Price Paid:  $400.00 from SoundTrack

Summary:
I have owned the HIRD-E86 for about 1 year now. I am pleased overall with its performance. It seamlessly integrates DirecTV, OTA, and Cable into the standard DirecTV guide. I watch a lot of sports based programming and have found this product enhances my viewing pleasure. It has a good selection of outputs (composite, S-Video & Component) and works with SD and HD sets.

Strengths:
Cable, OTA & DirecTV from one source.

Weaknesses:
Red colors flicker in motion during live sports events, I have not had this issue other than with sports programming. Guide is very, very slow to view upcoming programming Price - You can buy RCA brand receivers in unlimited quanities from DirecTV for $50.00 ... I would have felt that $150.00 price tag would have made this a better value.

Similar Products Used:
Samsung, Sony

Price Paid:  $399.00 from Ultimate Electronics

Summary:
I wanted to find a Directv HD reciever which was also capable of HD reception with cable and over-the-air broadcasts. The Hughes E86 definitely does the job. The receiver uses the advance programming guide so that one has a guide even for the over-the-air local broadcasts. It integrates these broadcast channels seemlessly so that one can enter the number for either a local broadcast or a Directv channel without having to do some procedure to switch antennas. One has a guide to locals even if you do not subscribe to local channels. The reciever color codes programming on the guide by category (sports, movies, etc.) It has a digital optic output for Dolby Digital sound (which I haven't used yet because I haven't purchased a home theater system.) It outputs HD in 16:9 or 4:3 formats and will display them in full, cropped, side-bar, or letter-box depending on your viewing preferences. The menu is user friendly. I really haven't found anything wrong with this receiver, including the price.

Strengths:
Low price compared to competition and combines cable, over-the-air, and HD reception capabilities in a seemless fashion. It also is compact, not taking up much room in your home theater set-up.

Weaknesses:
I hate to be so positive, but I really haven't found any weaknesses. I would make this purchase again in a heart-beat.

Similar Products Used:
Looked at Samsung, Sony, and Zenith. All were much more expensive.

Price Paid:  $349.00 from bestbuy

Summary:
I researched set top HD boxes for both DirectTV and Terrestrial reception and came up with this jewel. I looked at Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba and came up with the Hughes Hird E86 for about 1/2 the price of the others. It integrates seamlessly into my HD monitor (Toshiba HF 82) and Direct TV system to create an easy to use, logical access to both terrestrial broadcasts with stunning quality (Channels 1-60) and DirectTV (Above 60). It is an outstanding value for the price.

Strengths:
Price, Construction Quality, Integration, 2 Year Warranty

Weaknesses:
No DVI output (no big loss because of Hollywood copy protection intervention)

Similar Products Used:
considered Sony, Samsung, and Toshiba but all were twice as much money.

Price Paid:  $349.00 from bestbuy

Summary:
I researched set top HD boxes for both DirectTV and Terrestrial reception and came up with this jewel. I looked at Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba and came up with the Hughes Hird E86 for about 1/2 the price of the others. It integrates seamlessly into my HD monitor (Toshiba HF 82) and Direct TV system to create an easy to use, logical access to both terrestrial broadcasts with stunning quality (Channels 1-60) and DirectTV (Above 60). It is an outstanding value for the price.

Strengths:
Price, Construction Quality, Integration, 2 Year Warranty

Weaknesses:
No DVI output (no big loss because of Hollywood copy protection intervention)

Similar Products Used:
considered Sony, Samsung, and Toshiba but all were twice as much money.