ATSC converter boxes.

[Deusxmachina]

My local Radio Shack said they will ship boxes for free. The site says orders over $75 are shipped free, but maybe the boxes are shipped free at any price. They carry the Digital Stream(?) which has been said is pretty nice.

Target got a GE and a Venturer in. One or the other is supposedly a Zenith clone but with no EPG at all. The other, (I think the Venturer), is labeled as junk from the few reviews I've seen so far.

The Sansonic has only a now/then EPG or some other possible "problem" (depending on the user) some people were complaining about. There was something some people weren't liking about it. Hmm, maybe it was the same bad audio problem that the Zenith/Insignia have/had. Would have to look it up again.

The Tivax looks pretty good, metal case, heatsink, lots of display modes, pretty cheap. That one's on my short list.

[nitrogen_widget]

I've read the DS chops lines off the top & bottom of the picture & has an audio bug when it receives 5.1 broadcasts.

The Insignia NS-DXA1 has good user comments on AVS forums.
May get that one.

I still have until mid July to use my coupon cards.

[esscrivo]

I've spoken to Sansonic's sales manager on the phone to support their product, and since they are a much smaller company then those of the name brand, they are trying to sell to different states and areas to accommodate all users. He also states that they are the only company right now that's using stage 2 microtune silicon tuner, which is true digital and it will make major difference when they take off analog signals by next Feb.
anyway, if that makes any seance to any of you... I'll do some more research to find out what he means and keep you guys updated.

[Deusxmachina]

It would be interesting to hear an explanation for the "true digital" tuner being better when the analog is off. I don't understand what he means by it or how it could make a difference, much less a major one.

Recently read that a guy exchanged seven Insignias because they would put some weird blue text up in the middle of the screen. Might have only been on certain shows but not sure. Someone else then said theirs did the same thing once and a reset fixed it. Insignia = Zenith.

Just another reason to avoid them if I can. They cost as much or more than the other ones, and while saving $10 on one of these things isn't a big deal, it's more out of spite since not only do they charge more but it turns out they brought a broken item to market and the early adopters might be screwed.

[Deusxmachina]

The awaited $39.99 DTVPal will now supposedly be $59.99. The best part is, if people haven't heard, that all the people who bought it preorder from Provantage had their orders cancelled and are now out their coupons. (Heard the same happening for a different box people were ordering from Microprose or something.)

The program has the authority to allow resubmissions, but so far people calling up the NTIA have merely been told to "find a friend or neighbor who doesn't need the coupons and use theirs." Way to go, Provantage and the NTIA.

[flyswatta]

I got a used hird e-86 direct tv receiver off Craigs list for $50, and another one from a friend at work for $20. These particular models support OTA HD w/o a subscription, theres a website that lists a bunch of them. I'll try to dig up the link.

Why did I do this? component out up to 1080i, downconverts composite and s-video to 480i.

Govt coupons won't cover it but it's an alternative thought if you're looking for something to hook to GBPVR

[flyswatta]

I found the link but it's dead . Looks like he rehosted here http://roashru.fortunecity.com/Directv.html

[nitrogen_widget]

I've got about 4 days before my coupons expire.

BB has a new model.
An Apex

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?...ductdetail

And a new insignia with analog pass-thru "coming soon"

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?...ductdetail

Radios shack also has a new box with digital pass-thru.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index....age=family

But, the price seems to have gone up for most models to $59

I might get the digital stream's with pass-through (same price as one without)

[Deusxmachina]

The Best Buy Apex has S-video. I was about to get one but read that the zoom mode zooms to all 480 lines. In other words, cuts a nice chunk off the picture. Some people may not mind, others may mind. Maybe your BB has one hooked up and you can see for yourself. Not too many reviews on this box yet so it's hard to judge overall.

My coupons were going to expire one day before the DTVPal would arrive at a small, local store, but they let me preorder, so it's all good. Some people are having timer problems with the DTVPal. I haven't used the timer and probably never will, so I can't say. Nice EPG, though. It's not a perfect box, but it definitely gets a thumbs-up.

Btw, we need a thumbs-up emoticon around here.

Got two more coupons to use now and am just going to get a couple cheaper boxes for the TV in the garage or wherever. Target's Venturer for $50 is basically a Zenith/Insignia with no EPG but may have the left-channel audio problem like the Zenith had until April. Walmart's RCA is $50, has a nice EPG imo (you can see 9 channels now/next at the same time). It also comes with RCA cables instead of a near-useless RF cable, which may be a minor thing, but, hey, it saves you a couple bucks. Not available at all Walmarts. My Walmarts carry the lame-o Magnavox.

Short list of local "it's hard to go wrong" boxes for people not up-to-date:

Zenith/Insignia from Circuit City/Best Buy.
Digital Stream from Radio Shack.
DTVPal from DishNetwork or Dish resellers -- may have timer problems, but no other model has a timer anyway. Might want to avoid if you have Dish Network for satellite due to possible remote problems.

Those are all $60. I guess I'd put the RCA in there too ($50) of "it's hard to go wrong," but the other ones are better. Depends on the use if it's worth it, I suppose. If someone doesn't use GBPVR for some strange reason and will be using a converter box on a main TV, I'd likely get one of the better ones.

The GE box (Target) is universally panned as having a bad picture. The Tivax has increased in price. Two cheap mail-order ones are the Coship and the Artec, but after shipping you may not be saving much from just buying something local. The Artec can apparently run off 12v DC (car battery) if you have the right adapter or splice the wires. YMMV on that one.

[joe531]

I'm using the rca dta800b w/ gbpvr + the hauppauge ir blaster. Works great! I had to switch to widescreen mode. Full screen mode puts out a much too ugly picture.