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. Zenith DTT901 Digital TV Tuner Converter Box
I've not encountered any product recently that works so simply and easily as this does. It's a cinch to set up; for more complicated systems which also include DVD/VCR and stereo system, the people manning the 800 number are extremely helpful and patient. I needed their help -- and we had it all done in under 10 minutes. I'm truly amazed by the high quality of the picture on my 27" Sharp with only simple rabbit ears plus this box. I read most customer reviews of this and the others offered by BestBuy, CircuitCity and Target -- this was the clear winner based on these. Now that I have it hooked up, it's the clear winner for me. I say unhesitatingly, BUY IT. I'm buying a second one for bedroom TV before second coupon expires.
I own 6 DTV converter boxes consisting of mix of this Zenith DTT901, the Zenith DTT900, and the Insignia (Best Buy) version of the Zenith DTT900. Although all of these models are essentially the same, the DTT901 has an anolog pass through feature which means you can still watch analog TV which is important for those channels that keep breaking up in digital.
*** Positive Points Include ***
- Small size and easy to setup
- Improves picture quality over analog TV tuners.
- Picks up digital channels very well, even with a simple rabbit ears antenna.
- Lightweight and simple remote that has dedicated buttons for most features.
- Remote can be programmed to turn your tv on and off.
- The bright red/blue LED light make it easy to tell when the tuner is on or off.
** Negative Points Include ***
- The onscreen tv guide is a bit too simple and it only lists the current and upcoming show on the channel you are tuned to.
- Like most converter boxes, this Zenith does a poor job of tuning weak stations and results in a broken or frozen picture until the antenna is moved to improve reception. The analog pass through helps in this regard because you can turn off the Zenith to enable analog pass through.
- The remote only turns the TV on and off. It cannot be programmed to control any other features of your tv.
Overall this is a great DTV converter box for most people's needs. Consumer Reports did a test that gave a slight edge to the Zenith models over the otherwise identical Insignia models.
This works wonders for local broadcast channels. NBC went from being fuzzy but watchable to being crystal clear. The box has some nifty features like a program guide and is really easy to use and setup, and I like the remote. My only complaint is that it only scans for channels up to 59, and you cannot manually go to channels higher than that. I live in a fairly remote area and NBC is the only station I get locally, however I get ABC, CBS, FOX, and more at channels 80+. Not only can I not get them with the box, but while the box has analog pass through (allowing my TV to still see the analog signal), the reception through the box on these channels is worse than it was when my antenna was plugged directly into the TV. So if I want to watch NBC I have to plug the antenna into the digital converter box, if I want to watch anything else, I have to plug it straight into the TV. This won't be a problem for most people, but I just wanted to warn people since it caught me by surprise when I hooked it up. Overall I'm happy with what the box can do, and if I lived somewhere else I would give it 5 stars, but for my purposes, it's disappointing. - Dtv Converter - Digital Converter Box - Converter Box - Dtv Converter Box'
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