Digital/Analog Converter Box

kevzik

kevzik

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So I just got my $40 coupon in the mail. Did some looking and the cheapest box out there is at least $59.99. Any deals/ cheaper ones out there? Would like to find one at $49.99. Thanks.
 
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do not get the rca one b/c u have to have a smart antenna which is a special one that no one sells but any other brand will accept any over air antenna
 
Walmart also has a Magnavox brand one for $3 more than the RCA ($53). I went last night because I also got my coupons yesterday and surprise surprise, they were out of both.
 
I just got my coupons today as well. I need to pick one up for my parents and one for my bedroom TV. The letter said Radioshack has them, I'll have to see what models they have.
 
One question I have that I have always been meaning to ask, possibly a noobish one at that... If you pay for and have cable/satellite services, would you even need one of these converter boxes? :whistle2:#
 
[quote name='freakyzeeky']One question I have that I have always been meaning to ask, possibly a noobish one at that... If you pay for and have cable/satellite services, would you even need one of these converter boxes? :whistle2:#[/quote]

No you wont NEED them; however, I still got 2 because I have 2 TVs that are not hooked up to any cable/DBS service.

On that note I don't have my coupons yet; they should be mailed next week. I am going to wait until I can get the Echostar DTV Pal (it was called the sling tr-40) http://www.slingcommunity.com/article/26454/Sling-Gets-Into-the-Set-Top-Box-Game/

Also AVS forum as a nice tread about what box to get

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=186
 
i have 2 analog/digital A/V signal converters that i would trade, dont know if thats what you are looking for?

it converts regular AV into S-video and optical or PCM
 
[quote name='Kfoster1979']No you wont NEED them; however, I still got 2 because I have 2 TVs that are not hooked up to any cable/DBS service.

On that note I don't have my coupons yet; they should be mailed next week. I am going to wait until I can get the Echostar DTV Pal (it was called the sling tr-40) http://www.slingcommunity.com/article/26454/Sling-Gets-Into-the-Set-Top-Box-Game/

Also AVS forum as a nice tread about what box to get

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=186[/quote]


Sweet! That sling box one will be perfect...and free!
 
The switch to digital sucks ass. I wish someone would start a petition on-line or something. I was watching tv using the converter box and the image seemed blurry. And it doesn't help when the signal goes bad in the middle of a program you would like to see. Can you say BLOCKY MONSTERS FROM HELL! hehe With no sound. I can't even get my favorite station (channel 9 ABC). So, next year when I can't see LOST (or Desperate Housewives), you know what's coming. THERE WILL BE BLOOD!!! Boo Hiss! Doesn't matter cause I wouldn't want to see them in blurry digital/compress crapped up format anyway. The guy at Best Buy told me the Magnavox boxes didn't come with a remote. I got an Insignia one at BB. Remote feels crap anyway. I could probably bite through it. :)

I actually did a search on google, entering DTV sucks. Found some guy comparing digital and analog screen captures, I guess.

Can't wait until a tornado is coming and someone that's in its path can't get in the local news station (since they might not have a radio handy). Maybe their family will be able to sue the government for switching over to this sh*t. Well, that's my take on it anyway. Oh yeah, did anyone watch that DTV special on TV a couple months ago? Basically they ripped off the Mac commercials. They had an old guy representing Analog TV and some doofus was supposed to be digital. I like the Mac commercials, but this sh*t sucked! They should be sued, again. :)
 
[quote name='Green-Bull']The switch to digital sucks ass. I wish someone would start a petition on-line or something. I was watching tv using the converter box and the image seemed blurry. And it doesn't help when the signal goes bad in the middle of a program you would like to see. Can you say BLOCKY MONSTERS FROM HELL! hehe With no sound. I can't even get my favorite station (channel 9 ABC). So, next year when I can't see LOST (or Desperate Housewives), you know what's coming. THERE WILL BE BLOOD!!! Boo Hiss! Doesn't matter cause I wouldn't want to see them in blurry digital/compress crapped up format anyway. The guy at Best Buy told me the Magnavox boxes didn't come with a remote. I got an Insignia one at BB. Remote feels crap anyway. I could probably bite through it. :)

I actually did a search on google, entering DTV sucks. Found some guy comparing digital and analog screen captures, I guess.

Can't wait until a tornado is coming and someone that's in its path can't get in the local news station (since they might not have a radio handy). Maybe their family will be able to sue the government for switching over to this sh*t. Well, that's my take on it anyway. Oh yeah, did anyone watch that DTV special on TV a couple months ago? Basically they ripped off the Mac commercials. They had an old guy representing Analog TV and some doofus was supposed to be digital. I like the Mac commercials, but this sh*t sucked! They should be sued, again. :)[/QUOTE]
Sounds like you're having signal issues, or maybe just the stations in your area are doing something funky. If you can, try a better antenna, possibly an amplifed one.

Is your box connected to your TV through RF or RCA cables? That makes a tremendous difference as well, IMHO.

That guy at Best Buy is bullshitting you. In fact, the Magnavox converter has no external buttons, and can only be operated by remote.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8283870

I have the Zenith box (same as Insignia) and I couldn't be happier, especially with major network prime time. Some of the multi-casts, like the extended PBS stations, are more compressed - but not nearly as bad as what you describe.

Also check out the DTV converter box discussion thread that I started a while back:

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178268
 
i got two from boxes walmart today i was so excited to look at DIGITAL TV but couldn't get a decent signal I can only get one channel 46.1 its some lame channel I guess i live in the middle of no where! Goshen IN

Whats going to happen when I cant get Analog tv anymore?

Are they planning on sending stronger signals? I sure hope so!!
 
[quote name='josemp81']i got two from boxes walmart today i was so excited to look at DIGITAL TV but couldn't get a decent signal I can only get one channel 46.1 its some lame channel I guess i live in the middle of no where! Goshen IN

Whats going to happen when I cant get Analog tv anymore?

Are they planning on sending stronger signals? I sure hope so!![/QUOTE]
Not likely. What kind of antenna do you have? You'll probably have to get some sort of amplified one.
 
Yea...its somewhat tough to pull in DTV. I believe in 2009, everything will be VHF. Maybe this is will...maybe not.

As far as pic quality...it seems better to me. Over the air HD is wonderful.
 
[quote name='kevzik']Yea...its somewhat tough to pull in DTV. I believe in 2009, everything will be VHF. Maybe this is will...maybe not.

As far as pic quality...it seems better to me. Over the air HD is wonderful.[/quote]

Most of everything will be on UHF, also post conversion date some all networks will be able to do full power digital. From my understanding not all stations do this now to save money.

As far has the pic quality I have to agree, its stunning on a 10 year old 25" RCA I have.
 
Yeah, I thought about that. The one at Wal-Mart didn't have any buttons on front, so it must come with a remote. Although, at the time, they didn't have any in stock. Just the display model. But I'm glad I got the one I did.

I live in Hickory, N.C. and last night on PBS/UNC-TV they had a DTV call in hour. They said they'd be doing it monthly. So that's cool. Although I think they were just a tad biased towards DTV or what have you. They actually showed how you hook one up to an analog tv. But the thing is, they showed the picture from far away and it was their own station. :) So, they should've shown what happens when the signal gets crapped up (this part of the program wasn't Live). Although during the other part of the program, this one guy said if your signal on analog is bad when trying to get in a station, it probably won't even show up on DTV. And this one guy called in from the coast asking if they make converter boxes that use batteries (like after a hurricane come through). And they're like, they make them, but their not on the market yet. Or something like that. This one guy asked if he'd have to turn his outside antenna everytime he wanted to get in a station. And they reply, Yeah.

I had my box hooked directly up to the tv. I'll try and hook it through the DVD player. But, I'd be afraid it'd screw up the DVD player. Can't let that happen. And yeah, I'll probably take the $20 antenna back to Best Buy and try and get an amplified one. I was thinking about doing that anyway. Do they give you 30 days to return something that's been opened? Right? They better. :) But they are high. Might as well just get a small digital tv instead of all this DTV stuff.

Ok, it's not as bad as I describe (maybe ), but I was watching Two and a Half Men just staring at the image trying to make out if it was sharper than analog. After that show was over, my eyes hurt. I was using a 13" Orion. Normally I don't have the converter box hooked up. I put mine back in the box, just so nothing will happen to it. But I do plan to hook it up this weekend to see Garbage on Soundstage (on PBS). That way, I can see it twice. Once their UNC-HD channel at like 8:00 pm on Sat. night and again on the regular airing of Soundstage at 1:00 am late Sat. night/Sun. morning. Har har Although I already taped it last time it was on. But I like watching it on tv every time they air it. ''I'm only happy when it rainnnnnnnnnsssssssss!"

PBS is the best station to take advantage of DTV. If you miss a show like NOVA or Nature, you can probably tune it to another PBS channel the following day or so and watch what you missed the previous day. I know you can watch the BBC World News twice within a couple hours of each other. The 2nd time it's a rerun. They have hot anchor women (for the most part). :)
 
Any new updates for a good/cheap converter box? I'm reviving this dead thread. February 17th is closely approaching.
 
[quote name='hero101']Any new updates for a good/cheap converter box? I'm reviving this dead thread. February 17th is closely approaching.[/quote]

It seems that the most popular is the zenith dtt-901 (also known as Insignia ns-dxa1 i believe).

Also, if you use a VCR and want to record with a timer, only two manufacturers have boxes with timers - zinwell zat-970a (and 950a, not sure which is the new one) and DTVPal (or tr-40/tr-50). I just ordered the zinwell 970a, but none of those timer boxes get very good reviews.

I think this dtv conversion is going to be a disaster.

edit: the avsforum.com forum usually has good info http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=186
 
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