Digital converter quality question

I've bought a couple DTV converter boxes from Goodwill. Some new. Picked up a Channel Master w/remote for $12. that I hooked up to my old Philips DVD recorder via S-Vid input. So can record OTA digital broadcasts onto re-recordable DVD discs.

Though recorded as 480i SD on DVD, the output is upconverted to 1080i HD via HDMI to my LCD HDTV when played back. Actually, a surprisingly high quality picture.

slotsavegas wrote:


Can a digital TV work if a Digital to Analog converter is attached ????

Yes, if you connect the DTV converter box outputs to your HDTV RCA composite/S-Vid inputs. Not sure why you would want to do this?

The antenna has one coax coming from it through the roof of the RV to a splitter in the cabinet. I have swapped out the two output cables from the splitter and rescanned each TV. The results remain the same.
It therefore does not appear to be a cable issue. Many times I find channels that the bedroom TV get's very good signal strength numbers, and the Living Room TV cannot even find.

I am still hoping someone here can tell me what to look for when I purchase another TV to ensure that I get the best tuner available.

The bedroom TV is even the furthest away from the antenna.

I do not know about Insignia TV's but the Insigna Digital Converter which is identical to the Zenith is supposed (Per a Station engineer) have one of the best "Tuners" (The part that does the receiving) on the market... However being as Zenith is now an LG brand (LG=Lousy Goods) it also has issues..If you do not "Access" it often enough (Turn on/off, change channels) it locks up.

I can't speak for Insignia TV's though

In days of old.. Converters used on many radios and televisions, Generally had very very good receive stages.. I have to assume that has not changed.

I have both an Insignia converter and a DTV-Pal by Echostar (used a Dish Network remote) Alas, the DTV-Pal has an issue too.. They really need to do a software update on it.

To verify that the converter box receives more stations than your Insignia, move the converter to the living room. Remove the antenna coax from the TV and connect it to the converter. Connect the video out from the converter to the video in of the TV and check that you can still receive the same channels that you tuned in the bedroom. If the converter can not receive some of the channels, this would indicate that the signal in the living room is lower than the the signal in the bedroom. If you can still receive all the signals that you tuned in the bedroom, this would indicate that the tuner in the converter is indeed more sensitive than the tuner in the Insignia.

Before blaming the set have you checked all connections on the coaxial cables connected to the TV?

Both my old 19" insignia (2007) and my new 32",LED,1080P, Insignia (2013) get stations up to 120 miles (day) and 160 miles (night) using two amplifiers.

The Winegard antenna is supplying both TV's..........so from what you are saying the digital converter box has a better tuner than that Insignia TV.
Which is very unusual.

Digital capable TV has a ATSC tuner (Advanced Television Systems Committee) and receives over the air digital signals
The Analog TV has a NTSC tuner (National Television System Committee) and uses the digital converter box to receive the digital signal and convert it to an analog signal.....which usually means lower signal quality.

So with both TVs using the same antenna I would think that the TV with digital tuner would receive better.
Check the coax connections on the Insignia TV.
It is set up for over the air (antenna vs cable)?
Have you done a rescan?

We have two different TVs..both have digital tuners. The living room one gets more stations than the bedroom one. But the bedroom one gets some channels that the living room one doesn't :H

The question is what antenna do you have on the set that is getting better reception? Then - is your bedroom with the TV with better reception on a second floor? The antenna often needs to be turned in the correct direction (the direction that the signals are coming from) and on the charts that show available digital signals in an area - those signals are based on the use of an antenna on a 20 foot tower. (So an antenna on a second floor has an advantage over an antenna on a first floor.)

As to the tuner - we had the same coupons and bought our two converters each for $10 and they should have sold for $50 each. They work no differently from the TVs that we have with built in digital tuners - no better, no worse. The antenna however makes all the difference! If you want really good digital reception on all of the TVs put a directional antenna outside on the chimney or the roof (or on a tower) and connect all of your tvs to it. Find the correct direction and you are set.

Yes it was a federal coupon.

Can you provide any answers ?