dishtenna users with a list of stations received. Just a lot of "this is great, we get lots of channels." What are they hiding???
The fact that Braden's antennaweb.org report was discouraging means nothing. That's the message you get when they don't know, or can't tell, whether you can get a signal. And mountainous regions are notoriously tricky, with all kinds of signal reflections. And all the positive reviews thus far fail to pass one simple test for authenticity -- especially since we KNOW for a fact that somebody with the firm is trying to game the system.
I agree with Rick K that it's a binary question, but the question is NOT "either the antenna works or it doesn't." OF COURSE IT WORKS -- there are a thousand less expensive antennas that work just fine. The question is whether all previous antennas are "now considered outdated and a thing of the past" as clearly stated on the greendish web site.
Caveat emptor!