I have a DVR Cable Box from Insight, do I have to buy a converter box?
Tim recently posted a question:
I HAVE A DVR CABLEBOX FROM INSIGHT DO HAVE TO BUY CONVERTER BOX
Hello Tim,
Good news, you are already receiving Digital Television. With a DVR box from Insight, you’re receiving a digital signal capable of DTV and HDTV (Depending on the TV you’re using). Source: Insights Digital Cable Page
Let me know if you have any other questions,
Jay
We were told that you won’t be able to receive DTV channels more than 50 miles away from the broadcast tower, is this true?
Joy recently posted a question:
Someone told us that with the converter boxes you wouldn’t be able to get channels more than 50 miles away, is this true or will we be able to get what we’re getting now?
Should we get the smart antenna or is our regular antenna going to work? We don’t want to keep spending money and then none of it work
Hello Joy, great question,
You’ll want to first try using your existing tv antenna. If you currently receive good reception on analog broadcast waves, the odds are slightly tipped in your favor to receive digital television (DTV) signals, with the same antenna.
Connect your existing antenna digital-to-analog converter box connected to an analog TV. Be sure to perform a “channel scan,” the first time you use your converter box, this will allow the converter box to automatically check to see which stations it can receive and save them to memory.
Improving Reception
TV reception can be affected by trees, buildings, and weather so you may want to check the location of your antenna for such obstructions.
Often, a small adjustment in the direction that the antenna is facing will make a huge difference in DTV reception. It’ll most likely be a trial and error the first time you connect your digital converter box to your tv.
Worst case scenario, you may want to have an antenna technician come out ($50/hour) to troubleshoot for you. In most instances, it shouldn’t take more than an hour or two to diagnose and modify your setup to be optimized for DTV. I’ve recommend this before, but it’s definitely not the cheapest altenative.
I purchased a converter box but received a “No Signal” Message after I hooked it up
Mark recently posted a question:
I have purchased two of the RCA converter boxes with the coupon program and have tried to hook them up to my TV’s. When I hook them up I get the message NO Signal. I live in the Saint Louis area and without the converter (just using my rooftop antenna) I get a good picture on several channels. What is the problem and how can I correct this?
Hello Mark, thank you for visiting!
When you get a chance, can you email me and let me know if you have tried connecting your rooftop antenna to the DTV converter boxes? Have you tried changing the channels on the converter boxes after the message “No Signal” appears on the TV?
I spent memorial weekend driving from St. Louis to Chicago, and was blown away by all of the green landscape and tree’s you guys have!
Anyway, according to consumer reports.org ,you’ll see a black screen that says “Weak or no signal” if you’re either too far from a tower or with too many obstacles in the way. How tall is the antenna from the ground?
You may want to try connecting a different powered antenna, just to confirm that you don’t have any problems with your roof antenna. Weather can wreak havoc on roof top mounted antennas over time, especially on the coax cabling.
Worst case scenario (not the cheapest alternative!), you may want to have an antenna technician come out ($50/hour) to troubleshoot for you. In most instances, it shouldn’t take more than an hour to diagnose and modify your setup to be optimized for DTV.
Let me know about my questions above, via email or by commenting on this article below.
Do I have to buy a certain brand converter box for a certain brand TV?
Linda recently posted a question:
question? do you need to buy a certain brand converter to go with a certain brand tv??? or will any converter work with any brand of tv?. thanks!
Hello Linda, and thanks for visiting…
No, you do not have to buy a certain brand of digital converter (CECB) to work with a certain brand of television set for DTV. The main consideration you’ll want to weigh before your purchase will be the type of connection into the TV that the converter box will need to have.
Most all converter boxes have (2) types of outputs to connect into your TV, though only (1) is really needed. A coaxial (RF Output) connection and a composite rca connection (red, white, yellow). You’ll probably want to use the coax connection into the TV and save the composite inputs on the TV for your VCR or DVD player.
Typical specs on a good all around converter box look like this:
| Cables Included | A/V cable, RF cable | ||
| Supported Languages | English | ||
| Inputs | 1 x “F” Plug(Antenna in) | ||
| Outputs | 1 x “F” Plug(To TV), 1 x RCA(Audio), 1 x RCA(Video) | ||
