When analog pass-through is on, the Zinwell tuner is disabled and only the tv tuner is working. When the Zinwell is in its regular mode, the tv tuner still works, so in that situation I can see that there is a splitter effect, so to speak.

That is signal leakage. Electronic switches will let some signal pass through when off. Signal strengths will be greatly reduced however.

Not sure if it was mentioned here, but Futureshop is finally selling a digital-to-analog converter box once again (they pulled the Apex DT250 several months ago, apparently due to a high rate of failure?).

What they're selling is the Access HD (model: DTA 1030A) for $49.99. Apparently, from what I understand, it's identical to the DTA 1080A Tiger Direct is selling for $33.99. All the different models of the Access HD are no different from one another, it's just the coloring of the case housing (excluding the model with universal remote and smart antenna support).

Anyhow I caved and bought the Access HD from Futureshop last weekend. I'm currently using it on my old Sony 27" CRT-based TV set (I eventually plan to get a TV with built-in ATSC tuner, so this is just a temporary solution....I miss getting all the US stations on my TV).

Been using it about a week now, and here's my observations...

- None of the glitches I've read about have happened so far. Perhaps I've been lucky or just haven't used it that long. It's keeping all the channels in memory, no freezing either. The ONLY glitch I've run into is on occasion, when flipping through channels, when it hits virtual channel 22.1 / 22.2 (WVNY-22 / ABC) it suddenly displays it by the physical digital channel position and then odd stuff happens. So it identifies the channel as "13.1" and "13.2" and forgets the info about the station, and then either it goes blank (no reception) or I have to wait several seconds for it to pick up the picture and sound. If I flip forward or backwards once or twice, the problem disappears. Haven't seen it on any other channels. Perhaps it doesn't like VHF channels? This is the only one I have programmed in.

- The top and bottom of the receiver get extremely warm....but NOT burning hot. If you place and hold your finger tips around the coaxial connectors in back mind you (for antenna in, and pass-thru), well, THAT is burning hot. Hot enough to cause physical pain. Perhaps they used the connectors as make shift heat sinks? Should I be concerned? I hope it won't burn out leaving it running 24/7.

- The picture quality is surprisingly near DVD quality. What I dislike however, and it's more to blame its lack of an s-video connector, is that it's stuck with composite output. So yes, you get dot crawl and all the other ugliness of composite video.

- For audio, I can hear a faint bit of digital noise distortions. It's not RF noise, it has to do with whatever circuity is decoding the audio. I can mask it well enough if I put the volume the DTA-1030D to maximum and then use the volume control on my TV set to raise or lower the sound. Far from perfect, but most of the time it goes unnoticed in this set up (oddly, lowering the sound on the DTA-1030 causes it to be more audible!). Overall I find the sound a bit tinny and flat, but still in stereo and audible for causal TV viewing. I wouldn't recommend hooking it up to a stereo receiver or external speakers though.

- There is no EPG to speak of whatsoever. I don't understand how they left this out. Worse, if you press "Info" for a particular channel, all it displays is the title name of the show or movie. There is no synopsis or description about the actual show. It does let you you see the titles of upcoming shows, several hours into the future mind you.

- The initial search scan for channels is horribly slow. It takes up to 4-5 minutes. Once it's complete, you can add more channels on top of what it's found, but you have to do another full-scan (in "Add on scan" option) which, you guessed it, takes another 4-5 minutes.

- There's no special features in the menu, it's as basic as you can get. Incidentally there's an auto-shutoff feature after x-amount of hours, but I disabled it. I found it takes too longer to power back up out of sleep mode, and the red LED on the front is VERY distracting (the "on" green LED is very faint and hardly noticeable however).

- The remote is really tiny and cheap, but usable. I just wish it were a universal remote so I could adjust the volume directly on my TV set (I hate using two remotes). I have several universal remotes handy, if anyone knows if I can program them to work with the Access HD, I'd be really, really grateful! :) (my favorite is a Sony RM-V302 universal remote)

- Reception is great. All my channels have come in just fine, they don't break up or experience pixelization. What's surprising is using the same antenna (hooked in through a splitter) with my Hauppauge 1600 ATSC tuner card gets no signal for CBC, but the Access HD does! I'm sure other converter boxes have better ATSC tuners, but this one seems not bad. I've tried it with my expensive RCA amplified indoor antenna (CANT-1250) and a cheap Radio Shack amplified antenna (Nexxtech). Both appear to work great with it. I should mention I get exceptional reception living in a high-rise building with no obstructions around, so in another situation it may not do as well.

Bottomline: As a low cost converter it works quite well. I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep it or not, I'd really prefer having something that supports s-video, an EPG (including show descriptions) and better quality sound, but right now I just want something as cheap as possible until I buy a 52" LCD. Plus the next cheapest option is $89.99 for the Channel Master at some electronic shop that doesn't do refunds or exchanges.

Well if anyone has had luck programming a universal remote to work with the Access HD, *please* contact me or reply here. Also feel free to ask any more questions about this converter box.

The Code "1080D" means "dedicated remote." The model with the "1080U" code means "universal remote." I had wondered if one was to put a laptop or notebook cooling pad with fan under some of the boxes that get warm, if this would prolong their life. - I was noticing in the past couple flyers that The Source is showing their Zinwell ZAT 970A digital to analogue converter box, but both times at the full $89.99 price, not one cent off the regular price. (New it's about $42 to $49 online in the US, if you can find it.) "The Souce" is owned by Bell, so you do see them offering digital boxes and PVR's for Cable TV at great savings.

Thanks for pointing out the difference between "U" and "D". I wonder though, is it possible to program a store-bought universal remote to work with my 1030D. What manufacturing code would Access HD be listed under, if any?

My friend bought two Zinwell converters from The Source. I told her they were vastly overpriced but considering no other store chains in Montreal sold converters at the time, she kept both. With Bell's aggressive show of anti-competitiveness in order to protect their satellite TV service, it's no wonder they're overpricing the Zinwell. I'm actual surprised they sell an OTA converter at all.

I did help her set up one of the Zinwell converters. The channel scanning was much faster (probably about a minute) and had several more features and options over my Access HD, but if I were going to spend that much, I'd just order a Channel Master (or similar) converter online, with s-video support.

Keep us posted how the Access DTA 1030D from Future Shop stands up. From the reviews I've read, most people say they (Access HD's) don't last and that customer support from the manufacturer is poor. And, as you've discovered, they've been known to get quite hot.

http://www.gxioutdoorpower.com/accesshd/

http://www.gxioutdoorpower.com/accesshd/1030d.php

You could try asking them about the remote issue or why it runs so hot.

Again, the product pricing in Canada is steeper than the US. Our dollar was worth $1.03 US today.

I've sent off an e-mail to the manufacture about the possibility of using an off-the-shelf universal remote. Let's see what they have to say.

Hmm, that's the only thing I'd be concerned about right now. How long a lifespan the converter will have. If it dies within a couple of months I would not take that well. At least with Futureshop I have an unconditional 30 day return if I'm not happy with it, and quite likely, warranty support through the store for 1 full year.

I actually turned down a new-refurbished Apex DT-250A converter in the box (which has s-video) for $30/no tax from a small electronics junk store. I heard these things had a very high failure rate and this was the kind of place where once you buy something, they wash their hands in terms of any return or warranty.

As per my sig, I have had an Access Box going now for the last 13 or 14 months and outside of the occasional losing the channels from the memory issue, its been a good cheap-o box compared to the RCA box I have out on loan.

Alebowgm, I remembered you telling me about having an Access Digital Converter box and was going to mention it to Apple IIGS. Hopefully, he got a good one too.

Apple IIGS that's a fair assessment of this device. I picked one up at Tiger Direct on the weekend, impulse buy.

It seems to work ok but I was disappointed to find that it doesn't have a program guide since the printing on the box suggests otherwise. (7th bullet on the lower-left side)

http://www.digital-tv-converter.net/ProductImages/dta1080d/DTA1080D_Box_lrg.gif

Since Apple IIGS brought up the Apex DT250, I figured I may as well share my experience. I'll follow his format.

- Yes, they are not that reliable. Mine died, about 9 months after purchase. The coax connector was soldered onto the PCB, and the constant cable changes to the box broke the solder. The connector moved with the cable and broke the connection to the tuner. This was fixed with a staple and a 1950's homemade soldering iron with solder from the same era. So it essentially has been resurrected, and still works more or less.

- The WVNY glitch also occurs with this box, except that whether or not it fixes itself is based on probability. Usually takes a rescan to fix. Also, 13.1 would not always default to the HD channel - sometimes it would go to the SD one (22.2), sometimes not. Also, if the signal was borderline, the audio had a tendency to become very "deep" until the channel was returned. Mind you, WVNY has always been the weakest channel, so bad signal strength may be the cause.

- The Apex also gets very warm, to the point that it will hurt you if you touch the connectors (not the top, although that is quite warm) for a couple of seconds. The heat depends on the signal strength - channels like WVNY, which are very weak and hard to tune, would make it extremely hot. Other stronger channels would only warm it up. I believe the heat damaged it, because it can no longer tune my two weakest - WVNY and WFFF as well as it used to with no changes in setup, while my TV can.

- Picture quality is good from composite, RF isn't great - too dark and lowest power RF I've ever seen (even the mono VCR beats it), as it is very susceptible to any sort of local analog TV or mediocre coax connection. Never used S-Video.

-Audio is fine, sounds alright on TV and external speakers, so long as you're not too close.

- EPG is tacky, but at least it's there and works fully, with the exception that it cuts off the description. My Sony Bravia only shows current program, description, and time remaining, which means you have no idea what's on next if there is only 1 minute remaining.
Note: the "display" button on the box also functions as an EPG, with title but no description. Shows time and date, though, as sent by station, so it is useful for determining who has the good PSIP data. Can cycle through the programs like the EPG.

- Only Auto (replace everything) scan is available, no manual channel add is available. On the plus side, you can directly tune the RF, but it will never be added to the list of channels (and therefore the CH+ CH- buttons will never work).

- Turns on and off fast enough - a lot better than my DVR at any rate.

- Menu is fine for a converter box, nothing much useful in it though.

- Reception was excellent, before it overheated and got damaged somehow. Still good for all relatively strong channels, though.

- I don't think it's worth the $80 I paid for it, but at the time the US had transitioned and we needed something for the cottage, and it did the job until the new TV came.

In regards to the Access HD converter....

When you say you occasionally lose channels from the memory issue, do you mean you have to rescan ALL the channels (as if it were a first-time set up), or that it just temporarily "forgets" a virtual channel # and name momentarily?

From that description of the Apex 250A, it sounds like it uses the same chipset as the Access HD. The glitch I have with 22.1 / 22.2 (13.1 / 13.2) is exactly the way you describe it. Yes, mine skips the standard definition 22.2 too when it happens.

Well the Access HD does have an "On screen program guide", it just omits the program description info. Which is frustrating because the description is generally the *only* info you're interesting in when TV browsing. It has an EGP of sort, but it only covers one channel at a time, and one show at a time in the listing.

All in all the Access HD is only just passable, but I'm sort of stuck with it because there are no other options to try out. At least not in Montreal.

Need to do a full rescan, although I have one channel (WWJ) where it keeps losing the PSIP and it reverts back to its RF channel.

There is no reason it could not be used with a Universal remote, but the remote either has to be a learning remote, or one new enough to support DTA boxes. My rudimentary research indicates some semblance of support in newer remotes.

The coax connector was soldered onto the PCB, and the constant cable changes to the box broke the solder. The connector moved with the cable and broke the connection to the tuner. This was fixed with a staple and a 1950's homemade soldering iron with solder from the same era.

It was likely assembled with lead free solder. While this is great for the environment, the connections aren't as reliable. Your 1950's solder will be about 40% lead and will thus provide a much stronger, more reliable bond.

Hmm, here's an important question. Did your Access HD start losing its memory from the day you bought it, or only after several prolonged months of use? No doubt it's related to faulty NVRAM, but are they batches of bad chips or do these fail over time?

I've had my Access HD for nearly 2 weeks now and no signs of that problem. I've also disabled its sleep mode so it's running 24/7 (I figure its less strain on the unit if the temperature remains a constant, rather than regular cooling and heating cycles each day).

Forgot to mention the glitch where the audio drops several octaves lower in pitch when the signal cuts out or gets weak happens with mine too. Seems more a "feature" of DTV, I get the same thing with my Hauppauge ATSC tuner in my computer--a completely different decoder chipset.

Yep, universal remote should technically work. Though finding the correct code is the proverbial needle in a hay stack. I've got 6 modern universal remotes on hand (most of them still available in stores). Most have "CBL/SAT", "SAT-CBL-DTC", "DSB-SAT" as the closest device type to program. Unless something like DVD, VCR or TV may work better.

I didn't notice the glitch at first, but like you I always leave my unit on.

Forgot to mention the glitch where the audio drops several octaves lower in pitch when the signal cuts out or gets weak happens with mine too. Seems more a "feature" of DTV, I get the same thing with my Hauppauge ATSC tuner in my computer--a completely different decoder chipset

It's not very common, but that happens when the error occurs right at the beginning of an audio stream (and based on what you said, also when an audio stream restarts after dropout), resulting in the decoding to be set at the wrong rate
I've had that happen on my 950 in watchhdtv (it always had a 1second or so lag at the beginning of a recording and that sometimes resulted in the error)
I know it was just in decoding, because the recording was fine. Played back OK in software, or if it didn't it did after using my DVRMS converter (FFMPEG strips the first 'bad chunk' and dumps the rest as output)

If you change channels and go back it should be fine, otherwise there's something else going on.

It's not very common, but that happens when the error occurs right at the beginning of an audio stream (and based on what you said, also when an audio stream restarts after dropout), resulting in the decoding to be set at the wrong rate


Interestingly, neither my Panasonic DVD recorder (which I have a number of complaints about) nor my Sony Bravia (with it's non-existent EPG) do this. Only the Apex.

To be fair, I might have not noticed the glitch, since I often leave the TV off when recording (having both the TV and recorder on at once tends to cause electrical interference that kills the WVNY signal) and since it apparently would not show up in a recording, I wouldn't know if it had occurred.

Does it say on the back of the package, or the actual Access converter box, the specific manufacturing date? On their website it says: "More Ventilation for Improved Cooling," but that doesn't mean it's going to run any cooler, only that they're aware of the issue. I was curious about the manufacturing date because most boxes I've seen in stores don't seem to be newer than mid 2008, and a lot of the ones that were available in the US aren't being made anymore.