Are all digital converter boxes the same?

[bif]

I heard Zenith is the one to buy. Any thoughts?

[datasuspect]

1. yes

[guitar man]

2. We've tested a lot of them

Here at the TV station where I work, we've put a lot of them through the wringer to see which ones we want to reccomend to our viewers. My favorite is the Zenith/Insignia (identical boxes withe different brand names. The DTV Pal is a close second. The RCA is, eh, so-so and I'd steer away from the Apex, they like to run hot, which probably means the service life probably won't be very long for them.

:hi:

[Gidney N Cloyd]

3. Other than running hot, what was the criteria?

[guitar man]

5. mostly

We were looking for reception,picture quality, ease of use and features. I liked the Zenith/Insignia box best, as did my boss and one of our MC guys, The Other MC guy liked the DTV Pal a little better.

[marzipanni]

4. We have an AirLink 101.

What can I say? It was free. On sale at Fry's, and used the coupon.
Now we are trying to find the best antenna because we often get "no signal", or "waiting", or the signal is weak intermittently so the picture fractures into chopped pixels and freezes, and the audio is zapped for several seconds. Very frustrating when we keep missing lines.
I prefer to watch it w/o using the box. A bit blurry maybe, but at least it's all there! After June 12th we will need an antenna, though.

[Oeditpus Rex]

6. Consumer Reports says no

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/tvs-services/digital-tv-converter/ratings/dtv-converter-boxes-ratings.htm

I was gonna get the Digital Stream DTX9950, but after more research I went with the Zenith DTT901. I'm happy with it.

Remember, the key element is the antenna. Without a good one, the best DTV converter won't make much difference.

[bif]

7. Access seems to be the only one anyone carries

[marzipanni]

8. Here is an FCC site about what kind of antenna you might need

unless you are close to you preferred stations' transmitters and get strong, unobstructed signals
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/dtvantennas.html