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In Reply to: RE: adventures with a cheap DTV box posted by tunenut on June 01, 2008 at 17:47:51
I would be curious to know about how far are you from the DTV transmitters and are they up high on a mountain top or on some high rise buildings? Are you "line of sight" to the transmitters or do you have a few obstructions in your "view"?
I believe we still have a handful of stations broadcasting DTV from high rise buildings downtown and another set of stations that are sharing a large tower on a mountain top. These transmitting locations are about 45-degrees apart. So in my case, I will either need to rotate the antenna about 45-degrees or get two of them pointed 45-degrees apart. Or... if the signals are strong enough, I could try an antenna that isn't too directional and point it in between the two transmitting locations.
I may head out to Best Buy today and see if I can find those Zenith DTV boxes. My coupons are good until August 4th. I believe the Zenith model number is DTT900?? What type of connections are on the back of this unit? How do you like the remote control?
Thanks!
Follow Ups:
According to a website I checked, I am about 35 miles from transmitters. They are up high on a mountain above Los Angeles, I believe. I am line of sight, however, as I said the antenna is inside a stucco building, so there are obstructions. If I put an antenna outside, I'd probably be fine, but I strongly resist that. The model number you have is correct. The connections are basic- coax in and out, then some audio plugs I did not use. The remote is also basic. Channel up and down, volume up and down, keypad for channel, then the set up buttons like signal strength. It's fine. The one thing I wish this had was an analog pass-through, so I could play with digital without changing cables.
Further progress: I did manage to pull in all 9 of the main TV stations in my area. The bad part is, I found no antenna configuration that pulled in all 9 at the same time. Maybe a better antenna gets me there. Maybe more playing around.
At any rate, I see the big debacle of this transition. A gradual picture degradation (more snow), one that I lived with, has been replaced by complete signal loss. This could get extremely annoying. I'm sure many people will simply be unable to get some of their stations. This really is going to upset them.
I couldn't find a Zenith. My Radio Shack told me they are back ordered and even the warehouse is out of them. I went ahead and got the Digital Stream DTX9900 which is also back ordered but not as bad. I should have it in a week delivered free to my home. Total cost to me was $23.05 with tax and the $40 coupon.
I still have a coupon so I may try to find a Zenith later.
If you're in the LA area, I suspect that most of the major TV / Radio stations will have their antennas high atop Mt. Wilson.
Digital Stream DTX9900
I bought a Zenith from Radio Shack, and wanted to get another one when I realized my coupon was about to expire. I called the store before I drove the 20 miles to make sure they had the Zenith converter. The store manager told me sure come on up, "we have a ton of them". Well, when I got there 5 hours later, the two Zeniths they had, had sold the previous day and the manager had left "an hour ago", according to the guy behind the counter. I was pissed. All they had were four boxes of Digital Stream DTX9900 Digital-to-Analog Converter Box's, (two of which had notes on them not to sell with the Gov. Coupons?).
With my time running out I had to take the Digital Stream box. If I did not like it, I had planned on returning it and giving the manager a tongue-lashing, (which I still might do for his deceitfulness). However, I like the Digital Stream more than the Zenith! You can blast through your favorite channels faster with the D.S. In addition, you can control TV volume and power, instead of just power as with the Zenith box.
I live 70 miles from Chicago; neither box will consistently pick up CBS. CBS is channel 2 on regular TV and difficult to watch with all the snow. I have a big Wineguard antenna with a power booster.
I have a US Digital HDTV box that I use on my downstairs TV. Its picture seems much smoother than either the Digital Stream or the Zenith boxes, (even on regular definition digital stations). However, the sound often does not match up perfectly with the picture. It is also a little slow switching channels. The US Digital can rarely pull in CBS here. Lucky for me CBS is moving to channel 12 before the Feb. 2009 deadline, which should tune in better.
Zenith and Insignia (Best Buy) are the same boxes made by LG of S Korea. My local Radio Shack doesn't have anymore Zenith but Best Buy has Insignia.
I'll have to check if RS has the Digital Stream box. They have a couple GE models which from what I have read, are junk.
The box to get is the EchoStar TR40 which isn't out yet... maybe later this summer. Apparently this model will be priced right at $39.95 AND have a friendly multi-day Electronic Program Guide (EPG) that the others do not. But I like the idea of the Digital Stream being able to control the TV volume. Thanks for that tip.
My coupons expire in August so I have to get something before then.
Thanks for the tip on Digital Stream.
Yes, that is what I was waiting for, the EchoStar TR-40. I remember the EchoStar TR-50 looked even more interesting!
It seems to me the Zenith did something important that the Insignia could not do. Yikes, it has only been three months since I researched this crap and it is already damn near gone!
Well, I went ahead and got the Digital Stream DTX9900 based on your comments and the fact that my local Radio Shack didn't have any Zenith models in stock or in the warehouse. Even the Digital Stream is back ordered but I should have it in about a week.
I may also get the Zenith later if I can find one. But for now, it's the Digital Stream DTX9900.
I'll be looking for a directional antenna that isn't too directional... something with more than a 45-degree beamwidth. This way, I should be able to point the antenna between the two main transmitting locations for my area. We'll see.
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