How long will we be able to buy ATSC-NTSC converter boxes?

[MRX37]

Well, I'm pleasantly surprised with the digitalstream box from Radio Shack.

My history with Radio Shack has been shoddy overpriced products, that are almost never in stock. Maybe this time I got lucky...

While this box was a bit on the expensive side, I'm still surprised. It changes channels quicker then I expected. There's a slight delay before the channel comes in, but I'm still impressed. Changes a lot faster then my HVR 1600...

Sensitivity seems to be good, probably equal to my HVR 1600 TV card.

My only complaint is that the remote, which has an option to control the TV as well, does not have an indicator light. S-video output would have been nice too, but even on RF mode the picture is very clear, and I do not see a lot of dot crawl.

EDIT: The inside of the box looks pretty simple. There are two seperate boards, power supply, and the DTV convertor board. The DTV board sems to be populated with SAMXON caps, while the power supply has caps made by "WB". A quick googling didn't turn up any horror stories, but I'm probably going to replace every cap with Nichicons anyway. It has a 6 month warranty... I'd rather it last 10 or 20 years...

PS: saw an LG chip in it, so maybe the board is the same that's used in the Zenoth DTT901, and Insignia boxes...

[site123a]

Originally Posted by MRX37

PS: saw an LG chip in it, so maybe the board is the same that's used in the Zenoth DTT901, and Insignia boxes...

Only the MPEG processor is the same but not the firmware. Many other coverter boxes use the same LG LGDT1111D, however the Zenith & Insignia boxes with analog pass-thru uses a slightly updated version of that chipset.

[MRX37]

You know, I think the markup on these DTV boxes is astronomical.

Mine's an all plastic case. The electronics don't look all that complex, and only two screws help hold it together, along with 4 plastic clips that are molded in. It weighs next to nothing, and is quite small, so shipping them shouldn't cost that much.

I know these things use MPEG 2 technology, and probably some of the price goes towards royalties, but I still think the markup is staggering.

[Chad Hauris]

We just got a converter from Target which seems to work real well...it is an "RCA" STB7766G1 distributed by "AVC Multimedia".
It has a visual and aural signal strength indicator and seems to pick up stations as well as the insignia. Most importantly it uses an outboard power supply so it can be powered off another supply if the original craps out (or batteries) and there is no heat in the cabinet.
I think I'll go back to target and get the rest of this type they have in order to have some backups. They do also have the APEX though which I wanted to stay away from.

[peverett]

The complexity of modern electronics is in the integrated circuits and not readily visible. These can cost tens of millions to develop, depending on the application. This cost has to be recovered by selling millions and millions of units.

In my career, I have worked with teams on the development of integrated circuits containing several million transistors These had mask costs of over 1 million dollars. Developing these is not a business for the faint hearted.

[radiotvnut]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

These guys also have the Channel Master box.

http://www.summitsource.com/digital-...00-p-6886.html

I think I'll go ahead and order one before they become unavailable.

I thought I got lucky on the Zenith box. Sears shows the DTT901 on their website; but, claims the item is no longer available for shipment when checkout is attempted.

Now, I'm even more determined to keep all of my "outdated and un-eco friendly" televisions. They just THINK they're going to force me into buying a giant "etch-a-sketch" looking thing that masquerades as a quality TV. The day me and my "obsolete technology" part company will be the day I leave this world!

I just received the CM box and it works like a charm. It will receive PBS in the daytime; while the Digitalstream box will not. I can also sort of receive a CW station about 60-75 miles away. It's not watchable; but, I think it would be with a better antenna. The DS box will also not touch this station in the daytime and only gets a hint of a signal at night.

I was also surprised to see that they included a "real" coax cable for connection to the TV. I like the remote, the fact that the unit has a metal enclosure, and that it has buttons on the box itself. I probably will be buying another as funds permit. These may cost more; but, I think they are well worth the extra cost.

[jeyurkon]

I have an Access HD that has been working great and picks up distant stations. At least I thought it was good until I hooked it up to my old Sylvania. The video seemed to span many channels and the audio couldn't be tuned in at the same time as the video.

I had been feeding the composite out to my Pioneer SD-403. I tried feeding the RF to it and the video was awful as was the sound.

Guess this won't be an issue since I plan on using it with a BT modulator, but I was surprised that they did such a poor job with the RF.

John

[Adam]

Ok, so I just heard about this retro tv network, so I finally have a reason to look into getting one of these. But the ones recommended here (in this thread and others) all do seem to be now no longer available. I can find used ones on ebay, but I kind of hesitate to buy something I wouldn't have the first idea how to repair on ebay. That and they're still not that cheap, I just a few minutes ago saw a used CM7000 go for over 60 bucks.

First, am I correct interpreting what I read here that the CM7000 seems to perform the best, with the Zenith/Insignia coming in a close 2nd? And digital stream and the RCA seem to be ok? But nobody seems to like any of the others much at all? Second, is there a source for these besides getting used ones on ebay?

[Brian]

Wait until later this year as I think in 2011 analog is going dead in Canada. There should be an upswing in availability at least for a short time. OTA digital antenna system availability is starting to become available even at the local Walmart of late.

[peverett]

Radio Shack here still carries the Digital Stream boxes. They are also available via their website.

[site123a]

Originally Posted by Adam

Ok, so I just heard about this retro tv network, so I finally have a reason to look into getting one of these.

Wait.. The analog shutdown happened months ago. So what have you been using since then??

To answer your question, the Zenith/Insignia and Channel Master converter boxes are both #1, and the two have there pro's & con's. The 2nd best (in my opinion) is the RCA and Magnavox converter boxes, which you can still get new on ebay for about $20 - $30.

I suggest you go to AVS Forum and check out the "Coupon Eligible Converter Box (CECB)" section...

[kx250rider]

They're getting scarce in retail stores! Fry's hasn't had any at their Woodland Hills, CA store for months, and now Target only has one cheap brand, and no nice ones. I wish I had stockpiled a few more. All the ones I have are now in use, and I even robbed the one out of our camper to put with my micro TV collection.

I'm going to try to buy a new one with HD 1080i output via HDMI to go with one of our Sony WEGA HD tube sets, as the Samsung I now have does not have an HDMI output.

Charles

[Adam]

"Wait.. The analog shutdown happened months ago. So what have you been using since then??

Been watching dvds, I almost never watched any over the air tv since I moved to MI, so it just didn't seem worth it to buy one. But recently I read that we get old shows on this channel 7.2, and just now in another thread I read that we get some on a ch38, so it seems worth it to me now.

[peverett]

As mentioned above, Radio Shack does still have the Digital Stream. However, if you get desperate, buy a DVD player with tuner(Fry's here has these) and connect the composite video/sound output to an RF converter box(Walmart here still carries these).

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by compucat

I guess we TV collectors need to stash a few or resort to DVD players for programme content when the boxes are a long time unavailable.

I don't have an ATSC->NTSC converter box on my RCA CTC185 XL-100 TV, but I do have basic cable that brings in broadcast channels only, since I do not watch much broadcast TV anymore except for news, the occasional nature programs on PBS, and every once in a great while shows like "60 Minutes" or special presentations on the major networks. For other programming, I have a subscription to Netflix in addition to a small but growing collection of DVDs, as well as a rack full of VHS tapes of old TV series and movies. My favorite TV shows are from the 1970s (the decade when I grew up), so almost all of my VHS tapes and practically all of my DVDs are of shows from that era. I had expanded-basic cable for years from Time-Warner Cable (and digital cable for a few years), but I downgraded to basic (what I call "bare-bones basic") cable about a year and a half or so ago when the rates for expanded basic went to $55.67 a month.

My DVD, VCR and my above-mentioned collection of vintage TV shows, plus a subscription to Netflix, are a very acceptable substitute for high-priced cable, as far as I am concerned. I don't miss expanded-basic (or digital) cable anymore; neither does my wallet. The channels I don't get on basic cable (such as The Weather Channel, MSNBC, et al.) have websites on the Internet anyway, so I'm not missing them. I look at it this way. Most TV is available online (the major networks all offer on their websites streaming video of their most popular shows) as well as on cable or OTA these days, so if there is a show I want to see that I cannot get on my cable, I can just go to the network's web site; chances are good it will be there.

Streaming video is the future of TV; why fight it? It's already here, and it may well eventually replace TV as we know it--maybe before we know it. Technology is advancing at an incredible rate these days; witness Blu-ray and 3D television (the latter having been mentioned in a segment of NBC Nightly News last night), and who knows what's next?

These are exciting (if challenging) times for television; the medium will continue to evolve whether we like it or not. It's best, IMHO, that we learn to live with these changes, even if we don't upgrade to the latest technology immediately or any time soon. I am not against new technology, but my feeling is that, since my present audio/video setup, most of which except for my DVD player is ten years old, still works well for me, why replace it? I may not upgrade to a flat-panel HDTV for some time, as I have a 14-year-old Zenith 19" Sentry 2 TV in my bedroom in line to replace my RCA CTC185 when the latter goes belly-up (which may not be for quite a while; that CTC185 still makes as good a picture now as when I bought the set ten years ago). My stereo system is also a decade old and is showing its age (the cassette decks quit a couple years ago), but as I use it mostly as an amplifier and for the FM tuner anyway; I've ripped most of my CDs and a few audio cassettes onto my hard drive, using the freeware Audacity player for the latter, so I don't even use the CD player in the stereo system anymore. My point is that the stereo system still works well enough with my computer that I really have no reason at this time to upgrade to anything else; that and I don't have the room for anything larger in my small apartment. A third reason why I won't upgrade this system as long as it works is that the audio system is somewhat unique, in that the subwoofers are powered and built into the speaker enclosures. That's good, because I'm not sure where I would put two subwoofers in this place. I feel fortunate to have found room for the speakers.