This TV converter has been reported to have some reception problems. In order to avoid this you will have to get a digital antenna to go along with it.
Product Details: This digital TV converter box comes with a program guide that displays information for current and upcoming shows. The information given includes show run time, title, and descriptions. This digital TV converter box also comes with on box buttons that make it easy to control if you happen to lose your remote. One great feature of the this box is that it comes with analog pass-through so you don't lose lower power stations that aren't required to make the transition. The Access HD DTA1080D comes with adjustable closed captioning that can be edit for size, color, font, and language. Languages available include English, Spanish, and French. This digital TV converter box also comes with an external power adapter which is important because it makes it easy to use in an automobile.
This digital to analog TV converter box does not come with a universal remote control or a smart antenna port.
Access HD DTA1080D Features & Specs - Access HD DTA1080D Owners Manual
V-Chip Lock Parental Control Setting
Configurable Closed Captioning
Electronic Program Guide
English, French, and Spanish Language Support
NTIA Approved Coupon Eligible Converter Box (CECB)
Displays All 18 ATSC Formats
Composite Video Jack
Stereo Audio Jacks
75 ohm RF Video/Audio Jack (Coaxial Cable)
Sleep Timer
What Is Included With Your Purchase?
Access HD DTA1080D Converter Box
Remote Control
Remote Control Batteries
15 Comments/Reviews:
Purchased this product because it is free with coupon, and still have another coupon in case it dies.
Setup
The channel autoscan takes ~3-5 mintues. It finds all the local stations +
some that the analog could not get at all, although some digital stations are
weaker than the analog equivalent.
Quality
Picture quality is great, audio quality has a little added noise compared to
analog of same channels.
The RF output died after only 2 weeks of usage. We did not abuse the unit at
all: we used it for less than 10 hours/day and unplugged it during the night,
which should not be unreasonable. We have now resorted to the composite out
and who knows how long that will last! Thankfully the composite output
quality is the same as the RF output quality. Plan to give updates if the
composite dies and what happens when we complain to HDAcess.
Remote
The box has only three buttons! Power on, channel up and channel down. Thus you NEED the remote to do necessary tasks, like add channels. Bad news if it breaks!
Features
Has analog passthrough, works just as one would hope.
You cannot scroll through the EPG without changing the channel, which I find
annoying. The EPG does allow you to scroll through 12 hours of future
programming on your current channel.
The box has a signal strength indicator, which can be turned on from the
SIGNAL button on the remote, and turns off upon channel change or the SIGNAL
button. It gives you a number from 0-100, and it needs about 25+ to display
the channel.
The Menu has the following items:
Auto Channel Searching [allows option of full scan OR add channels, which is
very nice in case you can't get reception of all channels at once]
Channel List Editing [you can manually "delete" (i.e. hide) a channel so that
you skip it when you surf]
Change Password [for Parental Controls]
Parental Controls [V-chip]
Advanced Closed Caption [Style, Size, Font, Text Color, Text Opacity,
Background Color, Background Opacity, Edge Effect, Edge Color]
Language [English, Spanish, French]
Auto Power Down Timer [Off, 1, 2, 3, 4 Hours]
Time Zone
Overall
Does what we want it to do, but VERY disappointed that the RF output died
within a week of purchasing.
I like the 1080D, primarily because it's compact, but I have suggestion(s0 for improvement(s). In a nutshell, the unit gets hot in a short time period of use and stays hot until you turn it off. That is the unit is hotter than a vcr and hotter than my "tube" tv itself.
Without going into the "how to" and encouraging 1080D unit modification by the masses, I am cooling my 1080D with a Global 80x80x25 computer/DC fan. Basically, what you have in the back of a power supply for your computer.
My unit has run for several days consecutively without being powered down/turned off and it operates at room temperature.
I'm very pleased with the unit when it operates at this temperature. Who knows how long this particular unit lasts ?
We purchased two Access HD DTA1080D in Feb 09, both had a problem with an internal chip, causing them to not have the ability to retain the scanned channels in memory. The units were returned to the manufacture and were repaired under warrenty. Both units also produce an irritating buzz, which after following all of the manfufactures trouble shooting tips could not be corrected. This issue was reported to the manf. and we are awaiting their reply. It's been irritating and time consuming dealing with this shoddy product.
This product did not work for me. It wouldn't retain the scanned channels in memory and it was not compatible with any antenna...not worth your time
My rating for the product, service, tech. support,and just reaching someone is a minus 5 stars. the product has not worked properly since the day we received it. one week after having it does not work at all. we have been trying to contact a real person for help and the help is impossible to find. If I am asked about this company, in good faith I can not reccomend your product or company to anyone else
omend
My name is Ed. My mother inlaw purchased two DTA1080d's they scaned fine, but when you put them to stand-by then back on it says no service. So I instald a new antenna with new cable. Same thing happend. So for now she is not shutting it off.
I hooked up this converter box for the 1st time last night around 11:30pm on a bedroom TV. I turned it off at 12:30pm to go to bed & decided to move the box to a different location. The box was extremely hot. It was on a ledge so there was no reason for being that hot. I unplugged it for fear it would catch fire during my sleep. It should not generate so much heat. If my laptop computer got that hot, it would be an issue. Something must be wrong. I wish I would have seen this site before buying. The company wants my CC number before even checking the item, if they find nothing wrong, then I'm charged $25. Report your problems to https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx
Once I set up the HD1080 I discovered it takes 15 seconds to produce a screen when turning on. I kept pressing the standby button repeatedly trying to get a picture until I figured this out. It will power down instantly, but it will not turn back on right away. I discovered I have to give it about 20 seconds before it will respond to a turn on command. If I keep trying to turn it right back on after power down, it locks up and will not respond to a turn on command at all. I have to remove the power from the unit a few seconds then It goes back to work. Confusing. I wonder how many other users discovered this? Joe Maner
Tried several Access HD 1080D converters in my shop. They came up, programmed, and worked fine untill you tried to shut them off. About half the time they would freeze or lock up. Power had to be disconnected before unit would operate again. Four of the converters I tested reacted the same way. Other converters worked ok using same antenna and set.
I purchased this converter box in february when the original change was going to take place. I didn't actually set it up until last week when everything switched over but I must say I really like it. I had a little bit of trouble getting signal but it was because I had an age old antenna. I called access hd's customer service line which was busy the first few times and spoke to a really nice lady named Kelly. She helped me understand what kind of antenna I would need by telling me how far the tv station towers were from my apartment. I bought an antenna and I can watch my t.v. I'm a happy customer!
Access HD customer service is like the converter. BAD!
I too bought a Access HD DTA1080D box back in January from ABC Warehouse using the $40 coupon. I set the box up June 25th in Indian River, MI and could not get ONE channel. I had FOUR channels before the digital transition. I tried a TV set top amplified digital RCA antenna and it did not work either. I returned the TV Top Antenna and purchased a Amplified Mast Mount RCA flat pannel Antenna with 20 feet of coaxial cable. I needed to lenghten the cable an additional 25 feet. My antenna mast is 30 feet high. RCA did not recommend doing this. After hooking the converter up and doing a channel search, I was able to get 7 channels. During the evening I noticed something that smelled hot and the converter box was extremely warm. I decided to leave the converter plugged in and in standby mode for the evening. The next morning when I got out of bed the red led was not lit and I could not power up the converter. I checked voltage out of the power supply and found that it was zero. I am currently in the process of contacting Access HD, but thier web site warms of all kinds of charges to the customer if they do not diagnose the unit correctly. More to follow...
I agree with all the comments above. I purchased my box from Tiger Direct. Here is what stinks about this product in a nutshell:
1) Gets WAYYYYYYYYYYY too hot. It will almost burn you it gets so hot.
2)If you power it down it will lose the scanned channels and you will have to run another auto scan.
3)The auto scan goes through two phases which takes a total of about 4 minutes.
4)The volume function doesn't work as intended. You can turn it all the way up or all the way down. There are no increments.
5)The captions on any channel come in too late. There is a delay of about 3-4 seconds. Sometimes you won't even get them at all.
6)There is always a hissing with the audio on this unit.
I wouldn't even bother calling customer service about the product to get a replacement because I don't want another like this. You get what you pay for. I suggest spending a few extra bucks for a name brand product. It will save you a large headache in the long run.
I bought recently,after hooked up it does scan any chennel,but I have RCA box is working fine same attenna.
I just bought one last night. I wish I saw these reviews earlier. I already have a GE from Target and a Zinwell from Osco (Schaumburg,IL) and they work great. This box's audio buzzes on top of my vcr when recording. It buzzes if I use any menu print on the screen. And the worse thing is if I move (get up to wash dishes or to another room) the picture breaks up horribly. That happens rarely if at all with the GE and Zinwell. And the box is very hot.
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