What CECB is the best? And worst. Vote here. Updated tally 7/24/10 - Page 8

In the November 2008 issue of Consumer Reports the following units are listed in their Best Picture Quality Group out of the 24 units they tested:

Tivax STB-T9
Lasonic LTA-260
Sansonic FT300A
AccessHD DTA1010D
Microgen MG2000
Channel Master CM-7000

The units were tested at their Yonkers, NY location.

John

Thank you for the clarification.

So it appears that Funai was trying to keep their costs down by imposing an industry-wide limitation that is "good" for the manufacturers and not so good for their customers.

Consumer Reports also listed the non-analog pass through Zenith and Insignia models (discontinued in April 2008) with the current models, see page 40. There was no mention of the current Zenith and Insignia analog pass through models. But the DTVPal that entered the marketplace in July was listed. CR used the phrase "at press time" implying that their information was current when it was not. Consumer Reports has the same "updated" (out-of-date) information online where they also include the recently introduced TR-40 priced at $40.

Consumer Reports also pictured the Philips DVDR3575H/37 DVD/HDD Recorder (a 2007 model) among their "Top Products," see page 24. There was no mention of the 2008 model, the DVDR3576H/37 introduced around May 2008 or the recently introduced Magnavox H2160.

They also mention in their online comparison something about how "soft" the DTVPal's PQ is, which I thought was spot on.

They should've been a little more specific like that in the magazine.

Originally Posted by ScouterTony View Post
I have two. The channelmaster and the dtvpal. Due to the EPG of dtvpal, I'll have to vote for it as the best. I got the channelmaster for the S-video but the EPG really makes the dtvpal the best. Video is good. Had a little sinking problem with the EPG but I'll have to keep an eye on that. Nothing really bad about the channelmaster.


I have both and I have to say that the Channel Master has magic in their box... It'll capture and HOLD the most distant signals (104miles) from my location between San Diego and LA. It's not the most intuitive interface but it works. The picture is flawless.
The TVPal, like my Dish 722, finds them but cuts out at the slightest blip. The picture is fine on a 13 in tv but on my Large Panasonic, it's terrible. The Guide is it's saving grace tho...

I just wish there was something out there that had CM's tuner with TVPal's interface...

(Ken H, Don't count this as a vote...you already counted mine)

As a person that got positively slaughtered in the Houston storm, I'd like to report that the Channel Master CM-7000 never mised a beat during that whole 100+ MPH storm. These things rule. Period. I lost every friggin tree on my property (all missed the house) and this thing just kept ticking on my battery/inverter setup. Strongly recommended!

Thanks

So these stupid restrictions are Funai's fault? Grrr.

Eligible devices should've been anything with an ATSC tuner.

My vote goes to the Zs - Zenith and Zinwell.

The first DTX9950 Digital Stream from Radio Shack I bought got hot when on digital and even med hot when on analog. It lasted for about 80 days.

My second DTX9950 (bought 10/09/2008) is MUCH COOLER only warm on Digital and almost cool on analog and the digital picture on my Sony KV-2080R TV (1984) is excellent. I'm just using Coax not a Audio/Video cable (since I don't have the cable and DS doesn't supply one.)
I have a complex setup of Telecaption 4000 and both a Sanyo beta and Mitsubishi vcr recorders. I have a "map" of the various connections I consult when being away from recording for a while and want to make sure I've set things up correctly. I get close captioning from either the dtx9950/digital or the Telecaption 4000. I hear fairly well except some of the actors mumble - like that blond on CSI Miami.
Also the CC is great to "read" the words of songs.

My Sony 2080R (built before CC) has 2 tuners. I have the TC 4000 in line with what I call the "main" tuner(not auxillary)for analog and the digital in line with the Aux tuner. I even have a cable running to my PC for Studio/PC/TV. I'm using both a 2way and 3way splitter.
I've got 4 remote controls (the beta has a tethered one I don't use - besides that the beta videocassette loader doesn't drop it down.)

My opinion for the bunch I have tested so far:

Video Quality: CM7000 (S-Video makes it the best, specially on larger TV)(pic is left shifted at times) > Tivax T9 > Zenith > Artec T3 > TR40CRA

Reception: CM7000 (the best with rooftop antenna)(quirky on VHF) > Zenith (if using rabbit ears, this is the best) > Tivax T9 > Artec T3 > TR40CRA (very bad if using rabbit ears)

GUI: TR40CRA (best gui/guide) > CM7000 (guide only for current channel)(populates fast) > Zenith (now next guide only)> Tivax T9 (now next guide in weird colors) > Artec T3 (now next guide in even worse color scheme)

Remote: TR40CRA > Zenith > Tivax T9 > CM7000 (few buttons aren't used) > Artec T3

Price/Performance: Zenith ($50) > Tivax T9 ($45) > CM7000 ($60) > TR40CRA ($40) > Artec T3 ($43)

Aside: Zenith and TR40CRA LEDs blink in response to remote, Zenith and Tivax T9 include decent AV cables, TR40CRA shows all the info (such as program info, channel id, signal quality, time) when changing the channels and by just pressing the OK (center) button, CM7000 shows similar info but have to use Info button, Zenith and Artec T3 have signal meter beeps, TR40CRA has event timers (but can't keep the correct time if OTA times are messed up) ......

VERDICT: Zenith in most cases, CM7000 if using on larger TV and rooftop antenna, TR40CRA if using on smaller TV with rooftop antenna and can't live without TVGuide.

Take it from someone that had one of those earlier models that got hot (and flamed out for me). I am amazed it made almost a three month term of service. But I feel a need to point out that the unit is off for analog so all findings are subjective to enviroment variables at the time. The "med hot" you detected was left-over therms from it running...

Hope this helps.

Excellent review.

By "smaller TV" though, I hope you mean no larger than 13", because the extreme softness of the TR-40 still makes it unwatchable on anything larger for me.

I have two. The Zenith and the DS. The Zenith PQ sucks compared to the DS. I'm amazed so many people on here favor the Zenith. The PQ is lousy, the remote is too small to use and is not device friendly. At least my kids don't care so much so they use it. The DS PQ is much brighter and crisper, it looks digital, the zenith looks analog. Mine has never ever felt warm. Remote, still small but way more user friendly and device friendly. So PQ is what is most important to me so the DS wins.

Thanks, Ramm! Hope this will help new buyers trying to make a decision.

I have tried TR40CRA on 20" TV and it looks ok. But 27" and larger start showing the weakness of the box (specially with rabbit ears).

Mntn Dude, I haven't tried DS, so I can't compare its quality. I was skeptical about Zenith just because so many people are crazy about it. But after using it, I can see that its the best bet so far for price/performance. Its reception is very good even with rabbit ears. It holds picture very well during signal fluctuations. And, its video, perhaps a bit darker, still provides very good picture even on larger 42" HDTV.

Did someone say the CM7000's remote works the CM rotor too? And is $66 + shipping about the best price at www.consumerelecgroup.com?
Thanks

Yes, they both use a Pioneer cable box code, and that sure sounds like a good price to me.

Definitely, if I had to recommend one box in general it would be the Zenith. But the Channel Master does have better PQ, better reception and a better guide.

Also, since a very old, common Pioneer cable box code controls it, most IR blasters will work it, where only the absolute later recorders with blasters will control the Zenith (I think it uses an LG DirecTV satellite box code).

I thought this was to vote on the box. Sounds like this has changed to complaints. WHat happened to voting?

Yes, good price. But apparantly there are issues to consider when ordering from them.

You might want to read this before ordering from them

Unfortunately that is a bad thing. The up/down rotation buttons for the rotor are the same as the up/down channel buttons on the CM7000. When you try to turn the rotor, the channels on the CM7000 change. When you try to change channels on the CM7000, your rotor will turn. In addition, the number keys on the remotes also use the same keys. The result is a lot of frustration.

If Channel Master had been smart about it, they would have assigned different IR codes for the channel changing on the CM7000 and assigned a couple of the unused buttons on their remote to do rotor rotation. Of course, this still wouldn't fix the problem with the common number keys.

There is a way around this problem and that is to change your rotor to accept an alternative set of codes. The default rotor box codes are Pioneer® brand cable converter boxes (HH1 mode). You will need to change it so it receives the codes for Pioneer® brand CD players (HH2 mode). (It tells how to do this in your rotor controller instruction manual.) Then you will need to use a different universal or programmable remote to control the rotor box since your original Channel Master rotor remote will no longer work with your rotor.

Hope this helps.
medoug.

The 9521 rotor remote controls "both" units; but the CM 7000 remote "only" controls the converter box. If you program the virtual channel #'s into the rotor control; you can make this work. Unfortunately, the CM 7000 doesn't work well for my situation; so I never really got a chance to see if I liked using this method for changing channels.

Tuning your CM7000 and channel master rotor with the same remote would work well with 2-digit primary channels, but unfortunately not with the 3-digit digital multicast channels. For example, if you want to tune in channel 32-1, you can enter just 32 and get both the CM7000 tuned to 32-1 and the rotor pointed to the preset position for channel 32 reception. But, if you want to tune in channel 32-2, it will change the channel on the CM7000 to channel 32-2 and rotate the rotor to 322 degrees. Unfortunately where I live, channel 32 resides at 195 degrees on my rotor.

Agreed. Then that the rotor basee could be set to the appropriate degree heading for a two digit channel number and let the rotor remote change both the channel on the CM-7000 and rotor heading to an agreed upon direction in degrees from north.

But the new channel numbers need three digits unless your willing to accept the default main x.1 channel and didn't want x.2, x.3, etc.

If you enter the third digit (123 for 12.3) the rotor will interpret that entry as an azimuth and turn to that as degrees (123 degrees) from north instead of the channel preset for the two digit pre-assigned heading...very fustrating!

from all the CECB remotes I've used, the digital channels use the dash (hyphen) button on the remote to acquire sub-channels. Entering in a three digit channel without the dash will usually produce an error message.

The Zenith, Insignia, and Venturer CECBs will accept three digits and infer a hyphen between the last two.  You can also enter channel numbers below 10 as 0xy and get channel x.y (if x.y is in the unit's PSIP translation table, of course).  On the Zenith and Insignia models, channels from 7.1 through 9.9, if valid, can be entered as just xy with neither the leading zero nor the hyphen.

The CM7000 remote has no hyphen button. If you want a subchannel, you need to enter 3 consecutive digits. For example, for channel 32.2, you need to enter in "322". As mentioned above, this causes a lot of frustration if you're using a channel master rotor with the same remote codes.

The Congress did not want people with HDTVs using coupons. The Congress wanted these coupons to be used only for converting NTSC analog sets (RF, composite, and S-video inputs) to digital reception. That's why component video was excluded; analog sets don't have component video.

Using the right arrow button on the CM7000 remote will create the hyphen when entering channels directly.

Hello all! Short term lurker and first time poster.

I'll add that the WallyWorld Magnavox will allow 131 to tune 13.1. I also think I read in the cm7000 thread that channel master fixed this. I should double check as I have a "new" cm rotor box. I'm leaning towards the cm7000 for my last coupon. I live 50-60 mi from most of my channels. The Magnavox picks up every station we had except for 16 (NBC shopping)? 19 (which I think is only analog and clear as a bell thru the CECB just by switching to it) and 40 (christian). Channels that would come in snowy, now come in real clear. The CBS ch 2 comes in great, but only one channel. Ch 4 is good, but kinda directional. It can get flaky and I think one night I had to change it. It's around 20 on the meter, maybe better.

Ch 13 (pbs) is flaky. I could not find a sweet spot and it will slowly drop out, mainly at night. I think it's on ch 60, but I don't have the web page handy. The strength hovers around the mid teens on the signal meter. Kinda sucky.

The picture is not bad on the "HD" channels on RF or composite thru a JVC RX-8030V a/v receiver. The TV is a ~12 yo JVC 36" crt, all captured with a 14' CM Deep Fringe antenna. The SD channels can be unwatchable, with the gross blocking. One point making me sick with motion distortion. Watching dry ground beef being tossed and scooped onto buns was interesing, indeed. I've never seen ground beef look like that before. It was this homogenized stuff. I'm not sure if it's the box or the bit depth. Other SD channels suffer from digititis. The composite image is a bit better.

The remote sucks. The buttons don't work unless you *press* them. It's slow to respond, too. It's obvious why this box is low rated. That said, I'm gonna put it bedroom and run the TV there. It pretty adequate for most TV watching.

I'm sorta torn between the cm and the zenith DTT901. Both get high marks, the cm has a bit better sensitivity and the s-video. I have not read the DTT901 thread, but I would gather it has better quality control.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Hmm, tried that without sucess on my revision...

Did this ever stir the bee's in the honeypot and derail this thread, Lets continue this rotor/box CM in the appropriate thread.

For the record, I'd have been happy in just the rotor remote would have let peole use the ch-up / ch-dn buttons without turning the rotor. That would have let use put in 23 for 23.1, then scrolled up to 23.2, 23.3, etc while leaving the rotor on the correct heading instead of turning it to 232 degress (using direct entry)...

Can anyone with both the rotor and the CM-7000 reply (quoting this into the correct thread) that using the right arrow for the "dot" trick above fixes the issue please? I'd buy the rotor if it did...

How did they overlook this I wonder?

My 32" Sony Wega XBR would beg to differ with you. Both S-Video and component video inputs. Standard analog set (well, calling the best analog set I've ever seen "standard" may be insulting to it, but let's hope it doesn't overhear).