The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #119054   Message #2578978
Posted By: Sawzaw
01-Mar-09 - 10:51 PM
Thread Name: Tech: Digital TV converter boxes
Subject: RE: Tech: Digital TV converter boxes
bobad: try a converter box. You might be able to get more stations. I do.

JIK: Best buy has Apex and Insigina boxes stacked on skids. I got ose insignia and one Apex. I am not going to open the Apex box. I am going to take it back and get another Insignia.

I heard the Radio Shack model is crap.

Review:

OEM version of Zenith DTT901 and Insignia brand converters Great, August 1, 2008
By Chris Zee Shutterbug (Baton Rouge La) - See all my reviews

LG makes these converter boxes and sells them as either a Zenith DTT901 or a Insignia brand (at BestBuy). After much research at AVSForum re selection, here is a quick summary of my own experiences.
Out of the half dozen or so READILY available boxes, this one is by far the best. Some other ones are prone to: locking up requiring a reset, sound problems, running very hot, may be impossible to add channels manually, and have difficulties setting the aspect ratio such that the program fills the screen best. These LG/Zenith/Insignia boxes have none of those problems, but make sure that you get one built after April '08 (there is a sticker on the side of the box with either ie "built May 2008" or something like 05A08). Setup is easy, sensitivity is great. With a set of rabbit ears I get stations from 70-90 miles away (see TVFool website for antenna directions and maps for your own area).
Picture Zoom is settable for each channel, box can turn off the TV, and has an independent volume control. There are a couple of small items not quite up to par: Program guide is VERY simple, only current program and NEXT program are described, power cord is only 5ft long, if you set the converter on top of a large tv on a stand, it has a hard time reaching a floor level outlet. The signal strength meter (used for fine tuning the antenna position)has its own button on the remote, with a bar and amplitude varying beeps, but it lags the antenna movement by second or two, so you have to pause after moving the antenna each time to get a true signal level. Oh, and by the way, the picture quality (PQ)is excellent over the composite RCA outlet, and almost as excellent over the RF coax output. And yes, when turned off, the box will pass analog signal to the TV (APT), I thought that would be important, but all of my stations analog signals are duplicated on digital channels, and once you see a perfect quality signal it is very hard to watch a snowy picture. The DTT901 boxes are approved for the [...]$ rebate coupon (but some websites may have problems redeeming them and you may have to try a BM (brick and mortar store) instead.