ATSC Converter Boxes (Non-HD, Non-Recording)

[jbracing24]

On line reviews of the latest Samsung seem positive. However, when you check the availability at Circuit City stores in the Buffalo area, none can be had at present through the store pickup. They must have had a special or everyone south of us is buying them. Etronics ships to Canada through Canada Post. I have bought from there before. Are the manufacturers controlling the market or is this a CRTC decision?

[stampeder]

Originally Posted by jbracing24

On line reviews of the latest Samsung seem positive. However, when you check the availability at Circuit City stores in the Buffalo area, none can be had at present through the store pickup. They must have had a special or everyone south of us is buying them. Etronics ships to Canada through Canada Post. I have bought from there before. Are the manufacturers controlling the market or is this a CRTC decision?

LG's ATSC tuners seem to be in a similar disappearing mode. Take a look at LG's main international web site and first select the U.S. location from the drop down menu so you can check out their highly rated ATSC receivers shown under Products -> Video. Now go back and select the Canadian site and you'll see that ATSC tuners are nowhere to be found. I think its just market economics but who really knows...

Anyway if someone is considering making a purchase from the U.S. you should consider whether you want to order something that may no longer be covered by warranty once it leaves the U.S. in the mail.

cheers,
stampeder

[Zoltar101]

I live in St. Catharines and purchased an LG ATSC/DVD receiver about a 18 months ago through Value Electronics in New York. I first went to Sears in Niagara Falls New York and paid cash for a Samsung receiver that had continuous audio dropouts, I got my money back and ordered the LG. I did not have it delivered to Canada but had it delivered to a UPS store in Niagara Falls New York which charged $10 to hold it. I saved on brokerage fees and PST and GST. I thought I had a problem about 2 months after purchase and Value Electronics was willing to exchange it knowing very well that I lived in Canada, of course I would have to send it back the same way I got it. I first went to Sears because of their money back if not satisfied though you will pay a bit more.

[freefifo]

I'm thinking of getting a Samsung SIR-T351.
Does anyone know if these STB'S are any good?

[Zoltar101]

I purchased one in September of 2003 at Sears in Niagara Falls NY after researching it on the Web. A week after I purchased it I noticed through various forums that people were complaining about audio dropouts and as luck would have it my set had the same problem. I returned it and got my money back.
There were several attempts by Samsung to correct this but I do not know if it was successful. I think there was another release by Samsung within the past 6 months SIR T-451, I would stay clear of the 351.

[HDTV101]

Lots and lots of bad reports around the net about the SIR-T351. Seems to had been a bad design from the start. I have a SIR-T151 and it's a great receiver.. don't know what they messed up on when they built the 351.

[freefifo]

Thnx Looks like the 351 is a no go!

[987654321]

Originally Posted by HDTV101

Lots and lots of bad reports around the net about the SIR-T351. Seems to had been a bad design from the start. I have a SIR-T151 and it's a great receiver.. don't know what they messed up on when they built the 351.

451 seems to be OK, so it's just the 351. It amazes me how many of these companies, not just Samsung, put out a lemon and then don't take them back after it becomes apparent that they are lemons.

Great way to ruin a brand name - especially since Samsung makes a few other items besides STB's

[jbracing24]

I received my T451 set top box from the US and I was pleasantly surprised by the addition of a leaflet in the manual, "North American Limited Warranty Statement".
Quote..."Samsung will additionally provide warranty repair service...in Canada on Samsung products purchased in the United States, for the warranty period originally specified, and to the original purchaser only".
I haven't "played" with the unit yet, but will post my results later on the OTA Niagara thread.

[stampeder]

Originally Posted by jbracing24

I received my T451 set top box from the US and I was pleasantly surprised by the addition of a leaflet in the manual, "North American Limited Warranty Statement".
Quote..."Samsung will additionally provide warranty repair service...in Canada on Samsung products purchased in the United States, for the warranty period originally specified, and to the original purchaser only".

Wow, that directly answers one of my biggest misgivings about buying one. I wish LG had the same thing because I've heard their OTA receivers are excellent and might be superior to Samsung's.

[HDTV101]

I posted this same question under the Samsung thread and HDTV Oakville was nice enough to post me this answer thats sounds like a good way to get a T451

As posted by HDTVOakville

I obtained my T451 from etronics.com. They partner with Canada Post's Border free service to ship items to Canada. The price on their site for the T451 is $230 U.S. By clicking on Canadian checkout you will get the price in Canadian dollars, including duty, taxes and shipping. It should come close to $400.00 Canadian in the end. I also considered ordering one through Circuit City and picking it up in Buffalo, however I went with etronics.com

[jbracing24]

I purchased the Samsung from Etronics also, but having relatives south of Buffalo, I had it shipped to them. The total cost for me was $320 CDN. I have run the setup and am about to post the results on the other thread.

[buritto]

I got my SRT-151 from Etronincs too about a year and a half ago for $525 CAN total, shipping border et al. Etroincs uses Border Free and it took abuot 2 weeks to get it and i'm very happy with it. The same model was a local HT store for over $900 way over priced.

I can't belive that Best Buy here in Windsor and other stores like it do not sell ATSC tuners. Just plain odd.

[Cable Free]

Etronics sounds like an ok option, but shop around for pricing. I just ordered and received 3 Sammy T451's from refurbdepot.com which were going for $169 US. With the usual rip-off brokerage fee from UPS it still put me at around $350 Cdn per unit, taxes in. The refurb units arrive in a sealed box from Samsung and were in pristine shape. There was the added bonus of some extra cabling that wasn't included in the brand new T451 that I purchased last fall for $250 US.

I did a couple of installations for friends on the weekends and they love the digital HDTV set-up, especially the monthly fee (i.e. nothing). Why anyone who isn't into specialty channels (and no offence to those who are) would pay for basic TV is beyond me.

Personally I can't wait until the price of HDTV tuners drops to around the $100 US mark or below. This could be a cable company killer for sure (at least in the Toronto area where we are being blessed with good reception for Cdn and US signals). Do the math. If you are paying $35 to $40 a month for basic cable (taxes in) how much money would you need sitting in a bank account earning interest at the best savings account rate (around 2 %) in order to just feed the cable company - its around $24,000 - and that's after tax dollars. So assuming a tax rate of 35% you would have had to earn and put aside every penny of a pre-tax income of $40,000 just to watch crappy basic cable. Why not spend a few hundred on some equipment and kiss the cable company good bye. Oh yeah I forgot you also get some HDTV and dolby 5.1 as a bonus for cutting your cable and going off-air. :-)

I'm Cable Free and I'm loving it!

[mrelbe]

Just got a Samsung SIR-T451 this week and so far it works as advertised.