Best Digital Converter Boxes

The younger generation is so familiar with digital TV, it’s hard for them to conceive of anything else (try to describe to them what it was like to use a rotary phone!). There’s a good reason for that. Television stations in the United States have been required to broadcast only digital transmissions since 2009. (There are still some stations broadcasting analog content–but you have to travel far and wide to find them.) To receive digital transmissions, you’ll need one of three options:

• A digital television,

• An analog television with a built-in digital tuner, or

• Attaching a digital converter box, which converts the digital TV signal into an analog signal, to your analog TV.

Buying a new digital TV can cost a few hundred dollars. But a digital converter box will cost around $30-$40, and you’ll be able to get almost all of the digital TV content available nowadays. We’ll look at the features and characteristics of the MSN list of the top 10 digital converter boxes. They’ll have your analog TV working like new!

What Features Should I Look For in a Digital Converter Box?

• Types of outputs: A digital converter box will have a number of outputs, as we see in the eXuby Digital Converter Box, for example:

Back Panel of the eXuby Digital Converter Box

• • Coaxial: This is for connecting to a TV with a coaxial cable.

  • HDMI: This is for hooking up to a newer digital TV if you want to use your digital converter box for recording TV content.

  • YPbPr: This is for composite video, dividing brightness and color information. It has three inputs: green for brightness (Y), blue for blue color (Pb), and red for red color (Pr).

  • RCA: This will have three outputs: CVBS, which stands for “Color, Video, Blank, and Sync”, AR, which stands for ”Audio Right”, and AL for “Audio Left” for stereo audio.

  • Antenna In/Antenna Out: You disconnect the antenna from your TV set, and attach the antenna instead to the Antenna In port. Then use another coaxial cable to connect from the Antenna Out port to your TV’s antenna.

  • Ch.3/Ch.4: Some digital converter boxes have a switch to allow you to set either Channel 3 or Channel 4 on your TV set for the Settings screen, depending on which channel is inactive in your area. The Settings screen will allow you to select the interface language, and search for channels. Also, it lets you select whether you want to play back content on Channel 3 or 4. We see this in the MediaSonic HomeWorx UltraSlim Digital Converter Box.

MediaSonic HomeWorx UltraSlim Digital Converter Box, Front and Back Panels

• Improved Picture Resolution: While analog TV was limited to 525 horizontal lines on the screen, digital TVs work with individual pixels on the screen. For example, when we say that a TV has 1080p resolution (or Full High-Definition, FHD), that means that every line consists of 1080 pixels vertically and 1920 horizontal pixels. This creates a much smoother picture, with more accurate colors. After installing a digital converter box, you’ll see a marked improvement in the picture quality, without any of the interference or “snow” that was so common with analog TV. You’ll notice that you can adjust the resolution on a digital converter box: 1080p, 1080i, 720p, and 526p.

• Auto-tuning: Some digital converters, like the eXuby Digital Converter Box, come with an indoor antenna, and have an auto-tuning feature, to tune the sound and picture so that you get the best possible results, automatically, without having to fiddle with the position of the antenna every time!

eXuby Digital Converter Box and Antenna

What Are Some Tips in Using a Digital Converter Box?

Here are some tips for taking advantage of the features of a digital converter box:

• Parental Control: Many digital converter boxes have parental control, which allows you to block inappropriate shows which aren’t appropriate for children or youth.

• Media player: Your analog TV won’t have any USB port. But, if you hook up a digital converter box, you’ll be able to insert a USB flash drive or hard drive, and play movies, TV programs, or music that you have recorded, anytime that you want on your TV set!

• Recording: The remote control will probably have a “record” button, which will allow you to record the station that you’re presently viewing onto a flash drive.

• Scheduling a recording: You can also record a program at a certain time in the future. From the “Settings” screen, you can press “EPG” on the remote control, for “Electronic Program Guide”. It will let you know what programs will be on, a week in advance! Select a particular program, as well as the length of time that you wish to record. However, you won’t be able to record two programs simultaneously!

• Improving reception: If you notice that you get better reception when the antenna is hooked up to the TV set directly than when connected via the Digital Converter Box, you may want to buy a better antenna, or perhaps a preamplifier, to increase the signal entering your TV.

• Types of media files: Take note of the types of media files that can be played via your digital converter box. For example, the Ematic AT103B Digital Converter Box can play and view files of the types MP3, AAC, AVI, MPG, DAT, VOB, MKV, MJPEG, JPEG, BMP, and PNG.

Wrap Up

We’ve gone through some of the features of digital converter boxes, which allow you to view digital content on an analog television set. It will also allow you to record TV content to an external drive, and then view it later. These little gadgets are just a small investment, and they don’t take up much space at all. (You can check out other electronic gadgets to improve your viewing experience among the MSN buying guides.) Check out some of the offerings in the MSN top 10 Digital Converter Boxes, and select one today!