Zenith HDV420

REVIEW

DTV MADE EASY
Zenith's HDV420 digital terrestrial
TV set-top receiver reviewed

by Peter H. Putman, CTS, ISF

While the transition to DTV broadcasting is moving in fits and starts, several manufacturers are increasing their support for terrestrial reception of DTV signals. Good thing, too, as there are more and more programs to watch in HDTV with each passing month, and more stations are getting on the air to broadcast those programs.

While some may prefer to get their digital TV via satellite or cable, I like to take mine 'gratis' - that is, free and off-the-air, using outside and inside antennas to capture the signal. And terrestrial reception to date has been the most unpredictable way to get DTV.

With DBS, it's a matter of taking out a monthly subscription, purchasing a receiver and small dish(es), and aiming your dish(es) until you find and lock up the particular DirecTV or Dish "bird" you want to watch. Cable is even easier - subscribe to digital cable on a monthly basis, rent yourself a set-top QAM tuner from your local service provider, plug it in and start watching.

Note the word "subscription" in each of the previous steps. To get HDTV via DBS or cable, you've gotta pay for it.

But with terrestrial broadcasting, it won't cost you any more than your investment in a set-top receiver (assuming you already own a DTV-ready TV or monitor) and an additional charge to put up an antenna yourself, or have an installer do it.

Early 8VSB DTV set-top receivers cost a pretty penny. Panasonic's first model, the venerable TU-DST50, was initially priced at $1400. Sharp's first design was closer to $2K, as was Zenith's first receiver. And that was to be expected - these receivers cost a lot to design and manufacture, and no one could say for certain how much of a market there would be out of the gate for STBs.

Of course, there weren't too many DTV stations on the air in those days. And receiver designers didn't have much empirical data about actual outdoor and indoor reception of 8VSB TV signals to work out the problems with multipath, close-in echoes, and weak signals.

For terrestrial DTV reception to catch on with the general public, set-top receivers had to do a better job with reception, yet be affordable enough for the average viewer. Now that a few years have passed - and piles of field test data have been acquired - DTV receivers have made remarkable strides in performance and reductions in price.

Whereas it might have cost upwards of $3,400 to get into HDTV just four years ago, you can do it today for just around $1,000. While that sum won't provide much more than a 27" 4x3 TV to view your high-def programming on, it's clear that costs of DTV components are slowly and steadily dropping. And Zenith is one of the companies making that happen.

Zenith's HDV420, a terrestrial-only set-top receiver, is currently the low-price champ at $399 MSRP. The HDV420 is one-half of Zenith's new DTV tuner lineup, the other being the HD-SAT520 which is a combo DirecTV/terrestrial tuner.

The HDV420 provides a basic, entry-level way to start watching DTV and HDTV with your existing analog set, with an HDTV-ready monitor, or even a true HDTV-ready TV. It offers several viewing options, provides digital audio connections for your home theater system, and comes packaged in a slim, attractive cabinet with a low profile you can stick just about anyplace.

This tuner has a subtle feel to its design. The front panel has a brushed metal finish with a mirrored window at its center, behind which are the video format indicator LEDs. Stealing an idea from Sony, Zenith has brought its format selector switch to the front panel. As you repeatedly push the silver button, the component video outputs switch from 1080i to 720p and 480p. One more push enables the 480i composite video outputs and disables the component hook-ups.

You can also change aspect ratios on the fly from the front panel. Many broadcasters send out a full 1080i, 720p, or 480p scanning raster, but only present 4x3 programming on that raster. That means you'll see a letterboxed and pillarboxed image on a 4x3 HD monitor (or even a 4x3 480i monitor). To get around this program, you merely select the desired aspect ratio to enlarge the image and fill the screen.

When a 16x9 HDTV program comes on, simply tap the button again to move back into letterbox mode. If you have a true 16x9 screen, you won't be able to blow up widescreen programs in 1080i or 720p modes - only with downconverted 480i outputs. This function is also accessible from the remote control.

One problem I found with the aspect ratio conversions is that letterboxed HDTV programs are not in a 16x9 aspect ratio when viewed in 480i mode. Zenith's previous DTV tuner, the DTV1080, had this exact same problem. The resulting images are in more of a 2:1 aspect ratio, resembling a CinemaScope movie image. Suffice it to say that the shapes of objects and people in this mode are noticeably compressed.

The supplied remote control is fairly large. I like that for easier access and operation of buttons, but it does look a bit clunky. You'll have direct access to closed captions, aspect ratios, signal strength (there's a nice, fast on-screen signal strength meter to help with tuning) and you can also toggle back and forth between your selected DTV output format and 480i output. This is a true multifunction remote and can control a bunch of components in your home theater system

The HDV420 provides all of the output connections you could need. Got a three-wire YPbPr connection? Flip the format switch to YPbPr, plug in your green, blue, and red cables, and away you go. Need an RGB connection for your older DTV or PC monitor? Flip the switch the other way, plug in your 15-pin VGA cable, and you're all set.

Zenith also supports both coaxial and optical connections for Dolby AC-3 digital audio, and throws in a pair of stereo analog RCA audio jacks for convenience. And there's a separate jack field with composite, S-video, and analog stereo audio jacks for viewing downconverted DTV programs on older sets.

The connector complement is rounded out by a pair of 'F' connectors, which work as a loop-through. Run your antenna (or cable, if you can receive 8VSB signals that way) into the bottom jack, and the signal passes through to the top to be connected to other TV tuners, VCRs, or PVRs.

If you're into recording DTV programs for time-shifting, the HDV420 can't provide that function. All you'll be able to do is record downconverted versions to a TiVo or Replay unit, or your VCR using the S-video or composite outputs.

Using the menus and operating the HDV420 is a breeze. There's even an "EZ Demo" that shows you how to navigate the various menus, in case you are just plain stuck. Otherwise, the first thing to do when you turn on the HDV420 is to perform a channel scan.

That function is found in the top menu, and you'll need to tell the HDV420 whether you are connected to an outside antenna (CHs 2-69) or a cable TV system (CHs 2-125). As the HDV420 finds each valid 8VSB signal, it saves the channel top memory and does it at lightning speed, too! I did a complete terrestrial channel scan from my home and it took all of 1 minute and 3 seconds.

The Zenith's low-price competitor, Samsung's SIRT-151, needed 2 minutes and 23 seconds to scan the same channels. But that's not a true 'apples to apples' comparison, as the T151 grabs full Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) data from each broadcaster, while the HDV420 only uses a smidgen.

For example, if I select local UHF channel 26 (virtual channel 3), the HDV420 will identify the station as "DTV 3-1" and nothing more. It has grabbed the basic Virtual Channel Data from PSIP to save the physical and virtual channel relationship for each DTV station in memory. But it will not display the station's callsign, program duration, System Time Table (STT) data, or even a program name.

That means you will also have to set the HDV420's internal clock when you first power it up, and re-set it each time power is interrupted. On the other hand, Samsung's SIRT-151 does save and display this data, which means you don't have to set its clock - only change to and from Daylight Savings Time when appropriate.

The HDV420 does have a neat internal logo menu, which has the logos for virtually every known TV network. You can assign a logo to each station that you have saved in memory as well as program your favorite channels. Oddly, this logo file does not include the WB or UPN networks, even though many DTV stations carry programming from both. (And several WB shows are in HDTV, too!)

Other menu selections let you choose the audio language if more than one audio track is present, as well as use the HDV420 to control the volume of any DTV program you are watching. There are also a set of parental lock controls (all new STBs have this feature) and you can also set up closed captions using a variety of type fonts, sizes, background and foreground colors, and drop shadows. (The newer 708-version closed caption system currently in use by only one DTV station, will make full use of these features.)

Because the HDV420 doesn't make much use of PSIP, it can't support an electronic program guide (EPG) of any kind. That's a big surprise, because EPG is coming. Most broadcasters are not supporting it now, but I expect to see basic program guides on the digital airwaves in the next couple of years. With the Samsung tuners reviewed elsewhere on this web site, you'll be able to read EPG data. But with the HDV420, you won't get any EPG information.

Considering that Zenith invented the 8VSB terrestrial broadcast system, you'd expect their receivers to have the latest and greatest mods and performance. In my own tests, I found the HDV420's receiver to have good sensitivity (better than the DTV1080) and improved multipath correction over any other receiver I have tested to date.

Using both indoor and outdoor antennas, I was able to introduce significant multipath to several local and distant signals across the UHF band. The HDV420 held on to these signals longer than Samsung's T151 when multiple echoes were seen across the displayed waveform. In a case of one or two notches or moderate tilt, the receivers were about equal in performance.

mm

Caption: The waveform on the left from WTXF-42 was received by both the SIRT-151 and HDV420 receivers, while that on the right was only received on the HDV420. Notice the deep 24+ dB notch and multiple echoes on the right waveform.

mm

Caption: These waveforms show the signal from WPHL-54. There's not a lot of difference between the two except for an increased number of echoes on the right signal, which only the HDV420 could receive reliably.

mm

Caption: Here's a pair of waveforms from WPVI-64. While both have multiple echoes, the waveform on the right has a 16 dB notch. Again, only the HDV420 could hold on to this signal.

In terms of plain vanilla sensitivity, the HDV420 is as good as any receiver I have seen to date. However, it did display an odd tendency to lose channel data from memory if the DTV signal was interrupted for a few seconds. In a side-by-side test, the T151 tuner recaptured channel data within 1-2 seconds after the signal was restored, but the HDV420 often displayed "No Channel" until I manually re-entered the channel number.

This 'memory loss' problem may be related to the HDV420's ignoring most PSIP data from each received DTV channel. That's not a good thing - PSIP exists to make channel tuning and identification faster, and signal interruptions are corrected faster when virtual channel data is saved into the receiver's memory.

All in all, the HDV420 is a great value for $399. Its receiver performance is very good and multipath correction is top-notch. The user interface is intuitive and you'll have this box set up and operating in no time. But I wish Zenith hadn't scrimped on some features, such as displaying more detailed PSIP information for each channel and leaving out any form of electronic program guide for the future.

©2002 Peter H. Putman / Roam Consulting Inc. Reproduction of this article by printed or electronic means without the specific written permission of the author is prohibited.


						REVIEW
					DTV MADE EASY Zenith's HDV420 digital terrestrial TV set-top receiver reviewed


					by Peter H. Putman, CTS, ISF While the transition to DTV broadcasting is moving in fits and starts, several manufacturers are increasing their support for terrestrial reception of DTV signals. Good thing, too, as there are more and more programs to watch in HDTV with each passing month, and more stations are getting on the air to broadcast those programs. While some may prefer to get their digital TV via satellite or cable, I like to take mine 'gratis' - that is, free and off-the-air, using outside and inside antennas to capture the signal. And terrestrial reception to date has been the most unpredictable way to get DTV. With DBS, it's a matter of taking out a monthly subscription, purchasing a receiver and small dish(es), and aiming your dish(es) until you find and lock up the particular DirecTV or Dish "bird" you want to watch. Cable is even easier - subscribe to digital cable on a monthly basis, rent yourself a set-top QAM tuner from your local service provider, plug it in and start watching. Note the word "subscription" in each of the previous steps. To get HDTV via DBS or cable, you've gotta pay for it. But with terrestrial broadcasting, it won't cost you any more than your investment in a set-top receiver (assuming you already own a DTV-ready TV or monitor) and an additional charge to put up an antenna yourself, or have an installer do it. Early 8VSB DTV set-top receivers cost a pretty penny. Panasonic's first model, the venerable TU-DST50, was initially priced at $1400. Sharp's first design was closer to $2K, as was Zenith's first receiver. And that was to be expected - these receivers cost a lot to design and manufacture, and no one could say for certain how much of a market there would be out of the gate for STBs. Of course, there weren't too many DTV stations on the air in those days. And receiver designers didn't have much empirical data about actual outdoor and indoor reception of 8VSB TV signals to work out the problems with multipath, close-in echoes, and weak signals. For terrestrial DTV reception to catch on with the general public, set-top receivers had to do a better job with reception, yet be affordable enough for the average viewer. Now that a few years have passed - and piles of field test data have been acquired - DTV receivers have made remarkable strides in performance and reductions in price. Whereas it might have cost upwards of $3,400 to get into HDTV just four years ago, you can do it today for just around $1,000. While that sum won't provide much more than a 27" 4x3 TV to view your high-def programming on, it's clear that costs of DTV components are slowly and steadily dropping. And Zenith is one of the companies making that happen. Zenith's HDV420, a terrestrial-only set-top receiver, is currently the low-price champ at $399 MSRP. The HDV420 is one-half of Zenith's new DTV tuner lineup, the other being the HD-SAT520 which is a combo DirecTV/terrestrial tuner. The HDV420 provides a basic, entry-level way to start watching DTV and HDTV with your existing analog set, with an HDTV-ready monitor, or even a true HDTV-ready TV. It offers several viewing options, provides digital audio connections for your home theater system, and comes packaged in a slim, attractive cabinet with a low profile you can stick just about anyplace. This tuner has a subtle feel to its design. The front panel has a brushed metal finish with a mirrored window at its center, behind which are the video format indicator LEDs. Stealing an idea from Sony, Zenith has brought its format selector switch to the front panel. As you repeatedly push the silver button, the component video outputs switch from 1080i to 720p and 480p. One more push enables the 480i composite video outputs and disables the component hook-ups. You can also change aspect ratios on the fly from the front panel. Many broadcasters send out a full 1080i, 720p, or 480p scanning raster, but only present 4x3 programming on that raster. That means you'll see a letterboxed and pillarboxed image on a 4x3 HD monitor (or even a 4x3 480i monitor). To get around this program, you merely select the desired aspect ratio to enlarge the image and fill the screen. When a 16x9 HDTV program comes on, simply tap the button again to move back into letterbox mode. If you have a true 16x9 screen, you won't be able to blow up widescreen programs in 1080i or 720p modes - only with downconverted 480i outputs. This function is also accessible from the remote control. One problem I found with the aspect ratio conversions is that letterboxed HDTV programs are not in a 16x9 aspect ratio when viewed in 480i mode. Zenith's previous DTV tuner, the DTV1080, had this exact same problem. The resulting images are in more of a 2:1 aspect ratio, resembling a CinemaScope movie image. Suffice it to say that the shapes of objects and people in this mode are noticeably compressed. The supplied remote control is fairly large. I like that for easier access and operation of buttons, but it does look a bit clunky. You'll have direct access to closed captions, aspect ratios, signal strength (there's a nice, fast on-screen signal strength meter to help with tuning) and you can also toggle back and forth between your selected DTV output format and 480i output. This is a true multifunction remote and can control a bunch of components in your home theater system The HDV420 provides all of the output connections you could need. Got a three-wire YPbPr connection? Flip the format switch to YPbPr, plug in your green, blue, and red cables, and away you go. Need an RGB connection for your older DTV or PC monitor? Flip the switch the other way, plug in your 15-pin VGA cable, and you're all set. Zenith also supports both coaxial and optical connections for Dolby AC-3 digital audio, and throws in a pair of stereo analog RCA audio jacks for convenience. And there's a separate jack field with composite, S-video, and analog stereo audio jacks for viewing downconverted DTV programs on older sets. The connector complement is rounded out by a pair of 'F' connectors, which work as a loop-through. Run your antenna (or cable, if you can receive 8VSB signals that way) into the bottom jack, and the signal passes through to the top to be connected to other TV tuners, VCRs, or PVRs. If you're into recording DTV programs for time-shifting, the HDV420 can't provide that function. All you'll be able to do is record downconverted versions to a TiVo or Replay unit, or your VCR using the S-video or composite outputs. Using the menus and operating the HDV420 is a breeze. There's even an "EZ Demo" that shows you how to navigate the various menus, in case you are just plain stuck. Otherwise, the first thing to do when you turn on the HDV420 is to perform a channel scan. That function is found in the top menu, and you'll need to tell the HDV420 whether you are connected to an outside antenna (CHs 2-69) or a cable TV system (CHs 2-125). As the HDV420 finds each valid 8VSB signal, it saves the channel top memory and does it at lightning speed, too! I did a complete terrestrial channel scan from my home and it took all of 1 minute and 3 seconds. The Zenith's low-price competitor, Samsung's SIRT-151, needed 2 minutes and 23 seconds to scan the same channels. But that's not a true 'apples to apples' comparison, as the T151 grabs full Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) data from each broadcaster, while the HDV420 only uses a smidgen. For example, if I select local UHF channel 26 (virtual channel 3), the HDV420 will identify the station as "DTV 3-1" and nothing more. It has grabbed the basic Virtual Channel Data from PSIP to save the physical and virtual channel relationship for each DTV station in memory. But it will not display the station's callsign, program duration, System Time Table (STT) data, or even a program name. That means you will also have to set the HDV420's internal clock when you first power it up, and re-set it each time power is interrupted. On the other hand, Samsung's SIRT-151 does save and display this data, which means you don't have to set its clock - only change to and from Daylight Savings Time when appropriate. The HDV420 does have a neat internal logo menu, which has the logos for virtually every known TV network. You can assign a logo to each station that you have saved in memory as well as program your favorite channels. Oddly, this logo file does not include the WB or UPN networks, even though many DTV stations carry programming from both. (And several WB shows are in HDTV, too!) Other menu selections let you choose the audio language if more than one audio track is present, as well as use the HDV420 to control the volume of any DTV program you are watching. There are also a set of parental lock controls (all new STBs have this feature) and you can also set up closed captions using a variety of type fonts, sizes, background and foreground colors, and drop shadows. (The newer 708-version closed caption system currently in use by only one DTV station, will make full use of these features.) Because the HDV420 doesn't make much use of PSIP, it can't support an electronic program guide (EPG) of any kind. That's a big surprise, because EPG is coming. Most broadcasters are not supporting it now, but I expect to see basic program guides on the digital airwaves in the next couple of years. With the Samsung tuners reviewed elsewhere on this web site, you'll be able to read EPG data. But with the HDV420, you won't get any EPG information. Considering that Zenith invented the 8VSB terrestrial broadcast system, you'd expect their receivers to have the latest and greatest mods and performance. In my own tests, I found the HDV420's receiver to have good sensitivity (better than the DTV1080) and improved multipath correction over any other receiver I have tested to date. Using both indoor and outdoor antennas, I was able to introduce significant multipath to several local and distant signals across the UHF band. The HDV420 held on to these signals longer than Samsung's T151 when multiple echoes were seen across the displayed waveform. In a case of one or two notches or moderate tilt, the receivers were about equal in performance. mm *Caption:* The waveform on the left from WTXF-42 was received by both the SIRT-151 and HDV420 receivers, while that on the right was only received on the HDV420. Notice the deep 24+ dB notch and multiple echoes on the right waveform. mm *Caption:* These waveforms show the signal from WPHL-54. There's not a lot of difference between the two except for an increased number of echoes on the right signal, which only the HDV420 could receive reliably. mm *Caption:* Here's a pair of waveforms from WPVI-64. While both have multiple echoes, the waveform on the right has a 16 dB notch. Again, only the HDV420 could hold on to this signal. In terms of plain vanilla sensitivity, the HDV420 is as good as any receiver I have seen to date. However, it did display an odd tendency to lose channel data from memory if the DTV signal was interrupted for a few seconds. In a side-by-side test, the T151 tuner recaptured channel data within 1-2 seconds after the signal was restored, but the HDV420 often displayed "No Channel" until I manually re-entered the channel number. This 'memory loss' problem may be related to the HDV420's ignoring most PSIP data from each received DTV channel. That's not a good thing - PSIP exists to make channel tuning and identification faster, and signal interruptions are corrected faster when virtual channel data is saved into the receiver's memory. All in all, the HDV420 is a great value for $399. Its receiver performance is very good and multipath correction is top-notch. The user interface is intuitive and you'll have this box set up and operating in no time. But I wish Zenith hadn't scrimped on some features, such as displaying more detailed PSIP information for each channel and leaving out any form of electronic program guide for the future. ©2002 Peter H. Putman / Roam Consulting Inc. Reproduction of this article by printed or electronic means without the specific written permission of the author is prohibited.