Sansonic FT300A DTV Converter Box
Features:
Receiving and Presenting Audio/Video Formats Contained in ATSC A/53E
Support 4:3 and 16:9 Video Format
Process and Display ATSC A/65C Program and System
Information Protocol data
Receiving RF Channels 2 through 69 inclusive
Include a female 75 ohm F-Type Connector for VHF/UHF Antenna Input
Include a female 75 ohm F-Type Connector with User-selectable Ch3 or 4 NTCS RF Output
Composite Video and Stereo Audio Output
Full Compliant with ATSC A/74, Receiver Performance Guideline
Support Channel Display, Closed Caption, EAS and Parental
Control (V-Chip)
Full Compliant with Energy Standards
Display Antenna Level and Signal quality on the TV

will be interesting to hear from anyone who got this box and the tivax too. Both have external ac to dc power supplies which is good for cooling as well as 12v mobile application with out an inverter. Specifically want to know how sensitive this will be compared to the others.

It's supposed to start shippng this month, April.

SolidSignal and FreeDTVShop have this unit listed and are taking pre-orders. The FreeDTVShop has the arrival date as Friday, 4/4. These dates slip on a regular basis but the owner of FreeDTVShop keeps is as up to date as possible.

Is anyone going to order this tomorrow?

I am also wondering how this box does with its double tuner
Also as with any other box I would like to see its EPG
I would also like to see how this Displays the Antenna Level and Signal quality

SolidSignal and FreeDTVShop have this unit listed and are taking pre-orders. The FreeDTVShop has the arrival date as Friday, 4/4. These dates slip on a regular basis but the owner of FreeDTVShop keeps is as up to date as possible.


Sorry folks -- the date is now 4/10, but that's a hard date! The boxes were apparently held in customs for a week for some reason, which has delayed shipment.

Sorry folks -- the date is now 4/10, but that's a hard date! The boxes were apparently held in customs for a week for some reason, which has delayed shipment.

John, have you seen a sample unit yet? Is it worth a hill of beans?

it doesn't read like a bad box, who is Sansonic

... who is SansonicSansonic Home
http://www.sansonic.net/

Sansonic: Consumer
http://www.sansonic.net/consumer/

About Sansonic
http://www.sansonic.net/about/

Contact Sansonic
http://www.sansonic.net/contact/

Avio

I ordered the Sansonic from FreeDTVShop yesterday. When I get it, I'll test it with both a large outdoor antenna and a rabbit ears. Hopefully the units will get through customs on time and ship soon.

FreeDTBShop cashed my coupon yesterday, so I'm assuming that means that the box has been shipped.

The Sansonic arrived today and it works. My initial impression is that it seems well built (metal case), has minimal features, but outputs a great picture. I'll post more later after playing around with it more.

The Sansonic arrived today and it works. My initial impression is that it seems well built (metal case), has minimal features, but outputs a great picture. I'll post more later after playing around with it more.MikeBiker if possible please include pictures.
I would particularly like to see the EPG and the Signal meter.
Thank You.

Sansonic FT-300A Initial Review:

The unit has a black metal case with large vents on top and bottom and small vents on both sides.

Only control on box is the ON switch. A red LED light illuminates when the unit is on.

The box is 7” x 5” x 1” and weights a little over 1/3 of a pound.

It uses an external 5V power supply.

Batteries (2 AAA) and an RF cable are included.

There is an error on box. The box says that RCA cables are included but they are not.

The manual is twenty two pages, but it is poorly translated and leaves out some information.

The warranty statement has no mention of how long the warranty actually is.

Auto channel select is the only method for entering channels.. No manual method of channel add or delete is available.

The Signal Strength/Signal Quality function does manually tune channels (not documented in manual). This function is well done and both the strength and quality are displayed as a bar and as a number (0 to 100). When I put a splitter in the input RF cable, the signal strength reading appeared to be about ½ of what it was before. When the signal quality was 25 or below, the display would start breaking up. I was obvious that I need an antenna pre-amplifier to get all the Denver stations as I will be using a couple of splitters before the box's RF input.

The program information only provides information on the present show/channel. It doesn't even provide information on the next show.

There are three screen mode choices: 4:3LB, 4:3PS, and 16:9.

Both the RF and composite outputs are active at all times.

Picture quality and sound seemed to be really good with the composite input selected. I do not have any other conversion boxes to compare the signal quality with, the quality is much better than I have seem with an analog input and seems to be DVD quality.

The Channel Scan button is only way to enter or exit the menu (such as it is).

The menu has four items:

RF Channel Selection (3 or 4)

Audio Mode (Stereo or Mono)

Time Zone

Auto Scan

Running the Auto Scan took about 2 ½ minutes.

Once the channels are found, they can be directly accessed by entering three numbers 302 for 30-2., or the channel +/- buttons can be used to scroll through them all. There is no method to delete any channels that were found during the auto scan.

The remote does not have any way of toggling between two channels.

Closed Caption is the standard white letters on a black background. The selections available are Service 1, Captions 1 through 4, Text 1 through 4 and Off. The manual lists Service 1 through 4, but only Service 1 shows on screen to be selected.

There are two buttons for the Parental Control (V-Chip) and most of the manual is devoted to explaining how to use them. I did not try this function out.

The remote has a mute which works, but the unit displays a mute graphic on screen the entire time the mute is on.

The remote keys are not well organized and the menu choices are very limited.

According to the manual, the remote codes are the same as a Toshiba TV or DVD. The various codes for each key are also listed in the manual. I didn't try to get one of my remotes to operate the unit.

Internal Chips:

The large controller chip is marked Ali in large letters. The marking numbers are M3601C A1 and XP40644000GA (as best as I could read them, they are very light).

The memory chip is HYS 561622ETP-5.

The tuner metal box is marked Falcon TAATM02-H01F3T and FD0807AT3.

Overall, the unit worked well in displaying the selected channel video and audio but it is very limited in features and the remote is awkward to use. The signal strength/signal quality function was really good. I would not recommend the Sansonic as a primary unit, but it would work well as a converter for a secondary TV and for signal strength functions (antenna positioning).

I will be getting another box that has the ability to manually add/delete channels and that has the ability to toggle between two stations.

(I do not have a digital camera, so I cannot include pictures. I will try to borrow one this weekend at take some photos.)

Thanks, MikeBiker!

Sounds like a bit of a disappointment re EPG and adding channels. I thought it was going to be the first one using Microtune's tuner, but it sounds like there was a change?

Yes, thanks for the detailed review MikeBiker!

Auto channel select is the only method for entering channels.. No manual method of channel add or delete is available.

The Signal Strength/Signal Quality function does manually tune channels (not documented in manual).

Once the channels are found, they can be directly accessed by entering three numbers 302 for 30-2., or the channel +/- buttons can be used to scroll through them all. There is no method to delete any channels that were found during the auto scan.

I will be getting another box that has the ability to manually add/delete channels and that has the ability to toggle between two stations.


I'm a little confused, (my fault there!), so a couple of questions if you don't mind ....

If I am understanding correctly, in the poll at following thread, you would choose option #3 (Autoscans DON'T find all receivable stations, isn't a way to manually input channel info.) for the FT300A ?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13619177#post13619177

For instance, Let's say I need to "punch in" a Physical channel number, let's say in this case that is channel 30, (the actual channel # the signal from a particular station is broadcast on)for a station not found via the autoscan, then I need to look at the meter while adjusting antenna for this particular station so that I can achieve a good enough signal such that #1), I can watch the station, and or #2). so that the virtual channel mapping information is decoded(let's say in this case the Virtual channel is 45.x), and "somehow" store the virtual channel info for this station so from then on I can "tune" to 45.x to watch this station(assuming antenna is adjusted properly for it), ...

Are you saying(as I think you are) none of that can be done on this box and perhaps that the manual tuning with the signal meter up only work for stations that are already "scanned in?"

Or instead, are you saying that I can do #1 but not #2 (or can do both) with use of the undocumented manual tuning function with the signal meter ?

Also -- Does each "autoscan" wipe out everything found on the previous autoscan, or is there autoscan option available which will "add" channels(such as any found with a different antenna orientation or adjustment), rather than wipe out everything you scanned in on a previous autoscan ?

Thanks!

I already have an email in to SanSonic about the differences between these two models and the RT release date.

I will post upon receipt.

The MicroTune Tuner was how I noticed this model...

Falcon Digital (FalconDGT.com)Designs and
manufactures that Sansonic brand box set btw.

Tuner = Microtune MT2131 MicroTuner high-performance tuner IC
Decoder = Auvitek AU8515 ATSC demodulation and channel-decoding IC
Main Chip = ???

If I am understanding correctly, in the poll at following thread, you would choose option #3 (Autoscans DON'T find all receivable stations, isn't a way to manually input channel info.) for the FT300A ?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13619177#post13619177

For instance, Let's say I need to "punch in" a Physical channel number, let's say in this case that is channel 30, (the actual channel # the signal from a particular station is broadcast on)for a station not found via the autoscan, then I need to look at the meter while adjusting antenna for this particular station so that I can achieve a good enough signal such that #1), I can watch the station, and or #2). so that the virtual channel mapping information is decoded(let's say in this case the Virtual channel is 45.x), and "somehow" store the virtual channel info for this station so from then on I can "tune" to 45.x to watch this station(assuming antenna is adjusted properly for it), ...

Are you saying(as I think you are) none of that can be done on this box and perhaps that the manual tuning with the signal meter up only work for stations that are already "scanned in?"

Or instead, are you saying that I can do #1 but not #2 (or can do both) with use of the undocumented manual tuning function with the signal meter ?

Also -- Does each "autoscan" wipe out everything found on the previous autoscan, or is there autoscan option available which will "add" channels(such as any found with a different antenna orientation or adjustment), rather than wipe out everything you scanned in on a previous autoscan ?

Thanks!You can use the signal strength meter to manually go to a physical channel. This will allow you to adjust the antenna for best signal strength. You would then have to do the auto scan to see if the signal is strong enough for the box to detect it and include it with the other channels that it found on that scan. The previous autoscan stations would be gone. That, of course, would cause a problem for those who use a movable antenna. I did find two station signals that showed less that 10% signal strength but zero signal quality. These were obviously not acquired by the auto scan, but would be suitable to use to adjust the antenna to attempt to get some signal quality and then rerun the autoscan. My antenna is not presently pointing at the antenna location that those two stations are using. Those stations transmitters are going to soon (hopefully, by next week) move to the location that my antenna is (mostly) pointing toward.

This is not a particular concern to me as I will use the signal meter to adjust my ,normally, fixed antenna to get the best strength on the channels I am interested in. My problem is that there is no way to delete an acquired channel. I now have station data acquired for stations that I will never watch. When I flip through the channel selections to see what is on each station, I have to go through the unwatched channels.

The autoscan did acquire all stations that showed any signal quality at all. I have no way of knowing what the unit would do if I manually entered a channel number of an unacquired channel that now has a valid signal. When I manually enter a channel number for an unacquired channel, I get the error message "No Channel".

The signal meter provides the actual physical channel data and by using the channel increment or decrement buttons, I can step thorough all physical channels and see what their signal strengths and signal quality readings are. The channel number buttons do not work when the antenna signal function is selected, so you cannot go directly to a physical channel, but rather, you must use the increment/decrement button to get to the channel of interest.

The autoscan did find all the stations that I expected it too based upon the TVFool data for my location and one station that I did not expect.

Thanks again for explaining that MikeBiker. I was mainly interested in the performance of the unit, reception wise(involving the microtune double conversion tuner mainly) , but those issues regarding not being able to manually "add" channels not found via autoscan with antenna adjusted differently/etc, or potentially not being able to directly tune to physical channel # for channels not found via autoscan and decode the video/audio streams means I wouldn't even consider this box, anyway. Note - I already used my two coupons on the Zenith DTT900's, but at some point I may also need or want at least one more converter box I'll have to pay full price for.

Update:


I have no way of knowing what the unit would do if I manually entered a channel number of an unacquired channel that now has a valid signal.


FWIW, If you want to test that, I assume you could disconnect antenna, run autoscan (wiping everything out). Then Reconnect antenna(don't autoscan), tune to physical channel # for one of your local signals a autoscan would find, and see what happens ...

FT300RT has the Dual Conversion IC Tuner, the FT300A is different.

FT300RT has the Dual Conversion IC Tuner, the FT300A is different.

Interesting. Can you provide some sort of source or reference/etc. for that information ?

As at following link, one of among many available refrerences on this issue it says :

http://www.auvitek.com/News.html#15


.... Based on Microtune's MicroTuner(TM) MT2131 high-performance tuner chip and Auvitek's AU8515 ATSC demodulation and channel-decoding IC, the manufacturing-ready system solution has been implemented in two Sansonic DTV converter boxes (models FT-300A and FT-300RT) that have achieved certification from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).


Same info here as well :

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=BW&Date=20080103&ID=7990631&Symbol=TUNE

And in the "product spotlight" box near middle of page here :

http://www.microtune.com/

MT2131 info/specs here :

http://www.microtune.com/products/pdf/mt2131_11.pdf

I have followed this thread on the Sansonic since I learned that it is supposed to have the Microtune double conversion receiver.

Having had an old Hallicrafters SX-100 shortwave receiver back in the 60's I am well aware of the advantages of double conversion. It did a great job of knocking out image frequencies comparred to 455khz single conversion units. As I recall it had 1610 and 50 khz IF's.

I received my coupons yesterday and went to this thread . I see there is some discussion on the FT-300A and FT-300RT. After doing some searching I found this website selling the FT300RT but they don't give very many details.
http://www.summitsource.com/product_info.php?ref=1&products_id=6773

As soon as I can figure out the differances of the A vs RT units I intend to purchase one.

The Signal Strength/Signal Quality function does manually tune channels (not documented in manual). This function is well done and both the strength and quality are displayed as a bar and as a number (0 to 100). When I put a splitter in the input RF cable, the signal strength reading appeared to be about ½ of what it was before. When the signal quality was 25 or below, the display would start breaking up. I was obvious that I need an antenna pre-amplifier to get all the Denver stations as I will be using a couple of splitters before the box's RF input..............Overall, the unit worked well in displaying the selected channel video and audio but it is very limited in features and the remote is awkward to use. The signal strength/signal quality function was really good. I would not recommend the Sansonic as a primary unit, but it would work well as a converter for a secondary TV and for signal strength functions (antenna positioning).
From your description, the Sansonic might actually have better weak-signal reception performance than the LG (Zenith/Insignia) CECBs. The LG's signal-strength meter is less detailed, and certainly you don't get ANY picture when signal strength appears to be below roughly 40%.

We all will be VERY eager to see a head-to-head performance comparison between the LG and Sansonic CECBs!

Update on my evaluation of the Sansonic FT300A.

I have found out how to manually add a channel to the automatically generated channels. You have to be in the antenna level operation (signal meters) and use the CH+ and CH_ buttons to scroll through the channels. If you find a channel with enough signal strength to show a picture, push OK button and exit the antenna level function. The new channel will have been added to the list. Press OK to see the list.

Thanks for the update on that Mike Biker. Personally, I've yet to run into a receiver that doesn't have some way to manually add channels, although it's not allways described(or described properly) in the user manual/etc.

But I have seen reports regarding some receivers where folks have said there isn't a way to do it on that particular model of receiver, hence why I asked about this one because of my interest in it, and because this sort of info usually isn't detailed in the manufactuer's provided specs/etc, and I don't think it is specified in A74 or the CECB requirements, either.

Can't say I like that way of doing it, though, which sounds almost identical to Zenith DTT900's "Manual tuning" function -- Except it is accessed via a "Manual Tuning" menu option, where you "up/down" button through the RF channel numbers and a signal quality meter is provided. It does not allow you to directly access a particular channel number via 0-9 buttons on remote. The signal meter on it is also accesable at any time via a "signal" button on remote, but without the rest of "manual tuning" option.

It's probably undocumented, but the Zenith DTT900 will also, however allow you to "tune" directly to a physical channel # at any time by "punching in" the major number and a minor channel # ... That is a feature on it (and something similar via other receivers I use such as ZenithHDV420 HD receiver) I already have often used while "dx'ing", and personally I would prefer it if all receivers supported this ..... And, if for instance, you have a virtual channel # already stored in memory that corresponds to the actual physical channel # you are tuned to, on the DTT900, for anything I've tried so far you can "get around this" by punching in a minor Channel # that's different from any that are stored ...

For instance, WPTO-DT 28 (maps to 14.2~14.6) is one of my local stations. But occasionally, I can receive WCMH-DT 14 (maps to 4.x) As well. Since WPTO isn't using "14.1" or "14.7", I can aim antenna at WCMH and punch in either "14.1 or 14.7" and it will decode WCMH-DT and display the mapped channel # (4.x) ... However, in order to get WCMH into channel memory so I can "surf" through their channels on future occasions, I'd need to either run autoscan(auto tuning or EZ add), or use the Manual tuning option(adding RF channel 14) ... I think I'd tested the "channel edit" function with this, but If I recall correctly(may not be) I don't think any channels show up there(even one's you are tuned to) unless they are already "scanned in" via autoscan or the manual tuning function - when they are there, they show up by the virtual channel #'s, then for any specific subchannel, you can delete them or mark them as "favorite", or mark them as "added" (so they show up while your "channel surfing" .....)

I do not have a digital camera, so I cannot include pictures. I will try to borrow one this weekend and take some photos.MikeBiker did you ever get to borrow a camera?

No, I got busy and totally forgot.

MikeBiker
Does the UserManual look like the following?
GLT-200 User Manual (http://www.egridlink.com/Attaches/_633432498024932500_2_UserManual_GLT200.pdf)

Can you tell me if the EPG looks like any of the following.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1022201

Malouff,

With just the name change, that is the manual.

The only EPG that I can find is the display shown in page 11 of the manual as paragraph 6-2 Channel Information.

MikeBiker you mean this image?
http://i29.tinypic.com/2ujpixh.jpg

This is just Channel Information/Program Information

Models like the Zenith show both this Program Information
http://i31.tinypic.com/2dalsmb.jpg
They also show the Electronic program guide (EPG)
http://i30.tinypic.com/2jg81w1.jpg

Most boxes have a dedicated button to show the EPG
I see however that the Sansonic only has a info button.

The RCA DTA800B also only has a info button and its
What's on Now/What's on Next EPG is in accessed only through the Menu
http://i27.tinypic.com/zlxdvs.jpg

Does the Sansonic have a EPG that is accessible through the Menu also or just the Channel Information/Program Information?

The GLT-200 is also a Falcon Digital Converter Box like the Sansonic FT300A
It however is cheaper from http://egridlink.com

Free with coupon however you must pay shipping and tax is applied to California residents only.

I asked how much shipping would be and they told me
$10-$11 for 1 and a 2nd one will only cost about $2 more

However, they are currently Out Of Stock

I have not found an EPG as such. I've tried all the methods that the remote allows and nothing that seems to be a real EPG has appeared.

I have verified that the Sansonic lacks an EPG in my testing of the box. Despite this minor annoyance, the Sansonic performs well in most other categories such as tuning and reception just as MikerBiker has stated.

FT300RT has the Dual Conversion IC Tuner, the FT300A is different.


I have been told by my Sansonic rep that there is no difference between the 2 models. I will try to reconfirm this next week.

Does anyone know how true this is?
Sansonic-FT300A-This box is a bit more sensitive than the others and is better at holding onto a weaker signal.

Also what good is this Dual Silicon Conversion/double tuner?
What advantages does it offer?

Why should people even consider the Falcon Digital boxes when they appear at first to have more lacking features than the others such as no EPG.

Some of the advantages which *can* (can is a key word here, as there is more to it than whether a reciever uses single or dual conversion tuner) be involved using a double conversion tuner vs. single conversion tuner are described in article here (specifically in the "Dual tuner designs" section but you're probably going to want to read the remainder of article as well if you aren't familiar with the concept of Superhetrodyne receivers ) :

http://www.tvtechnology.com/pages/s.0072/t.1648.html

BTW, I have a Drake 2-A HF receiver from the early 60's that uses a triple-conversion tuner ....

I hope you can get better info from SanSonic than I have Mosquito

My attempts to obtain product information here have gone unanswered.
Sure hope their repair support is going to be way way better!
http://www.sansonic.net/contact/

Here is a picture of the inside of this unit as well as some captures of the an output problem. The video on my unit has a defect present when outputing in PS or 16:9 which is not visible in LB mode. The tuner sensitivity is okay when connected to a real antenna but when connected to my tiny antenna, the performance is terrible in comparison to the other boxes I have tested. Basically it can only receive one channel (39) as opposed to the magnavox or tivax which could display video for 75%- 90% of the stations available in the area.

The box, the product, and the warranty page of the manual have no info on how to contact the company for service. :( Very disappointing considering falcon technologies will be making several different brand boxes.

In testing two other boxes, the Insignia and an RCA, I found that the number of channels that were located were far fewer than that found with the Sansonic. I was using a pair of rabbit ears for my test.

It would help if both of you posted either your location (nearest cross streets) or results from www.TVFool.com

Then we could see if there is strong adjacent channel interference....or other situations....

I think that it would also help if we knew when the comparisons were made.
Was it the same day around the same time and with the same setup.

Interested that the only station (39) this box can pull in on my small antenna is 1000 kw. All my comparisons were made between 6-8pm. None of my other boxes perform as poorly as the sansonic, heck my 7 year old dtc 100 has better sensitivity.

Best to worst in sensitivity on my small test antenna.
Funia (walmart)
Coship
Tivax
RCA
Sansonic

I also have various other digital tuners, dmr-ez17 panasonic, voom DSR 5500 OTA (moto), T451 samsung. None are as poor as sansonic. :(

Can any owners of sansonic confirm whether they see bottom of screen video defect while in 16:9 FS or PS?

I used TVfool.com to check my signal, but was unable to capture all the information provided. Most of the towers are available by LOS. To the question provided by Satpro regarding the display using 16:9 PS, I have not seen this issue as you described or in the images you posted.

To the question provided by Satpro regarding the display using 16:9 PS, I have not seen this issue as you described or in the images you posted.


So you are saying you dont see any line or distortion across the bottom of the screen in the images I posted or on your unit?

I do not see the distortion that you described and posted in the images in either format. I have only been using my box for about a week. When did you start seeing the distortion?

The distortion was there right out of the box on the FT300A, I ordered a FT300RT but that is not what they shipped me.

I checked I I do not see any screen distortion like the pictures showed i any display format.

Nice detailed review of Sansonic provided here:http://www.wtfda.info/showthread.php?p=4690

Just got mine. I second most of what's been reported. Not a very feature-laden or user-friendly little beast, and the art direction on the box is hideous, but it works just dandy.

The only cautionary advice I can add to what everyone else has said is that the Sansonic's RF modulator is noticeably inferior to the Zenith's. Smudgy color. Makes it look very VHSey.

On the other hand, video via the RCA jack is lovely, pretty much identical to the Zenith. The Zenith blacks out a bit of the side edges when letterboxing a widescreen station for some reason (not that you'd notice it if your set was properly overscanning) so the Sansonic is a bit superior in this respect.

I don't see the previously reported distortion/lines.

Sansonic's audio is superior (and it would just about have to be).

Of all the available DTV channels in this market, only one is an iffy catch - a low power VHF that's got a null pointed straight at me. The Zenith got it in a teeeeeeny bit better, but not enough difference to trouble yourself with (IE it's VERY unlikely you'd find yourself in a situation where the Zenith would get a watchable picture at the same time the Sansonic wouldn't).

I did notice that the "signal quality" (not "signal strength") readout seems to be an average over time that does not reset itself when you change channels. Therefore if you're coming from a strong signal to a weak one, it isn't of much use unless you cycle power.

It is interesting to see the comparison of the Sansonic to other CECBs in terms of reception and other factors. I wish there was more information though.

http://site.dtvboxanswers.com/reviews

I'm currently using a Sansonic FT300A & loving the unit, it doesn't give me any problems what-so-ever. I had an Insignia which was losing audio when it overheats.

The remote on my Sansonic died yesterday. Changing batteries had no effect. If I had not programmed my learning remote with the Sansonic signals, I wouldn't be able to use the Sansonic unit at all.

I have had the Sansonic lock up twice. Both times were when I paused on a station that is in continual signal breakup. The only way to reset the unit was to unplug the power.

here is a image of FT300A

...
The RCA DTA800B also only has a info button and its
What's on Now/What's on Next EPG is in accessed only through the Menu
http://i27.tinypic.com/zlxdvs.jpg

Does the Sansonic have a EPG that is accessible through the Menu also or just the Channel Information/Program Information?
When you press the RCA info button, it does show what's now and what's next for the station being viewed. You would only need to access the menu EPG if you want to see what's on other channels.

Just got mine. I second most of what's been reported. Not a very feature-laden or user-friendly little beast, and the art direction on the box is hideous, but it works just dandy.

While I don't have a Sansonic I think the art direction isn't too bad. I think the thing that's tough for Sansonic is it's similarity to the converter box pictured in the "scam" advertisement. See that ad linked in this post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14101893#post14101893

I think the thing that's tough for Sansonic is it's similarity to the converter box pictured in the "scam" advertisement.[/url]The large picture shows the scam box as "Universal TechTronics" however the smaller images all show the box as a Sansonic

Why are you thinking of paying more for the Sansonic?
Some of the clones like the Gridlink or Lasonic can be cheaper.

Personally, I was never interested in purchasing the Sansonic or it's clones.

I've quit using my Sansonic and started using a Zenith DTT901 instead. The Sansonic remote quit working and the basic unit started not getting audio of some channels.

My local target in(N.E.,PA.) now has the sansonic ft-300a and i was thinking of exchanging my venturer for the sansonic but i'am not sure if i should after reading some of it's negitive performance here,i also have the zenith dtt901 and the audio was good better than my venturer,can anyone tell me if the sansonics audio is better than the venturer and zenith dtt901?.consumer reports rated the sansonic ft-300a in the top three for cecb boxes even better than the insignia and zenith,if i decide to buy the sansonic does anyone know what mfg. date to look for or what build to stay away from?

Of those who have bought the Sansonic, has your unit been reliable? How would you assess the quality?

Target Stores are now selling this unit, along with the General Electric 22730 and the Venturer.

Mine is no longer being used because of reliability issues. It started not getting audio on certain channels and then the remote quit working.

How long did you have your sansonic?maybe you just got a bad unit,did you exchange it for another sansonic?i would like to here from some more of you who bought the sansonic ft-300a to see if this is an isolated problem or not,i was thinking of exchanging my venturer for the sansonic,i would like to here more opinions about the sansonic ft-300a,good or bad.

Mine is no longer being used because of reliability issues. It started not getting audio on certain channels and then the remote quit working.Doesn't it have a factory warranty?

I got my unit on April 16. The warranty statement in the manual doesn't make it sound like there really is one. It's not something I'm going to worry about.

It's correct that the Sansonic provides no controls for deleting channels found in the auto-scan set-up step. But here is an alternative to that.

First you need to understand that each broadcaster is usually assigned one physical channel by the FCC. With this they can then support up to four virtual channels. One example: In my location physical channel 47 is assigned to the main PBS station and they're supporting four virtual channels, 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, and 11-4. With my method of "re-selection" you can choose physical channels, but you have to accept the virtual channels that are part of them. I've found no way to selectively choose among virtual channels.

After using the auto-scan method to store all of the channels that your antenna can pull in, view each physical station (or just one of each virtual channel set) at full screen view (not in menu view). Press the Antenna Level button on the remote (Ant Level) for each of the channels that you wish to view regularly. Note down on paper the channel number that is shown at the top of the antenna level reading window for each of those channels. Put all the channel numbers in numerical order. Now you are ready to make your "re-selections."

1) Unplug or unscrew the antenna connector from the Antenna IN connector on the back of the Sansonic box. The converter box can be on or off when this is done.
2) With the Sansonic box and connected TV both turned on, press the Channel Scan (CH Scan) button on the remote control. The "Easy Install" window will appear on your TV screen.
3) The Auto Scan selection is highlighted by default. If not, use the CH+ or CH– buttons on the remote to highlight that choice. Press the OK button to begin the automatic scan process. Allow this process to be 100% complete. This will erase all of the channels that the box tuned in when you set it up originally. You will be left with a clean slate -- no channels at all. The message left on your screen will read, "No Stations Found."
4) Plug or screw back in the antenna connector to your Sansonic back panel.
5) Press the Antenna Level button on the remote. The antenna level window for physical channel 2 appears on the blank screen.
6) With your list of desired physical channel numbers handy, press the CH+ (or "Up") button on the remote to move through the channels to select each of the channel numbers on your channels list.
7) Stop at each desired physical channel on your list. Then press the Antenna Level button to dismiss that process. Press the OK button to view your channels menu to verify that new virtual channels have been added.
8) Repeat steps 5, 6, & 7 until all of your desired physical channels have been added to the Sansonic. These are now stored for your regular tuning. Those channels that you did not put on your list have effectively been "de-selected." Even if the Sansonic is turned off, unplugged, or if you should suffer a power outtage, these channel selections will not be lost. The only way to wipe out these choices now, would be to perform another complete Auto Scan process.

Since many users may never come upon this forum, I've passed on the above instructions to Mr. Michael Young, Sansonic's Service Manager in Consumer Sales and Support at their El Monte, California offices. You can share with him your feelings about the FT-300A at michael@sansonic.net.

Since many users may never come upon this forum, I've passed on the above instructions to Mr. Michael Young, Sansonic's Service Manager in Consumer Sales and Support at their El Monte, California offices. You can share with him your feelings about the FT-300A at michael@sansonic.net.

I would recommend not contacting the above named individual unless you are into death by spamming. I can't get him to stop sending me junk.:(

Speaking of junk, my Sansonic has picked up an annoying tic. On 1080i channels, the picture kind of "throbs" - changes vertical size slightly several times a minute. It's on all the 1080i channels, and *only* on the 1080i channels. The "screen" setting doesn't affect it.

I've been trying to scare some kind of response out of Sansonic's alleged customer support for a couple weeks now, and to quote Clara Peller, "I don't think there's anybody back there."

My recommendation for this brand is hereby withdrawn, and my recommendation to steer clear of it is hereby entered for the record.

These guys ain't ready for prime time, and you probably won't be either if you buy their box.

I picked this one up and noticed the "throb" effect too. It's kind of like watching the image through water and a wave effect occurs. It's quick, but quite smooth.

Most importantly, it's annoying and it sucks. :(

Ditto,i think i have seen this effect too with my sansonic,i hope my local target gets the new venturer with pass through so i can exchange my sansonic for it.i had the venturer before and it was pretty good, too bad i exchanged it for the sansonic,i now have to hope target gets more venturers in stock.

I bought one of these in July and have just now opened it. I have the throb effect but I don't find it that annoying.

I'm actually having a far worse problem. On some channels the audio and video are out of sync. I think it only happens when receiving a marginal signal but I'm not sure yet since I've barely started using it. The RCA in the other room doesn't have this problem so it's not the channel. Has anyone else experienced this?

I just went to Gridlink in Pasadena, CA to bought another 2 GLT-200 for my parents, their price has raised to $45.99 (no more handling fee) compare to when I made my first order in May, but still is lower than Best Buy. GLT-200 is exactly the same as Sansonic and Lasonic which sold elsewhere a little bit higher and it does not provide analog pass-through capability but actually that might not needed for some TV. What I setup for myself and my parents (we all have cable TV) is leave the original coaxial cable from cable un-touch and use a composite cable with L,R audio cable connect (those red, white, yellow cable) to the extra video-in provided from most TV set and when watching cable program, I just use channel 3 as usual and when I need to watch the DTV program, I switch to Video-1 from my TV remote. During Olympic period, I usually set my TV as picture-in-picture and switch them back and forth. I have to admit that the digital broadcast signal is far better than my cable quality. By the way, Gridlink they are offering free shipping for their combo set order at this time (converter box plus an active antenna), even I did not benefit for it but that might come thru for someone.

I Like the san sonic great picture got free shipping on it too from consumer electronics group.. But I don't see the throb you see

I got my Sansonic FT300A at Target on sale for use in the garage and for antenna testing. It has both signal level and signal quality meters as a bar and a numerical percentage. I have yet to see the "throbbing" described here. It certainly has less features and is less user friendly than the Zeniths I use in the house. Reception performance wise, it doesnt seem to be too bad at all.

I got my Sansonic FT300A at Target on sale for use in the garage and for antenna testing. It has both signal level and signal quality meters as a bar and a numerical percentage. I have yet to see the "throbbing" described here. It certainly has less features and is less user friendly than the Zeniths I use in the house. Reception performance wise, it doesnt seem to be too bad at all.

It appears as if the Sansonic has been discontinued by Target (at least in my area, which is NYC)......
seems odd, since they only had it for a short period of time to begin with!
......speculation abounds. :confused:

My brother in-law works at Target and he told me they ran out of their store brand, and picked up the Sansonic to tide them over.

A bunch just arrived at CVS locations in the NYC area. I know they just had a sale on the CRAIG CVD506 which is apparently a regular item too. Has anyone tried both?

Hi folks...

I just picked up the Sansonic FT-300A... At this time I still receive both digital and analog signals. How do I switch between the ATSC tuner and the NTSC tuner in the FT-300A? I already hit the CH SCAN button and set the RF CHANNEL to 3 and performed the AUTO SCAN... That worked very well... All digital channels are now scanned in and available to me.

Now what do I do to get in my analog signals... Do I hit the CH SCAN button and change the RF CHANNEL from 3 to 4 and then do another scan? Will that not wipe out my previous digital scan? Do I have to set my TV onto channel 4?

There's not a lot of help in the manual on this topic?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thks.
Dan

...How do I switch between the ATSC tuner and the NTSC tuner in the FT-300A?You will need to use your TV's NTSC tuner for analog channels. If the box doesn't have analog passthrough, you'll need a coax splitter before the converter box and and A/B switch at the TV, to switch between straight antenna input and converter box input (which will be on ch 3/4).

See crude diagram at:
http://i40.tinypic.com/2n7h8h3.png

Thks arxaw...

That's exactly what I did last night... But then today I read that the FT-300A does have a built in "User-selectable Ch3 or Ch4 NTSC RF Output".

I just don't know how it works bacuse there is very little documentation on the Ch4 NTSC RF Output feature...

I'm hoping someone here has used that feature and can explain how it works.

Hi folks...

I just picked up the Sansonic FT-300A... At this time I still receive both digital and analog signals. How do I switch between the ATSC tuner and the NTSC tuner in the FT-300A? I already hit the CH SCAN button and set the RF CHANNEL to 3 and performed the AUTO SCAN... That worked very well... All digital channels are now scanned in and available to me.

Now what do I do to get in my analog signals... Do I hit the CH SCAN button and change the RF CHANNEL from 3 to 4 and then do another scan? Will that not wipe out my previous digital scan? Do I have to set my TV onto channel 4?

There's not a lot of help in the manual on this topic?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thks.
Dan

This and all CECB (coupon eligible converter boxes) only have an ASTC tuner, none have a NTSC tuner, some can pass through NTSC signals when off (APT) this model can not.

To use this converter and still receive analog signals you would need to split your antenna (using and antenna splitter or an antenna switch), one going to converter box and the other to an antenna switch. The antenna switch is called an AB switch (for two positions). Take the output of the converter box to position A on the switch. Take the other split from your antenna to position B on the switch. Then from the common position of the switch to your tv, tune to 3(or 4) for digital (with the box on) and tune with your tv to analog (with the box off).

You would either use a splitter and an AB switch if your signal is strong. You would use two AB switches if your signal is weaker.

Ask more questions on doing this setup if needed.

Thks john...

If this does not have a NTSC bypass or passthru then what do they mean by...
"User-selectable Ch3 or Ch4 NTSC RF Output"?

That's exactly what I did last night... I split the co-ax and employed an A/B switch and that works... It's just not conveinient!

But then today I read that the FT-300A does have a built in "User-selectable Ch3 or Ch4 NTSC RF Output".

I just don't know how it works bacause there is very little documentation on the Ch4 NTSC RF Output feature...

I'm hoping someone here has used that feature and can explain how it works.

Also... thks arxaw... I posted a response to you right after your post but it's waiting to be MOD'ded...

Thks john...

If this does not have a NTSC bypass or passthru then what do they mean by...
"User-selectable Ch3 or Ch4 NTSC RF Output"?

You can view the output of the converter box either using direct video (the yellow jack along with red/white for audio) or using the antenna coax connector output into your tv set. If you use antenna coax connector output you can have it come out on channel 3 or 4 (you set that in the converter box menu) and then tune your tv to the same choice of 3 or 4. You pick whatever suits you (if you have a local channel on 3 or 4 you pick the other), I thinks it is set to use 3 if you don't change it.

The FT300A does not have Analog Pass-Through (APT).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_CECB_units

I made an error in trying to rescan the box, and have a dilemma now
I was using channel 3, and it worked fine, but was missing a few stations.
SO: I decided to try on 4, forgetting that my old TV cannot be set to chanel 4 (the wonders of losing a remote control on a TV with no manual)

so the screen is now blank and I cannot read the menu to rest to chanell 3, nor can I find any info on how to revert to 3 when I cannot see the menu on the TV screen

any help?

I made an error in trying to rescan the box, and have a dilemma now
I was using channel 3, and it worked fine, but was missing a few stations.
SO: I decided to try on 4, forgetting that my old TV cannot be set to chanel 4 (the wonders of losing a remote control on a TV with no manual)

so the screen is now blank and I cannot read the menu to rest to chanell 3, nor can I find any info on how to revert to 3 when I cannot see the menu on the TV screen

any help?

I guess I'm not totally clear on how your sansonic is hooked up.
Is your Sansonic hooked up via an RF cable?

(Versus RCA cables for Video & L/R audio?)

Can't you switch the Sansonic to output to channel 4 on its RF output?

Wait, I suppose that may be hard to do if you can't see the menus. :)

Can you switch your TV back to channel 3? Does it not have any control buttons on the tv itself?

I made an error in trying to rescan the box, and have a dilemma now
I was using channel 3, and it worked fine, but was missing a few stations.
SO: I decided to try on 4, forgetting that my old TV cannot be set to chanel 4 (the wonders of losing a remote control on a TV with no manual)

so the screen is now blank and I cannot read the menu to rest to chanell 3, nor can I find any info on how to revert to 3 when I cannot see the menu on the TV screen

any help?

with your tv on channel 3

on the CECB

on
ant level
CH+ (3 times) or CH- (1 time)
right or left blue button

you should now see menu

switching between channel 3 or 4 does nothing to get more channels. you would pick 3 or 4 based on which didn't have an existing tv signal on it or what channel your tv could tune to. all the tv reception is done before the converter ever makes it into channel 3 or 4.

Check it out the sansonic ft-300 has an easter egg/hidden menu.

tune to an active channel, press ANT level, press 0000, menu will change:

3 subs menus
receiver info
remote code

load factory default

software upgrade
RS-232 Logo/ Code /database
or off air

still trying to find the qam feature.

Thanks to the contributor who described it earlier. A point of clarification - You MUST proceed rapidly to the channel you want so that the box does not "tune" into any channel that you don't want. You are taking advantage of the "latency" of the box in actually tuning to a channel while in the "ant level" mode. If you don't linger at an unwanted channel, the box will not be fast enough to actually tune to it and store it in memory. Therefore you must speed through all of the channels that you don't want before STOPPING at the one(s) you do want, letting the box actually tune to your wanted channel and thereby store it into memory, while skipping any that you do not want.

If anyone is looking for a replacement remote or universal remote code I have found two codes that I have verified that work with the sansonic FT 300a or clones

dish network remote model 3.1, 3.2 (inexpensive remote and readily available on ebay)
use code for toshiba tv: 617

oneforall model cinema 7
use code for toshiba tv: 0156