Home > Consumer Reviews > Samsung SIR-TS160 Multiple Platform DirectTV Receiver

Note: I've been using SIR-T160 for almost 4 months now. Early in 2003, new firmware was released, which has solved many critical issues with this receiver. My review reflects this firmware. Another firmware is in the works, to be released sometime later this year.

Pros:
- High Definition (HD) video outputs (component, DVI, VGA) and low resolution analog (S-video, composite) are active simultaneously
- Fast processor -- fast channel change, responsive menu system
- Has both optical and coax digital audio output
- Clean, polished, and easy to use user interface with Advanced Program Guide (AGP)
- Includes value-added features, such as Caller ID, games, and calendar
- Wide range of video outputs: DVI, VGA, component, S-video, composite video
- Excellent support policies

Cons:
- Prone to occasional crash/freeze (perhaps once or twice a month)
- Raw Dolby Digital audio stream sometimes not selected automatically (requires re-tuning into the channel... press the channel up, then down)
- Slightly inferior picture quality than Sony/Zenith receiver
- Over-The-Air (OTA) reception signal retention is average
- Problems adding OTA channels (once DirecTV is setup, cannot add an OTA channel manually)
- Always convert the native signals to one of user specified formats (1080i, 720p, 480p, or 480i)

The first thing to know is that there's no such thing as a perfect High Definition (HD) DirecTV receiver. All receivers have one problem or another. It's a matter of finding one that has the feature you must have and problems you can live with. For me, this is that receiver.

The main selling point for me was dual active output capability. That is, both high definition video output (DVI, VGA, component video) and analog low resolution output (S-video, composite video) are active at the same point. In other words, you can hookup the analog VCR or standalone PVR/DVR (e.g., TiVo) to the unit and SIR-T160 will do all the work. When you are watching the program live, turn your HDTV on and watch it in full 1080i or 720p splendor (alas, the receiver does not output "native" signal, should your HDTV support both 1080i and 720p). But when you are not home, or if you want to record the program as you watch, your VCR/PVR/DVR will get the low resolution (480i) signals, too.

With almost all other HD receivers, you must remember to manually set output to 480i and/or toggle S-video/composite video. Otherwise, your VCR/PVR/DVR will record nothing.

Aside from this feature, the Samsung SIR-T160 is about on par with all the latest and greatest receivers. It looks and sounds great (although a notch below Sony and Zenith's latest boxes) and I was able to receive all the key local channels over the indoor antenna -- ABC (720p), CBS (1080i), Fox (480p), NBC (1080i), PBS (1080i), UPN (480p), and WB (1080i). Keep in mind that Samsung does not hold onto signals as strongly as some of the other boxes, so you may have problem receiving signals on bad weather or channels with weak signal strength.

DirecTV channels look and sound good too, although on my 56" HDTV, the compression artifacts were pretty noticeable. HD DirecTV channels look and sound amazing (198 PPV-HD, 199 HDNet, 509 HBO-HD, and 543 SHO-HD -- all in 1080i), however.

So while I do have few complaints, I love this receiver.

Positives:

I'm replacing a RCA DirectTV receiver and samsung's UI is much better and much FASTER. Set up was a snap. It even worked off my old non-HD dish until the installer arrived to install its dish. It found all my local OTA stations on the first try. Having the OTA stations mixed in with the satelite channels is nice. (I had assumed that OTA would be some separate, hard to get to, guide). The DVI connection is amazing! I've suddenly become critical of my progressive scan DVD player. Another excellent feature is that the DVI and S-Video are live at the same time. This works nice for recording through S-Video while watching DVI. Using it with a Hitachi 51" G500 set.

Not so positive:
Actually, the only thing that bugs me about the unit are the stupid games that come built in. What a waste of engineering. Let see, I've bought an HD monitor, I'm a satelite customer, I have a home theater system--that's right samsung I'm going to cheap out on a gaming system if I want to play games--please give me some crappy games.

An actual problem I had was that my older PVR doesn't have a code to control the 160. Replay wasn't much help and it's really a limitation of the PVR. I mention it only as a unforeseen gotcha you might have.

Finally, I've seen a lot of remote complaints, which I too experienced with the samsung remote. It's might be the weakest IR signal ever. My advice, get a good universal remote to replace the samsung. I personally have been using a Home Theater Master MX500 for some time and once I programed it to the samsung the problem disappeared, I can even close the door over the IR sensor. The MX500 actually has 2 IR beams just in case your aim sucks. Go to www.remotecentral.com to get reviews. The MX500 is to remotes what HDTV is to TV. It will solve the samsung's remote problem and any other remote problem you might have.

I have owned this receiver for a few weeks and it works great. The thing I like is the ability to output numerous display types. I currently am running 1080i to my Mitsubishi TV in my main room and then output via a coaxial cable to my bedroom to get the same signal in analog on my old 27" TV. It works great. Also allows you to record HD content. It obviously won't be true HD....but it is still recordable without shelling out money for Tivo or another unit.

The menu interface is great and the HD signal is crystal clear on both DirecTV and Over the air. I am pulling in digital over the air channels from 40 miles away with an attic antenna.

I just got done watching the NBA Finals on ABC HD and it was incredible. I recommend this receiver highly to anyone shopping for an HD DirecTV and over the air receiver.

This receiver exceeded all my expectations. The integrated guide (with OTA channels and DirecTV) is outstanding, and responsive. I have 4 digital/HD OTA channels and the DirecTV HD package. Also, I have this device connected to a Hitachi 57UWX20B using the DVI cable, and the HD picture is unbelievable! I am using this out on a patio / porch, with no air conditioning (in the heat of FL), so I can promise there are no issues with heat causing lock ups (something I had heard about this unit on different forums). This device shipped with the .10 firmware, so this probably resolved all the issues for earlier users. Only prob I had with my setup was the stretch modes, or the lack thereof. Using DVI, my TV only allows me to use the 16x9 modes, so I can't adjust modes on my TV. On the 160, I can switch between different modes, but they don't seem to overide the 16x9 mode of the TV, meaning the 4x3 images are shown as 16x9, and a little "squashed". That being said, I found a workaround. Option 1 is to change the 160 installation settings to 4x3 instead of 16x9, but that was not good enough for me. My preferred workaround is to hook up the s-video out to another input on my TV, and switch between input 1 (DVI) and input 3 (s-video) when I want to watch 4x3 material, and utilize my TV's stretch modes. The fact that the 160 allows for multiple connections to be active makes this workaround possible. All in all, the picture quality and features of this receiver are excellent, and the box is very stable. One other important feature of this TV, if you're using the DVI hookups, is that it has a monitor installation setup that allows you to shift the picture left or right, which is cool, as some Hitachi owners report that the DVI connector seems to shift the picture over to one side a little bit. It was a good buy, and I'm glad I bought it.

When I upgraded my DirecTV account from standard to HD, I bought their $399 upgrade package, which included the triple LNB dish, the installation & a new HD-capable receiver. I was unable to find out beforehand what kind of receiver I would be getting, but when the TS160 was FedEx'ed to my home (with Saturday delivery, no less!), I was pretty darned pleased. Installation was quick and neat and that same evening I began on the far left side of the learning curve by actually reading the manual first (a trick I had recently learned from having misused my Samsung 931 DVD player for a solid month).
The features of this machine are nothing short of Swiss Army Knife diversity. Audio and video outputs are, in a word, complete. In my own setup, I use the DVI output at 1080i and the optical audio out.
The guide is just plain impressive. Nevermind its high-tech appearance (there's this little spindle over the guide that just hovers over the current time, slowly making its way to the right as time passes; I don't know why it fascinates me, but it does), it is flat-out faster than anything you have ever seen in a guide and offers more search parameters than you've ever imagined.
Setup fairly neatly scanned all available channels, both those received via satellite and those received over the air, and indexed them accordingly. Granted, some things it grabbed as channels were junk and needed to be removed from the memory, but this was a snap to do.
Despite that little annoyance, what I see as the best feature is the awesome OTA tuning. I have a so-called 160 mile, chimney-mounted antennna on a 20' pole with directional tuning (this has a lot to do with the Saints) that until the TS160 arrived was attached to a Motorola HD receiver from VOOM. I got 3 to 4 local channels OTA on the Motorola, and these were iffy. Simply unscrewing the antenna input from the Motorola and attaching it to the Samsung yielded 27 crystal clear "local" channels, some from as far as 100 miles away!
Needless to say, I am really happy with my Samsung TS160, and I can even be heard speaking fondly of DirecTV these days. When new technology performs the way it's supposed to, life just seems grand.