GE JASAV22730 DIGITAL SET-TOP CONVERTER BOX

Buy/More Info

This box receives over-the-air digital TV broadcasts for viewing on a TV that does not have a built-in digital (ATSC) tuner. Additional features include a trilingual on-screen display, audio/video output, antenna input (F-type connector), remote control and a digital audio output for use with optional surround sound systems.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars works pretty good
Like everyone else I got this box at wal-mart for $9.99 with the coupon. Even though I only live 10 miles from the city, my rabbit ears could not pick up a consistant signal. People moving around and airplanes knocked it out. I ended up using a rooftop yagi style antenna. I get all six locals at a 95 strength signal, and 4 channels about 50 miles away from cincinnati around 40 strength. All pictures and sound are fine and very clear. It says its a Magnovox but its made by Funai from China. They use the Sylvania and Insignia labels too. The remote is awful awful. Tiny buttons that respond poorly, and to change screen ratio you have to go into the menu every time. Made from cheap plastic and it is so light the cable pulls it off the tv. Counting all the sub-channels I get around 21 channels. The trouble is there isnt much on them. One channel has a weather channel but, the rest are infomercials and judge shows. Its a shame too because the locals could compeat with cable if they offered 21 quality channels. Instead, we are treated to a long list of boring programming witch simply bores the viewer. My elderly father thought he would be seeing animal shows and movie channels and maybe local sports. Instead I find him in his chair depressed while watching Judge seymore rule on a case with two fat women, over and over and over. The infomercials are just as bad. Weedwackers that play music, people buying houses for $100 and sellig them for 2.8 milliom, floor mops that change a womens life, all sort of drinks to claen your colon out, bald guys swinging thier new hair all over the screen, You get it. Only prime time seems worth watching. There are a few sub-channels running a sign saying nothing is on. Things are getting worse too. Cable seems to have law and order on every channel over and over and over and we pay for this crap. I read in a mag that out of 200 available channels we watch only 20 consistantly, but every month we write that check to futillity.

2 Stars Basic box with recording problems and a tiny-button remote
A very plain box that works ok except for lining into a VCR. Couldn’t record with it. Setup was very easy. The remote has very tiny buttons and could be difficult to read/locate for some folks.

Ended up buying two Radio Shack DTX9950 boxes after setting up one for my Mom. It was the easiest of the three that I’ve set up (I also tried the Insignia NS-DXA1, which I also reviewed on Amazon). Also had no reception or recording problems. And the remote is also the best of the three.

1 Star P.O.S.
local walmart sells this box for $50. this was my first box. didn’t know i’ll have to use 2 remotes to watch tv. very annoying. guided setup was easy. picture quality was ok, sometimes choppy. remote is horrible. tiny buttons, requires 2 AA batteries. controls only channels. everything else must be controlled with tv remote. this box is very slow. going from one channel to another could take 6+ seconds to scan for signal. took it back, lost coupon. got a different brand box, very responsive, perfect reception with same antenna. this magnavox gets 1 star for being slow, poor reception, and ridiculous remote.

4 Stars Magnavox TB100MG9 is my model number
Let’s face it, TV is not the most important thing in my life and I am not spending a thousand bucks to continue watching. I ordered the government coupon and went to K-Mart where I got lucky. This cheapo thingy was just in and after the government paid their $40 share I paid $9.99. It’s made in China–I really question the policy of the US Congress to mandate HDTV just so they can resell various parts of the broadband spectrum. Most of the stuff people have to buy to adapt to this change is not made in the USA!

It’s a boring little box with rubbery pads that cling to the top of my sloping TV/VHS player. Installing it was not that bad. I choose to plug it into the antenna jack rather than setting it up serially with my DVD player. The remote with its tiny buttons and awful arrangement is REALLY annoying. I puzzled through the plug-in procedure and ran the setup screen, got two channels right away with auto setup and then went through the range adding channels.

I was only able to get five and one half usable channels before I installed the converter. Now I seem to have more than doubled the number and they are all sharp and clear! No color issues and my antenna is roughly in the same position as before. So all questions of policy aside, this thing works well right out of the box. It’s not the fault of the converter that the Congress and the stuff on TV are rather dumb. It works. Why pay more?

1 Star By an RCA converter instead at Wal-mart
I bought a Magnavox and an RCA converter at Wal-mart each for $50 minus the Government coupons final cost $10 each .

The Magnavox is awful. The Remote control has tiny buttons and the unit has bad reception.

The menu is just as bad.

The RCA has a Remote control with large buttons and it will even control my TV’s volume and power. The Reception is very good and signal strength meter for every channel.

It has a channel list just like a Satellite receiver.

Don’t waste you money on the Magnavox (Funi) :-{

Buy the RCA instead!! :-}

Buy/More Info

LASONIC LTA-260 ATSC CONVERTER BOX

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star This Converter Sucks!
The installation is confusing. It doesn’t work once you get it hooked up. I got 3 channels with my antennae cable and now the converter box can find none. I went through all the steps and scanned it several times. “No Programs Found!” is all it says. I will be returning this product to Amazon.

Buy/More Info

In February of 2009 the federal government will turn off all analog broadcasts in the United States and only broadcast digital signals. In order to continue using your legacy, analog television you will need a CM7000 converter. For guaranteed results use this converter with a Channel Master antenna for crystal clear pictures.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Very Good Unit
Have had the Channel Master for a few weeks now (got one of the first ones after it was certified)and am very happy with it. The set-up is easy to get all the signals and you can update at anytime if more stations are available in your area. Have used it both on a small 12″ set and on a 40″ set and both have excellent picture. After some research, this unit seemed to be best so far.

5 Stars Best reception out of 5
I’ve tried 4 other boxes, and this Channel Master gets the best reception, by far. Picture is excellent, there is a 12-hour program guide, and one button on the remote changes the view setting, so you can compare them readily.

S-Video, nice remote, all around a really solid unit. I’m going to get an extra.

5 Stars It’s worth the price just for the S-Video output alone!
I had received my CM-7000 last week. It has a very stable tuner and it tunes in all of my local digital stations. It is easy to setup and navigate. The one bonus that this converter box has, that no others currently have on the market at this time, is the S-Video output. That is the main reason I had purchased this box. The S-Video picture quality is amazing on my 1996 Sony XBR monitor/receiver, using the Sony’s S-Video input jack. The picture quality is equal to a DVD player connected to the same S-Video input jack on my Sony TV. Also, Channel Master is an established television reception company that has been around at least 60 years and has been making great quality TV antennas, too.

3 Stars Surprisingly sensitive, good image quality
The Channel Master is worth its somewhat higher cost (it is coupon eligible). I tested its sensitivity by feeding it signals with 14db of attenuation, and it locked in fine on stations that look very marginal on analog (snowy, barely viewable). Like others, its signal strength meter works even on stations it can’t lock (below 10%-15% signal strength).

Its image quality through the S-video input is quite good, almost DVD quality. Composite video quality is not bad.

The manual is a little terse, so if you are buying this for an unsophisticated person, they would need your guidance on setup and use. I am not sure whether it does analog pass-thru, because it found only digital stations.

4 Stars Happy with this box.
Got this box for a week now and I definitely made the right choice in purchasing this brand considering there are a lot of choices out there. I could not agree more with the other reviewer emphasizing the importance of having the S-video option to get maximum clarity. Picture sharpness is just a lot better using this connection especially when you are viewing on a large monitor/screen. Installation and setup was easy, at least for me. I must mention that if you want to use the S-video, you have to purchase the cables for it, both S-video and the audio. It only came with the regular antenna cable which you will need in connecting the converter box to your external or indoor antenna. One negative comment about this unit is the small buttons of the remote control that it came with. It is not very easy to use specially the channel and the volume buttons which I use everytime. The good thing is, I have the option of programming the other remote that came with my TV which has bigger buttons for these functions. Of course, my programmable remote does not have all the features that the converter’s remote control have. So, I always keep the original remote within my arms reach just in case I need it. This is the only reason why I did not give this converter box a five star rating. Oh, I almost forgot, using this box gave me other channels that I never knew existed and they’re a lot.

Buy/More Info

If you need a code, you can apply for one at www.dtv2009.gov/ApplyCoupon.aspx (this link will take you to an external website).

37″ widescreen HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio) * high-gloss black finish * built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required) * built-in QAM cable TV tuner receives unscrambled programs without a set-top box (cable service required) * 1920 x 1080 pixels *

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars White Glove service not the same in all areas…
So far, (2 days since the TV and Dish HD installation) the TV is amazing. Lots to figure out. Just wonder if we really have it working to its ultimate capacity??? (See below) I rate the TV a 5-star, but the White Glove service gets a 0-star since we didn’t get White Glove service.

We are senior citizens, living in a rural area, approximately 100 miles from the nearest metropolitan city. For this reason, and because of our lack of knowledge of this new age technology (I can do computers-not TVs), I ordered the Samsung LN37550 from Amazon.com as much for the White Glove delivery and installation service that I had been reading about in the other customer comments, as for the TV itself (size constraints drove our decision for the Samsumg). However, we were sorely dissappointed in the definition of White Glove service in our area.

A young man brought the TV into the house, took only the top off of the box, put the batteries in the remote, asked where the nearest wall socket was, pushed the TV in the box toward the socket, plugged it in, and with the TV still in the box, powered on the set. Then he asked us to sign that the TV powered on and to accept delivery, and he prepared to leave, all happening very quickly. When I told him we expected him to set the TV up, he made it clear that he was just the delivery guy, that he was not technical. We called the only number we had (we got it off of our caller ID), which was the delivery service number, and were told essentially the same thing by the person there.

Being between a rock and a hard place because the TV had already been charged to our credit card, and it was after 5:00pm, we opted to keep the set and try to call Amazon to get our White Glove service. After all, the delivery receipt said ‘White Glove!’ I spoke with the Amazon help desk the next morning, and was given a new telephone number, which was for CEVA, not the company that delivered the TV. I called CEVA the second day after taking delivery of the set and asked when someone was coming to set up the TV. It’s 2 days later now, and I’m still waiting for someone from CEVA to call me back.

Bottom-line: Expectations were not met with regard to the White Glove service. However, after much anxiety, some of it for naught, and much reading of the manual, we got the Samsung put in our console, all the plugs inserted in the back in the correct plugins (we think!), and the TV turned on in order to watch what we wanted, and be prepared for the Dish folks to do their bit to get our HD service connected.

If I had it to do all over again, I would just go to a store front and pay a little extra to ensure that a technician comes out to install and explain things to us. As it is now, we’ve got everything but the DVD working, and I guess we’ll have to prevail upon our son-in-law to help with that, and to explain to us what it is we don’t know, and don’t know to ask, about using all of this new technology.

Oh, and based on the price I paid verses the price that the set is now, I paid about $45 more, and didn’t get anywhere near the service from Amazon or it’s contractors like other buyers; AND the set is advertized to have PIP, but our set DOES NOT, but who am I to call for remediation??? Forget it!!! I’ve learned a valuable lesson. I’ll think twice before ordering this sort of product and service again from Amazon or any other online retailer.

5 Stars Excellent TV!
This TV is great! I believe that samsung has the best line of LCD TV on the market. I was able to get it for $929, hopefully amazon drops the price soon:)

5 Stars Very Nice Television
I looked around quite a while before selecting this model. I am familiar with Samsung products, so I knew I was getting a quality LCD television. It was very light (as compared to my plasma screen TV), delivered before the expected delivery date, and fits perfectly in my basement living room. On both cable and hooked up to my Samsung DVD player, it provided clear, vibrant pictures. I’m very happy with this purchase.

5 Stars Great T.V.!
After doing a bit of homework and a great deal of thinking between getting a 32″ and this 37″ television, I opted for this one. It does full HD, has computer inputs, and what I thought was interesting was the fact that it had an optical audio port to feed the sound through.

A lot of reviews talk about how the speakers on this television kind of suck, and, for lack of a better word, they do. But I didn’t buy the T.V. for the “simulated 2.1 surround sound” built into the television, I bought it because it was a big screen that has a very nice display.

One of the nice features I personally liked with it is the different picture settings, like the cinema, dynamic, game, sports, etc. options that can make it easier on the eye without sacrificing picture quality or bringing out vibrant colors when you want them to.

I’m a gamer, and have a PlayStation 3 hooked up via HDMI. The visuals in full HD are stunning. This was definitely a step-up from the 20″ Sylvania “HD-ready” 4:3 television that I had previously that could only display in 480p.

Highly recommended if you want a full Hi-def television that has a manageable size and if you have a good home theater at the ready.

1 Star Samsung LN37A550 Pushed hard by retailers but full of defects
This TV has been nothing but a waste of time. We recently purchased the Samsung LN37A550 as well as the Samsung Blue Ray player. When watching movies the TV would loose video, only sound would remain. After checking the Samsung website we find there a major firmware update required before the player will even function properly.

Samsung support, somewhere in the Philippines said they could only send us a disk and would take 7 days.

We found and download the firmware patch from the website, installed it using a flash drive, to no avail.

We took it back and traded it for the new Sony Blue Ray player. Still the same problem with the video. First time a movie will last 30 minutes then the screen goes black and you would have to turn the TV off and on then it would work another few minutes and same thing.

Long story short, repair man finally came out and main circuit board on TV had to be replaced.

Morale of the story is two Samsung products, both shipped prematurely with non functioning firmware and or bad components. Retailers are pushing this brand heavy so there must be relatively high profit margins for them as they push these substandard products out the door. Buyers beware.

As good as some reviews are about the picture, etc. you are taking a big gamble with this brand and be prepared to trouble shoot and install regular fixes and patches on your own.

I see the price of this TV has dropped over $200 in the last 30 days so they must be coming back to the retailers in droves.

Buy/More Info

Once again, Sharp, a leader in LCD technology, establishes a new design standard for LCD TVs. With a screen size class of 52″, the AQUOS LC-52D64U raises the bar by fitting large screen sizes into incredibly small footprints. By changing the layout of circuits inside the LCD panel and by reducing the number of parts, Sharp engineers developed the Slim-line design, which reduces depth by 25%, allowing placement of the LC-52D64U in virtually any setting. The LC-52D64U utilizes Sharp’s proprietary Advanced Super View / Black TFT Panel with multi-pixel technology, providing 10,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio with Enhanced Picture Contrast Technology and 4ms response time. The LC-52D64U features built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners and includes 3 HDMI (version 1.3) inputs, compatible with 1080p signals, a PC input and 2 HD component video inputs. Side terminals are included for wall-mounting convenience as well as RS-232C input for control.

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars I HAD IT WITH SHARP NO MORE PLEASE!
Researched like a rocket scientist for few weeks to purchase just the right tv at the right price like most people. I had a Trinitron for life until recently due to the digital tv signal thing, I thought I give these lcds a try. Decided on this unit based on the great reviews on forums and experts. Why I bought: I love the design of this unit, very sleek…nice. I like the features and specs. I like the price not too much (Sony) and not too cheap (Vizio). Just the right amount of this and that. Why I am writing this review: omg, first set had a white line in the middle of the screen that went up and down, first I thought it was normal since it was a large screen…lol. i returned and repurchased the same model in a diffirent box. Had it for 2 months now, and suddenly the picture goes blank…green power light goes on and off but I am unable to access the tv menu, etc. I cant even turn off the tv without unplugging. Researched online forums…I was not the only victim. I tried this and that as suggested but nothing worked. I’m returning this unit and never buying Sharp again. I miss the good ol’ days of the solid Sony Trinitron sets. Good luck!

5 Stars Clear crisp picture, sleek design - nice!
Very pleased with the quality, case, sleek design, beautiful picture. Sharp makes an excellent tv. Better hurry, when this model sells out, Sharps new version is much more expensive.

1 Star Think twice about Sharp TV’s / Buying online
I bought this TV based on all of the great reviews, but unfortunately, I got a lemon (what makes me nervous is that I bought 3 different size Sharp Aquos TVs at basically the same time for different rooms in my house). I realize that happens, but I’ve been VERY disappointed in the follow up service. Sharp sent the local warranty service place out two different times to replace boards before they finally decided that the TV couldn’t be repaired. With shipping time on the boards, this was almost a month. When I called Sharp (they never contacted me) to find out what was going on, they told me they were going to ship a replacement TV to me. I told the person I spoke to that I was having a large event at my house the following weekend (6 business days notice) and he told me that wouldn’t be a problem - he would make sure it was pulled from a warehouse near me to minimize shipping time. He said that the logistics company would contact me to schedule a time to deliver the new TV and pick up the old one.

I was getting nervous because I hadn’t heard anything from the logistics company so I called Sharp back and just found out that they shipped the TV from California (I live in KY) and it wouldn’t even get to St. Louis until next week (after my party with 40 people I work with coming over). The guy clearly lied to me on the phone last week and the guy today could care less about my situation and offered no other solution. He basically said, “tough luck, you can call the logistics company and tell them to hurry up.”

The TV has been broken now for longer than it worked. I’m very frustrated and would never buy a Sharp product again. I also question whether it would have been easier if I could have taken the TV back to a local retailer if I hadn’t purchased it online. I buy a lot of things online and especially from Amazon.com (I’ve probably spent over $5,000 this year alone…TV’s, new laptop, bar refridgerator, smaller stuff), but I’ll definitely be more careful about my purchases in the future and think about the implications of having problems down the road.

4 Stars I love it.
I am extremely happy with my purchase. The picture quality is outstanding. I use it primarily as a computer monitor and to watch Blu-Ray movies. I would recommend this LCD to anyone. 52″ @ $1600.

5 Stars Wonderful!
The Sharp was even better than expected! Nicer than the Sharp from three years ago - no receiver box. The delivery was excellent - they unpacked, put the stand together, set the TV in place and even put the batteries in the remote!

Buy/More Info

Featuring the next generation of Sharp’s proprietary Advanced Super View/Black TFT Panel, the Sharp LC-26D43U provides high brightness (450 cd/m2), 1200:1 native (6000:1 dynamic) contrast ratio, 6 ms Quick Shoot response time, and wide viewing angles (176-degrees horizontal and vertical). The built-in ATSC - QAM - NTSC tuner receives over-the-air standard and HD signals, as well as unencrypted standard and digital cable signals. This model features a sleek piano black cabinet and includes a table stand that easily removes for optional wall mounting applications. Dual HDMI, HD component video, and D-sub 15-pin PC inputs complement the LC-26D43U. Stereo reception system - MTS Connections - 2 HDMI Input, 2 HD Component Input, 1x 15-pin RGB D-Sub (PC) Input, 1x 4-pin DIN S-Video Input, 2x RCA Composite Video Input (A/V), 4x RCA Audio Inputs L/R and Digital Audio Outputs

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars The Best for a small TV!
I wanted to buy a small tv for the bedroom. 26 inches screen is just the right size for a small room. I picked Sharp and can’t stop watching it even having much bigger panasonic in the living room. The quality picture is perfect, easy to use all the options in the menu.

5 Stars Great 26″ LCD Flatscreen
Great product, excellent picture, easy to install. I really like the HDMI connections. Connects easily to Direct TV receiver. I would reccomened to anyone.

2 Stars Pricey for what you get, poor picture quality
Very disappointed in the picture quality, even after using an HDMI cable.

Colors very bland and washed out, picture not very clear. Absolutely nothing outstanding about this expensive TV. Even less than mediocre. Small size screens are usually a lot clearer, but not this one.

Was looking to buy a 46″ & 52″ for my other rooms, went with Samsung for both.

Wow, what a difference!

3 Stars Returned This TV
I do not know how I did it but this TV did not have the one feature I needed on it. (I will not debate where that issue lies)

Although it was stated at the time of order the TV was in stock and would ship in 2-3 days it did not ship for 9 days after the order. The cross country shipping took longer than expected.

The TV arrived with a plastic shrink wrap over the manufacturers standard packing like you would get if you bought it at a retail store. That does not seem to be a safe way to ship an LCD via UPS ground but it appears to have made the voyage in proper working order.

The LCD TV had been opened and the box had some sort of stickers or labels removed after being cut off the cardboard.

My return was processed after being threatened with a 20% restocking fee and told if it was not in “as new” condition the refund was not going to be given. Nowhere was that mentioned when I checked the “stores” policy. The only information given about a restocking fee was if an item was returned with out an RMA which I was given.

When all was done the refund was given and no restocking fee was applied. This is the last time I will order something such as a LCD TV online. I would rather pay $50 more with a local big box retailer and take it home the same day, be able to return it without shelling out big $$ shipping to return.

3 Stars Sharp Aquos 26″
Received TV quickly. Plugged TV in and setup was easy. After 5 days we had to unplug the TV and when we plugged the TV back up the TV no longer worked. There was no picture and no sound. Strangest thing I’ve ever seen. Seemed unbelievable.

Brought the TV in for service and the whole board controlling video and audio sound was burnt out and had to be replaced.

After only having the TV for 5 days I thought Sharp should have taken the TV back.

Sound is satisfactory. Remote control is easy to use. Non HD channel’s clarity is decent but can’t be stretched to fit so there is a black border around the picture. But that does not diminish your picture watching.

Basically, we are happy with the set.

I’d recommend the TV to a friend.

Buy/More Info