Customer Reviews

Digital Stream Analog Pass-through DTV Converter Box

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

O.K. folks, here is a review that might prove helpful to someone. I too had problems with my DTV converter box. My brother has the same model that I have, and his box failed after about a year. My brother somehow found out that there have been many of these Digital Stream boxes that were apparently manufactured with a faulty capacitor on the power supply. This capacitor will ultimately fail, probably within a year or so after first turning the box on. My box started acting funny after about a year and a half of operation. The first clue that the box was going bad was that the picture started developing lines across the screen. I tried several different things, thinking maybe it was a bad cable or connection. I ultimately decided that it was the converter box. One day, the box just wouldn't turn on at all. Thinking it was probably the same problem with a bad capacitor on the power supply that my brother had, I opened up the box. What do you know, a bad capacitor, same one as on my brother's box. After changing out the bad capacitor and soldering in a new one, all is well again. There are now no lines in the picture, and the unit powers on just fine. I forget the value of the capacitor that you have to change, but you can probably find the value by doing a Google search for something like "Digital Stream capacitor problem." I think the bad capacitor is something like a 16 Volt capacitor, and you have to replace it with a capacitor of the same capacitance, but a higher Voltage rating, like a 20 Volt. The fix involves simply unsoldering the bad capacitor, and replacing it with a good capacitor of a higher Voltage rating. I don't think Radio Shack currently carries the replacement capacitor, so you might have to order one from one of the major online electronic component dealers. The telltale sign that the capacitor is bad is that it will look like the top of the capacitor has bulged out slightly at the top. If you are having problems with your DTV box, try opening it up and checking the capacitors on the power supply, you might be able to just replace the faulty capacitor and save yourself the cost of purchasing a new box. Once the box has been fixed, it actually works pretty well. Other than this problem with the capacitor, I would recommend the box. I hope this helps someone.

Amazon has 2 Digital Stream units in their list. The other cost ~$30 more but looks identical (the other has a shipping weight of 200 lbs unless they fixed the error). The unit is made by NHENS Digital and is sold mainly at Radio Shack.

I've tried 3 units, the Tivax STB-T9 recommended by Consumer Report, the DTVPAL TR-40CRA, and this Digital Stream recommended by friends.

All 3 boxes converted the digital pictures well. All has the electronic program guide (EPG) but the DTVPAL and Digital Stream were the best.

The Digital Stream would be my top choice if it had a timer for the VCR. It has a very good universal remote(I was able to find the code for my old JC Penny TV), a seperate button for channel signal strength, a built-in transformer and manual On & Up/down channel buttons.

The DTVPal has a timer so you can program it to turn the box on and off for a specific channel to match your VCR timer. The remote is convoluted and non-universal so you can't turn on your TV with this remote. It has an little "brick" transformer, no manual control buttons, a very bright ON LED and a cheap looking plastic box.

The Tivax is built with a metal box instead of plastic and has a built-in transformer but seems to run warmer than the others. Manual On, Up/down channel buttons. Very basic but simple remote. I don't know why Consumer Report gave this unit such a high rating. I bought this unit from Amazon's link Solid Signal which handled the coupons easier than Amazon.

Purchased the Digital Stream 9950 from Radioshack in May 2008, it failed
suddenly after two weeks. Exchanged for another one. It failed after 11 months; unfortunately, slowly. The degraded performance caused gradual loss of signal and a tedious search for a fault in the antenna, connectors and coax cable. Letting the 9950 cool down produced a TV signal which slowly degraded. I suspect the problems were due to an overheating problem as the unit seemed pretty warm to me.

From the very beginning this box would spontaneously shut off, but it wasn't a big concern. After a year it started to report weak signal when I turned it on. Through trial and error I found I could make it work again by turning it rapidly on and off or by unplugging and plugging it back in. Eventually nothing I did could make this thing work.

I am so sick and tired of being inundated by cheap Chinese crap that lasts six months or never works to begin with. The electronic age has brought us many great things, and many conveniences, but we are drowning in toxic garbage and wasting a lot of money on this stuff.

Amazon, what are you doing selling this thing? Look at all the 1-star reviews.

PLEASE LOOK AT ALL THE 1-STAR REVIEWS before buying this unit. They fail right after warranty expires.

My mom bought 3 of these (from Radio Shack) when the conversion to digital first happened. Two were bought using those gov't coupons they had at the time. The first unit died within 6 months, the second one within a year. The green LED started blinking erratically and that's it, thing stopped working.

I'm so angry that a company would sell such junk, and I'm angrier that both Radio Shack and Amazon would sell this thing. I feel so cheated and ripped off.

It worked great for about 6 months. It caught about 40 channels with just rabbit ears antenna. Most of them were very clear. LED started blinking weird since a few months. But died completely now. Digital Stream doesn't want to repair or replace as it's out of warranty. Not reliable at all. Stay away.

My first box like this developed audio issues after a relatively short time - had to turn the volume up to maximum to hear, but then there was so much static that it was very unpleasant. Figured the box was a lemon, so got rid of it and installed the second one that we'd ordered at the same time with our coupon. Same problem happened the other day. After disconnecting the box saw the customer service # printed on it and decided to give it a
try. What a pleasant surprise. Had to wait awhile on hold but then spoke with a very helpful lady who walked
me through a factory reset. I had limited hopes for this remedy but it worked. My tv is on and sound is fine. I've made myself a note to do this next time it happens. Hate to be a pessimist, but I expect it will. You can also figure out how to
do the reset yourself. Just push 'menu' on the remote - go down 4 to the 'function' screen. Go right to 'Factory Reset' and follow the directions.
She also told me that audio could be tweaked by installing red, yellow, and white audio cables into the back of the box.

This converter box did a good job when it worked. Set-up was easy, some stations were fuzzy (depends on where you live I got trees and rolling hills here) and it has a nice logo. Well I got to give them some credit for presentation and it looks good next to my audiophile gear. Anyway, now for the nitty gritty. I've had it for a little over a week and there is a hum coming from the unit. I placed it away from the TV speakers and isolated the power cord away from the TV. Still buzzing away. I used Audioquest cables for the connections but nada. Ok perhaps it will go away when I unplug and plug and plug it again - nope. Used it for a couple of days more and the buzz/hum got louder. To a point where you hear nothing but the buzz when the volume is turned low at night - very annoying. Needless to say, it is safe to call Digital Stream DTV a piece of junk. Do not buy or recommend.

Was very happy with it... until it died barely out of warranty. Bought with federal subsidy card. Think the U.S. government got ripped off.

This piece of s*** died a year and half after purchase but it began acting squirrelly within a couple of weeks. The green Power On LED light burned out and stayed red so you couldn't tell if the unit was on or off unless the TV was turned on. Soon after, channel reception became erratic. Channels that should have come in strong were weak and reception would totally drop out for no logical reason. I knew that this piece of crap was on its last legs when it wouldn't sometimes turn on with the remote (then later, even with the Power button) unless I first unplug and replug the power cord. Sort of glad this sorry excuse of a TV converter is dead so I don't have to deal with it anymore.