- Easy to connect
- Analog pass-through
- On-Screen program guide
- Eligible for $40 off with government coupon
After doing a lot of research, I decided to wait for this converter before getting my coupons. I recommend it, but it does have its drawbacks.
The Pros
1) I'm getting 22 crystal clear channels now, compared to 3 clear and 7 fuzzy analog stations I was getting before.
2) The Guide, presents you with a grid that you can page through to see whats on.
3) The Search presents you with a chronological list of what's on, and can be filtered by spelling part of the name. And then you can SAVE your searches for future use. For example FOOTBALL can be saved and reused every Saturday.
4) The Browse feature, is great when you are watching something, but would really like to see what else is on, or what's going to be on next. This lets you explore other channels and other time slots, while not missing the dialog of the current show. I use this feature when I want to explore during commercials and don't want to miss out when the show resumes.
5) The event timer is great, because I go through the list of shows and have the unit change all my channels automatically after I planned my viewing for the day. You can set up an event timer while using the guide, search or browse function.
6) One of my favorite features is I can rename the channels, so I can call the stations ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, CW instead of the number and call letters, which is great because I travel a lot and can never remember the channels.
7) These boxes can be controlled with Echostar and Dish codes for universal remotes, which is good because there is no way to control this box without a remote. No Power, +Channel, no menus.... .
The Cons:
1) Tech support isn't too sharp. I've had 3 problems and tech support couldn't solve any of them, and didn't give me any usable guidance.
2) I had the clock time wrong which was really annoying because it kept showing me the information for the previous show when changing channels. This also screwed up the event timer. It wouldn't work because the time was wrong. There is no way to correct the time through any menu options. I called tech support 2 times and both techs kept telling me that the time was picked up from the individual channels. Well how could ALL OF THEM be 20 minutes behind. Finally I reinstalled the unit, and the time self corrected on ALL the channels. It appears the long power outage that we had screwed up the clock.
3) I have several of these units under the TR40CRa and DTVPal label, but on one, the remote isn't working well for me, sometimes only changing channels when the remote is held 2 inches in front of the box. I changed the batteries out and I swapped out the remote. Neither action helped. The only way to correct this, is to unplug the unit and then plug it back in, sometimes several times until the unit until the green light goes out and stays out. I'm thinking that this happens anytime there is any stress put on the cords, but I can't cause it to happen on purpose, so it might be caused by some download going on in the background. Its really annoying when it happens.
4) This unit REQUIRES A REMOTE, there is no way to operate it without a remote. If your prone to misplacing your remote you will have a real problem because after february 2009, you won't be able to fall back to analog if your remote goes missing!!
Buy Dish Network TR40CRA Now
This is the best digital to analog converter box available. I have tried the RCA model, the ZENITH model which is also the same as the insignia model and this one is the best. Why? As far as reception, they all worked the same for me. But when you hit the guide button, the other models show 1 or 2 shows ahead but the guide on the TR-40 converter shows a huge guide hours ahead. Its the same guide you would see on your cable or satellite receiver. Since this converter is made by Dishnetwork, I'm guessing they are using the satellite program guide, but it is worlds ahead of any other converter. The TR-40 is also very small , half the size of the other converters and does not get hot when left on 24hrs. Don't waste your time with the other converters, this is the one to buy. I used my goverment coupons on 2 of these and sent the RCA and Zenith models back ....
Read Best Reviews of Dish Network TR40CRA Here
This is an excellent box with a better Channel Guide than almost all other converters. I got it yesterday and have worked on getting my ancient rabbit ears w/ UHF loop to work ever since. No luck. Tonight I bought a Radio Shack 15-1878 indoor amplified antenna 35$ just to see what it would do before I bought an outdoor UHF antenna and it works like a champ. Keep it in mind if yours doesn't work well enough.
IMPORTANT: Move this converter box as far away from your antenna as possible if the antenna is indoors. My signal went from an unwatchable 63 with the antenna base sitting on top of the converter which was on the TV, to 88-90 with the antenna still on the TV and the converter three feet+ away on the counter. Second trick not in the manual, if you want to delete a channel from the ones it finds (maybe not your language, etc.), the DELETE button in the list is grayed out and you can't choose it. The trick is to highlight the channel and press SELECT. That puts a check in the tiny, nearly invisible box on the left. NOW the DELETE button is available! One last thing. Any static you see is the result of your cables right by the TV, not interference. There is no interference on digital TV so the signal's clean when it leaves the converter box. Get your power cords away from your coax cables and do not tie your coax cables into coils. You'll have static. Stretch them out straight and use all available cable length to move this box away from your indoor antenna. Your signal will shoot up.
The supplied remote is very powerful. It works when pointed anywhere in the room, even the opposite direction. They give you batteries and a coax cable in the box so you don't have to buy anything else to get going, except an outlet splitter because you'll plug in three things; TV, antenna's amplifier, and converter. The converter comes with yet another plug-in transformer and a 4' or 5' cord. The picture is crystal clear on my little TV (once I moved the power cord and uncoiled the coax) on all channels that have any signal at all. That was far from the case when I was using the ancient rabbit ears. Another of its very useful features not on many other boxes is the ability to see numerical signal strength while you adjust the antenna. I bought two of these things and am glad I did. Very nice.
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I got this converter box simply because I liked the price. I found it online for free plus shipping, after my government coupon discount. I wasn't expecting it to be much, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Set-up was easy. Instructions were clear and within minutes I was up and running with all my local channels memorized.
Pros:
The picture quality is very good.
The remote is very much like a Dish remote. If you have used a Dish remote before, it will be a no-brainer.
The codes the the remote uses are the same as Dish satellite receiver codes, so if your TV remote can operate a Dish receiver, it will be able to operate this converter box.
Small size. This box is tiny. It really is the size of a paperback book!
Aspect ratio You can choose aspect ratio to make 4:3 images fit your 4:3 TV when they are being broadcast on a 16:9 channel. It does this automatically for channels being broadcast in 4:3.
Program Guide How well your local broadcasters keep their program info up to date is how well the program guide will populate. Mine do a good job for the most part so the guide is very useful for me. You get to see a full grid of what's on now and into the future on all channels, much like Dish service.
Event Timer If you wish to view or record a show with your VCR, you can just click on a show in the guide and set a timer event. A little green "clock" icon on the individual program in the guide will remind you of what programs you've chosen to record.
Event Search You can search using key words or partial words to find programs within the guide. You can set it to look in the program title, description or both. Your remote's numerical keypad works much like a cell phone keypad, so you can type A, B or C by hitting 2 one, two or three times. This is faster than using the onscreen keyboard.
Manual Channel Search You can scan the frequencies one by one and see if there is anything being broadcast in your area that was not picked up in the initial scan. Using this method, you can pick up a weak signal, tell the TR40 to scan it, and the TR40 will display the station ID if available. Also the frequency will be displayed. Perfect for those who like to attempt to get far off stations.
Cons I know, I gave it 5 stars, but I rounded up from 4.5...
I would like the guide better if it displayed the lower channel numbers at the top the list, rather than the bottom. It seems to make more sense that way.
I think it should offer support for 16:9 TV's. Some people may be buying it for a DVD recorder hooked to a 16:9 TV. Also, it's worth the purchase price just for the guide alone.
Takes a few moments to display a picture sometimes since it needs to download new guide info off the air.
Pros: Easy Setup, Pass Through optionOn or Off, Two output options-Composite or Coaxial, menu options are intuitive, Event Timer programming capability
Cons: No buttons on the front panel, Tech Support, no component cable, and remote a little bulky
Summary: Tech Support Request your Social Security number to set up an account to talk to you. They will not be accomadating in using another number besides your Social Security number as an ID number.
Product received is GP brand 5 card retail packaging. I use them for PC CMOS replacement OEM batteries in computers and embedded equipment real-time-clocks in industrial applications.
