Zenith DTT900

Home made fractal antenna 

basement

55406 

$60 minus the $40 coupon 

The digital signal produces a crisper, clearer picture than standard cable or analog OTA. And the additional digital channels are nice. The homemade fractal antenna is small and easy to make, and it works better than the $40 powered rabbit ears I bought.

DIGITAL STREAM DTX9950

In Attic Radio Shack VHF/UHF powered disc ... thing? Odd 

ground level

54022 

$20 Plus the Gubment Card 

We had fair to good reception on 2, 4, 5, 11, and 17 prior to the "box". Number 9, 23, 29 and 45 were spotty, depending on weather and other factors. After the box, we couldn't believe our eyes - I could actually see baseball scores or read streamers. We get all stations plus Wisc Pub Tel out of Eau Clare (only after the 19th of Feb). We lose number 4 once in a while - odd. It will go from signal 5 to 0. I'll have to tweak the attic antenna - some day. Tele has never been a big deal, so we'll get to it when... The only other thing I've noticed is the audio is not in synch with the video, e.g. Lip Synch is off - another reason to not watch local newsies - not only do they sound like idiots, now they look the part too. I'm wondering if this lag is due to analog tube in conjunction with the box.

Insignia NS-DXA1

rabbit ears/loop combination 

ground level

55112 

Cost minus the coupon 

Have had two of the Insignias set up and working since November. One in living room and one in kitchen.Very infrequent pixalation on three or four channels. If this happens, we just lower one of the rabbit ears a bit and it clears up.

Zenith DTT900

indoor UHF bow tie type 

upper floor

55024 

$60 less $40 coupon 

Best, along with Insignia NS-DXA1-APT which is the same box under a different brand name, of the four boxes I've tested. See additional comments in my other reviews titled "Farmington,MN followed by brand name of boxes.

RCA DTA800B1

home made indoor UHF loop 

upper floor

55024 

$50 

Basic box with few features compared to others. I tested four boxes:Insignia, Zenith, GE and this one. Picture with this slightly better than the mediocre GE box. Sensitivity not as good as Insignia/Zenith sibling boxes; both of which are excellent. Spend the extra $10 for the Zenith or Insignia boxes if you want best picture and most useful features. ANTENNA NOTE: Most TC stations will broadcast digital signals on UHF frequencies. Neighbors of mine have complained that they were unable to get some station using their "rabbit ears". That's because the "rabbit ears" is a dipole VHF antenna - the two extendable metal rods on top of the TV that you swivel around in order to get the best picture. Those work for channels 2-13 only. Even though you may be tuning to one of those channels, the actual digital signal is being broadcast on a UHF channel; 14 and above. In order to get the digital channels, you need to adjust the UHF antenna - usually a wire loop about 8 inches in diameter - that's part of your combination set top antenna. Some TV's came with a UHF antenna that looks like a wire "bow tie" that clips onto one of the rabbit ears. I removed that from the rabbit ears and mounted it on a piece of scrap wood so that it can sit on top of the set and be positioned facing toward the broadcasting antennas in Shoreview. I even made a UHF loop antenna from a 2 foot long piece of leftover solid copper wire that worked very well. See additional comments in my other reviews titled "Farmington,MN" followed by the brand name of the other three boxes mentioned above, that I've tried .

Tivax STB-T9

Simple loop; also, Yaga 

ground level

55016 

coupon + $10 

This was on first floor of building in Cottage Grove. It is 18.8 miles from Shoreview. Reception was perfect on all channels. I expected to need a Yagi antenna, but simple $5 loop from Radio Shack was equally good.

Insignia NS-DXA1

Indoor UHF hoop style  

other

55024 

$59.99 

Excellent picture. Many features. Small but easy to use remote. Exactly the same as Zenith DTT 901. These two boxes are the best of the four boxes I tested. See additional comments in my review titled "Farmington,MN_GE box"

GE 22729

indoor UHF bow tie style 

upper floor

55024 

$60 less $40 coupon 

This box is the worst of the four boxes I've tried. Picture breaks up, pixelates, more easily than other boxes. Volume seems to vary too much from one channel to another. Remote requires full channel number be entered ; for example: 17.4,. Other remotes will switch to channel 17.1 by just entering 17; then using channel up button to switch to sub-channel. RCA DTA800B1 for $10 less, is slightly better than this GE. For the same cost you can get the significantly better Insignia NS-DXA1-APT or it's identical Zenith DTT901. Both the Insignia and Zenith boxes are easy to set up and use and produce an excellent picture.

RCA DTA 800A

rabbit ears 

upper floor

Not rated

87124 

$50 

It is not possible to control two RCA DTA 809's independently in the same room. All the remotes operate on the same frequency which cannot be changed. This makes it so you cannot record one program on a VCR with one unit and watch another show on the TV using another unit.

COSHIP N9901T

Optima rabbit ears about 10 years old purchased at Target 

upper floor

55413 

Only paid shipping after the coupon--$13.00 to ship 2 

Ordered on line from E & E Electronics. Received in about a week. Super easy set up--cable (included) between TV & converter box, antenna to box, power cord plugged in. Had to adjust the antenna a bit but now I get channels this old TV wouldn't get before (4, 17, anything over 29).