Setup was quick and easy. I was up and running within 5 minutes. The initial scan only picked up 3 channels, but that was because I was running the antenna connection through the VCR first. Once I connected the antenna directly and repeated the scan , all channels appeared. I set up a splitter from the antenna to direct the signal to the VCR and converter and then hooked the output from them to an A/B switch. There was a slight signal loss in this setup, but the signal strength stayed in the green for all channels. Great product!!

Overall I am happy with the improved picture that I have gotten with the Digital Stream product. But, the station I used to get the best, Fox, is now my weakest station, and often puts out "no signal." But, like any digital picture, you get the occasional digital stutter where it skips words, the actors' mouths don't move while the sounds are coming out, the screen blinks a lot, etc. I gained five channels, but lost NBC. Also, the sound must be turned all the way up to almost maximum in order to hear. I might try a different brand for my second box.

By LowTech from Covington, KY on 5/8/2008

In the Cincinnati area most stores sell the cheapest DTV converter boxes they can get. This one is $10 more than wal-mart and best-buy, but it is well worth the extra money. The unit comes with batteries for the universal remote, and it includes the RF cable. The TV universal remote is easy to set up, you don't need to enter any codes. Additionally, the manual include a set of codes for each of the buttons on the remote. This will allow folks who own high-end universal remotes to program the converter box as an "Aux" device.
I'm extremely happy with all the features, but have two minor issues. The auto-channel program missed a station the first time through. The 'Update' option allowed channels with sufficient signal strength to be added automatically, but I could not force a low signal strength channel into the list. This is minor, after all, low signal strength means the picture will freeze all the time.
The closed captioning is easy to use, its just a button on the remote. The menu indicates that features of the CC text can be changed, such as size, color and transparency. I have not gotten that to work. It is always opaque white text with a black background. This is also a minor issue.

By Not sceptical anymore. from Greensburg, IN on 5/7/2008

After reading all the reviews, I was a little sceptical. But no other model is currently available in our area, so I bought just one to try it. Setup was pretty straight forward. Can be programmed for multiple shutdown times, has a signal strength meter which helps adjusting your antenna. I am using a large antenna thirty feet in the air and am approximately fifty miles from closest station. We are currently getting about three times as many stations as before. Set your TV audio up pretty high and use the converter to adjust to your liking. Simply set your TV on channel 3 or 4 and turn your convert on, scan for channels and adjust to please. I have seen where some fault the converter because there is a slight delay when the channel is changed. But since I'm watching TV and not driving a car at the time, what's the hurry. I installed our converter when my wife was gone. When she came in she commented on how clear it was several times that evening before I told her what I had done. I'm going back to buy a second one tomorrow. I don't see how anyone could be dissatisfied.

The remote with this box allows you to use it with the television, which makes it a lot simpler than using 2 remotes

the digital stream dtx 9900 is easy to use i have no problems with the converter box it does a fine job on outdoors antennas i dont recommand in door antennas has good picture and sound u people should know a outdoor antenna does best on a digital converter box no matter what brand u have its all about the antenna not the box i get about 13 channels nbc cbs pbs cw and my networktv ion which is pax 38

By broadcast_viewer from Herndon, VA on 5/6/2008

I like the Digital Stream DTV converter. I also bought the Zenith, but this one has a better electronic program guide which shows more program information. Unlike the Zenith, it shows information for shows more than one hour away. I was disappointed with the quality of weaker TV signals which I can watch okay with the analog signal and my rooftop antenna, but are un-watchable with digital. Owners of rooftop antennas may need to purchase a rotator or signal booster for weaker signals to work with DTV. Even stronger UHF signals get choppy when there is too much movement on the screen.

Was easy to setup and improved my received stations from one channel to seven channels.

By Tristan from Dallas, TX on 5/6/2008

This box beats the Zenith (or Insignia as other retailers may call it) hands down. None of the issues I've had with other boxes are present with this box. Both box and TV volume control on the remote (this has been an issue even with higher end ones I've used), and the remote works quite well (not fighting with it to get the box to register). Worth the full retail cost, even better with the coupon! You won't get a better box for the price.

read the reviews and was gonna go with Zenith...went to store and they said they don't carry the zenith anymore(even though online showed that store as having the zenith in stock)...they said this model is getting great reviews...after a few hours it shut off....check the settings, sleep timer was set to off...toggled the settings and re-saved as off...still shuts off, wasn't hot....this morning when I went back they had the Zenith.......maybe the nerds get commission off this junk box, so they hide the zenith...also note the zenith is a better value, it comes with the composite video and audio cable ...this one does not

I live 1.5 miles from Sears Tower and can pick up 30 crisp clear channels using a rabbit ear antenna. Setup is easy. I simply connect the antenna coaxial cable to the converter, connect an audio/video cable (not included in package) from the converter to the TV, then turn on the TV and converter, and follow the on-screen setup wizard and scan for channels. I did not use the included RF cable. You will only need it if you have a really old TV with no RCA audio/video inputs.

The channels I can pick up are CBS 2.1, NBC 5.1, NBC Weather Plus 5.2, ABC 7.1/7.2, ABC Weather 7.3, WGN/CW 9.1/9.2, PBS WTTW 11.1/11.2/11.3/11.4, PBS WYCC 20.1/20.2/20.3, MeTV 23.1, WCIU 26.1, MeTV 26.2, MeToo 26.3, FBT 26.6, FOX 32.1, ION 38.1, ION qubo 38.2, ION Life 38.3, ION Worship 38.4, Telemundo 44.1, my50 50.1, TeleFutura 60.1, WJYS 62.1, and Univision 66.1. The remote control has a "Meter" button that tells you the signal strength of a channel. I get at least a 90 for most of the channels.

I am a video producer and I found this product to meet my expectations for conversion from digital to analog. I have a couple of TV's in my house that are connected to an antenna.

I know what a digital signal should look like and for most consumers, this product should meet all of their needs. The Tech-weenies out there should not be so critical of a product that was designed for the consumer who is happy with a good signal and a decent picture, not to mention a few extra channels.

It always amazes me when a tech-weenie spends a small amount of money and expects big buck results. This product delivers as advertised and I am happy with the cost/value of the product.

I recomment this converter box as of 5/5/08 as it is one of the better products on the market to date. I'm sure that as more time passes better boxes with more features will appear, but for now, this works pretty good.

Joe

Works great! Took me about 10 minutes to hook up and that was because I was tripple checking my connections. I am using my old amplified antennae and it works like a charm. I will be buying another one of these for my other TV. No complaints at all.

setup took 2 times in order to work, since i had beat up antenna, i just got a new antenna, works perfectly. there are free HD stations over the air which is sweet. I have Verizon Fios but this tv was in a room that had no cable outlet.[...]

By Ken Clark from Blue Ridge Ga. on 5/3/2008

North Ga. Mtns. Over 100mi. Nearest Station,Works like a champ,Range from Knoxville to Chattanoga to Atlanta Ga. Plugged in connected to A/V jacks hit scan repostioned Ant. hit update scan feature and wala now have twenty one crystal clear channels. With old vhf/uhf signal I had about five different ant. postions via outdoor ant./rotar now two postions gets it all. One who spent twenty years in retail electronics late seventies to nineties I have found so much wrong info out there amongest retailers. This age of order takers verses informed commissioned salesmen really leaves the consumer on their own. Had to go to home theater professionals to get real skinny on prospects of sucess of signal reception, You DO NOT need special ant. for HD and digital signal is every bit as strong as analog and line of site is not as critical as vhf/uhf Iam at elevation of 1500 and Chattanoga Tn. channels (bulk) require me to point directly at frog mtn. aprox. 2400 feet elevation so you figure math. Plan to replace ant. and add amp. see what else is out there...retailers you are missing the ball on this one...I understand a [$]purchase is not so exciting but I could have easily left the store with new ant./remote rotar/new cable/fittings/a/v switch/surge protection oh and I kinda want one of them blue ray things...(humor)...I had cash in pocket but went home with what I came for..mundane low tech convertor box...ho humm...use to tell my sales people sell the sizzle not the steak, want some frys with that and chease on that burger. R.S. employee was nice gave me exactly what I asked for. Accs. high margins...whoops

By Larry from Warren, MI on 5/2/2008

I Had trouble with the setup "wizard". When I finally got the unit working, the sound quality was very bad. The salesman told me they have been selling this converter for sometime and that i was the first to complain. I exchanged it and the new converter is working ok.

By Big D from Buffalo NY on 5/2/2008

I hooked this up to an 9yr 32 inch Sanyo TV. I had to cancel my DirecTV and was using just rabbit ears. None of my channels came in clear.
That has changed with the digital steam converter.
Used to get 7 channels with the rabbit ears. Now receive cable like reception on 14 channels. (3 PBS plus 1 canada channel,and all locals)I used one of my 40$ government coupons so i only paid 25 bucks.
Not bad upgrade at all from standard broadcasts.Think i would receive more channels from a roof top antenna. But i am very impressed by the clear picture Quality. Very easy to set up.
worth the money if you get those free coupons.
I hope this review helps

By ptc1800 from California on 5/2/2008

The biggest problem I have with the Digital Stream converter is the audio. Some channels have a high pitched noise, like a low quality mp3. However, if that noise doesn’t bother you then this is a good product. The video quality is great with good options to zoom to be able to fit wide screen programming to your TV screen. Was very easy to setup and I like how fast the channels change, I have a USB digital tuner for my computer and the channels change more slowly.

By docmom100 from Philadelphia, PA on 5/2/2008

Seemed easy to set up but it was unable to pull in a signal - kept getting "weak signal" message - went back to radio shack and purchased a $20 antenna - still got weak signal message. Called Digital Stream tech support - they told me I needed to use the remote to access the menu and tell the converter to "update" (basically, rescanning for channels - seems it was remembering the weak signal from the old antenna and does not automatically rescan for channels unless you program it to do so). Once this update was done - took only a minute or two - it works great. Very pleased.

By Steve from Rocky Point, NY on 5/1/2008

I paired the converter with active Phillips antenna from [...], worked out well, got about 12 channels. The only problem I had the install wizard started to reset the box after it got to the middle of the channel scan, so I stopped it and did the scan from the menu.

I bought this to put into a travel trailer. Easy to install and setup. Small size is great for installation just about anywhere.

By Workhorse from Northeast PA on 4/30/2008

Connecting to outdoor antenna was easy. But I could not get the setup "wizard" screen on my JVC. RS exchanged it with a smile. Has anyone successfully used DTX9900 with JVC? Unfortunately, I only requested one coupon.

I just connected it up to my TV. I have a outside antenna. The setup was VERY easy. The picture is much better than I expected. The remote worked great and controlled my TV. I really have nothing to say bad about the unit.

Bought 2 units. One worked, one did not. Returned to store got another. Hooked up EXACTLY the same as working one and did not work. Took it back and same problem. Store would like to blame me. When all are hooked up the same ( and I do mean the same) Can't get Digital Stream by phone or internet.Radio Shack has washed their hands of me. No help from Radio Shack telephone call.

By A Cheap Dad from Cincinnati, OH on 4/29/2008

Got it for my son's room, which doesn't have cable. He went from 3-4 snowy channels to 20+ (mostly PBS) clear video signals, 6 network, 4 local weather, CW, etc... Needed to find the optimum position of the rabbit ears, but other than that, it worked right out of the box. Only time will tell if the box holds up. It gets pretty hot if left on all the time. I have it turn off after 4 hours (a menu selection). People who pay cable companies just to receive a better local signal can cancel and use these.

By FASV from MIAMI on 4/29/2008

THIS THING WORKS LIKE A CHARM EVEN WITH RABBIT
EARS !!!. I HAVE TO; HOWEVER; ADD AN UHF BOWTIE
TO THE RABBIT EARS ANTENNA SINCE MOST DTV STATIONS
TRANSMITTERS ARE UHF. I LIVE IN MIAMI 20 MILES
AWAY FROM THE TOWERS AND I ALSO RECEIVE STATIONS
FROM WEST PALM BEACH 60 MILES AWAY !!!
THE REMOTE CONTROL IS A GREAT FEATURE BECAUSE IT
CAN CONTROL THE TV ON-OFF AND VOLUME.
THIS; HOVEVER; IS NOT AN HD BOX. HONESTLY THE
PICTURE WITH A GOOD BRAND TV IS AMAZING.IF YOUR
TV HAS AUDIO-VIDEO RCA INPUTS DO NOT HESITATE
TO USE THEM; THE PICTURE AND AUDIO WILL BE EVEN
BETTER THAN USING THE RF OUTPUT.
DTV IS NOT; REPEAT; NOT LIKE ANALOG TV. YOU
EITHER SEE A PICTURE OR NOT.THERE'S NOT "GHOST"
IMAGES OR DISTORTION. THIS IMPLY PLAYING WITH
YOUR ANTENNA (RABBIT EARS OR OUTDOOR) UNTIL YOU
HAVE PICTURTE IN ALL CHANNELS...
WELCOME DIGITAL TELEVISION !!

I could not get channel 50 until i set the factory reset!.Still cant not get channel 9 yet may be in near future i will be able.Over all quality of my 12 channels i get averages a meter signal range of 45 percent to 75.Heck with cable getting to expenceve

By Boomachoom from Norwalk, CA. on 4/29/2008

Took less than 10 minutes to hookup. Went from about 10 poorly-received channels to over 30 clear digital channels, with just a pair of rabbit ears. Worth every penny. This was for my TV in the garage that is not hooked up to the cable like the rest of the house.

Works great, easy set up, very sharp video, found all stations in the Orange county area with a HD antenna in the atic.

Set this up in Orange,CA about 40 miles from TV transmitters in L.A. using rooftop antenna. Displayed output on 52 inch Mitsubishi LCD. Channel 3 RF output had edge artifacts but direct video/audio connection looked good. ATSC Sensitivity was about 3 dB worse than Mits TV -- Acceptable. Box has Cable setup choice, but no cable signals could be memorized. Remote could be programmed for TV power and volume control. Guide seemed to be limited to a few hours of the day, but did not leave it set up for longer time to see if guide filled in later. ATSC (digital TV) is definitely an improvement over NTSC (analog). OSD graphics very rough looking, but usable.

By FASV from MIAMI on 4/28/2008

PURCHASED WITH THE $ 40.00 COUPON. SET UP IS VERY
EASY. UNIVERSAL REMOTE IS A GREAT FEATURE. THE TV VOLUME CONTROL WORKS WITH THE BOX REMOTE.PICTURE
IS CRYSTAL CLEAR EVEN WITH AN OLD ANALOG NON-HD TV.BY THE WAY; THIS IS NOT AN HD BOX; DON'T BE CONFUSED !!!.
DIGITAL TV IS NOT LIKE ANALOG TV. EITHER YOU SEE
IT OR YOU DON'T. IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN EXTERNAL
ANTENNA YOU MUST PLAY WITH YOUR RABBIT EARS UNTIL
YOU FIND THE " PERFECT" SPOT OF RECEPTION. I HAD
TO ADD AN UHF BOWTIE ANTENNA TO MY TV'S RABBIT
EARS AND RECEPTION IMPROVED 90%. MOST DIGITAL STA-
TIONS TRANSMITTERS ARE UHF.IF YOUR TV HAS RCA AUDIO VIDEO INPUTS; USE THEM !!!. THE PICTURE AND
AUDIO WILL BE EVEN BETTER !!!

I'm very pleased with this product. The signal strength meter assists in positioning the antenna.
The dual volume control and power on/off lets me do everything with one remote for my Magnavox TV.
The picture quality is very impressive. Before I had maybe 1/2 dozen some what snowy channels on the rabbit ears and now I get around 20 clear channels with the same antenna. Channel 2 CBS is the weakest, and channel 36 ION went away, but now I can learn Spanish, Japanese & German from the new channels. I live about 35 miles from downtown Chicago.
I screwed up the initial set up and had no picture. The menues required a little bit of getting used to. The left / right, up / down took some practice. I kept exiting the menues prematurely, but eventually got the hang of it.
I'm using the single wire from the box to the TV.
and there is a small sound humm. To minamize the humm I turned the volume down on the TV and up on the converter. The only time I notice the humm is when the TV is muted.

If you just have a TV, and want digital...it works.
You can even turn a monitor with AV inputs into a digital TV!(did this with a mac lcd monitor)

Be careful if you have a stack of non-digital components though. I tried running the antenna out of both my Vhs AND my dvd recorder to the "Antenna In" on the box, and it refused to pass the analog signal. It is DIGITAL ONLY...

Do yourself a favor... if you're buying this, and still have old equipment to match your old tv... get an AV selector.

Easy to install and setup. It took me about 20 minutes from start to finish which included freeing up an electical outlet to plug it into and setting up the remote control for use with my TV set. I spent about another 10 minutes going thru the setup menu's. On a standard home outdoor antenna I received 30 DTV channels with only one having a weak signal. The picture and sound quality is very good. The remote control buttons are nicely arranged and easy to use. With the $40 coupon from Uncle Sam this unit is a steal.

I hooked this unit up and it fails to receive two major channels in the Jacksonville, Florida area.
NBC(Channel 12) and ABC(channel 25).It said "No Program" for these two channels which is pretty dang amazing since my HDTV receives them just fine.I hooked this unit to the same antenna as my HDTV uses and the unit received nothing on the aforementioned channels. I am returning it to Radio Shack to see if they will exchange it for the Zeinth unit. Once you use the card thats it, you cant use it again.On the bright side, the universal remote worked well, but be warned it doesn't work with all brands of Tv's,the set up was pretty easy, the picture was clear, and you must have an outdoor antenna with this unit.
I had the same problem with another brand from a major retailer regarding channels 12 and 25.I am only about 15 miles from all the Tv broadcasting towers and for some reason the HDTV gets the channels and so far two different converter boxes wont receive them.

Bought both Digital Stream and Zeinith. 12 miles from Fairbanks along Badger. Using 2 pair rabbit ears with combiner. Analog only needed 1. DS gets abc and CW. Zeinith gets better reception. #2 abc, Cw, PBS. No Fox, 11 or 13 NO analog pass through on either box, further research shows that Digital Stream DSP7700T does have pass through. Will be returning both products. Will buy an antena and buy DSP 7700T.

Zeinith shows the tv guide for all channels for each time period, while DS gives several hours you have to change channels to see what will be on each channel. I liked the Zeinith best for this, however the DS has the possibility of tv volume control in addion to the converter box volume.

If volume on tv is turned to high and the converter volume is used the tv has a high pitched whine.

CAN'T TAPE TO VCR OR DVD RECORDER UNLESS WATCHING SAME CHANNEL OR BUY A DIGITAL DVD RECORDER,OR SOME OTHER XTRA BOX???? FOR JUST BETTER STATION SIGNALS WORKS GREAT , BUT I AM HARDLY EVER HOME TO WATCH MY SHOWS AND MY HUSBAND DOESN'T WATCH MY SHOWS SO I CAN'T TAPE SHOW CAUSE HE WANTS TO WATCH HIS OWN SHOW. THIS IS REALLY STUPID THAT THEY WOULD NOT THINK PEOPLE TAPE TV SHOWS AND DON'T JUST SIT IN FRONT OF THE TV ALL NIGHT. VERY ANNOYING, NOW WE HAVE TO GO FIND THE NEW ONE COMMING OUT IN JUNE THAT WILL LET YOU TAPE ONE STATION AND WATCH ANOTHER!!!!!DAHHH! >>>>> AS FAR AS I CAN TELL ITS THE ONLY ONE AVAIBLE IN JUNE'08. THAT TOOK ME AN HOUR TO FIND ONLINE........GOOD LUCK

By scottmcon from West Springfield, Massachusetts on 4/26/2008

Purchased this model at RadioShack after [...] ran out of Magnavox models. Glad I did. The Digital Stream is made by Dolby labs & uses their DT decoder savvy. An easy set-up is optional for use without cutting in to your cable. (If you do not have a line-in or game or AV port option, then buy a cheap cable splitter.) Just use the RCA (RWY) ports on the back and plug them in to your older TV set's AV or Line-in or GAME ports. The remote can be synched for your TV; allowing you to switch back and forth between cable and DTV-open air transmissions (or between DTV & analgor broadcasts when not using cable or satellite). In Western Mass, I receive 11 DTV channels which subdivide into about 6-8 more) so that's a starting 17.An ordinary dollar store uhf-vhf rabbit-ears antenna brings all of them in, in every likely TV viewing room of the house (pre-set with cable) including the basement -- all with quality stereo sound & ghost or color fade free broadcasts.The DTV receiver in the converter will not display an exceptionally weak signal -- so quality is there or there is no picture or sound.If your old set is monaural -- then stereo savvy folks know how to receive stereo and relay it beyond the TV's picture reception -- just like a stereo VCR or DVD player and a monaural TV receiver/monitor. Split the plugs at their ports for audio & video & run a line to satellite speakers or a stereo players sound-in jack [AUX].If new to DTV, it performs like your cable Digital receiver; your old TV will display Program Information; & the EPG on the remote control is the TV guide for that channel. On HDTV, it will zoom to the center; go to 16:9, or 14:9, or anamorphic screen image. On DTV which is not HD, those features are not available.Subtitles can be displayed now on your old analgo TV even if not a feature on the old set. The Dolby Digital Stream is smaller than the Magnavox by almost a third; and uses 7 watts max when on; the remote uses 2 AAA batteries. For the rebate reduced price cost it's a best buy.

I started using this box in Downtown Seattle. The moment I plugged it in and was walked throught the set-up by the box I got 5x more channels than with analog. I love it!!

I also bought a Zenith one but don't like that one as much. The Digital Stream is easier to use, smaller, and the remote is more comfortable in your hand. I am returning my Zenith for a Digital Stream.

I like this product, from box to TV in 5 mins and I was up and running, didn't even look at instructions. Good reception with rabit ears, 15 miles from broadcast towers. WORD OF WARNING-maybe this is just a defect on my box only BUT, when i first turned on and used device, it could NOT tune in to more than 2 of the 15 stations around me. I had the box sitting on a DVD player that was turned OFF. Through experimentation, I discovered that if I had the box away from other electric devices, reception strength tripled. move closer, then signal loss, down to 2 strong stations. This had NOTHING to do with antenna position. I can live with this though.

Picture looks great, or doesn't display at all. The audio might be fine if you have a television only, but if you have a surround system, it's horrible! If you want to sacrifice your $1000.00 audio equipment, buy this. If you're like me and don't buy another brand.

Nice remote, good design but not as good as the Magnavox TB100MW9 at dispalying weak anntenna signals

It is a great unit when added to an amplified antenna. I actually gained six channels, with three PBS stations. The greatest thing about digital video is NO FUZZ. The signal strength indicator is a great help to find the greatest signal peak. Finally, I can watch The Price is Right without worrying about getting a good signal!

Most people are thinking that they will get the same reception as they have with analog. They need to understand how digital signal works. It doesn't travel quite as far is more likely to have reception be cut down by trees, buildings, mountians, etc. You show have a directional strictly UHF (most digital broadcasts are in UHF) outdoor antenna to get the best reception, possibly with an amp if your cable run is longer than 75ft. This unit works well if you have a good outdoor UHF antenna. It is probably far from the best unit out there but it works like it is supposed to.

By dwspra from Youngsville, NC on 4/24/2008

I had the digital convertal installed and operating in 10 minutes. I have rabbit ears and picked up all the stations that I was receiving plus added stations. The picture is clearer than ever, the remote control handles the on/off of TV, the volumn control and only have to use the remote that came with the converter. The TV that I have is over 20 years old and the rabbit ears are older than that and the product works great with them.

this thing only lasted 2 days and craped out. DO NOT BUY!

By DHutch from PendOreille Co WA on 4/24/2008

I live 35 miles out of Spokane and father lives 15. At 35 one channel, at 15 3 channels. Magnovox is getting 10 cahnnels at 15 miles. I think the difference is 8watt vs 7watt.

The Digital Stream DTX9900 is what you are looking for - easy to set up, easy to use, and provides very good reception with an indoor antenna placed near a window. I live in Niagara Falls, NY, and I pick up the digital versions of WGRZ (NBC), WIVB (CBS), WKBW (ABC), WNED (PBS), WNLO (The CW), WUTV (Fox), and WNYO (MyTV). I'm quite happy with this product.

Gets Channel 3 (CBS, 30 (NBC) and 61 (Fox). Does not receive Channels 8 or 40 (ABC), nor 24 (CPTV) even though I received 24 well and 40 fair with analogue TV. So my 5 stations are now reduced to 3. It also received a new station 46 (Spanish) All the above with amplified rabbit ear antenna. I will look elsewhere to see what other brands do, before giving up on channels 8, 24 and 40

Bought this after reading reviews all over the place. [...]I used to get 15 channels in Chicago,rooftop antenna; some had some snow, others were perfect. When I put this in I ended up with only 3. I even tried rabbit ears to get more channels. What I found interesting during the scan was that the digital stations were found in a totally different RF area (eg, channel 5 stations were in the 20's). 32 (FOX) was fuzzy before, and now is sharp. channel 7 (ABC) was perfect and is now gone. So I have this now plugged into my LINE input of the tv, and if I cannot get a signal, I flip back to the regular tuner (analog) of the tv to get the stations I want. Of course this will go away next year.Also, the sound seemed tinny on my stereo tv.Some channels had a split second time delay on audio, or dropped the sound for a second, which is very annoying.Some nice features:-the remote can replace my tv's remote.-the setup allows for updating stations, not having to delete/replace them with each scan.- There is a "zoom" button on the remote which quickly lets me change the aspect ratio of the picture as necessary.Overall I think this is as good as it can get, for this price.

Does a great job bringing a digital signal into a 10 year old Philips Magnavox TV. We have an old aerial antenna (unamplified) up in our attic. Plugged the antenna coax into this converter box, connected another coax from the box to the tv, turned it on, let it scan for channels and boom! we were off and running. Pulls in everything that we used to get from DC and half the channels from Baltimore plus a few extras. The coolest is that most of the DC stations have multiple subchannels which all come in crystal clear. Closed captioning is also faster. A very simple, straight forward product. Its universal remote was a nice touch too.

Once you get your antenna positioned properly (near a window is best), this box does a good job in pulling in medium to high strength digital signals. Here in Niagara Falls, New York, I'm getting WGRZ (both channels), WIVB, WKBW (all three channels), WNED (all three channels), WUTV (both channels), WNLO (both channels), and WNYB (both channels).

Unfortunately, at this time, people in my neck of the woods won't be able to pick up Canadian digital stations (signals are just too weak, and Canadian stations won't have much reason to put out a strong digital signal until the middle of 2011 when Canada does it's digital switch).

Getting back to the box itself, it is easy to set up, and easy to use. The remote that is included is very good, and only takes a few minutes to master.

You'll like this box - give it a try.

By To Cheap to pay for Cable from Chicago - Near Wrigley on 4/21/2008

This has worked great for me. Generally, I couldn't get channel 2 (CBS)in Chicago to come in very clearly at all(analog broadcast). But with the converter, I get all the local digital channels including 2.1 (CBS).

HOWEVER, in my previous analog attempts to get channel 2, I ended up with an assortment of antennas. The ONLY one which finds 2.1 (CBS)digital is a cheap dipole antenna I got from Radioshack several years ago. With it, this box gets all the local digital channels. I can even watch CBS. Several other -- more expensive -- antennas I have give a higher signal strength for most other channels, but get almost no signal strength for channel 2.

I have one problem, I threw away the directions and changed the batteries for the remote. Now, I don't remember how to set the universal remote to recognize my tv. But it still works with the converter box.

By Webmaster Wayne from Akron, Ohio on 4/21/2008

Connection of the hardware was straight forward.

Box offers easy to understand, step by step, auto setup.

I was pleased (and surprised) that the unit offered a signal meter. I am about 40 miles from most of the broadcast stations. The auto-setup found all of the current digital broadcasts in my area. With the signal meter, I was able to assure myself of the proper orientation of my rooftop antenna for the most consistent viewing.

My wife (who didn't know I'd setup the box) commented immediately about how much better the picture was.

Good job Radio Shack!

Set up was easy, but could not believe NBC cannot come in, nor does several other channels that were fine as analog, for example, WWOR, Ch 9, ch 13 or 21 (pbs stations). Reception for the few channels that came in was good. My choices were down to 3 stations, CBS, Fox 5 and ABC.

By Brad from Mid-Michigan on 4/21/2008

It shows in the manual that it will scan channels that are passed from cable company. Set the scan for cable instead of air and no channels. Cable works perfect on my tv but the converter box doesn't store any. Time to go back to Radio Shack!! I rated it not good because it doesn't do what it states. It may be fine for antenna signals.