I purchased this using one of the government coupons to upgrade one of my TV's that does not have a digital tuner built in. The short of it is that it does work; just not as good as I had hoped.
The positive is that the picture using the RCA outputs is good. Almost as good as a decent DVD player. It has an onscreen guide that will show you what is currently on a selected channel as well as what is on for the next few hours. The set up was easy using the onscreen guide and it found all the channels my other digital TV with the built in tuner found.
Now the bad. For some reason it has this kind of high-pitched buzz on every channel. It increases with the volume. It is there with both outputs and is incredibly annoying. It does get hot as noted in other reviews but not so hot as to pose a threat or hazard. The remote is terrible and is not always responsive and the unit takes a minute to boot up.
The bottom line is that this unit would work great for a TV in the kitchen or a guest room, but for your main TV, spring for a better unit. I am looking at the Samsung 260F for the living room.
Cheers! Access HD 1080D NTIA-Approved Digital to Analog TV Converter Box
At first the converter did not get many stations and I saw some frozen images - but I noticed the message that the signal was weak. I called Access HD to complain. It turns out the FCC's own data shows at least 30% of TV owners will need a new antenna to get a good picture. Access HD identified the correct antenna using a zip code look-up plus a verification using Google Earth (look at surrounding trees and buildings). It was awesome. Got the new antenna and I get more stations than I have ever received before - with DVD quality picture. I am sure most of the complaints you hear about converters of all brands are not converter problems at all, but antenna problems! The before and after performance with a good antenna is amazing.
I went out and picked up this beast from the local drug store using my government coupon to save some bucks.
It does work well, even giving me several channels I didn't have before... some cool features as well and easy to set up.
BUT...
It gets burning hot!!!!!!!
The first night the screen started glitching badly and I went over to play with the converter box. BURNING MFing HOTTT!!!!!!!!!
These idiots put the ventilation holes on the bottom! I've had to flip it upside down for better cooling to get it to be reliable.
It doesn't have an auto off like some other units; thus to avoid burning down my apartment building I have to turn it off manually when I leave the home.
Get a brand you've heard of.
Got one of these using my coupon and it was defective out of the box - no picture and no sound. The company customer service is a joke - phone off the hook when they are suppose to be open and their web site doesn't allow you to send an email. This is a rip off company that is just trying to get the coupons and run. Don't waste your time or coupon. It does get very hot and if left plugged in, it is a fire hazzard.
The Access DTA 1080 is totally unacceptable. Sorry I can't identify mine as a D or U version as none of the labels the manufacturer put on the box identify the version. I assume that it's the D as it's the small box. The remote does not control volume when connected for RF (channel 3 or 4), only the RCA jacks are controlled. There is LOUD buzzing audio leakage into the audio whenever there is white lettering appearing on the screen. The display for channel and menus has tiny lettering, hard to see across the room. I also have two versions of the Zenith converter which actually work as they are supposed to on exactly the same setup. Stay away from Access products.
I bough SIX Access HD 1080D converter boxes and spent months trying to get antennas that would allow me to get good pictures. Because all six performed the same, I assumed it was the antennas. Others said the boxes were essentially the same. I tried to complain to the tv stations and my representative in Washington.
Then someone gave me a couple of coupons and I went to [...] after doing more research and they sent me two ChannelMaster boxes. I replaced two of the Access units and almost fell to the floor when I saw the results; I thought we had hooked up to cable TV. The pictures came on fast and the was no freezing or no signal alerts. These Access people are selling garbage and I am finding others have the same complaint.
The attorney general is my next move. Unbelievable.
The box works much better than some of the other reviewers have claimed. For one, it has vent holes on both the top and bottom; the other reviewers might have had an older model. It didn't seem hot to me at all.
I live in an area with very limited over-the-air reception, and the box grabbed all the digital signals just fine. It is trivial to set up, and the manual seemed quite clear. - Converter Box - Dtv Converter - Coupon Eligible Dtv Converter Bo - Dtv Converter Box'
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