I have a Sony DirecTV box (SAT-B50) with a separate Philips TiVo box. I have been reasonably pleased with this combination and I now plan to get DSS and TiVo in a second room. For this system I am considering the Sony unit (SAT-T60) which has both the DSS unit and TiVo integrated in a single box. Does anyone have any experience with both alternatives? Is there any functionality gained (or lost) with the integrated unit? What are the pros and cons of the two options?

I purchased the Sony SAT-T60 and am pleased with it. The advantages of integrating the DirecTV with TIVO are:
--The box is able to set the resolution because it never has to do Analog to Digital conversion, it only records from the satellite. Quality is very good.
--The integration to the satellite schedule for TIVO recordings is very good. It is very easy to manage the to-do list,
--No additional wiring to do. less complexity.


The disadvantages: cannot record from antenna or cable.

John-
I'm thinking about buying the Sony SAT-T60. I noticed that it has 2 sat inputs - one says optional. Did you hook up both LMBs to it? Or do you hook up both satellites by changing to a 24" dish?

Also, Sony's web site shows very little info, but it mentions 2 tuners. Is this for recording one show and watching another? Or can I use it for PIP. I'm thinking about keeping my RCA receiver and using both (for PIP). Does that sound right?

-Dan

2nd tuner is not active and will be a software upgrade in the future for being able to record while watching something else.

Does this integration eliminate the additional delays caused by TiVo when channel surfing? We have installed many TiVo, and besides the modem problems when they first came out, our customers seem to be happy. I would never own one because of the above delays and my lack of patience....I like instant gratification! Also I have not been impressed with the picture quality.

For those of you who don't have experience with TiVo, it keeps track of what channel you are on (much like the old Audio Ease System) by using a look-up table. When you do a channel up or down it looks at what channel you are on in the table, looks at the next channel you have chosen to be avaialbe for use and then enters the 3 digit channel code for the next channel. It does this to enable it to keep track of where you are and a simple, quicker, channel up or down will not always match the choices you made during setup. So, what you see is the TiVo overlay menu showing your selection, which then pops up the DSS menu and you see it enter digit 1, digit 2, digit 3, then an enter, then the inherent DSS blank screen, then the picture finally appears! Don't even think about hitting multiple channel up or downs! You can lengthen the TiVo menu display time so you don' see the DSS overlay, but I like to know what is going on when it messes up (rare).

All satellite systems already drive me crazy with their own inherent delays when channel surfing (which is why I can't stand to wait on C-band to move to another bird even though it has a superior picture). Add this delay and it is unbearable to me!

The DISHPlayer is the only unit that I know of that does not increase the standard delay! Maybe the integrated versions avoid this so DirecTV has some hope for a decent recording system! It certainly sounds like the integrated solution has taken care of the quality issues (again a BIG advantage of the DISHPlayer).

BTW, to keep from generating posts concerning the two box TiVo setup, let me state that we have set the boxes up for fast IR codes and for minimal TiVo menu interaction, so it is not simply a setup problem, it is a "feature".

randy

Dan
Eric is correct, the second input is indicated as "future use" in the documentation.

Randy
The TIVO is still slow in surfing, that is somewhat irritating, The Header shows quickly, but the picture takes 3-5 seconds. I have gotten used to surfing the headers.

The picture quality with the integrated Directv/TIVO is excellent. The direct digital to disk is probably responsible for the good picture quality. There is no way to adjust the resolution it is storing at like there is on other TIVO units.

John

John-
How about the 2 Sat input? Did you use both LMBs?
Dan

Dan R.

I used 2 lines coming from Dual LNB Dish.
They go into RCA Digital Splitter and then a single coax comes to Sony Receiver. The second input port on the SAT-T60 is left empty.

I hope that is what you were looking for.

John

I just got one of these. I agree that the recorder/DBS
integration is excellent. I'am having a problem with the 5.1 optical output. It won't, even when the broadcast is listed as 5.1 and the 5.1 soundtrack is selected. Sony cust. support has been quite useless on this issue. Anyone with similar exp. or advice. Also when on non 5.1 output, the opticical out remains active, sending digital 'noise' (non decodable bitstream) this can confuse many processors that auto select the 'best' input signal (digital or analog).

Roy, something is wrong (or defective) in your setup. I have ONLY the optical audio connection going from my SAT-T60 to my audio receiver. I've never had any problems with this, and on those very few shows that actually have DD 5.1, it works perfectly. On non-5.1 broadcasts, the standard stereo or DD 2.0 is sent out the optical connection. My audio receiver is set to "Auto Decode", and it switches in and out of DD 5.1, 2.0, or just plain stereo automatically.

Be advised that there are many discussions in the Tivo forums with problems with the optical output on the T60 and certain models of non-Sony audio receivers. My audio receiver is a Sony, and they have worked flawlessly together.

John - Thanks that clears it up for me.

John C- If the Tivo records DD 5.1, Does it play back in DD 5.1? I don't think it does, but I'm hoping!!!
- Dan

John,

Thanks for the feedback on the slow menus. Too bad it is still there, hopefully they can address it in the future or send a bottomless bottle of your favorite spirit to help mellow impatient people like me!

I am glad to hear that the picture quality is improved! It sounds like the way to go for DirecTV users rather than the 2 box setup.

randy

John,

A couple of questions about your original response:

When you say "the box is able to set the resolution because it never has to do Analog to Digital conversion", how does this differ from what I have now?

Also, how does the integration to the satellite schedule differ from what I presently have?

Larry
I never looked deeply into stand alone TIVO boxes, but one of the specifications that I recall was that it would record at a "high, medium, or low" resolution. This would effect the amount of available recording time, and sounds like it effects the sampling rate for the analog to digital compression that the box must do unless it has a digital input.(such as DirecTV). I do not know if that is user controllable or the box makes a "decision".

The manual for the SAT-T60 indicates 30+ hours of available recording time. I was told that an analog input TIVO could only record 9-10 hours at its highest resolution, and 30 hours at it's lowest quality recording.

John

I have a correction to make. I went through the installation guide for the SAT-T60 and found a note in the manual that says
"If you have a dual LNB dish, connect an RG-6 coaxial cable from the second LNB to the OPTIONAL jack."

It does not say what the effect will be, it just says that you can connect it.

John