Zenith DTT901 - Page 8

DigaDo and/or the other Portland area guys in here - do you know where the digital/DTV signal tower is for channel 32, or 33, KRCW-DT? I cannot get their analog channel at all on channel 32 from my location - it is blocked by Bull Mountain. So my analog channel 32 is from an LP translator on my analog channel 5. The LP channel 5 transmitter is over on a skyline tower, so that is line of sight for me. If 33 DTV is also on one of the skyline towers, then I could get by without analog passthrough.

Although you never know when I might move to the sticks and still need passthrough after 2009.

A quick check on antennaweb.org has KRCW digital on the same tower with KOIN, KATU and KPXG. 32.1 comes in well near Penninsula Park and 32.2 tunes in but there is nothing being broadcast. KRCW analog is in or near Salem. My weakest channels are the 22 group of subchannels and 49.1. 22 and 49 have fluctuating signal strengths at times.

The local OTA thread, currently with 6,620 posts, gives more detailed local information:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...68423&page=221

It is in the West hills on Skyline. Their licensed coordinates places them on the KOIN (6) tower. For what it's worth, all the major area stations converting to digital are locating in the West hills. Even Ch. 22's digital transmitter (RF 04) out of Salem has moved to the West Hills. If you can see the West hills, you should have no trouble at all. I get them all with my directional antenna pointed north here in Tualatin with very few problems.

Thanks Arnold. Should be no problem then, as I have an outside VHF/UHF yagi pointed right at the skyline towers, and I am about 6 miles line of sight and at the 400 foot level. No trees or obstructions to the towers, except an occasional hawk flying by. And I do get perfect analog reception on all channels from the skyline towers.

But I still need the DTT-901 for the normal stereo output level. I'm using this to drive several pieces of audio equipment and need a good 0dB output level, that matches the stereo output from my old JVC vcr (I use for analog TV). I may still have to add some low impedance current drivers to the box if it cannot handle much output loading, but that's no big deal.

Stopped in a Circuit City store in Springfield, MO on Thursday evening June 19th and found that thay had both the Zenith DTT900 and the DTT901 units in stock. Maybe had Qty 20 DTT901s on floor display and all had build date of May 2008 so I purchased one - have not had a chance yet to try it out.

Not in at the CC in Emeryville, CA. Said they didn't know when it was supposed to arrive. I was on my way to the Home Depot in the area anyway, so not a huge waste of time or gas.
I'll be ordering online now since a return trip + sales tax would come in at about the same cost as the $67 from abt.

Edit: will abt.com accept the coupon?

Tons of 901's with May build dates at the Montgomeryville, PA Circuit City. They had a smaller amount of 900's there too, all looking like they were April builds.

I picked up a 901 and it seems to work just fine. I haven't messed with the pass-through option. Not interested.

Harry

Picked up a 901 today at the Albuquerque (Cottonwood) Circuit City. They were mixed in with the big stack of 900's. Works great .

Anyone ran a test between the April and May DT901s regarding whether the audio output is higher? Others have said the audio output is higher on the April DT901 vs the April DT900 but am wondering if their is any improvement in the Mat DT901s. My CC only has the April 901s. My 30 days to return the DT900s for exchange is fast approaching and don't know if I should wait to see if they get and May 901s in stock.

Me too!

Picked up two 901's today at the Albuquerque (Uptown) Circuit City. They were mixed in with the big stack of 900's.

Avio

Picked up 2 Zenith DTT901 boxes at CC in Lenexa KS on 6/19/08 - both May build. They had a large supply.

Today the Circuit City website reports that the Hayden Island store (Jantzen Beach for us Portland old-timers) is "sold out" of DTT900 models.

This might just mean that they may begin stocking the DTT901 models.

I purchased a Philco unit the first of June. The volume on all digital stations is half or less what it is on analog. I only have RF as an audio source and the Philco is set correctly.

I'm trying to decide on a second box. I have to have PT because we have several stations on LP translators.

Is the volume level from the DTT901 as high as what you get on the analog signal without the box being used?

I have a DTT901 May build, and yes, the volume level on this model is as high as the analog signal without the box being used, even when using the RF feed.

Me three!

I picked up a pair of May 901s at the Salem, NH Circuit City. I saw only two April 900s.

Paul

So I fired up the 901 yesterday. This digital TV is great. Extra channels, great picture, extra data available on screen. I love it. I live on top of a hill with a straight shot to the transmitting tower, and got really good reception, but there were variations from time to time with weather, etc. I would say the digital picture is modestly improved over the best analog pictures I received, but it is consistent across all channels, all the time.

I've noticed however that the sound level sometimes varies between some channels, i.e. I need to adjust the volume slightly when going to a different channel. Is that a characteristic of the transmission, or the 901? I had never noticed that with analog. I have the box connected to the TV with the Red White Yellow cables.

The other feature that would be nice would be the ability to change the channel on the TV from the remote. I see on TVFool that one channel that I tune in occasionally, (Spanish, for my language practice) will be analog even after Feb 2009, and so I still need to use a different remote to change that on the TV. I suppose I could try a universal remote to add that feature so I could rely on a single remote.

There seems to be a lot of concern about the sufficiency of the program guide. However, coming from the total analog world, I find the feature very helpful. Even though only one channel, now and next, is displayed, the channels are all set out along the top, and scrolling through them brings up the info for each individual channel in sequence. And, if you are displaying info on a particular channel the you would like to jump to, hitting the Select button on the remote takes you directly there.

Aye, 'tis the transmission. Wait until you hear how loud the commercials can get.

As an older chief engineer at a network affiliate once told me, "It's television. Who cares about audio?"

Yesterday's enthusiasm was unfounded. I visited the Hayden Island CC early this afternoon. They had perhaps 300 900s in two displays with no 901s.

Another customer was there asking a salesman for the 901. I joined with the same inquiry. One other salesmen and another man soon to identify himself as a manager were standing nearby where they could hear our inquiry.

The manager asserted "Consumer Reports rates this Zenith (pointing to the stacks of 900s) at #1." I said "while I prefer the Zenith over other brands, Consumer Reports rates the DTT900 in the second of three tiers--so you need to check the Consumer Reports ratings on their website before you make such a claim." When the other customer and I repeated that we were "looking for the DTT901 with analog pass through" the manager responded "this is a useless feature as all the analog stations will be gone in February." I asked "what about the thousands of low power, translater, and community stations like channel 20 out there in Camas (I pointed in that direction) that will continue analog broadcasting indefinitely?" The manager said "We have no 901s to sell until all these 900s are gone." I quiried "then you are holding back the 901s?" There was no response. I said "The other day you had access to 13,000 in your warehouse, just check your computer." As I said this one of the salesman pulled up the information saying "there they are." I looked at the number myself saying "there you have it, 13,368 in your warehouse. And you have two customers right here looking for this product and none to sell." The manager then said "I don't care about converter boxes or that business--do you know how much we make on each converter box?" I said "probably around $10.00." The manager said "just two cents." I observed "when a customer comes in to buy a converter box there's a good chance they will buy someting else as well. If you don't have the product they want they may leave and go to another store to buy a Digital Stream 9950 or the DTVPal that may be in stores soon. Without product you miss out on a customer visit and a coupon sale. It's like shooting yourself right in the foot." The manager responded "Then you can take your coupons and go somewhere else as far as I'm concerned!" With this the other customer and I left.

Outside we spoke briefly about the experience and then went our separate ways.

No wonder Circuit City stores have had continuing problems with their business model.

Try the CC Gateway store.
Ask for Joseph.
HTH

DigaDo,
I stopped at a BiMart store in Monmouth yesterday and picked up (2) DTT901's while visiting my father. They had about a dozen behind the counter and no DTT900's. BiMart is selling these for 49.99. While I'm not saying you need to drive to Monmouth, check out the other BiMart stores in the Portland area. If your not a BiMart member, lifetime membership is $5. 49.99 + 5 = 54.99. Still 5 bucks less than Circuit City or Radio Shack.

I stopped by the Gateway CC store late this morning after Church. They had a good supply of 900s.

At the Customer Service counter I inquired if they had any 901s. They said they had a shipment of 901s yesterday (Saturday) but they sold them out very quickly.

This indicates that there are many informed customers looking specifically for the analog pass through feature found in the DTT901.

If Circuit City had wise managers they would stock both the 900 and 901 and post placards or signs indicating that the 901 has "analog pass through," an additional feature allowing continued reception of low powered analog translater and community stations located some distance from larger population centers.

CC had a huge window of opportunity, first in stock with online chats feeding their customer base. It can't be just two cents profit, BiMart and Meijer can sell for $10 less. CC could be selling hundreds a day, while other stores are restricted to 10 boxes a week. By the time CC releases their April boxes, other stores will be selling May. Bad strategy. They could have posted OPB's map, most people would buy the 900 and everyone would be happy.

I have been a BiMart member for many years. I am aware of their price being the best that may be found anywhere.

The problem is that of supply and demand. BiMart stores recieve small shipments and sell out within minutes or hours. Some BiMarts have a waiting list and the shipments are pre-sold before the 901s arrive at the store, so these stores are always sold out. The waiting list is the one sure way to purchase a 901. If the local BiMart doesn't have a waiting list one needs to camp out on their doorstep on those days when shipments are expected. Not everyone may do this.

I was not aware of that problem in the Portland area, even though I live in Tualatin. Dad lives near the BiMart in Monmouth, so I stopped there out of convenience more than anything else. I guess I was lucky. Like I said, they had 12 left after I purchased mine. The clerk told me that I was the first one that had purchased a CECB from her. She thought that her manager had possibly sold one or two, but that was all they had sold. And this is Monmouth, which can get DTV signals from 2 major markets (Portland and Eugene).

Which brings up a good point. Places like the Oregon coast have little or no reception from major stations directly, because the coast range blocks the signals. Most households receive all their OTA channels via translator. They have little use for converter boxes anytime soon. Just speculation, but stores in those areas may have CECB's without a waiting list (people in those remote rural areas are really going to feel cheated when the translators finally change to digital, but the CECB program has ended). If you're planning to take a vacation trip to the beach, why not call ahead and check, or drop in and take a peek.

However you get your box(es), I wish you luck in your search.

Please see my post in the original LG/Zenith thread:

How we paid $50 instead of $60 per box
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...5#post14132245


Thanks. Hope this helps you. Avio

The Zenith DTT901 is exactly the product that Oregon coast residents need to buy right now. With the analog pass through feature they will be able to receive their present analog stations with the converter powered off. Once the stations start converting to digital they will be ready to receive them with the converter powered on. The Zenith DTT900 would be of no use to them until their present analog stations have converted to digital broadcasting.

There are many areas throughout Oregon and in many or most other states with the same situation.

so does this mean a lot of Oregon stations don't already have a digital station going yet? that isn't true here around San Francisco, where the digital stations have been going for years, so I basically don't even look at the analog versions any more...

(I realize that in rural areas many stations don't have digital equivalents yet, but I thought that was mostly areas that depended on repeaters, many of which are unlikely to have swtiched over even by February)

Agreed. Those are also the areas that should be stocking heavily with analog pass-through boxes. But that presumes the store buyers are CECB savvy (an out on a limb presumption to be sure). My point is that many people in these areas are not going to be buying anything right now. It's just the way human nature and many people's understanding of technology is. Public Service Announcements (PSA's) will help people to be informed, but in our area I've only noticed Oregon Public Broadcasting really hitting heavy with the PSA's right now. If you don't watch OPB and with that mindset and the low population densities in those areas, I just suspect that those are the areas that will have boxes on the shelves.

No, Oregon has a lot of Digital stations. It's just that there are no stations of any kind on the coast (at least the central and northern Oregon coast). The coast range blocks the signals from the inland valleys. The households there get all their Over-the-air stations via translators. And translators are not required to convert to digital at this time.

I haven't really followed the extent to which Oregon/Washington low power analog stations have converted to digital.

From some other discussions, primarily concerning the dozens of Oregon Public Broadcasting repeaters (some of which are actually located on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge) that few, if any, have or will transition to digital by February 2009.

For low-power independent broadcasters in Oregon the transition to digital is probably a severe financial burden. There is financial help from the federal government available for these stations. This is limited to $1,000 per station!