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: Tivax did not honor stated warranty policy
Summary: 1 Stars
This product worked for a brief period, long enough to find 39 digital stations in my area, but after 1/2 an hour it failed. When it failed it displayed the last channel I was viewing but the controls either on the remote or on the box had no effect, fresh batteries did not help. In the product literature it say it is covered by a 60 day warranty and to contact the company for an RMA # if there is a problem. I both emailed and phoned the company for an RMA # to return it for repair / replacement and they told me they do not do that and I had to return it to the seller. The company offices are about 15 miles from my home and I offered to exchange it in person, they still refused to allow me to return it for repair replacement.
I emailed Amazon, in less that a day they sent me a paid UPS label to return the converter box, they had no replacement in stock so they gave a full refund, and since I had used Super Saving Shipping I was not out any shipping cost.
This unit gets high ratings and seemed to performform well for me as long as it worked, however Tivax dishonors their written warranty policy, I do not believe they are an honest company and would buy any products from them again.
This is the first time I ever returned anything to Amazon and was 100^% satisfied with thier service, but I still don't have a digital converter box.
I would give it zero stars.
Customer Review: Sturdy, Compact and Simple to Install with Great Features
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this after reading the pros and cons on several converters. I have to say I'm very pleased after setting this one up! First off it's dead easy to set up. If you've set up a cable box, this will be a piece of cake. Even if you haven't instructions are clear and show both setting it up on a receiver and just regular TV hook-up.
Keep in mind while you want to get a nice sturdy converter, it's equally important to get a good antenna as well. I think a lot of complaints about a converter box are really due to a poor antenna. The box only converts what it can receive. (I bought this with the Terk HDTVa) This is not a "smart antenna" (not sure what that is, but if you have one, this converter box works with either the smart antenna or the standard.)
Very easy to scan in channels and also set a password, parental rights and hide channels you don't want to see. You can't add channels except via the scan, but they have both the full scan and update scan to pick up new channels or try again after you've adjusted the antenna. But some extras include being able to check the signal (nice to see if moving the antenna helped.) Also, aspect lets you choose between normal, zoom, wide and cinema picture resize. It also has closed captioning, guide/info and audio selection. No the remote isn't universal, but for $10 after government coupon, you can't get everything.
Customer Review: Great Picture, Slow Response Time
Summary: 3 Stars
Great picture quality and I love the regular power cord. Now, I am not sure if there is an issue with my box, but the response time from the remote control and the time it takes to lock in the channel is painfully slow. The user interface is not the best, but the setup process was easy. I also own a Zenith DTT901 and it is a much better box than the Tivax in terms of picture quality and usability.
Update one: Bought Second Box and the Remote Control Does Not Work
I could not find a Zenith box in the price range of this box, so I ordered another Tivax. This time around, the remote control was DOA. My temporary solution is to use the remote from the first box to control both boxes. I am not sure if this gives me much confidence in the quality and long term viability of this product. So far, I am not impressed with their customer service either.
My last email response from Tivax was seven (7) days ago stating the following:
"Please allow Tivax staff to review the information provided. We will get back
to you as soon as there is some update."
As I said, it is 7 days later and I am still waiting on an update from Tivax.
Update 2: Remote Control arrived on the 7th day.
The new remote works. Their communication is not the best, but they delivered.
Customer Review: Tivax STB-T9 vs. Zinwell ZAT-970A
Summary: 3 Stars
I have both of these boxes. Originally I preferred the Tivax for its extended program guide and descriptions of the program, but found out the Zinwell can pull in more stations, tune them in faster (there is really a long lag between pushing the buttons on the remote and the station actually coming in with the Tivax), and when tuning with the Zinwell, it shows you current and next show and the signal strength meter. The Tivax requires you to push separate buttons for program info and signal strength. And, as had been noted, the Zinwell has a timer so you can use it for VCR/DVR recording. In my location with my setup, I prefer the Zinwell picture to that of the Tivax. The Zinwell is also considerably smaller, and has (for me) has a more user friendly, intuitive remote control; it's also cheaper, but doesn't come with cables (the Tivax does). Two final points. If you want to scroll through the channels, you can just press and hold the channel up key on the Zinwell; with the Tivax, you have to press and release, press and release ... very inconvenient. Although the Zinwell has been criticized for not having adjustable closed captioning (font, color, background transparency -- who needs bright lime green or magenta CC?!) the Zinwell is always more legible than the Tivax, no matter what the setting. Besides, you can just use the TV CC, if so equipped.Customer Review: Picture Perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
After doing a fair amount of research on the stand-alone DTV converter boxes, I stumbled on this Tivax model; Somehow I overlooked it. Consumerreports.org rated it very well, so I purchased one unit with a coupon. I was pleased enough with the box & remote to buy a second unit.
The picture is VERY nice. I did notice that the brightness (or whatever the technical term is) was a little extreme through the composite video out - so I opted to just use the good old RF out to my TV.
The setup of the box was very simple, I just auto scanned for channels and was done. The first scan found zero digital channels (with no antenna). The second scan found about 10 (using a little piece of an old cable, I stripped two measly 1-inch leads =). All of the channels come in really clear with no drop-out - even with almost no antenna! My son claims he sees an occasional "block" artifact, which is normal for any box.
With a smart antenna plug, crystal clear picture & sound, reasonable remote, included coaxial & a/v cables, program guide, analog pass-through, and none of the weird (ex: overheat) problems associated with many other boxes - get it! If the features look good to you, then it's an obvious choice. At the time of this review, this is the most affordable of all high-rated converter boxes on Amazon.com