Sylvania 6900DTE ATSC/HDTV Broadcast Set-Top Box Receiver

Other products by Sylvania

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 14.5 x 14 x 5.5 inches ; 9,999 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00066XI7U
• Item model number: 6900DTE
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 13, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Get a jump on your living room's high-definition makeover with Sylvania's 6900DTE ATSC/DTV set-top receiver. Whether you've already picked out your HD-ready TV or you're still using the SD (standard-definition) set you've had for years, the 6900DTE puts you one stop closer to enjoying high-definition programming. Of course, it's a lot more fun if you're hooking this up with an HD-ready set: when used with an ATSC antenna (Sylvania recommends its DX multi-directional antenna, model DTA-5000), the receiver pulls free high-definition programming right off the airwaves.

The 6900DTE supports simultaneous SD and HD outputs, allowing you to build a high-definition empire from the receiver on up, enjoying clear, ghost-free images on both HD and SD sets. Or--if you do have an HDTV--this parallel-output feature lets you watch standard TV in a second room on a lesser set. Alternately, you can feed a PVR or VCR with an S-video or composite-video signal while you watch the component-video output on your component-video-capable or HD-ready TV, since the receiver's component-video terminals offer selectable output modes for 1080i, 480p (EDTV), and 480i (SD).

Hook the Sylvania up to a compatible audio/video receiver and multichannel speaker system through a coaxial digital-audio interconnect (not supplied) and you'll be ready to enjoy enveloping, 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound from select ATSC broadcasts.

You can configure the output for either widescreen 16:9 or standard 4:3 televisions and monitors, choosing from letterbox, zoom, and full-screen outputs. An easy-to-use electronic program guide (EPG) displays TV programming information, and full V-Chip parental controls let you restrict mature programming from ATSC sources.

What's in the Box
Receiver, a remote control, remote batteries, a user's manual, and warranty information.

Product Description

Sylvania's 6900DTE Set-Top Box is a video receiver that allows you to view next-generation ATSC (HDTV) broadcast signals on standard analog televisions. This unit can receive ATSC HDTV digital broadcast signals using an external antenna source for display on EDTV or HDTV monitors, or for display on conventional analog televisions. The 6900DTE features Component, S-Video, DVI, and Composite output for video signals, which can be used simultaneously so that you can view and record different content at the same time. Audio outputs include Dolby Digital Coaxial, Dolby Digital Optical, and Stereo L/R.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid consumer HDTV receiver, August 12, 2005

By	Giles A. Pretty "ubob800" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I have used the product for only several days but am writing since nobody else has reviewed this product as of yet.

My initial impression of the unit is favorable. The setup was quick and was facilitated by an onscreen "wizard" which walks you through an inital 8-step setup process. After this process you are able to channel surf immediately without need for further adjustment. I'll break my evaluation down by category for the sake of simplicity:

Tuner: The reception of the unit is good, though I have not used any other models for comparison. I have coupled the unit with the Zenith ZHDTV1 indoor antenna and can bring down the majority of HDTV signals in my area. The only disappointment has been that some channels require I move the antenna slightly for proper reception. This is probably a sympton of the antenna and not the receiver itself. To facilitate this process, the unit includes an onscreen display which shows signal strength in real-time. I've found this very useful due to the quirky nature of HDTV signals in my area. This is one of the strongest selling points in my opinion. The receiver also has the capability to store per-channel antenna positions should you choose to mate it with a motorized antenna.
On the downside, no fine tuning of channels is permitted. The unit does provide two setup scans which attempt to locate any and all available HDTV signals in your area. One of them takes almost 20 minutes (estimated) and so I have yet to try it. The standard scan took about three minutes and seemed to accurately pinpoint the available signals.
Switching channels is remarkably fluid, with only about a second of delay between changes. The unit is faster than the DTV unit supplied by my cable provider. Based on reviews I've read of other units, I believe this one ranks amongst the fastest.


Picture: Obviously the picture is an improvement over standard TV. Besides the usual increase in definition I've also observed greater color contrast and deeper dark tones. The unit does a good job of framing the picture with no discernable image cropping. Note that I have not used the zoom features since these crop the image by default.
Since it is a common issue with other receivers, I must note that this unit also places the dreaded gray bars on the sides of 4:3 content. The color of these bars cannot be changed and was distracting at first. I personally would have preferred black bars but have learned to live with the gray. If you find this to be annoying and watch a significant amount of 4:3 content then you may want to consider a different model.
Finally, it should be mentioned that the unit is conspicuously lacking in picture controls. There are no settings adjustments for any of the common picture components such as brightness, saturation, tint, etc.. Fortunately, in my case the default picture was good enough that no such adjustments were needed. But if you have highly trained eyes then you may find the lack of such controls to be a significant problem.
As a final note, I've noticed that some ambiguity surrounds the unit's ability to output to 720p. Many sources quote the unit as only being 480i, 480p, and 1080i compatible. As it turns out, these numbers actually refer to its predecessor, the 6900DTD. The newer 6900DTE adds 720p output via a selector switch on the back of the box. This selector allows you to toggle between 480p/720p/1080i depending on your display. In addition, 480i can also be achieved using the Composite video or S-video outputs.

Sound: I'm using the SPDIF output for my audio. The unit does not provide any control over sound level or Dolby modes. I've noticed that the Dolby mode may switch as I pass from channel to channel. This creates pronounced disparities in volume since my audio receiver is constantly switching between 2.1 and 5.1 decoding. I believe I can correct this problem by tweaking my sound system levels but it would have been nice to do this through the 6900DTE instead. Also, neither the remote nor the base unit include a volume control.

Build Quality: The construction of the unit is somewhat on the cheap side, being made mostly of plastic and feeling it too. It operates silently with no audible moving parts. The unit has a smaller footprint than the typical audio/video component and so it does not lend itself to stacking. However, that small footprint could be a bonus if you are already outgrowing your AV cabinet.

Overall I am pleased with the unit. It's a solid entry-level performer for someone new to HDTV. The missing features mean that it will probably not satisfy enthusiasts, or even me in a year from now. Also, the gray bars will annoy some, but as 16:9 broadcasts become more common this issue will become less of a factor. In evaluating my purchase though, I feel that I did make the correct choice in choosing the 6900DTE.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great picture and sound, but I would change..., December 25, 2005

By	Buz Kindling (Arlington, TX United States) - See all my reviews

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.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works great, February 23, 2006

By	Sam H - See all my reviews

I bought this model at BB. It came in a package with an antenna. This combination works well and I am glad to be able to put my HDTV set to good use. I thought that I would not get reception being that I am more than 20 miles away from the nearest station. But to my surprise, I got the main network channels and some others with this receiver and the packaged indoor antenna. I would recommend this to anyone looking to try out HDTV and do not want to deal with rooftop antenna setups. One hint that I have for this unit is that you should place the antenna in a good area before having the receiver scan for available channels. Initially, I could not get my local FOX channel. But after bringing the unit upstairs to do the autoscan, I was able to get the channel in its memory. Then I just brought the unit downstairs and hook it to my HDTV set and place the antenna where I can get decent signal for my preferred channels. The quality of HDTV on my projection TV is amazing.