Analog TVs will be outdated by February 17, 2009 (now June 12,) according to the FCC. Recently we’d aquired an 32″ HDTV and a 22″ HD monitor to get ready for the change. The monitor was paid for by Microsoft I got from a settlement program. On a side note, Bill Gates, with his philanthropy program, isn’t so evil after all. The LCD TV will be the third most expensive item our family would ever own, but not the most important item.
If you have an antenna that recieves signals off the air you will need one of these converter boxes in this chart. If you want a $40 voucher go here.
The Tivocommunity has created a small poll. The poll shows that more people are choosing the $40 ECHOSTAR.
This poll chart is compiled by the Tivocommunity forum as seen here.
One of the DigitalSTREAM model might be on my wish list because it has a better video output, actually a already have it and updated this post at the bottom. The voucher won’t allow high definition outputs. I’ll also be owning the CoShip 9900T soon. It claims to store up to 3000 channels with fast inter-channel switching capability, with 7 day EPG and supports a picture in picture capability (some models only.) But I had problems getting it at BSATs website when I entered the wrong coupon code into the BSAT shopping cart. It took five days before I knew that I’ve entered the wrong code. I will also be buying the RCA DTA800 if I get a chance because this model can be able to remotely control an external antenna system automatically. It can be a pain to get up and twist the antenna every once in a while. And this model takes care of that. They are sold at the BSAT website which sells like hotcakes.
Remember that it can take up to ten days before the item is shipped. After a few days mine was shipped and it took two weeks to arrive. I was very satisfied with the Coship. Switching between channels isn’t somewhat fast which feels much like a normal vacuum tube TV when changing channels. The only drawback is that the audio on some channels are as bad as the Digital Stream converter box. The remote has an antenna meter button which put out a strength indicator beep while you adjust the antenna. Some converter boxes will not have a reception meter button on the remote. The reception and image quality on the Coship is pretty good. The remote (with volume control and many other features) can adjust between various screen size easily in case the network decides to broadcast in wide screen. It will come in handy if you will want to see what the director intended on the left and right side of the screen at a press of the button. I didn’t find this feature in the digital stream. I recommend the Coship over the digital stream.
A practical antenna for homes (with trees nearby)
I’ve tried a few low cost dtv amplified and twist-knob antennas with such brand as RCA, Terk and so on. But what really worked somewhat decently is the Philips Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna which sells for about $30 at Lowes that uses a DC adaptor. You can probably put it inside the attic or sit it right on top the television set or put another dtv antenna in the attic and plug it into the back of this thing. There were a few random 1-second drop-out in audio on some hard to get channels once every two hours but it was worth it since our house is surrounded by large dense trees. In this kind of dense trees, the grill and whiskers type of antenna didn’t work well. The broadcast tower is about 35 miles away. If there had been no tree obstructions the reception would have been superb with the grill and whiskers type of antenna also known as a Multi Directional HDTV Antenna [image]. But the amplified antenna seems to squeeze in the signal from between the trees pretty well, except on a typical storm or some severe weather conditions. Sometimes, it won’t recieve a few high definitions (HD) signals, usually early in the morning. All in all, it seems to pull in digital broadcasts pretty decently.
A short video about the hazard of television on our mind (must watch)
I tried out the Digital STREAM DTX9900 from radio Radio Shack and it was an easy setup. Took only a minute to auto scan and collect the channels.
Digital STREAM DTX9900; LG Chip, LGDT1111D
The DTX9900 doesn’t have the S-VHS output or programming more than a few hours. Without S-VHS, the lack of quality clearly shows on the screen but the image quality is great on an analog TV set. The converter box comes with a volume control for convenience but I can’t give great reviews on its sound quality. Many of the channels will sound just as though the TV is speaking thru a tin can (or the sound you get when your speaker is stuck at the 6-10kHz frequency bandwidth, which can be really annoying if you’re sensitive to these frequencies.) Reception is just as great as my Sharp Aquos. Switching between channels can give you a delay of about 1 to 1.5 seconds, somewhat slow but better than my Aquos. One of the best feature to have handy is the reception button on the remote. By pushing a single button on the remote, a reception meter pops up on the screen allowing you to quickly adjust the antenna. Another plus is having buttons on the unit itself for quick channel change in case you loose the remote. Overall it’s a practical box if you need one that produce a decent image on your square screen TV. But I think I need a better receiver, hopefully with a better video output, a few days of EPG and a faster inter-channel switching.
The following copyrighted information is compiled by Ken of EZ Digital TV used with permission. You can go to Ken’s site to see the updated online retailers.
| Converter Box | Retailer | Price |
| Artec T3A | BSAT.net | $56.99 |
| COSHIP N9900T SPEC | Buy at BSAT | $51.99 |
| Digital STREAM DTX9900 | Radio Shack | $59.99 |
| Insignia NS-DXA1 | Best Buy | $59.99 |
| Magnavox TB100MW9 | Magnavox | $49.87 |
| Philco TB100HH9 | Amazon.com | $70.99 |
| RCA DTA800 | Amazon.com | $49.87 |
| Tivax STB-T1 | Tivax Online | $69.99 |
| Zenith DTT900 | Radio Shack | $59.99 |
| Zenith DTT900 | Circuit City | $59.99 |
| Zenith DTT900 | Radio Shack | $59.97 |
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Example Coupon Eligible Digital Converter Box with EPG*
*EPG (Electronic Program Guide) time zone specific. You can see what will be showing up to a week in an advance. Check to be sure that some of these do have 7 days of programming guide. Some will show only 2-3hour ahead of program guide.
CoShip 9900T (7days)
The Echostar TR-40 (7 days)
Tivax ATSC STB-T9 (CECB) $ 49.99
Artec Digital ATSC T3APro (CECB) $ 54.99
MicroGEM ATSC MG2000 (7days) (CECB) $ 64.99
Philco ATSC TB100HH9 (CECB) $ 74.99
Sansonic ATSC (Note: Does not specify the type of programming) FT-300A $ 59.99
Note: All Sold by solidsignal. All images by solid signal. (I’m not affiliated with this site)
Other features worth mentioning: The RCA DTA800 is equip with smart antenna jack which controls the smart antenna. The smart antenna isn’t probably available until Feb 2008. Smart Digital Antenna uses sonar technology to seek and lock the strongest DTV signal available. This gives consumers the convenience of never having to physically adjust your antenna.
You can probably find some of these boxes at a local store near you:
Best Buy
Circuit City
Target
K-Mart
Sam’s Club
Sears Roebuck
Radio Shack
Walmart
My HDTV will be used primarily to watch details in documentary movies such as Nature and the sciences. Our analog CRT TV had lasted about 10-15 years and they’re still manufacturing the same poor image quality as of ten years ago. Our LCD HDTV is expected to last 20-25 years because I bought spare parts along with it. But the technology will probably be outdated in about 18 years.
The LCD HDTV by Sharp has a PC VGA input that has excellent details in still images. Viewing HD broadcasts is perfect. With the VGA input, you can turn your PC into a DVR (digital video recorder) or into a hard drive DVD jukebox. To turn your PC into a DVR you’ll need MythTV or Windows Media Center and a video card that will pickup broadcast signals. You will most likely need Vista in order to use Windows Media Center – that’s their way of trying to make us upgrade to Vista. I’ve been using Windows 2000 Pro for years. I feel that Win2000 Pro operates much faster because it’s lighter.
MythTV offers multiple tuner cards and multiple simultaneous recordings. Grabs program information using xmltv, skips commericals and more.
My HDTV will require a new set of HDDVD player or a DVD player that is capable of upscaling to 1080i and will plug into its HDMI port. I’ve got an LG DVD player with HDMI but the sound quality and image quality isn’t within my standard of quality. The player works great for a door jamb. Eventually, I settled with the Sony because of its acceptable image and great sound quality. The best way to get the most detail from your DVDs is, in my opinion, to view them on a HD monitor. I only trust two brands, Viewsonic and Dell.
Advantages: Wide viewing angle, fast response time and refresh rates, more channels than standard TVs.
Disadvantages: This TV changes channel very slowly, has poor quality on analog broadcast (I don’t need to worry about that because the government will make analog channels obsolete.) And finally, it refuses to allow Smart Stretch (widescreen viewing) on some channels, this is probably caused by the broadcasting company. Eventually, it develop a red line (dead pixels effect) from top to bottom right in the middle of the screen but it is bearable. The bad component is most likely the pixel controller transistor. I’ve acquired the part and ready to install it but is proving to be too challenging to install it.
A new service called Yahoo! HD for AQUOS’, which was unveiled at the CEATEC Japan 2007 show basically upscales content from your PC using Yahoo’s Japanese portal to make the most of a 1920 x 1080 resolution LCD TV.
It’s funny that you referred to your TV as one of the members of your family; most people would see it as new high tech toy or something along that line.
I don’t watch as much TV now, but I’m thinking about getting a new camera, I’m a bit tired of my digital, I’m thinking about investing in The single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, might have to wait awhile since it’s so expensive.
SLR camera sounds interesting because of the interchangeable lens and the quality of lens you could upgrade to. I would like to have an SLR camera that picks up a lot of colors naturally. To go around this, a few people would use Photoshop to increase their color but this tend to oversaturate the image.
I would like to own a high definition video camera that picks up a lot of colors and doesn’t produce glare in a bright sunny day. There’s a feature in Photoshop called “shadows/highlights.” It turns dark images bright while keeping the bright background low. The result is like photographing in the dawn of the morning where the lights are at its best.
I believe Darly has a Conon SLR? I wonder if the images I see in her photos are all from SLRs. What camera does Vienne use? They look great. I should ask him.
Do you think many photographers use Photoshop? Won’t that be cheating a bit? I tried Photoshop once and got as far as the installation but quickly uninstall it because it was so intimidating to me; I’m just not good at something like that. I might have to try it again, we’ll see if I’m brave enough.
I like to invest in a better camera because photos can capture many happy memories, I wish I had some photos of my family when I was younger; I only have one black and white of when I was 6 years old in Thailand, not even of the whole family. I don’t think Darly has the SLR (I could be wrong here,) and her relatives in Laos took many of her photos, I can’t imagine her sending them the SLR. There are several photographer bloggers that I read and they have the SLR, their photos are absolutely gorgeous, one person was able to capture a photo of McDonald meal and made it look like gourmet cooking. I think I need to do more research on the type of camera, I’m not sure if I want a Canon SLR or a Nikon SLR, what do you think? This is like asking if you like a Honda or a Toyota.
I think Photoshop isn’t cheating if the competition or the publication allows it. Costco’s photo contests allows it but News magazines or Time Life/National Geographic might not allow it.
I haven’t had experience with Nikon or Canon. I wish I had because I really want to see the quality difference. But it looks like Canon makes more cameras which means lower cost and selection for the consumer.
Thanks. I think I might ask Miss Phom because she is a photographer and I have a digital Canon. I like Canon; the quality of the photos can be better and it’s not the brand but I think I need a better camera. What I hate about my camera is the draw back of timing between shots and by the time I’m ready for my next shot, the image is gone and I like to capture moments or expressions on people’s face or events. I want something a bit better than what I have.
Sim,
Our list of converter boxes is updated. There are new online retailers that accept coupons.
http://www.ezdigitaltv.com/Converter_Box_Retailers.html
Ken
I thought you only needed the converters if you did not have an up to date hdtv. If your tv is hd ready and you have an open air hd antenna, why would you need a converter?
Hi Dallas,
Having a digital converter is better for HDTV owners. Here are some benefits:
1) Allows users to record Digital and HD programs to DVDs or to other medias.
2) Allows users to take advantage of the features that comes with the converter like:
Faster channel switching
Picture in picture
Programming guides
3) You can watch TV on your PC. (Some boxes even have a VGA plug so you can just plug it to your monitor or use a Video to VGA Converter.)
4) On most wide-screen TV’s, the converter boxes allows the viewing area to be “smart stretched.” This eliminates the black bars on the left and right side of the screen. This doesn’t stretch the face of the newscaster, for instance.
Are you trying to sell one to Dallas?
I’m convinced it’s better, I don’t think I need one since I have cable.
Can you suggest a place to buy the COSHIP N9900T converter box? I only have antenna, and really want a box with a 7 day program guide, but have not been able to order at your listed site, BSAT. Not sure if they are out of stock at the moment, or what.
Any who, thanks for the great information you are providing to all of us, keep up the good work..:)
Hi Patrick,
I believe a few of the late comers didn’t get a chance to buy this “hot item” online. It appears that BSAT (one of the first official reseller of the certified converter box) keeps changing their inventory. You might have only three options:
1) You can check http://dtv.bsat.net/c-2-digital-to-analog-converter-box.aspx often to see if they have it restocked.
2) You can try to order from Coship. Click on this link
http://www.coship.com/CoshipEn/Default.aspx?Type=1&PCID=216&CatalogID=6864
then click on “N9900T.” Then click on the “Order online” tab and fill out the form then send. They’ll probably send you a link to buy their product from a reseller.
3) You can buy other converter boxes with EPG (Electronic Program Guide) usually up to seven days. You can check out the updated list I have above.
Hi,
Looks like I missed out on the COSHIP model, but thanks for your help.
I did order the MicroGEM model, with the 7 day program guide, and cant wait for it to get here (up to 10 days delivery time). Will send in a review when it gets here.
I do have another question, if you dont mind…
My parents are having their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend, at a local park, with rose bushes, and flowers. All us “kids” are going to be here, and I would like to get a nice camera to take pictures of the event. Can you suggest a nice digital camera. I was thinking in the 350 to 500 range, but could go a little higher.
Thanks in advance
Im still looking at the Digital Stream DTX9900, as a secondary box, because of its channel-update feature to pick up additional new channels when you move your antenna, without losing old channels, versus the boxes that forget all the channels every time they scan for channels again. What do you think about this box, for an over-the-air antenna user?
And are there any other ones you can suggest that are good for picking up more over-the-air channels?
Great, send in your review if you have the time. I’d do like to know how fast the MicroGEM changes channels.
I’ve been looking for some cameras for a project myself and was looking within the 350 to 700 range. I had to be sure these cameras are easy to modify, easy to service and had a high customer satisfaction. They also had to yield the best pictures, which is gauge by by searching thru hundreds of picture samples. http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon
Even though I value my happy desire to find the best product for a commercial project, I can’t say for sure that the cameras I chose are the best cameras. The cameras I selected turned out to be all Canon cameras. I don’t have the model names but from my observations, cameras that are priced at about $350-600 will yield the same image quality. $700 (XTi) – to 900 will yield the same image quality. $1000-$2000 most likely yield the same image quality. This is not considering other features like frames per second and write speeds or the variety of quality found on each lens. (further reading)
I’m not sure which converter boxes will bring in the most stations but the boxes with a strength signal meter would be helpful. And boxes with this kind of feature would also suggest that picking up signals is considered top priority within their designs criteria.
And one more note. The RCA dta800, GE or Goodmind has a smart antenna feature has an output jack that controls a smart antenna (sold separately.)
The antenna automatically seeks and locks the strongest DTV signal available. It works well for those who live near weak signals. You don’t have to run around and twist your antenna for each distinct signals. I know that I have to spin the directional antenna manually often. And it could get very annoying.
i got new digital stream dtx 9900. everything is fine picture quality is craystal clear. but the problem is when i turn off the TV or convertor box I have to REPROGRAM convertor box again
can anybody help please
i live in jersey city, NJ but I cant see NBC 4 and PBS 13. the problem low connection meter reading on DTX9900 between 0 to 20. before digital transition i dont have any problem regarding this.
can anybody tell me how to increase the connectivity ??
Normally, your converter box (dtx 9900) should remember the channels you’ve added, even when disconnecting the power cord for several hours. Switching off the TV shouldn’t affect it. Try to reset to the factory settings in the menu. And then add the channels automatically again.
It looks like there isn’t any PBS 13 (digital) being broadcast at the moment. Also, you won’t pickup the analog NBC 4 or an analog station with the dtx 9900.
Here’s what I found at the CEA website:
The digital signal from WNET-DTPBS 13 of NEWARK, NJ is Not active until after Feb 17, 2009. With a Compass Heading 123°and a distance of 1.9. You will need a yellow vhf antenna.
The analog signal from WNBC 4 NBC NEW YORK, NY is active with a Compass
Heading 73° and a distance of 3.7. You will need a red vhf antenna. You won’t pickup this signal from any of the certified converter boxes.
The digital signal from WNBC-DT 4.1 NBC NEW YORK, NY is active with a Compass Heading 66° and a distance of 4.4. You will need a blue vhf antenna.