Product Rating: 1.5
This TV converter has been known to have SD display issues and also many reception issues. Reception issues are common among all converter boxes however, and a good digital antenna will fix this problem. This product has now been upgraded to include analog pass-through and renamed/branded as the Digital Stream DSP7700T.
Product Details: It has been reported that it has a picture quality that is better than that of analog TV but was still a notch below others, putting it in the ever common "2nd tier". When watching SD content there was an obvious blurring and stretching of images but its HDTV picture quality is excellent. The sound quality this provides is comparable to that of the top converter boxes on the market, which is a significant upgrade over average analog broadcast sounds. Currently it is no longer available and we recommend the Tivax STB-T8 as a replacement.
Features: One thing it does have that is better than most is one of the best programming guides available. If this is the most important feature to you then perhaps you should consider it. Its program guide displays the show title, run time, and a brief summary of the show. It also shows all of this same information for the upcoming several hours of programming. Most others only show the upcoming show titles and don't provide any type of description. It also allows its users to use the auto scan function or individually tune channels to their liking. Lastly, a rare feature that we saw here is an on screen signal strength meter to helps assist users in tuning a channel. This converter box does not come with analog pass-through.
Overall it comes with good sound quality but is lacking good SD picture quality and analog pass-through. We do not recommend it and suggest that you instead look at alternatives from our list of the best TV converter boxes.
Update December 2013
Real User Reviews: As you can see from the users experiences below this model is no exception to the rule with Digital Stream. It seems that all versions have the same defect and ultimately fail. We'd steer clear of anything by this company until they address the issue.
Mark Said...
John Said...
Specs
V-Chip Parental Control Setting
Configurable Closed Captioning
Electronic Program Guide
Sleep Timer
Energy Star Compliant
English, French, and Spanish Language Support
Compact Size
75 ohm Connector
What Is Included With Your Purchase?
Converter Box
Universal Remote Control
Remote Control Batteries
Coaxial Cable
Overall it comes with good sound quality but is lacking good SD picture quality and analog pass-through. We do not recommend it and suggest that you instead look at alternatives from our list of the best TV converter boxes.
Update December 2013
Real User Reviews: As you can see from the users experiences below this model is no exception to the rule with Digital Stream. It seems that all versions have the same defect and ultimately fail. We'd steer clear of anything by this company until they address the issue.
Mark Said...
"I bought two in May of 2008. The first one died 4/15/2010, the second one died today 8/23/2010. When I called Digital Stream in April 2010, they couldn't have been less interested. They said they would repair it for $30 if I sent it in at my expense, but no guarantees. That means I would be out the $30 whether they could fix it or not. I chose not to.
In support of this product, the picture was clearer than analog tv, the program listing feature works better than my other converter box (more information). But I would recommend you stay clear of Digital Stream anything as it appears all of them fail eventually."
John Said...
"I had 2 boxes and one broke (my fault). The second one had the same problem everyone else is having, the flashing green light. I saved the broken one and decided to open them both up. I could see that the one with the flashing green light had a component that was burnt out so I replaced it with the same component from the first box and it worked...for about 6 months. I am now finding out that the component piece is an electrolytic capacitor and costs about $2. It's pretty easy to replace, so I'm going to buy another capacitor. You shouldn't have to do this every 6 months. I would definitely go with a different brand next time."
Specs
V-Chip Parental Control Setting
Configurable Closed Captioning
Electronic Program Guide
Sleep Timer
Energy Star Compliant
English, French, and Spanish Language Support
Compact Size
75 ohm Connector
What Is Included With Your Purchase?
Converter Box
Universal Remote Control
Remote Control Batteries
Coaxial Cable