Sansonic FT300A DTV Converter Box - Page 2

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.

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?

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.

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

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.

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/showt...3#post14101893

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.