Customer Reviews

Zinwell ZAT-970A Digital to Analog TV Converter Box (for Antenna Use)

5 star:		(273)
4 star:		(170)
3 star:		(57)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(71)

 

 

I purchased the two major timer event schedulable/programmable converter boxes available as of this date: the Zinwell and the DTVPal Plus (enhanced version of the DTVPal or TR-40 CRA). These are some of the major problems and advantages of each.

The biggest problem I have with the Zinwell is that the remote control is the flimsiest and cheapest control I have ever seen with any product. The down arrow button is already having problems responding to pressing after only a few days. It usually takes several years before buttons on a remote control begin to go bad, and I am concerned that this one will not even be working a year from now. The text labels on the buttons are rubbing off and becoming harder to read.

The biggest problem with the DTVPal Plus is the reception. The Plus is supposed to have enhanced reception over the prior models which were famous for bad reception, but in my area it gets a couple less UHF channels than the Zinwell and often has severe breakup on the ABC affiliate and two other channels (even with an amplified antenna). Perhaps this will be less of an issue if digital signals get boosted in February.

The Zinwell has 8 timer events to 5 for the DTVPal Plus. The Zinwell lacks a recurring M-F weekday scheduling option. Both devices make you go through several menus to get to the timer scheduling. The DTVPal Plus has an awkward event scheduling process that takes you through two screens. The Zinwell has its own awkwardness-it makes you choose a channel from a list of station call letters rather than channel numbers! The Zinwell also requires confirmation at the end of the timer scheduling process, and defaults to Cancel making it easy to accidentally cancel your timer event, so watch out.

If you like on-screen program guides, the DTVPal Plus has a fuller one than the Zinwell, and you can even schedule timer events direct from the program guide with the DTVPal Plus. The DTVPal Plus has an annoying download each time you turn on the converter box, but you can cancel the download.

If you get a Zinwell, do not throw out the manual. Zinwell has unfortunately set a password on some of the channel functions, so you will need to look up the default password in the manual if you try to access these functions.

Do not expect much support. Both companies took several days to respond to an inquiry and gave canned answers that did not address my question. After supplying follow-up information, neither company got back to me. There are several other issues and quirks with both devices.

(--some updated notes 9/16/2009 after a few months of using--)

The Zinwell picture quality has been nice. Occasionally, I have had an issue with the Zinwell audio and video getting slightly out of synch (as also reported by some other reviewers)-but doesn't bother me and turning off and on puts them back in synch.

The biggest problem I have had with regular use of the Zinwell is that scheduled recurring events (weekly, etc.) get messed up regularly so I have to constantly monitor them. The Zinwell loses the channel on the recurring events and resets the channel to the highest station number. (I believe this is the most commonly reported major problem with this device.) Periodically it loses the recurring events completely and they need to be reentered. One-time events also get corrupted sometimes, although less often. Even the most popular 5 star review of this box by couchbum, in the Comments link, acknowledges that the timers fail periodically.

The DTVPal Plus tends to run hot, so I have propped it up at an angle to give it some cooling space. I have had a disturbing problem a couple of times where the DTVPal Plus would not power on-had to unplug it from the power source and plug it back in again, and then it resumed working.

Since they boosted the digital signals after the transition, the DTVPal Plus weaker reception has not been a problem and it now gets all the channels that my other converter boxes get. (However, I live in an urban area and have an amplified antenna, so the weaker reception may still be a problem for many people.)

The DTVPal Plus regularly loses timer events and is very unreliable. I have found two specific sequences of timer events that cause it to consistently drop events. The DTVPal Plus timer issues have been far more numerous and problematic than those with the Zinwell. I used several VCRs over two decades and never had a device malfunction on its timer events or spontaneously change the selected channel. Not sure why it is so difficult for these digital boxes.

I get the best results with both devices by setting timers the morning of the same day as the programs. Setting timers a day or more in advance of the programs increases chances for timer event corruption.

Although the on-screen station program guide for the DTVPal Plus is robust, it has an inadequacy. The normal program guide access turns off audio and video while you are browsing the guide, so you cannot hear or watch television as you peruse it. To view television as you browse the guide, you cannot use the Guide button on the remote but must use the directional buttons to access the guide-but the guide still overlays much of the screen (semi-transparent).

In the clock settings, the Zinwell has no daylight savings on/off, while the DTVPal Plus does allow you to control daylight savings. The Zinwell has the advantage that you can manually set the time, while the DTVPal Plus does not allow you to. If you manually set the time in the Zinwell, I found it loses 1-2 minutes per week and also loses the clock time completely if power goes out even for a second (most devices will hold the time for 2-3 minutes in a power outage). I have mine on a UPS (backup battery) to keep it from losing time in a brief power outage. At least the Zinwell allows you to control the time if you want to. (Early in the digital conversion both boxes were keeping erratic time so clock options were important, but digital time signals have improved enough now that using automatic time is generally fine. This has made the options of manual time setting and daylight savings much less important but I have included this info for those interested.)

The DTVPal Plus has one bright spot: it handles poor signal quality well. The two aspects of reception are signal strength and signal quality. While the DTVPal Plus does not pick up low strength well, it does handle poor signal quality very well. There are a couple of minor stations with poor quality (but adequate strength) that my Zenith and Zinwell cannot receive but that the DTVPal Plus picks up. In my experience, it also has less dropout from other things that reduce signal quality, such as splitting the antenna feed or electrical interference.

One other small plus I have found with the DTVPal Plus: it operates from my old universal remote (as a SAT box), which allows me to control all my devices-very, very handy. None of the other converter boxes that I have will work with this old universal remote, although I have heard that some of the newer universal remotes can control converter boxes. This somewhat makes up for the fact that the DTVPal Plus has no buttons on the box and can only be operated by remote control. (However, it may be too sensitive-it also turns on when I press the fast forward button on one brand of VCR remote!)

I've been playing around with three DTV converter boxes over the past three months (Magnavox DTV Digital to Analog Converter, TR-40 CRA by Dish Network, 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
- red LED to tell you it's "off" is an unnecessary waste of energy

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.

I only have an outdoor TV antenna. No cable or satellite. I too bought this converter for the built in timer. You can record different channels at different times while you're away from home with your VCR and TV antenna (However, you can not record one station and watch another station "at the same time"). You have to set your TV and VCR to channel 3 (always) and the timer in this converter is what you set for the time and channel to record. Make sure the clock time on the converter box matches the clock time on your VCR. Or you may miss part of your show. There is one problem that I haven't figured out yet. I hooked this converter to the TV in my living room. My outdoor antenna cable line continues on and goes to the bedroom and the TV in the bedroom only plays the channel that the converter box is on in the living room. I have 2 of these converter boxes and so I hooked the second one up in the bedroom. It receives no channel signals. Well, that didn't last long since I received my DVD recorder in the mail (Toshiba DR560 1080p Upconverting DVD Recorder with Built-in Tuner, bought on Amazon) and this DVD recorder has a built-in ATSC/NTSC/QAM digital/analog tuner. Meaning, I don't need a converter box in my living room now. This DVD recorder allows me to record one station and watch another station at the same time from my over the air, outdoor antenna. Just like a VCR. Awesome! Now the converter box works on the bedroom TV. Since the DVD recorder is allowing the signal to continue on through to the bedroom. I am a happy camper. I now have an extra converter box. Maybe I'll sell it on Amazon.


Over 3 years ago, I got rid of my cable (yes, the first 3 months was very difficult). I bought an outdoor TV antenna and lived with that for about a year. The reception wasn't good, lots of white specs or lines. Then I bought a "booster" for the antenna. A big improvement almost like receiving paid cable. This converter box allows me to receive more TV stations then the outdoor TV antenna alone. I haven't figured out yet what these stations are. I think they're cable or satellite channels. This converter box also improved the reception of all the TV stations. My new DVD recorder, as I mentioned above, also improved the reception even better then this converter box.

By the way, so far I've saved over 2 thousand dollars by getting rid of my paid cable and going to an outdoor antenna. Add up your monthly cable bill and times it by 12. That's what you're paying a year for paid cable.

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 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 is rather poor, since it only tells you what program is on now, and what program will be on next hour. The Dish DTVpal has a full=featured guide upto 12 hours into the future, but I don't recommend that device due to poor quality build & software bugs that make it almost unusable.

Overall I'm satisfied with the Zinwell's DVR and VCR capability, although I still use the Zenith as my main box when watching live television.

I've had my Zinwell converter box for two months and a few days ago, it simply stopped working. The unit powers up and five seconds later goes off. The real problem though is with Zinwell. When I called I went to the tech support line where I was told to leave a message only to find out the mailbox was full. After two attempts, I keyed in the customer service extension and same thing happened. THIS ISN'T BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE, IT'S ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE. BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I have two Zinwell ZAT-970A units, and I'm having problems with both of them. The reason I bought them is because they can be programmed to pass programs to my VCR's.

There are many problems;

1. They do not always pass a good signal. My home has a TV antenna, with a signal booster, in the attic. On my main set-up, I have a splitter attached to my coaxial antenna cable. One signal goes to a Insignia Converter box which then goes to a A/B switch and then to the TV. This works fine. I need this set-up because we will often want to tape a show while watching another show at the same time.

The second signal goes to my Zinwell ZAT-970A unit, then to my VCR. The VCR is connected to the A/B Switch which then goes to the TV.

My problem is that my Zinwell units will, quite often, scramble the signal, sometimes for a half hour or more. It will also say "BAD SIGNAL" or "NO SIGNAL". At first, I thought I had a problem with my antenna set-up. But then I found out that, after switching over to the Insignia converter, the reception is fine...the Insignia box is not having any trouble with the signal quality or strength on any channel.

2. Once the Zinwell converter box has encountered what it thinks is a bad signal, everything is out of sync. Even if the picture clears up, the sound and the picture no longer match. The sound lags by 3 or 4 seconds. If this happens while you are watching, you have to power the unit off and on to get it back in sync. If it happens while you are recording a program, you are out of luck.

3. Another annoying habit that the Zinwell units have is that, every once in a while it will not start recording the program (channel) you programmed, it will jump to the last channel in your channel list and pass that channel to the VCR. Then, when you get home, surprise surprise, you have a recording of some obscure show, on a channel you never heard of.

4. We use closed captioning a lot. When you play back a program you recorded through the Zinwell box, the closed captioning is totally scrambled.

I purchased these units back when the initial HDTV switch was supposed to happen in January so my warranty may now be in question, but I need to get these issues resolved before the new season begins.

I have tried their Customer Service number 1-866-444-3739 many, many, many times. I have never been able to connect with anyone at their "CUSTOMER SERVICE" or "TECHNICAL SUPPORT" extensions, EVER. Go ahead, you try them. Do it BEFORE you buy. I sent emails to the two addresses they list on their web site. No answers so far. Are they still in business???????

When I first got it out of the box, plugged it in, the little green light came on but nothing happened. So I pushed the power button, and it fell inside the box! Absolutely the cheapest, poorest built electronic device I can ever remember buying. If it were a little smaller, it would be just like one of those little cheap toys we used to get out of the big bubble gum machines. When I asked Amazon for a return soon afterwards, they said no, sorry ... So much for Amazon's Customer Service.

A few notes about the differences:

Most importantly, the ZAT970A has an 8 event capacity, while the DTVPal has only 5 available events, a piece of information not available in the manual nor anywhere else, even on the Dish website. I wouldn't have bought it had I known. This is nearly as boneheaded as the rest of the available CECB boxes, which have none.

I have not found any notable reception differences between the two boxes; both have good sensitivity for the available stations within 30 miles. I am using a multiple antenna setup with amplifiers the same one I used for analog reception (necessary to pull in the furthest station), feeding 4 VCRs, 2 TVs, and one DVD recorder. For all stations, the signal strength and quality exceed 90% on either box.

The DTVPal's on-screen guide is far superior to the ZAT970A's, but still no great shakes; for serious time-shifters, the online TV Guide website is still a necessity. It should be noted that the DTVPal guide is also superior to the guide on the $180 (retail) Samsung HD receiver I bought to view live HDTV on my ~ 4 yr. old Samsung HDTV-ready (hah!) 32" CRT style 16:9 flat screen.

I haven't noticed any problems yet with the time settings, both are set to automatic Eastern time. Since I got them after the time change, any DST problems will show up next year.

The DTVPal remote is easier to use due to it's larger button size, but the buttons on the ZAT970A remote are not as small as some remotes I have had to use.

The DTVPal manual has larger print and illustrations, and is more thorough; the ZAT970A manual notes that to enter the Service Mode Menu to correct certain problems, the dealer should be contacted. This is a feat that will be difficult to accomplish since it is not sold in brick&mortar locations in most of the country.

2nd Review:::

I reviewed the ZAT 970A earlier after a few days using it. It was good enough (AND offers an "Event Timer" option most other Converter Boxes (CBs) do NOT offer) that we ordered a 2nd unit - which just arrived!

Comments:

- ZAT's picture & sound quality remains as good as our highly rated Insignia/Zenith CBs. Each CB recognizes and displays the same channels w/ similar clarity/sound (or break-ups --- which always seems antenna-dependant!).

- I earlier mentioned the ZAT 970A's remote response were very slow! When our 2nd ZAT arrived, I installed it in a different room, different TV/antenna. The 2nd ZAT's remote responses were INSTANTANEOUS! So I swapped ZATs and tested again. The 2nd, FAST ZAT now responded SLOWLY to remote commands! I then swapped remotes -- SAME slow response! So I swapped and tested everything again -- SAME results!

IOW, BOTH ZATs reacted fast in one room/situation, but slowly in another room/situation. When each ZAT was slow, it sat atop our Tivo 1 unit. Maybe some electrical/hard disk interference slows ZAT down. Dunno, but I realized I can't blame ZAT for this.

TIP re: Editing Event Timers:::

We bought the ZAT ONLY because it's "Event Timer" option helps us record programs on Tivo/VCR.

I complained earlier that since we use ZAT's Event Timers DAILY to set up recordings of 8pm-11pm Prime Time TV (often editing 3 time periods!), it frustrated that:

--- ZAT's remote did NOT have 1-button access to Event Timers.

--- ZAT's Event Timer option is burried several layers deep in it's menus (AND below things you almost NEVER change: Language, Time Zone, Time etc.)

--- AND that if you edit an Event Timer then press "Exit" to save your edit (let's say Event #4), ZAT kicks you backwards several menus to "Progam Timer!!!" If you then want to edit, say, Event #5, you must press "Enter," "Down," "Down," "Down," "Enter," "Event," "Event," "Event" -- Ugh! Really, really, dumb programming!

TIP to Avoid That Ugliness: If you wanna edit 2+ Event Timers, INSTEAD OF pressing "Exit" to save each edit, move UP to "Timer #" (or whatever it's called - 1st option) then press ">" or "<" to move to another Event.

ZAT will ask: "Save?" Select "Yes," then ZAT will move to the next/previous Event -- WITHOUT taking you BACKWARDS several layers! This saves time & frustration when editing 2+ Event Timers.

Final complaint: I'm an adult, know what I'm doing and accept mistakes I make! I resent electronics and/or software treating me as a child, an idiot. For example, ZAT's default response to "Save?" is "No!" IMO, the default should be "Yes!" It frustrates and wastes my time (& batteries) to constantly have to undo ZAT's defaults. A GOOD programmer would have added an "Installation" option letting ME select "Safe" (Protect me from myself!) or "Fast" (Go for it!) modes!


==============================================
1st Review:::

Got the ZAT 970A CECB (Coupon-Eligible-Converter Box) 2 days ago. Amazon's price was perfect: $0!!! ($40 cost MINUS $40 Govt. Coupon Plus FREE Amazon Shipping = $0 cost delivered to our door! I ordered another for a spare unit/remote.)

We've used 2 highly-rated Insignia/Zenith CECBs for months. We bought the ZAT ONLY because it's "Timer Events" option lets us record programs on our aging Series 1 Tivo unit that we use only as a very smart VCR (Tivo no longer supports Series 1 units!!).

Pros:

*** Easy hook-up (as are all CECBs)
*** Picture/Sound Quality: The ZAT's picture/sound quality matches the Insignia/Zenith.

Cons (fatal? serious? frustrating!):

*** On day #1, we programmed all 8 of the ZAT's Event Timers to switch to different channels at specific times, then programmed Tivo to record Ch. 3 @ those times.

On Day #1, all programs recorded perfectly!

But on day #2, ALL Zat's Event Timers spontaneously changed to a channel we RARELY watch!!!

On Day #2, we started watching a program that had just started recording -- WRONG CHANNEL! We found that ALL 8 of ZAT's Event Timers had been changed to this same channel! This could be FATAL for our recording/time-shifting purposes. If this repeats, it will ELIMINATE ZAT's main advantage over other CECBs with NO Event Timer options.

*** Seriously deteriorating "Remote" responsiveness. ZAT's remote seems slow in general compared w/ other remotes. But last night it began taking 4-5 seconds for ZAT to respond to clicks of the Remote's buttons! I turned ZAT off, then back on again (when in doubt, Kick It!). The long delay disappeared, but it's still slow.

*** Really, really lousy software programming! We've developed software for decades and learned: grasp what's used often, then put that up FRONT and uber-EASY & uber-RELIABLE! IMO, folks will OFTEN (daily?) use ZAT's Event Timer option. It should have a dedicated Remote button, OR have it's own Menu item on TOP of other Menu options. But... NOT ZAT! ZAT buries "Event Timer" deep in the "Setup" menu (AFTER: Language, TV System, Time Zone/Time -- HOW OFTEN would you change THOSE?) Equally bad, when you edit an Event Timer and select "Save," ZAT takes you BACKWARDS several menus! So to edit another Event Timer, you must start all over! That's sad, user-UNfriendly software programming.

Comments re: Others' Comments:

*** Sure the remote is flimsy compared to the solid, heavy remote of our Sony Tivo's remote. But ZAT's remote is similar to the lightweight remotes that came w/ Insignia/Zenith CECB units. Can't complain.

*** Someone mentioned having to program things twice to record things: 1) The ZAT; and, 2) the VCR/Tivo. It may be much simpler. We erased ALL Tivo's/VCR's recording options and started over. We now record "M-F Prime Time shows" by telling Tivo to record WHATEVER comes over Ch. 3 between 8pm and 11pm M-F - simple! We then used 3 of ZAT's 8 Timer options to switch channels at: 8pm, 9pm & 10pm. Daily, we just "Edit" ZAT's channel option for each of those time slots - simple, and actually MUCH easier/faster than changing Tivo's recording options (no "Edit" option, you must start all over!)!

*** A couple folks mentioned the ZAT's Timer option offers a "Time ON" option, but NO "Time OFF" option (like most recording devices have -- they're not the same).

We found that "feature" to be a major advantage. If we set up a recording on one channel, then discover a better show on a different channel, we just change ZAT's channel - Tivo doesn't care, it just records what's coming thru Ch. 3!

In sum, ZAT offers an important feature (Event Timers) most CECBs lack. But ZAT seems fragile and, most important, unpredictable. $0's a great bargain, but not if it's untrustworthy. I hope ZAT settles down and becomes reliable (fingers crossed).

I chose the ZAT-970A for use with an analog VCR, since it provides for the setting of up to 8 timers. So far it has worked fine for that purpose, although I've not tested it extensively. The programming of a timer is somewhat unusual in that the start time is based on a 24 hour clock and no end time is requested; therefore, the box does not shut off at the conclusion of a timed event. (I've read that a ZAT-970A with more recent software utilizes AM/PM instead of a 24 hour clock.) Basically this converter box works well. The tuner detects the same stations as a Zenith DTT901 and has good picture quality. I chose it over the only other converter box with timers that qualifies for a government coupon.