Help me drag my T.V. into the 21st century!
April 1, 2008 7:13 PM Subscribe
How do I figure out which digital converter box to get for my television?
So you know how there are only like two people in America who need to buy digital converter boxes for their televisions? I'm one of those two people. I have an analog T.V., and I don't have cable. I use an antenna and spend the cable money on a Netflix subscription.
Today I got my $40 coupon from the government, and now I need to go buy a box. The coupon came with a list of about 40 acceptable converter boxes, and I have no idea how to figure out which one is best. Does it matter? Has anyone reviewed converter boxes?
So you know how there are only like two people in America who need to buy digital converter boxes for their televisions? I'm one of those two people. I have an analog T.V., and I don't have cable. I use an antenna and spend the cable money on a Netflix subscription.
Today I got my $40 coupon from the government, and now I need to go buy a box. The coupon came with a list of about 40 acceptable converter boxes, and I have no idea how to figure out which one is best. Does it matter? Has anyone reviewed converter boxes?
You should find a plentiful supply of Manavox's at Walmart.
We bought two of them (with the coupons) and they work just fine.
I previously owned the onDigital/ITV digital box in the UK and the Manavox is basic in comparison but I digress...
I don't think it makes one iota of a difference which one you choose, looking at the Consumer Reports page above even they can't differentiate between them. They all do the same thing - encode the digital signal for your TV.
Save yourself some money and grab the Magnavox, eventually you will upgrade your television with a digital tuner built in. I know it's something I'll be doing in the future.
posted by Webbster at 8:56 PM on April 1, 2008
We bought two of them (with the coupons) and they work just fine.
I previously owned the onDigital/ITV digital box in the UK and the Manavox is basic in comparison but I digress...
I don't think it makes one iota of a difference which one you choose, looking at the Consumer Reports page above even they can't differentiate between them. They all do the same thing - encode the digital signal for your TV.
Save yourself some money and grab the Magnavox, eventually you will upgrade your television with a digital tuner built in. I know it's something I'll be doing in the future.
posted by Webbster at 8:56 PM on April 1, 2008
(Same setup = antenna + Netflix.)
We got the Insignia after I read online somewhere that it was good. It is.
Having the zoom button on the remote is a plus.
You may need a powered indoor antenna for some channels.
posted by omnidrew at 7:40 AM on April 2, 2008
We got the Insignia after I read online somewhere that it was good. It is.
Having the zoom button on the remote is a plus.
You may need a powered indoor antenna for some channels.
posted by omnidrew at 7:40 AM on April 2, 2008
Related: Recent EngadgetHD post with testimonials and links
posted by ALongDecember at 12:06 AM on April 7, 2008
posted by ALongDecember at 12:06 AM on April 7, 2008
Best answer: Here's a summary of several websites, including the Engadget thread:
The widely liked boxes are the Digital Stream DTX9900 and the Zenith DTT900, both at $59.99 (ie $20 after using your coupon) at all the stores below. Radio Shack has both. Circuit City has the Zenith, and Best Buy sells the Insignia NS-DXAI which is a rebranded version of the Zenith.
Wal-Mart has two cheaper models at $52.97 (Magnavox TB100MW9) and $49.87 (RCA DTA800), so you could shave your out-of-pocket down to $10. However, I haven't seen anyone say good things about either model, compared to widespread acclaim for the Zenith and good reports on the Digital Stream.
posted by msalt at 6:16 PM on April 27, 2008
The widely liked boxes are the Digital Stream DTX9900 and the Zenith DTT900, both at $59.99 (ie $20 after using your coupon) at all the stores below. Radio Shack has both. Circuit City has the Zenith, and Best Buy sells the Insignia NS-DXAI which is a rebranded version of the Zenith.
Wal-Mart has two cheaper models at $52.97 (Magnavox TB100MW9) and $49.87 (RCA DTA800), so you could shave your out-of-pocket down to $10. However, I haven't seen anyone say good things about either model, compared to widespread acclaim for the Zenith and good reports on the Digital Stream.
posted by msalt at 6:16 PM on April 27, 2008
after doing a bit of research I'm going to buy a Digital Stream DTX9950 from Radio Shack ($59.99). Apparently it has analog pass-through which allows you to toggle it between analog and digital mode in case some of your current analog channels haven't gone digital yet.
posted by jacobsee at 11:14 AM on June 5, 2008
posted by jacobsee at 11:14 AM on June 5, 2008
Here's a link to the DTX9950. I called my local radio shack, they don't have it in stock, but he said I can come into the store and order and he'll have it shipped from his warehouse to my house for free which is nice. I'm not sure if you can use the $40 coupon to order directly from the internet anywhere...
posted by jacobsee at 11:17 AM on June 5, 2008
posted by jacobsee at 11:17 AM on June 5, 2008
Just got my DTX9950 set up and wow it was smooth. When I first plugged it in I saw 'weak signal' floating around on the screen. Hit menu and navigated to the auto-scan and I picked up about 20 channels. We used to get 7 channels total that were watchable. The major network-affiliate stations have 2 or three channels each, including a dedicated weather channel which is nice. The program guide feature is nice, and I can turn on/off the TV, toggle the video mode, and control the TV volume using the included remote. There's also a dedicated volume control + mute button for the converter box itself. I'll probably just get another of the same model for our other TV.
posted by jacobsee at 10:05 AM on June 16, 2008
posted by jacobsee at 10:05 AM on June 16, 2008
Update: Our DTX9950 generally works well (I think) but sometimes 'sucks ass' according to other family members because it will drop the signal forcing us to switch back to analog. I'm going to pick up a Zenith DTT901, also with APT and see if that works any better. I seem to recall reading that the Zenith had better reception so we'll see. I found it available at Circuit City so will pick one up tonight.
posted by jacobsee at 1:55 PM on July 23, 2008
posted by jacobsee at 1:55 PM on July 23, 2008
After trying both the Zenith DTT901 and the Digital Stream DTX9950, it seems that both suffer from occasional stuttering in the digital signal, which is greatly improved if I tune my antenna for a given channel. And some stations are noticeably worse than others in this regard.
So I can't tell if one box is better than the other. I should probably look into getting a better antenna. I haven't played with it too much yet but the Zenith seems to be quite easy to use, just like the DS
posted by jacobsee at 8:59 AM on July 30, 2008
So I can't tell if one box is better than the other. I should probably look into getting a better antenna. I haven't played with it too much yet but the Zenith seems to be quite easy to use, just like the DS
posted by jacobsee at 8:59 AM on July 30, 2008
Antenna tips: I've found that just using the UHF antenna (small circle) and not even extending the VHF bunny ears works the best. Twisting the circle slightly to tune it has the biggest effect on the digital signal. I bought a new cheap antenna that has a selector switch that does something(?) and I've found the best setting and marked it and pretty much leave it in that position. I'm guessing that after the switchover next year the power of the digital channels will get stronger and/or they'll start using the lower VHF frequencies for digital so I'll have to play with it some more.
posted by jacobsee at 9:06 AM on November 26, 2008
posted by jacobsee at 9:06 AM on November 26, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ALongDecember at 8:28 PM on April 1, 2008