Amazon has 2 Digital Stream units in their list. The other cost ~$30 more but looks identical (the other has a shipping weight of 200 lbs unless they fixed the error). The unit is made by NHENS Digital and is sold mainly at Radio Shack.
I've tried 3 units, the Tivax STB-T9 recommended by Consumer Report, the DTVPAL TR-40CRA, and this Digital Stream recommended by friends.
All 3 boxes converted the digital pictures well. All has the electronic program guide (EPG) but the DTVPAL and Digital Stream were the best.
The Digital Stream would be my top choice if it had a timer for the VCR. It has a very good universal remote(I was able to find the code for my old JC Penny TV), a seperate button for channel signal strength, a built-in transformer and manual On & Up/down channel buttons.
The DTVPal has a timer so you can program it to turn the box on and off for a specific channel to match your VCR timer. The remote is convoluted and non-universal so you can't turn on your TV with this remote. It has an little "brick" transformer, no manual control buttons, a very bright ON LED and a cheap looking plastic box.
The Tivax is built with a metal box instead of plastic and has a built-in transformer but seems to run warmer than the others. Manual On, Up/down channel buttons. Very basic but simple remote. I don't know why Consumer Report gave this unit such a high rating. I bought this unit from Amazon's link Solid Signal which handled the coupons easier than Amazon. Digital Stream Analog Pass-through DTV Converter Box
Purchased the Digital Stream 9950 from Radioshack in May 2008, it failed
suddenly after two weeks. Exchanged for another one. It failed after 11 months; unfortunately, slowly. The degraded performance caused gradual loss of signal and a tedious search for a fault in the antenna, connectors and coax cable. Letting the 9950 cool down produced a TV signal which slowly degraded. I suspect the problems were due to an overheating problem as the unit seemed pretty warm to me.
O.K. folks, here is a review that might prove helpful to someone. I too had problems with my DTV converter box. My brother has the same model that I have, and his box failed after about a year. My brother somehow found out that there have been many of these Digital Stream boxes that were apparently manufactured with a faulty capacitor on the power supply. This capacitor will ultimately fail, probably within a year or so after first turning the box on. My box started acting funny after about a year and a half of operation. The first clue that the box was going bad was that the picture started developing lines across the screen. I tried several different things, thinking maybe it was a bad cable or connection. I ultimately decided that it was the converter box. One day, the box just wouldn't turn on at all. Thinking it was probably the same problem with a bad capacitor on the power supply that my brother had, I opened up the box. What do you know, a bad capacitor, same one as on my brother's box. After changing out the bad capacitor and soldering in a new one, all is well again. There are now no lines in the picture, and the unit powers on just fine. I forget the value of the capacitor that you have to change, but you can probably find the value by doing a Google search for something like "Digital Stream capacitor problem." I think the bad capacitor is something like a 16 Volt capacitor, and you have to replace it with a capacitor of the same capacitance, but a higher Voltage rating, like a 20 Volt. The fix involves simply unsoldering the bad capacitor, and replacing it with a good capacitor of a higher Voltage rating. I don't think Radio Shack currently carries the replacement capacitor, so you might have to order one from one of the major online electronic component dealers. The telltale sign that the capacitor is bad is that it will look like the top of the capacitor has bulged out slightly at the top. If you are having problems with your DTV box, try opening it up and checking the capacitors on the power supply, you might be able to just replace the faulty capacitor and save yourself the cost of purchasing a new box. Once the box has been fixed, it actually works pretty well. Other than this problem with the capacitor, I would recommend the box. I hope this helps someone.
It worked great for about 6 months. It caught about 40 channels with just rabbit ears antenna. Most of them were very clear. LED started blinking weird since a few months. But died completely now. Digital Stream doesn't want to repair or replace as it's out of warranty. Not reliable at all. Stay away.
My first box like this developed audio issues after a relatively short time - had to turn the volume up to maximum to hear, but then there was so much static that it was very unpleasant. Figured the box was a lemon, so got rid of it and installed the second one that we'd ordered at the same time with our coupon. Same problem happened the other day. After disconnecting the box saw the customer service # printed on it and decided to give it a
try. What a pleasant surprise. Had to wait awhile on hold but then spoke with a very helpful lady who walked
me through a factory reset. I had limited hopes for this remedy but it worked. My tv is on and sound is fine. I've made myself a note to do this next time it happens. Hate to be a pessimist, but I expect it will. You can also figure out how to
do the reset yourself. Just push 'menu' on the remote - go down 4 to the 'function' screen. Go right to 'Factory Reset' and follow the directions.
She also told me that audio could be tweaked by installing red, yellow, and white audio cables into the back of the box. - Dtv Converter - Digital Converter Box - Converter Box - Coupon Eligible Dtv Converter Bo'
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