Customer Reviews

Magnavox DTV Digital to Analog Converter

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I bought this Magnavox from a friend for $20. I already had used my coupons to buy 2 other converters, so this was a good deal for me. The Magnavox was very easy to set up, and brought in as many stations as the 2 other converters I have, and the picture quality and sound are also just as good. I've had it for several months and it never gives me any problems, but compared to my Zenith and Dish Network converters, the Magnavox is lacking in features and convenience. For example, if takes a minimum of 15 clicks on various keys to change the aspect on the Magnavox. On the other 2 converters it takes only a click or 2. Also with a simple thing like changing stations, there is a delay of about 2 seconds before the new station appears. It is instantaneous with the other 2 converters.

If you get a really good price, I would recommend the Magnavox, but I noticed even better prices for the Insignia NS-DXA1 (also from Amazon), which is the same as the Zenith DTT 900 that I have.

I am very disappointed with the Magnavox converter. I bought it last year, and I had no choice but to acquire this model, because there were no other models available to choose from and the coupons were about to expire. The local Walmart stores had stacks of them. The Installation was fairly easy, but this converter box is extremely basic. It doesn't have the "passthrough" feature, which allows the analog signals from some TV stations that are still broadcasting an analog signal even after 2/17/09, to pass through the converter. This box also lacks the < > channel buttons on the box itself. It only has a switch on the side, which simply allows you to put the box on standby or off. If anything happens to the remote or you misplace it, the box is rendered useless because since there are no manual controls on the box itself you're not able to control the box at all. The remote control's buttons are very small, and it's not Universal. There are no codes available to add the converter to a Universal remote. My advice is try it before you buy it. Buy the DTV converter of your choice at full price, to try it first; because only then you can get a full refund for the full price you paid when you return it. When your're sure you found the model that's convenient for you, purchase it with the $40 government voucher. The reason for this is because the store will only refund the difference of the amount you paid plus taxes, but it will not refund the $40 government voucher; so once you use the voucher and you return the box for a refund you lose the $40 from the voucher. I hope you find this information useful.

Top notch reviews were on brands like Insignia, Channel Master. This one, Magnavox, a brand I am familiar had the basic gripes of (a)needing an antenna (I thought all converters needed one?), (b)no controls on the box - need to use the remote ; there were, however, no complaints about the channels pulled in, reception, etc - So I went to Wallyworld, and saw stacks of this Magnavox brand. I had the two discount coupons, so I said what the heck. I also got a Phillips HDTV Antenna (model SDV2740/27). Steps: (a) Got an old pair of RCA Jacks with the yellow, white and red, (2) hooked the RCA jacks between the Magnavox output and my TV video/audio inputs(matched the colors:-), (b) Hooked the provided BNC (one that looks like a cable wire) from the antenna output to the Magnavox Antenna input, (c) Powered off everything (antenna, converter box, TV), set my TV to video mode, (d) turned on the converter box using the remote control, and started changing the channels, and voila, HDTV channels. I'm pulling in 44 channels. Should get more channels after this Friday's cutoff.

One of the two converter boxes doesn't even power up. The other one does if you jiggle the cord --- sounds like a loose wire and lots of potential trouble. The one that did power up never found any channels and we are within good transmission range. I understand why these are no longer available -- they should be off the market.

I purchased the Magnavox TB100MW9 at my local Walmart on 3 March 2008. However, I didn't begin using the unit until September 2008. The DTV converter box literally failed today, 2 August 2009, which means the converter box was operational for about 10 months.

I called the toll-free number on the cover of the instruction manual and a technical support representative had me unplug the TB100MW9 from the power strip and plug it directly into a wall socket. The theory behind this step was that the TB100MW9 might not be getting sufficient voltage through the power strip. That's a bit of a stretch in my opinion.

Anyway, moving the plug didn't help and the converter box was deemed in need of service. Unfortunately, because I had purchased the converter box 15 months ago, I was out-of-luck on obtaining in-warranty service. These things are so inexpensive and the prices are likely to drop significantly after the last of the government coupons expire later this year that it's not worth paying to have the TB100MW9 repaired.

This unit should not have failed after 10 months of use. I won't purchase another Magnavox-branded product again.

For those who may be interested in the symptom I observed with the TB100MW9, I'll include a problem description here. The TB100MW9 has a green and yellow LED on the front of the unit. When the TB100MW9 is powered on, but in stand-by mode (i.e. not decoding the DTV signal) the yellow LED is illuminated steady on. When the TB100MW9 is powered on by the remote control, the yellow LED goes out and the green LED flashes for a few seconds and then changes to steady on. At this point, the TB100MW9 is decoding and retransmitting the DTV signal to the coax and composite video jacks on the back of the unit. The green LED on my TB100MW9, when powered on, flashes normally for a few seconds, then flashes rapidly for a second or two, and then returns to the yellow LED steady on. No decoded output is ever observed.

Thank you for reading my review.

This box is basic to say the least. It has an awful remote with tiny little buttons that are hard to push and non-rsponsive. There is no volume control on the crappy remote for the TV so you have to keep switching remotes all night long. To change things it takes many steps and you have to go deep into the confusing menu to do. You cant just "add" a channel if one becomes available, you have to do a total re-scan. And half the time the crappy remote doesnt even work. All is not lost though my friend... I found a Sony universal remote that controls it. Use code 3403 and then go to heaven for, with the right controller it not a bad box-very good picture with high contrast. GUide lets you scan channel info ahead up to 8 hours. Recommened with the right remote.

I made the mistake of buying this converter box before looking at Amazon reviews. This box was the only one the store had so I foolishly purchased it. What more, I ended up paying money on top of the $40 coupon card. Terrible mistake.

I will admit that it is easy to set-up but the functionality is so pitiful that not even a 2-star review is warranted. So I use my TV speakers when I watch TV. To begin with they are not that great. When I use this converter box, the volume is actually reduced further making it nearly impossible to watch TV. I am not even using the box anymore and probably won't till digital is all there is. Secondly, you cannot control the volume with the remote for the box. So simply to watch TV, you need to remotes: one for volume (TV remote) and one for channels (converter remote).

Luckily I just was given a second coupon card so am going to buy a higher quality converter box.

I thought this converter box was fine. It worked out of the box great. I think a lot of converter boxes, this one included, are getting bad reviews because a lot of people are not installing them correctly. You still have to have your rabbit ears plugged into your converter box for it to work correcly. Also, make sure you are on channel 3 if using the RF input options or if using the A/V Jacks tune your TV to the AUX. The positives of having this and any other converter box is that you are going to get more channels. In my area my mom now has about 5 more channels because she is using this. Most of the additions are from the local PBS adding a weather, traffic, classical, and jazz channels. But a few others were added as well. This converter box makes every channel come in perfect, when my mom used just her rabbit ears she always had to get up and tune her antenna, not anymore!

Two things I don't like about this box are:
1) No cable TV like guide available to see what is on. I know some other converter boxes have this option.

2) The remote is smaller and this gets a little annoying. I tried to get her RCA universal remote to work with it using multiple methods, codes, and an online search, with no luck.

Other than those hang ups it works great and gets the job done.

I bought two such Magnavox TB110MW9A units.

Hookup was simple: I disconnected the antenna from the TV and connected it to the 'Antenna In' jack of the TB110MW9A. Then I connected the supplied cable from the TB110MW9A's 'Antenna Out' to the TV's 'Antenna In'. I turned on both the TV and the TB110MW9A and switched the TV to channel 3.

Things seemed to have gone OK while the TB110MW9A went through initial setup, including scanning. But then, it started switching off the RF output (resulting in total "snow" noise on TV) in random intervals (every 30 seconds or so), for about 15 seconds or so, then switch RF back on.

This, of course, was not very usable. I decided to try the second box and... it exhibited the same problem.

I RMA-ed the boxes to Magnavox for repair/replacement. It took them more than 3 months to return... a different model! (RTB100MW9). To me that smells like a design flaw... Stay away from this model (TB110MW9A).

The remote will NOT operate the volume on your TV. That means you'll have your converter box remote in one hand to change the channel and your TV remote in the other to change the volume.The remote buttons are tiny and difficult to push. You have to be directly in front of the box in order for the remote to talk to the box. Also there is no way to delete a station you don't have any interest in...so you're forced to scroll through ALL the channels when surfing. Other than that...it works fine.