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Trt tacb-2009 - Page 2

post #31 of 84
11/16/09 at 11:43am
Funny it has program/event timers although I don't recall it being mentioned in any of the documents linked here. More poor marketing I suppose.

Battery wasters them remotes with LEDs, unless it's the U-remotes that only light up when programming codes. I've got this battery-hog big Kenwood remote that ALL the buttons light up when you press one, supposed to help you see what you're doing but if you have to press a button first...

THX, can't blame you on not breaking the seal. I wouldn't either on such a mysterious box. Plus you've got enough on your hands with that encyclopedia of manuals.

It's possible your Zinwell and TRT remotes are interchangeable to some degree (i.e. CM remote effects both of those boxes).
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post #32 of 84
11/16/09 at 12:40pm
Here are a couple photos of mine (no antenna to try it with ). The first gives some idea of the display digits, though only the center segment of each (I'm leaving the protective film on for now). The second is with a tripod (thank goodness) and shows the back and the remote. By the way, the top and bottom are virtually covered with ventilation louvers (they're not just appearances, they're real).


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post #33 of 84
11/16/09 at 5:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by equivocal View Post

Lastly, why the didn't this box get more publicity?

I'm guessing that since it was very late to the scene, resulting in not being included in any of the CECC roundup evaluations, plus wasn't distributed via any of the usual vendors, it just never got visibility. I almost went with the Tivax STB-T8 or Zinwell ZAT 970A, but given input from systems2000 and reading piles of posts, I finally decided on a mostly speculative gamble and ordered the 2009 the Friday before Monday 11/9 (last day for my coupon).
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post #34 of 84
11/16/09 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by THX-1138 View Post

.......There is a switch on the remote that is labeled TV/Radio. I can't determine that it does anything. It says it is for switching between TV and radio. ........

this sounds like an stb manufacturer who has been producing fta (free-to-air) satellite receivers....almost every fta sat rcvr has a tv/radio button....and there is a very useful purpose for it on fta satellite....

also, the very effective 'powerful' remote (mentioned in another post here) again sounds a lot like my ZINWELL 970....it works well almost anywhere u point it....up/down/backwards/sideways....as does my TR40 aka DTVPAL remote.....the ir remote signal must be so strong that it reflects off the walls well.....

by contrast, my Artec T3AP remote is almost the opposite...it works comparatively poorly....u have to be pointed in a very narrow 'angle range' right at the unit for it to work....no bouncing off walls at all....

its too bad that these TRT units werent readily available while we still all had cecb coupons....its the only dtv converter i've seen that actually has a front panel display....and i like the master power switch on the back....thats another thing that almost every fta sat rcvr has ....
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post #35 of 84
11/16/09 at 8:46pm
Thread Starter 
Trevor, maybe you can feed an analog signal in and do the cable scan and see what happens?


I think the infrared windows are a factor too.
I didn't have much trouble with the channelmaster until I moved it and the angle causes problems now.
The TRT remote came with lead batteries and it still works great.
I think it works better than the zinwell, but I'll compare them again.

I think the 2009 has been out at least a year.
I wish I'd known about it sooner.

TRT does make sat receivers.

My walls are highly reflective, which I recommend.
I can aim the remote behind my back at the bed and it operates the box mounted four feet up on the tv.
I haven't found a direction that fails.
Should be better on alkalines.

Channel changing is sluggish, but a solid lock once tuned.
Recall is no faster.

We had rain today and the occasional signal glitch.
Signal loss is soft, with a freeze frame and usually no noticeable audio breakup, very annoying on the channelmaster.
Sensitivity is definitely not as good as the channelmaster, but a good box.
I've been very happy with the picture.

The description in the EPG seems to offer a multiple pages option, though maybe no station here sends enough info to test it.
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post #36 of 84
11/17/09 at 12:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrevorS View Post

I'm guessing that since it was very late to the scene, resulting in not being included in any of the CECC roundup evaluations, plus wasn't distributed via any of the usual vendors, it just never got visibility.

I wouldn't say late (the TRT thread started 3 months before the 970A thread) so much as pathetic marketing. I expect that just listing "VCR Timers" as a feature and making the manual available online (things Zinwell did) would have resulted in being hounded for places to buy the boxes. Instead, some of the spec sheets alluded to QAM which sent discussions off on a tangent.

I wonder what the wholesale cost was. CECBs were certainly no stranger to obscure retailers with a webfront. With all the extras it might have cost more than retailers were willing to risk.

Thanks for the pictures.
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post #37 of 84
11/17/09 at 10:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by THX-1138 View Post

Trevor, maybe you can feed an analog signal in and do the cable scan and see what happens?

As I said, no antenna.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrevorS View Post

Here are a couple photos of mine (no antenna to try it with ).

Quote:
Originally Posted by THX-1138 View Post

We had rain today and the occasional signal glitch.
Signal loss is soft, with a freeze frame and usually no noticeable audio breakup, very annoying on the channelmaster.
Sensitivity is definitely not as good as the channelmaster, but a good box.
I've been very happy with the picture.

Does the scan pickup fewer channels than the CM (if so, could you give your channel count for each) or is it more channels freeze than on the CM?
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post #38 of 84
11/17/09 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by equivocal View Post

I wouldn't say late (the TRT thread started 3 months before the 970A thread) so much as pathetic marketing. I expect that just listing "VCR Timers" as a feature and making the manual available online (things Zinwell did) would have resulted in being hounded for places to buy the boxes. Instead, some of the spec sheets alluded to QAM which sent discussions off on a tangent.

I wonder what the wholesale cost was. CECBs were certainly no stranger to obscure retailers with a webfront. With all the extras it might have cost more than retailers were willing to risk.

Thanks for the pictures.

Don't forget that showing a prototype box at a show (with a differing front panel no less) is far from having a completed and released product ready for sale. It could have been late 2008 before they actually had a product.
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post #39 of 84
11/17/09 at 11:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pm3839 View Post

this sounds like an stb manufacturer who has been producing fta (free-to-air) satellite receivers....almost every fta sat rcvr has a tv/radio button....and there is a very useful purpose for it on fta satellite....

So maybe they used a common remote, not wanting to relabel the buttons to lower the cost

Quote:
Originally Posted by pm3839 View Post

also, the very effective 'powerful' remote (mentioned in another post here) again sounds a lot like my ZINWELL 970....it works well almost anywhere u point it....up/down/backwards/sideways....as does my TR40 aka DTVPAL remote.....the ir remote signal must be so strong that it reflects off the walls well.....

I suspect it's more the sensors on the boxes. My CM remote works like that with my Zinwell but requires directive aiming on my CM.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pm3839 View Post

by contrast, my Artec T3AP remote is almost the opposite...it works comparatively poorly....u have to be pointed in a very narrow 'angle range' right at the unit for it to work....no bouncing off walls at all....

I'm getting strange performance with a T3A Pro I just set up in my bedroom (box a few feet above the bed but not far from the bed). With me lying down it has a hard time with the angle but I can bounce it off the walls at certain angles to work (ex: ~180 degrees), but still not 100% of the time. I noticed the remote has an overhang in the plastic above the IRLED so I tried pointing it up a little higher than the box, seems to work.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pm3839 View Post

its too bad that these TRT units werent readily available while we still all had cecb coupons....its the only dtv converter i've seen that actually has a front panel display....and i like the master power switch on the back....thats another thing that almost every fta sat rcvr has ....

Indeed but I don't need more light distractions and it makes it waste more power. I assume it has an OSD for that info. Funny how I used to like all the lights, displays, and such but these days I'm concerned with energy usage .
Master switch on the back, that does sound sat boxish; maybe that and the display point to sat box commonality? Would seem to drive up product cost for a CECB otherwise (i.e. trying to keep it closer to 40 bucks).
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post #40 of 84
11/17/09 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by THX-1138 View Post

Channel changing is sluggish, but a solid lock once tuned.
Recall is no faster.

Interesting since my Zinwell ZAT-950A is pretty quick (supposedly the same tuner and decoder). It gets a little slower when I punch in the channel number and don't hit enter (timer delay to give one time to punch more buttons). Maybe it's in the way the software code was written or they used a slower clock speed (if applicable).
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post #41 of 84
11/17/09 at 12:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrevorS View Post

As I said, no antenna.



Does the scan pickup fewer channels than the CM (if so, could you give your channel count for each) or is it more channels freeze than on the CM?

I was thinking more of analog off a vcr or cable.
Once the last strange mexican signal disappeared, we've had no analog over the air here.

I get the same channel count.
I'm going by the sensitivity to interference, which is mostly on pbs, but I had a few other channels glitch yesterday.
A problem I've had with pbs has disappeared, but I don't know if they fixed it or it's a difference in boxes.
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post #42 of 84
11/17/09 at 12:08pm
Thread Starter 
As long as the dash is used for direct tuning, the TRT has no problem hitting sub channels.
It doesn't require a precise number of digits, which is an annoyance with some boxes.

It does seem to want the dash though.
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post #43 of 84
11/17/09 at 2:31pm
Is it hitting the subs with the channel up/down arrow keys?
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post #44 of 84
11/17/09 at 5:28pm
Floydage,

I posted on 11/05 ( http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9#post17479999 ) that I thought it may have timers, after I viewed the link I posted from EZDigital.com.

I could probably be persuaded to give up a ZAT-970A or a ZAT-950A for one of these units.

Sure would have liked to have known about these units when I ordered six Sunkeys.
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post #45 of 84
11/17/09 at 6:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floydage View Post

Is it hitting the subs with the channel up/down arrow keys?

No problem there.
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post #46 of 84
11/17/09 at 6:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by systems2000 View Post

Floydage,

I posted on 11/05 ( http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9#post17479999 ) that I thought it may have timers, after I viewed the link I posted from EZDigital.com.

I could probably be persuaded to give up a ZAT-970A or a ZAT-950A for one of these units.

Sure would have liked to have known about these units when I ordered six Sunkeys.

I don't think the auto time is the same thing.

The box doesn't list a timer either.
Only the manual.

You can still order these from the factory.
Just put your extra boxes on here or ebay.
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post #47 of 84
11/18/09 at 12:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrevorS View Post

Don't forget that showing a prototype box at a show (with a differing front panel no less) is far from having a completed and released product ready for sale. It could have been late 2008 before they actually had a product.

TR40
MMDTVB03
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post #48 of 84
11/18/09 at 10:37am
So it sounds like no program/event timer for the 2009. Was probably confused with Auto Time or Sleep Timer functions. Maybe the 1009?

I have extra Zinwell 970As as well. Have program timer, will travel . Would consider trades for one of these, DTVPal varieties, and Apex 502 varieties. Is there an established 'safe' procedure for trading here?
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post #49 of 84
11/18/09 at 12:00pm
Thread Starter 
There is an 8 event timer.
I've tested it.
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post #50 of 84
11/18/09 at 12:42pm
Thread Starter 
I think auto time is the time setting feature.
It has a manual option too.


I tried to activate the analog read on channel four using standard cable tuning, with no success.
I don't have anything else analog to feed it.
It seems to tune, but no signal received.
????


I confirmed that TRT's 4:3 PS is the same as the Channelmaster Zoom 2.
Even A/Bed, the TRT looks good too.
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post #51 of 84
11/18/09 at 4:00pm
Thread Starter 
The TV/Radio button is a leftover from other box designs and has no function on this box.
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post #52 of 84
11/18/09 at 4:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by THX-1138 View Post

There is an 8 event timer.
I've tested it.

Good deal. When you said "The box doesn't list a timer either" I thought you meant the converter box menu. My bad.
8 event, same as a Zinwell.
_____________________________

Try something that outputs its signal on the RF connector on channel 3 or 4. VCR, another converter box, TV with an RF out, etc. It'll be analog.

The zoom same as the Zinwell too. I like the CM Zoom 1.
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post #53 of 84
11/18/09 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 
Sorry if I wasn't clear.
I was trying to explain how even the factory wasn't aware of the timer.
They are pleased and delighted, if a bit bemused, especially hearing what a rare feature it is.
The box cover is detailed, with a photo of the rear panel on it too.


________________________________________________________
I did use the channel four output from a CM box and could not get a reading.
It is still possible I'm missing something.
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post #54 of 84
11/19/09 at 8:49am
When I read "Auto Time" as a feature, it spoke to me as Oriental translation for "Timers."

I guess that comes from years of trying to decipher manuals that were not reviewed by consumers of the final product destination.
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post #55 of 84
11/19/09 at 11:56pm
Something got lost in translation. To a monolinguist "Auto Time" sounds like setting time from PSIP that all the CECBs with clocks do. Why a box that doesn't have event timers would even care what time it is I don't know. But several did.

I'd be willing to swap for a TACB-2009. All I have to offer are the same old models everyone already has, except I could double it. One would have to be a new ZAT970A, the other probably a CM7000 (unless someone actually wants a DTVPal).
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post #56 of 84
11/20/09 at 10:36am
I thought "Auto Time" would have to do with time zones. Clear as mud.

That's a good offer, equivocal. Now if only there were more folks here than these two that found out about this box before the coupons expired.
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post #57 of 84
11/20/09 at 11:20am
Thread Starter 
We only had the same information on this site as everyone else.

They're still in stock at Wahoo Tech and the TRT factory.

Wahoo Tech
714/918-2888
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post #58 of 84
11/20/09 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floydage View Post

I thought "Auto Time" would have to do with time zones. Clear as mud.

It has something to do with time zones.
The bootup menu asks for your timezone.
Initial setup is idiot proof.
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post #59 of 84
11/20/09 at 12:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by THX-1138 View Post

We only had the same information on this site as everyone else.

They're still in stock at Wahoo Tech and the TRT factory.

I didn't mean anything derogatory by it.
Too many threads and poor marketing (IMO). You guys were on the ball.
Ironically some of us were posting on another thread looking for options, a thread about 'what boxes are left.'

Too rich for my blood without a coupon. I'll keep my eye on the used market for one of these as time goes by.
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post #60 of 84
11/21/09 at 1:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floydage View Post

I thought "Auto Time" would have to do with time zones. Clear as mud.

"Time Zone Setting" had a bullet of its own on the spec sheet. Which leaves "Auto Time" to mean automatically determining time zone by telepathy.

How about "Channel Info Bar with Event Information"? Event...Event timers...VCR Timers--soooooo obvious. It was there the whole time.
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