Tivax STB-T8 Digital to Analog TV Converter Box
by Tivax
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List Price: Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Tivax STB-T8 Digital to Analog TV Converter Box
Customer Review: excellent picture
Summary: 5 Stars
I needed a converter box for my analog TV in my travel trailer. I did my homework in reviewing every digital converter I could find. I decided to go with this one. I have nothing else to compare it to but here are my findings based on using an old 13" TV in a bedroom with rabbit ear. Also bear in mind, I live in a very heavily wooded area and I normally use satellite TV for my TVs in the home:
..... Very easy to set up and scan for channels.
...... I tested the TV In pass through analog mode and I got maybe 1 OK channel and 2 of poor quality (now you know why I have been using satellite TV service).
.......When using digital feed, I got between 10 and 15 channels which were fantastic quality.
If I can get this many channels out of this thing, anyone with a decent antenna will get great results.
I am seriously considering cancelling my Dish Network service, getting an outdoor antenna and taking advantage of FREE TV!!!!
I do not understand why the government advertisements only seemed to inform us that we would no longer be able to pick up analog signal in 2009 and we would need these boxes for older TVs. They should have put far more emphasis on the fact that the digital signal brings a far superior picture and a lot more channels. This is the best thing to happen to TV. I am now convinced this is a GOOD thing.......
The only negative thing I would say is that these boxes are all way overpriced for what goes into them.
All the more reason to get a good one like the TIVAX or one of the other higher rated boxes.
Customer Review: Digital Conversion Itself Needs Improvement
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased this device after the June 12, 2009 conversion because I thought the ditial signals would be stronger, and that it would get more channels than my other converter box. However, like all other converter boxes reviewed, I've found the following to be true:
- A high-powered amplified antenna is needed to get the channels to come through. (I purchased the RCA Amplified Indoor Antenna, which you must adjust constantly to pick up a signal.)
- ONLY A FEW CHANNELS come through at a time on The Tivax STB-T8 converter box.
I never know which channels will show from day-to-day.
Most days the screen is blank, so I turn off the TV entirely.
- SIGNAL DETECTION IS SLOW with The Tivax STB-T8 converter box, unlike my Ventura which tunes in instantly.
I have to look at a blank screen for 10-15 seconds or more sometimes before it realizes a connection.
By itself, it does not seem to be a good device.
The Digital transition itself seems to be the core problem. Perhaps in a year or two, the signals will improve for those of us who do not want cable TV. After June 12, three major stations in our area dropped off and the FCC stated that they had trouble bringing up their signals for a while. I do scan periodically to see if new stations will come through, but they do not.
On the plus side, I am reading more and have ordered more books from Amazon, and have started practicing the piano when well. There is life beyond television after all.
Customer Review: Worse than 1 star - don't waste your money
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased 3 Tivax-T8 boxes. As a former TV antenna installer I'm fairly used to setting up satellite boxes and antenna systems.
The Tivax instructions and set up are straight forward.
Unfortunately, none of the 3 Tivax boxes could get a signal. The signal strength meter read "0".
I tried three different TV sets and 4 separate antennas.
I kept getting the same result - no signal.
I checked the TV's settings to make sure I was on "antenna" and not cable or CATV input, but still nothing.
After several hours of testing the conclusion is this Tivax model DTV converter box is worthless. I think there's a problem with the RF input connection or something internal is poorly designed.
Amazon sent the RMA and a pre-paid label to send them all back.
Once the credit was applied to my Amazon account I ordered the Zenith DTT 901 DTV box.
Out of the box and only using rabbit ears the Zenith box found 26 digital channels and had a more than adquate signal strength. We only live about 20 miles from the TV transmitter tower so reception was not a problem.
After re-positioning the antenna we rec'd a total of 28 crystal clear digital channels with the Zenith. With analog I only rec'd 8 channels and half of them were difficult to get a clear picture at times (with rabbit ears).
The Zenith box is made by LG and is the same product as the Insignia that Amazon also sells.
I can highly recommend Zenith to provide you with good reception for digital TV.
Customer Review: Good box, but feels cheap. (It does work well)
Summary: 4 Stars
The box itself is a decent box. I do have cable at home so my getting the box was simply because I had the DTV coupon and thought it would be interesting to test it out. Additionally I do have a rec room in my house that has no cable outlets, so if the DTV worked well I was going to use that in the rec room instead of paying to get cable installed in that room. Without using any type of antenna I was able to receive 4 local HD channels. Some of the features I love about the box is the "INFO" button on the remote. When pushed it displays the channel you are watching in addition to the name of the show, the time the show is on, the signal strength of the current channel, the aspect ratio/quality and the sound available. A lot of info for a free, over the air broadcast. The channels all came in clear and that was without any type of antenna. I can imagine if I spent some money on a DTV antenna I would probably get 3 to 4 times the channels. Overall I am fairly impressed with the DTV box, the only thing I'm not impressed with is the remote control. The remote feels very cheap and flimsy and since it is needed to control the Tivax DTV box I am not sure how long it will last. But overall it's a good system and worse case the remote dies you can try a universal remote or perhaps just buy a new DTV convertor box as it may ultimately be cheaper then a replacement remote. I recommend the box it works very nicely and is extremely easy to use and took less then 5 minutes to setup.Customer Review: Very, Very Good For The Money
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this DTV converter box using the $40 Federal coupon. So this box ended up costing $9.99 with free shipping through Amazon. At $9.99, you really can't ask for much more. I compared this box back-to-back to my father's Digital Stream DTV box from Radio Shack, and the Tivax is superior in almost every way. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because of the cons (see below) compared to the Digital Stream. But first, the pros:
1) Superior video quality. Sharper picture, better black levels. Many reviews say this is as close to DVD quality (not HD) and they're right.
2) Comes with the RCA composite and coax cables, while the Digital Stream is coax only.
3) Fast auto scan.
4) Superior signal lock and more sensitive tuner.
5) Superior guide. You can scroll programming info up to 12 hours ahead, but you ARE limited to info for the channel you're watching. It also displays the program info all in one screen compared to additional submenus on the Digital Stream.
6) Smart antenna capable.
7) Cheaper. $9.99 compared to $14.99 - $19.99 plus sales tax at Radio Shack.
Cons:
1) The Digital Stream's remote is better in that it includes a power button for the TV and better button layout. With the Tivax, you still need the TV remote to turn it on/off.
2) The Tivax's closed captioning font is tiny and you're stuck with just that one option, while the Digital Stream has a couple for you to choose from.