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RCA DTA800 Digital to Analog TV Converter Box - Page 4

post #91 of 380
3/6/08 at 5:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lexus2108 View Post

Ok this is what I thought. Her TV does not have "the yellow, red, and white RCA composite connections" Just RF connections. I know, I know it is a Costco special and brand is (guess who) Manavox. I am really beginning to hate them lol

So it looks like according to the GRAPH posted below by SCOOPER. I will need an additional splitter from the antenna to the converter box and the A/B box. Thus loosing some signal. OR wait for a better Converter box to come along in 90 days OR just not use Analog

Let me ask you guys this. I followed other peoples directions from this wonderful forum. I went to Antenna Web and 2150.com. I put in the Address and pulled up what analog/digital stations she gets. Problem is both these lists only go up to channel 69 and my aunt gets channels above that. All the way to 103. The lists also do not show ANY major subs. Such as for example ABC 7.1, 7.2 ,7.3 ect. It just shows 7.1 So I do not know if she gets no subs or it just does not show up like channels over 69?? I guess no way to really know until you hook the unit up to antenna?? This was the reason I wanted Analog Pass through. Just in case some stations didn't make the digital journey. Because according to antenna web and 2150. She will loose stations.

I did want to mention this for people looking for indoor antennas. My aunt has received over 7 to 10 antennas over the years as gifts. NONE worked well. Until I spent $90 to $100 over 9 years ago on a TERK 50. They now make TERK 55. I can tell you over half the Analog stations come in cable quality. It looks like a LONG funny stick, but it works. Those days it was new tech.
She lives in a apartment and gets free ROOF antenna and this TERK 50 works much better. Also works better for her NOT plugged into electric. Just info for you guys.

Again thanks

It sounds like your relative is on cable. Or her TV is set to CABLE and not AIR.
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post #92 of 380
3/6/08 at 7:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lexus2108 View Post

I called RCA and They didn't even know the converter BOX was for sale.

many who showed up here in January 2008 when the coupon registration started, don't realize that we are
still considered early adopters. most electronics resellers I've spoken to, won't get seriously into ATSC box
selling and support till Thanksgiving 2008.
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post #93 of 380
3/6/08 at 9:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Packeteers View Post

many who showed up here in January 2008 when the coupon registration started, don't realize that we are
still considered early adopters. most electronics resellers I've spoken to, won't get seriously into ATSC box
selling and support till Thanksgiving 2008.

By then the coupon is expired. May 2008

I wonder why they put 90 day limit on the card. There are just a few boxes out and not much choice at that imo

I can not even buy the RCA with the smart Antenna if I wanted too

Scooper,

Oh now I remember how i set it up. After I hooked up the Antenna I switched TV to CaBLE with TV remote. To get her more stations. It worked but messed up my comparison to the Antenna web and 2150.com

Can you tell me why Subs do not show up on the list? For example 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 ect only 7.1 shows up
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post #94 of 380
3/6/08 at 1:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lexus2108 View Post

BTW I wanted to mentioned I called RCA and They didn't even know the converter BOX was for sale. They had no clue where to buy it and knew way less about it then you guys.

I tell ya does not give me confidence in RCA.

I called asking where could I buy it

Just a guess but IMHO the first shipment of the RCA boxes to Wal-Mart was probably arranged by Thomson. Now that Audiovox owns the RCA consumer electronics brand they may have different ideas about quality, pricing, etc. of the CECB boxes as well as people who don't yet know what's going on.
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post #95 of 380
3/9/08 at 12:17am
How many hours/days are displayed in EPG?

Is there a Signal Quality (percent or bad/good?) and/or a Signal Level (dB type) display.

Does it use a wallwart power supply (what's VDC output) or does it plug direct into the wall?

What about Analog AND Digital captions?
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post #96 of 380
3/9/08 at 1:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by holl_ands View Post

How many hours/days are displayed in EPG?

Is there a Signal Quality (percent or bad/good?) and/or a Signal Level (dB type) display.

Does it use a wallwart power supply (what's VDC output) or does it plug direct into the wall?

What about Analog AND Digital captions?

So far, I only see current program and what's next.

% level

internal power supply with fixed AC cord

It's suppose to have digital caption capability, but I haven't tried them as I never have in the past.
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post #97 of 380
3/9/08 at 11:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ttinLV View Post

It's suppose to have digital caption capability, but I haven't tried them as I never have in the past.

Even if you don't need the captions yourself right now, other people who visit you might need them. The average male starts losing high frequency hearing in his forties, and a third of people in their sixties have hearing loss.

I got an email from one user that she couldn't make her digital captions large on a DigitalStream CECB, so I'm concerned other CECBs could have problems with digital captions as well. It's difficult to find this out this information without personal evaluations of how well the digital captions are designed for each CECB, however.

One person on this thread has reported problems getting consistent captions with the 800B if he used the transparent (or translucent?) background with digital captions from a local PBS station. He had to switch to a solid background to avoid these problems, and thought the Broadcom chip might be at fault.

The Insignia CECB that I've been testing has crashed five different times, perhaps because of an interaction between the digital closed captions and how some TV stations are transmitting their captions.

If anyone would be willing to help evaluate the digital captions of any CECB they're using, please go to the thread on "Evaluating Digital to Analog Converter Boxes for Users of Captioning"
at:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=997022


Dana
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post #98 of 380
3/13/08 at 10:09am
Can I get the FCC ID numbers of both the RCA DTA800B and RCA DTA800A?
Please respond with the model number and FCCID found on the label on the bottom of the box.
Thank You
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post #99 of 380
3/17/08 at 1:24pm
Does anyone know what this is output screen is for? It is from a hidden feature on the dta800b I just started testing. I can see chs, snr, pids but I don't know what the rest is for yet. you can get there by pressing channel down and power simultaneously on the front panel, you will have to unplug to reboot afterwards or wait 10-15 minutes to auto reboot,
I will post a complete review and pictures of this model soon. already not to impressed with the tuner sensitivity or video quality of the rca being worse than the funia tb100 series.
LL
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post #100 of 380
3/17/08 at 1:58pm
Fields seem to be for a "no signal" condition.
It would be more interesting if it was tuned to a channel....
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post #101 of 380
3/17/08 at 6:10pm
It appears as though my dta800b made 02-08-08 with ver 4.08 firmware has the broadcom chip and has an uninstalled s-video output port and a service jack that is installed but covered from back panel access.

I will have my full evaluation in the next day or so.

For now here are some views.
LL
LL
LL
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post #102 of 380
3/17/08 at 6:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmulvany View Post

The Insignia CECB that I've been testing has crashed five different times, perhaps because of an interaction between the digital closed captions and how some TV stations are transmitting their captions.

These CECBs can "crash"?????

The Geritol set is just going to love that. "Hey, I just want to turn on my TV and watch Lawrence Welk reruns. I don't want to have to call up my punk 50 year old kid to fix it every few weeks when it stops working!"
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post #103 of 380
3/18/08 at 1:17pm
dmulvany, my apologies that my post has inconvenienced you.

In the future, I will no longer provide any information of an item unless I have completed a thorough product review to present every feature that that product has.
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post #104 of 380
3/19/08 at 4:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by satpro View Post

It appears as though my dta800b made 02-08-08 with ver 4.08 firmware has the broadcom chip and has an uninstalled s-video output port and a service jack that is installed but covered from back panel access.

I will have my full evaluation in the next day or so.

For now here are some views.

Thanks for the pics. Yep, definitely a Svideo port is possibly hackable, only question if there are additional components that need to be installed to use it (caps, diodes, transistors, resistors) or if it just would work). Should be easy to test with 3 wires soldered to the pin points to provide ground, luma and chroma).
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post #105 of 380
3/20/08 at 10:45pm
just determined that this box can be controled by using the same remote code as a rca brand directv satellite receiver this is also the same as the dtc-100. Any one with a replaytv could set up their replay to tune to the main channel and use the directv rca code.
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post #106 of 380
3/20/08 at 11:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by satpro View Post

just determined that this box can be controled by using the same remote code as a rca brand directv satellite receiver this is also the same as the dtc-100. Any one with a replaytv could set up their replay to tune to the main channel and use the directv rca code.

The only problem with this box as far as a ReplayTV is concerned (besides the fact that it's so hard to find) is the issue that it won't output anamorphic widescreen. Only 2 options are zoomed and letterbox. All I record on a Replay these days is anamorphic WS.

A minor issue might be that the DTA800B (although the demod is no slouch) still it locks up with major signal interruption. Only requires turning off/then back on with the remote -- not a major deal when watching live. But could be a deal killer with a recorder. This might be mitigated somewhat by using a smart antenna for short/medium range signals.

Otherwise the PQ is decent and this box couldn't be much smaller or easier to use. I really like it. If only it included anamorphic squeeze for use with a recorder.

For those who can find one it may well be a decent choice for Showstopper/2K/3K Replays provided those native blaster codes work.
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post #107 of 380
3/21/08 at 12:10am
Using mine with showstopper, I have not noticed any lock ups on my dta800b, but I am using a pretty powerful antenna system which gives me signals in the 70- 90 range.

Main channel is easy to tune but I am even able to tune sub channels programmed in a manual record. For instance, if I want the replay to tune the dta800 to 56-2 I set it to tune channel 0562 or if I want replay to tune to channel 9-2 I set it to tune 0092, the dta800 inserts the dash itself and tunes to the right channel.

As far as anamorphic squeeze I thought that was one of the three required outputs for all these cecb tuners. I guess not. Anyway I record all my anamorphic directly to a dvd recorder that has a digital atsc/qam tuner so their is not quality loss. I am using my dta800 to record 4:3 without a network bug on cbs, abc and fox.
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post #108 of 380
3/21/08 at 1:09am
Well that was with a small indoor antenna. It looses signal when when someone walks through the room. The Zenith (and likely any other ATSC box used that way) also has breakup under such conditions. However the Zenith hasn't crashed yet. I've had the DTT900 recording/buffering on a Replay for over a week now. No lockups yet.

The RCA freezes just enough to notice. Locks up (or maybe looses audio I can't remember now) but still responds to the remote. I've never left it alone to see if it reboots (on its own) after such an event.

The RS Accurian would lock up sporadically when left tuned to a somewhat iffy channel back in those days, requiring intervention to reboot. I also had the Samsung 260 hooked to a replay for almost 18 months. At times (if for some reason I had the antenna(s) disconnected -- perhaps while I was reconfiguring) the 260 would (very infrequently) become unresponsive and I would have to dig the box out of a media closet and do a front panel reset.

I haven't operated the RCA yet with a real antenna more than a quick test. But I was half planning on trying a smart antenna. Meanwhile the Zenith is really doing better than anything I've ever used. The primary big improvement would seem to be with adjacent and co-channel interference, perhaps intermod as well. The DTT900 reliably tunes two very difficult channels all but unavailable with previous tuners. For multipath it's still a shootout between the Samsung 260 and the Zenith. My initial hunch is even the RCA seems to outperform the entire previous generation.
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post #109 of 380
3/21/08 at 4:49pm
I just bought (with one of my coupons, will request the other later this year) the DTA800B from Wally-world. Hooked it up to my old 1986 12" B&W TV and it worked well. (Actually got all but one local channel with just rabbit ears ... even more strange is it didn't pick up the one VHF digital station, but pulled in all but one of the UHF channels with rabbit ears)

Hooked it up to it's permanent home (bedroom 20" CRT) and have experienced one auto-off (after about 10 minutes of use). Is this normal? I changed the auto-off to never just to be safe.
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post #110 of 380
3/21/08 at 5:18pm
When I watch my Durabrand 13 inch tv with digital tuner outdoors sometimes it will completely lose signal when an airplane flies between the antenna and the transmitter. Usually the channel will come back a few seconds later, but sometimes it doesn't and the tv will continue to display "digital channel signal strength is low". If I change the channel and then change it back the old channel will reappear (it isn't necessary to wait for the second channel to lock). Try that with your box next time and see if it unfreezes.
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post #111 of 380
3/24/08 at 3:37pm
I saw the RCA boxes back in stock today (along with the Magnavox boxes) at my local Walmart.
I need a box for each of my two TVs in my motorhome, and like the RCA box because it's made to stand on end (in a vertical position).
I'm still waiting for my coupons and checking this forum for further user reports on the RCA box and others.
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post #112 of 380
3/24/08 at 5:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Screen TV View Post

I saw the RCA boxes back in stock today (along with the Magnavox boxes) at my local Walmart.
I need a box for each of my two TVs in my motorhome, and like the RCA box because it's made to stand on end (in a vertical position).
I'm still waiting for my coupons and checking this forum for further user reports on the RCA box and others.

If you use a rotor or indoor antenna that must be rotated to get all of your channels, get the Magnavox. After your initial scan, you can manually add more channels that you may find by moving the antenna. You can't do that with the RCA.
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post #113 of 380
3/24/08 at 6:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by arxaw View Post

If you use a rotor or indoor antenna that must be rotated to get all of your channels, get the Magnavox. After your initial scan, you can manually add more channels that you may find by moving the antenna. You can't do that with the RCA.

I thought that the scann-and-add was broken on the Magnavox (it was advertised but it doesn't actually work). I could have sworn I read that.
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post #114 of 380
3/24/08 at 10:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by arxaw View Post

If you use a rotor or indoor antenna that must be rotated to get all of your channels, get the Magnavox. After your initial scan, you can manually add more channels that you may find by moving the antenna. You can't do that with the RCA.

There's no way to do that at all with the RCA? Then I have no use for it. That's just one thing I have to have, as I get channels from 3 different directions. Oh, well. I was waiting for this one to show up at my Walmart, but that kills it.

I really won't consider a model unless it can be controlled by a remote code that my DVD recorder's IR blasters use.
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post #115 of 380
3/25/08 at 4:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Replay3030Owner View Post

I thought that the scann-and-add was broken on the Magnavox (it was advertised but it doesn't actually work). I could have sworn I read that.

That may be true, but I haven't read about it. If you find a link, please post it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rammitinski View Post

There's no way to do that at all with the RCA? Then I have no use for it. That's just one thing I have to have, as I get channels from 3 different directions.

From what I've read, there's no way to add channels to the single scan stored in memory. I'm wanting a STB for DX-ing, so unless someone posts otherwise, this RCA's off the list.
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post #116 of 380
3/25/08 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by arxaw View Post

That may be true, but I haven't read about it. If you find a link, please post it.

From what I've read, there's no way to add channels to the single scan stored in memory. I'm wanting a STB for DX-ing, so unless someone posts otherwise, this RCA's off the list.

Found them here. They also said the RCA suffers from this too.

Two posts in the Maganvox thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9#post13437429

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...5#post13458445


Quote:
Originally Posted by doswonk1 View Post

But an annoying glitch is that when I re-oriented the antenna and keyed in the channel number, the TB100 *still* couldn't "find" the channel. Apparently, I have to completely re-scan, even though the manual promises otherwise--an annoyance.

Quote:
Originally Posted by doswonk1 View Post

The problem remains that the only way to add channels is to re-run the scan--still a major negative--though by tweaking antenna position and finding the "sweet spot," I may be able to keep all the channels I've got and add my local CBS affiliate, which typically requires a substantially different antenna orientation to get a decent analog picture. Curiously enough, the RCA STB also seems to have this limitation--perhaps it and the Magnavox use the same chip or have some other similarities under the hood?

...

The Zenith, of course, offers the possibility of being able to add individual channels after running the scan
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post #117 of 380
3/25/08 at 10:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Replay3030Owner View Post

I thought that the scann-and-add was broken on the Magnavox (it was advertised but it doesn't actually work). I could have sworn I read that.

According to post#1 of the magnavox thread, manual channel add feature is not broken. See:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...23&postcount=1
Perhaps the author of the above posts was entering the mapped ch #s, instead of the actual physical (RF) ch#.

The RCA doesn't even have the manual add feature.
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post #118 of 380
3/25/08 at 2:40pm
Finally got one of the RCA's today. Having the Magnavox,Zenith,Insignia, Digital Stream,and RJTech thus far, I have to say I'd have to put the RCA
down at the bottom with the Magnavox. The big buttons on the remote are about the only thing I like about this unit. It seems sluggish to me compared to others, and the OSD - User interface doesn't seem very refined.
Not sure it will work well for Granny.
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post #119 of 380
3/25/08 at 3:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bdfox18doe View Post

Finally got one of the RCA's today. Having the Magnavox,Zenith,Insignia, Digital Stream,and RJTech thus far.

so what is your best to worst order for these boxes? ... and briefly why!
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post #120 of 380
3/25/08 at 4:09pm
During the 5 days I tested the RCA DTA800, I was annoyed at several instances of audio freeze-ups occurring after reception problems. In effect, the only cure was a "cold boot" - turning the box fully off and on again. There were other annoying limitations, although the PQ was very good and the remote was very good.

I've been disappointed at some audio fidelity issues with the Zenith DTT-900, but overall it has been satisfactory hooked up to a 2005-vintage Sony 20" WEGA Trinitron KV20FS120 standard-def television.

FYI during a visit to Wal*Mart for some unrelated shopping - including an oil change for my car - I noticed they had a stack of about 30 RCA DTA 800s and only about 4 Magnavox TB100MW9s for sale. This may reflect Wal*Mart's supply logistics rather than a massive preference of Wal*Mart's clients for the Magnavox CECB.
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