Post by MMADfan on Nov 16, 2008 14:39:31 GMT -5
Hi, all! As everyone likely knows, over-the-air TV broadcasts are being converted to all digital as of 17 February. I get my main TV through DirectTV on my big TV downstairs, but I have a little television set in my bedroom that I just use an antenna for. Since I rarely watch TV in my bedroom, it's served me just fine, and I neither want to pay the extra bucks every month to get the sat signal in my bedroom nor go out and spend a lot of money on a new TV, I got one of those converter boxes.
I did research on Consumer Reports and ended up getting the Tivex STB-T9. It set up easily and worked really well -- I didn't even have to look at the manual, and I had it hooke up in about 5 minutes. It has some nice features, like autoscan for channels and program guides, as well as a signal strength indicator. After the gov't coupon, it cost me something like 9 bucks, including the shipping cost. Much cheaper than buying a new TV and nicer than having a useless antique to get rid of!
I was a little worried about whether the converter box would work with my TV, since it's between 25 & 30 years old & only has those screws for spade connections for an RF input and it has a very peculiar method for tuning the channels, but it worked just fine, and the picture for the stations I can get is actually quite good, in some cases, better than it was before. Unfortunately, the stations with the weakest signals that I had difficulty picking up with the antenna before, I now can't get at all, and that includes one of my favoite PBS stations. However, I can get it through the satellite dish, so I'll live!
Anyway, if you've got to get a converter box and have been putting it off, I recommend this one by Tivex. I ordered it from an internet-only site that I found by going to the Tivex corporate website and finding the links to places that sold them. I'd never heard of them before, but the box arrived just fine.
Just thought I'd let you know in case you're looking for one -- it's better than shelling out money for a new TV, that's for sure! Oh, and it took a few weeks for the gov't coupon (which is actually a card) to arrive, so I wouldn't wait too long to request one. They're good for 90 days, I think.
I did research on Consumer Reports and ended up getting the Tivex STB-T9. It set up easily and worked really well -- I didn't even have to look at the manual, and I had it hooke up in about 5 minutes. It has some nice features, like autoscan for channels and program guides, as well as a signal strength indicator. After the gov't coupon, it cost me something like 9 bucks, including the shipping cost. Much cheaper than buying a new TV and nicer than having a useless antique to get rid of!
I was a little worried about whether the converter box would work with my TV, since it's between 25 & 30 years old & only has those screws for spade connections for an RF input and it has a very peculiar method for tuning the channels, but it worked just fine, and the picture for the stations I can get is actually quite good, in some cases, better than it was before. Unfortunately, the stations with the weakest signals that I had difficulty picking up with the antenna before, I now can't get at all, and that includes one of my favoite PBS stations. However, I can get it through the satellite dish, so I'll live!
Anyway, if you've got to get a converter box and have been putting it off, I recommend this one by Tivex. I ordered it from an internet-only site that I found by going to the Tivex corporate website and finding the links to places that sold them. I'd never heard of them before, but the box arrived just fine.
Just thought I'd let you know in case you're looking for one -- it's better than shelling out money for a new TV, that's for sure! Oh, and it took a few weeks for the gov't coupon (which is actually a card) to arrive, so I wouldn't wait too long to request one. They're good for 90 days, I think.
