Customer Reviews

Zinwell ZAT-950A Digital to Analog TV Converter Box

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The main reason I bought this product was for the DVR/VCR Timer. This feature allows you to program your favorite shows, and the box will automatically change channels to that show. You can then use your DVR or VCR to capture the video off the box.

Other boxes like the Zenith DTT901 have better reception capability, but lack the ability to operate with DVRs or VCRs. The picture quality is outstanding for the Zinwell.

The Zinwell also has analog passthru for people who will be watching Low Power or "clear air" stations after the February 2009 analog shutdown. If you're like me, and don't have any analog stations post-transition, then this feature has no real relevance. The Zinwell's guide tells you what program is on now, and what program will be on next hour, a definite improvement over analog television.

Overall I'm satisfied with the Zinwell's DVR and VCR capability. It keeps my Super VHS VCR working, and enables it to record images that appear almost-DVD in quality!

The Zinwell ZAT-950A is a good inexpensive way to switch over from analog to digital TV signals, and Amazon makes it easy to apply the government discount coupon. The box itself is small and light, about 6 inches x 4 inches x 1 inch tall. The remote is not too big, not too small, and while it is not backlit like fancier remotes, it's perfectly adequate with buttons big enough to find and easily push. Setup was quick and easy using the enclosed Quick-Start Guide. Connect the cable from your antenna to the box's RF input, then use the included RF cable to connect the box to your TV (or use AV cables). Plug in the power, set your TV to channel 3 (you can configure it to use channel 4 as an alternate), turn the box on, and you'll be asked to pick your language (English, Spanish, French), your time zone, and then the box will scan for local channels. Wait a minute or so for it to finish, and you're set to go.

I found I needed to make two more adjustments to the settings, and I've noticed in reviews of other boxes the same issues occur, though people are blaming the converter rather than reading the short manual to find out how to fix the issues. If the volume seems much lower than it was before using the box, you are using the RF cable instead of AV cables. Just press Menu on the remote, then select Setup / TV Settings / Audio Mode, and select 'RF Mode'. Bingo, the volume is back up to where it should be. If your picture looks distorted (squeezed or stretched), press Menu, then select Setup / TV Settings / Aspect Ratio and try the other settings. I had to switch to 4.3LB (letter boxed) and the picture is in perfect proportion, not only on widescreen broadcasts, but standard 4.3 broadcasts as well.

The guide says you'll get better picture and sound if you use AV cables instead of the RF cable, but my old set doesn't have AV jacks for picture and sound so I can't verify that. Note that AV cables are not included with the product, so if you want to use them, you'll have to buy separately. However, I found both the picture and sound quality are more than adequate using the old-style RF cable.

Given my very old TV, I was pleasantly surprised at the good picture quality. The converter circuitry must boost or filter even the analog signals, because the picture quality of the old analog stations is much better running through the box in pass-through mode (with the box powered off) than it was with just the antenna connected to my TV. According to the experts, digital signals are generally weaker than the analog signals from the same station, but the digital picture quality is far better than the analog versions in my area, with one exception. One station occasionally has signal break-up, but that is not the boxes fault, it is the station broadcasting with a weak signal. One nice plus to the Zinwell box is it displays the signal strength and quality for a station on 2 graphs, so you can adjust the direction of your antenna if needed and just watch the graphs for the best signal. Another nice feature is that when you switch to a channel, the box displays the names of the current program and the next program for the channel. Not a big deal for cable or satellite viewers, but then this box is not for them, it's for us old-style viewers with rabbit ears or outside antennas, and that's a great plus for us. There is also a Channel mode in the menu, where you can view all the stations you receive with a preview window, which makes channel surfing easy. In my area (an outlying suburb of a major city), I was surprised to get many more stations than I thought I would, including a weather station, and four PBS stations. The box allows you to select 'Favorite' channels which can be accessed with a single button on the remote, and it allows you to reorder the stations so the ones you watch the most will be contiguous when you change channels. You can select channels to skip, you can rename channels, and even delete them from the listing. There is a 'find' function for locating a channel by name. There is also a program timer for recording with DVRs/VCRs that will allow you to set your favorite program times. When the time comes, the box will switch to that channel so you can automatically record the show. (Even some higher-priced boxes don't have this feature.) There is a sleep timer, and the software can be upgraded either over-the-air (if available in your area), or via the internet. There is also built-in parental control, including the framework for a yet unavailable version that is expected to be implemented in the future.

There are only 2 faults that I found with this converter, neither of them major. One is that it uses a 'wall wart' transformer, where the plug and transformer are one unit. That means it can cover more than one outlet on a power strip, but then the newer AV surge protectors are designed with wider spacing between outlets, so it might not be a problem for you. The other is that because the converter box has no switched outlet to plug your TV into, the sleep timer is of limited use. While it will turn the box off, your TV will continue to be on, unless you also set its timer (if it has one).

Be aware that you'll still need your old antenna. Some people have found the digital signals so weak they need to upgrade their antenna, but I found the opposite to be true. It just depends on where you live, and what is between you and the broadcast antenna. If you get weak signals, don't blame the converter box; you will probably need to upgrade your antenna since the digital signals are prone to interference.

Bottom line: If you're used to regular over-the-air analog TV, you'll be pleased with many of the features in this box. (And if you have cable or satellite TV then you don't need a converter!) As long as the signal strength and quality are over 50%, you'll have a very good picture. And while I can't speak to the long-term reliability of the converter yet, I'm very pleased with the Zinwell. I did a lot of research before buying, and while there are fancier converters (and more expensive), I think the Zinwell is a very good buy for the money.

If your goal is to salvage your analog TV to receive digital broadcast signals in the air, this converter box gets the job done. The installation is easy( took me approximately 5 minutes ) and the one sheet quick instruction is all one needs to complete the hook-up to the TV. I do not have a TV recorder and so I cannot comment on aspects and features relating to how well Zinwell ZAT-950A can work with one. The channel setup( which includes language and time zone selections ) is also relatively painless. one feature I find useful is the on screen intesity/audio indicator which shows how good are the picture and audio receptions. This feature enables me to adjust my indoor antenna to receive the best signals for my TV( unfortunately, it is like the pre-cable days that antenna adjustments might be needed for each channel in order to get the optimal signals ). On the down side, my complaints are the response time is a bit slow when changing channel( channel change can be achieved using the supplied remote ) and the volume is on the low side while in digital mode( I have to set my TV at maximum volume and then use the volume button of the converter box's remote control to adjust the volume to the level I want ). The remote for Zinwell ZAT-950A cannot turn the TV on or off and one needs to do so separately. In addition, the Zinwell ZAT-950A cannot be turned off without unplugging its power supply. After plugging in the power supply, a red LED light signifies the converter is operating in analog pass-through mode. If you push the appropriate buttom either on the front face of the converter box or on the supplied remote, the LED light will turn green indicating the converter box is operating in digital mode. If you are like me who has to set the volume of the TV at maximum level, please make sure the Zinwell ZAT-950A is in digital mode before you turn on your TV. Otherwise, the volume will be thundering loud. Likewise, make sure you turn off the TV first before switching the converter box back to analog mode.

Ironically, I have cable and I was told I do not need a TV converter box as the cable company would take care of the conversion. All I knew was in one weekend, I lost all but 3 channels and two of them were not watchable as the reception was so poor. The picture quality of the third one was acceptable but nowhere near to what I used to get before the digital/analog conversion. I am now off the cable and receive signals from the air via an antenna and the Zinwell ZAT-950A has solved my problem in most part. I am happy with my purchase and recommend it to people who are in search for a basic TV converter box.

I bought the Zinwell ZAT-950A because I wanted to use it with my VCR and TV to time shift programs. I found that if I used it on a daily basis (manully turning off and on) it seemed to work okay. But if I left it for a few days, then it would switch all of the "wakeup channel" programming to an unwanted channel. When I contacted their tech support about this, they said, "this timer problem is what we are encountering now, and there is no solution to this problem." When I asked whether newer models worked properly, they said, "all the models have that same problem." Big disappointment.

Although I have cable, several olders TV's in the house are not hooked up to it. We purchased three different converter boxes. The first was without appropriate review information. However, the Zinwell ZAT-950A was reviewed by Consumer Reports and given a very good rating. I hooked it up to one of the TV that has a cable connection, but also other connections for line audio and video. Do you know I get better reception on the local ATL channels with the Zinwell pulling signals from the air, than I did with the cable connection for some local channels.

It was a breeze to setup and the picture looks very good and is very stable. I would highly recommend this unit. Also, it is the only unit with a timer function so that it can act as a 'tuner' for the new VCR/DVD recording units. The new units do not have an internal tuner, the Zinwell solves that problem.

Checked this device out in Consumers on-line reports before I purchased any one of the many out there. This one is as advertised, very good picture and easy to set up. I suggest the use of a good UHF/VHF amplified antenna.

I purchased this unit to use with a standard definition TV, and am quite pleased. The setup was fast and easy, and it worked right out of the box. Picture quality on my old standard def TV is as good, if not better than that on my five-year old Samsung High Def TV. This is probably partly due to the smaller screen on the analog set, but I think the tuner and other circuits have also been improved during that time. The remote provided is small (read that as easy to loose), and this converter is not supported yet by the makers of universal remotes. I imagine that in a few months, the universal remotes will have codes for this product, but until then, one needs to use two remotes -- one for the tuner, and a second for other TV functions.

The picture on this unit is pretty high quality although I am viewing only with a 17" JVC monitor at this time. The tuner pulls in signals better than the digital tuner on my Magnavox DDR. Better signal strength and stability on the same indoor antenna. Unit switches channels much faster than the Magnavox as well, with a recall button for jumping between 2 channels to boot.
Very convenient features like:

One touch of the ENTER button puts the picture in a box while showing the other available channels on the left side, quick scroll down puts the each new channel in the picture box, ENTER and you get the new selection full screen. Very nice feature.

Unit has full battery backup so clock and programmed events are not lost after lengthy power outages.

Of course the main reason I bought this tuner was it was one of the very few that has a programable timer. You can program the unit to come on at a specific time on a specific channel then switch to another channel later if needed. There are 8 programing slots available WITH- Daily, Weekly, and Monthly options. Yes I have to program both the VCR and Tuner if I need to make a recording when I'm not home, but at least it can be done with the ZAT-950A without worrying about weather I left the tuner on the right channel the last time I was watching TV. It keeps my VCR in full service after the digital changeover.

The ZAT-950A is very lightweight AND slender. I velcro'd it vertically to the side of my monitor, ZERO footprint that way!

My only slight disappointments:

1) Timer not on dedicated remote key, it's 2 levels down on Setup Menu (9 keystrokes to get to events).

2) Although it's nice to have a VOLUME control on the remote, the timer program does NOT reset the volume to full up on TIMER events so if you left the VOL down low or on MUTE the last time you were watching TV before the next programed event, your recorded sound will be guess where... down low or muted. I saw no warnings in the manual or onscreen that would alert you to this. Luckily I thought of this before making a timer recording and made a timer test to prove that this would happen. A bit of a trap, I've learned to just not use the VOL because I would never remember to turn it back up before shutting everything down.
In summary:
I bought this particular unit because of the TIMER capability and found it to be surprisingly well designed for picture quality and features.

I've been playing around with three DTV converter boxes over the past three months (Magnavox, DTV-Pal, and this Zinwell), and none of them stands out above the rest. They all do about the same thing, providing excellent picture quality over their analog equivalents, and I can get 27/28 channels with a rooftop antenna in the Baltimore-Washington area. This Zinwell is the latest, and after about 2 months of testing it, here are my observations:

Pros:
- It has a power button and channel buttons on the front of the box in case you misplace the remote
- It displays signal intensity/quality meters each time you change the channel so you can adjust your antenna for best reception
- Internal firmware is upgradeable for future updates
- Built-in timer changes channels for extending the life of analog VCRs
- Great picture quality
- Analog pass-through (kind of)
- Volume control from this remote (based on TV's current max volume)
- Parental controls

Cons:
- Remote control is pretty flimsy
- Power cord is only 3' long so you may need an extension cord to reach a wall jack
- Analog pass-through signal is not as clear as without the box
- Picks up one less channel than the Magnavox on the same antenna
- Built in time clock slips a few minutes over a period of weeks; annoying if you're using it to provide programming to an analog VCR

Having spoken to others using various DTV boxes/setups, it seems like the deciding factor on how many channels you'll receive is what kind of antenna you're using. Those with rabbit ears inside the house get as few as 4-6 channels; my 18-year old stationary roof-top antenna gets 27-28 as of today.

After a few days of research, I narrowed my choice of TV converter box to this one, mainly because of its programmable timer. I bought two of these in April 2009. I was satisfied with their performance, even though you can't watch a different channel on your TV unless you create your own bypass (when hooking up to an analog VCR and a digital TV).

I hooked 'em up and continued to record my favorite shows on the VCR's.

They worked great until about a week ago. That was when everything recorded on the VCR's was all from the same channel. After reprogramming, the converters retain the settings until about one second after the timer activates. Then they switch to channel 69. (No joke.) Wouldn't you know it: I've had them for about 100 days and they only have a 90-day warranty. And they both failed at the same time!

Seems to me I remember reading something about this kind of a problem during my research in March and April, but I have not found anything in my recent searches.