Home > Consumer Reviews > Winegard RCDT09A Digital To Analog TV Converter Box

Firstly, you can take advantage immediately of the new digital transition. Extra channels are already up and running. The FCC allowed each station to broadcast up to four stations at a time. Here in So Cal PBS now has an all Spanish broadcast, NBC weather & sports rebroadcasts. So there will be programs/stations that your cable subscription just won't cover.
Here are a couple of links to get you on your way to making a decision:

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/station/digitaltv/

click on the first PDF and you might figure out how to get the Consumer Reports ratings for the convereter boxes. Apparently what's availible now on Amazon are one's with the best picture. But digital pictures are ghost-free so the pictures will look better regardless.

https://www.dtv2009.gov/FAQ.aspx

This should help a little to alot as well.

As for functionality/set-up of this particular unit let's just say reading the instructions was not even a consideration. You hook your antenna F connector to the box, hook the included F cable from the box to the TV, plug the included 'wall wart' ie voltage adapter to the ac source & converter box, once you have a green led glowing, push menu on the very ergonomic remote control and have the box automatically look for digital stations. If you had to put up with snowy pictures in the past you should be impressed with the difference in picture quality. However, pictures from extra weak signals will stall & pixelate. Satellite transmissions did the same thing so this anomaly should be rather familiar to long-term tv watchers.

There is also composite audio/video rca jacks for hooking up to an AV receiver, so you should get Dolby digital fidelity, However surround 5.1 sound would come from an optical/digital co-ax jack which this unit does not have, and I don't think any Government paid units have s/pdif jacks either. The AV receiver would do simulated surround sound which should suffice should you so choose to engage. But good ol' plain ol' stereo still has it's merits, trust me. Clarity might be one virtue.

This 'not being sold right now' unit also has pass-through. Just turn it off and the old familiar analog stations should come through to the tv even though the box is off. After February they won't be there; however.

Like I indicated, remote is as simple as it gets but I like it. Batteries for it included.

I don't expect this review to be viewed much, but hopefully the links will get you going in the right direction.

Good Luck. I think you'll like the transition.

I bought the Winegard converter to use in my motorhome. I thouht it would be better to use a Windgard product since my RV antenna is a Winegard. I am glad that I did. It works beautifully and I am amazed at the quality of pictures that I am getting on the road. I am getting more and better chanels than I did with analog TV.
My son has a high definition LCD tv using satellite TV in Houston and even he was impressed by the pictures on my 15 Inch LCD TV in my RV.
The converter is well designed and has many options for the picture. I am using the RCA plugs into a set of Ampex computer speakers and the sound is very good.
It has the best menu that I have ever seen for editing channels--very easy to use.
The only thing that I would suggest to Winegard is to leave the mute on while surfing channels. I am not sure if there is any way to do this, but as set up it restores the sound as soon as you switch to a new channel.
I highly recommend this converter after having used in on the road for the past 5 weeks in 5 states.

This is a converter box with analog pass-through. I have nothing to compare this box with, except my expectations. Well, it exceeded my expectations! I already picked 11 channels and there will be several more when all of them convert from analog to digital. The picture clarity is great - of course when it's there. Now, when I ask: "What are you watching", I want to know if it's TV or DVD, that's how good the picture is.

A few specifics:
* Even with VCR, DVD, antenna and surge protector, installation was fast and easy.
* Upon first scan for channels, we found 7 of them. We scanned again very late at night and found 11 of them. Some of them are not available at all times, but with the analog channels still available (that's where the 'pass-through' comes handy) there is plenty to watch. We live in rather dense area (not much open space) and I really didn't expected a lot of good digital signal here with cheap rabbit ears.
* Programing is also very easy. The screen ratio is set to auto adjust and most of the time it works just fine, but it takes a few seconds to "catch up".

What may annoy you:
* When signal becomes distorted, the screen breaks into pixels and vanishes. Of course this issue cannot be avoided and I still think that I am getting better reception than the foggy and snowy analog, but that's me.
* Even though the screen ratio should adjust automatically, on some channels we have to do it manually. Easy but annoying.
* The remote does not replace the original TV remote. You will need both, plus VCR, plus DVD, plus antenna (if you have one). I am flipping four remotes now and the fifth will come with the new antenna. Annoying! It's time to find a good universal remote, I guess.

A word of advise: If you are going to use the government $40 coupon, go first to www.amazon/tv to redeem the coupon and then to checkout. I wish I figured that out before I called CS for help and made myself sound like a silly goose.

I purchased this converter box, mainly because of the respected Winegard name--but it has been very disappointing. For some reason, it just will not pick up our local channel 2. I bought this box for a small portable TV in my den and a second, cheaper box from the local Walmart for the portable TV on my kitchen table. The cheaper, competing brand (Magnavox) picks up all channels. But despite trying both boxes on identical TVs and antennas--the Winegard is clearly the inferior brand. It will pick up all other channels--but simply cannot bring in the reception on channel 2. I can't figure it out.

This is a great converter box; I liked the first one I bought from Amazon so well I bought a second one just like it a month later. Winegard is a well-respected brand, known for their RV-related TV products (stowable TV antennas, digital satellite antennas, etc.). As a freelance writer, I've reviewed many of their products over the years and knew this would be a good gamble.

The box is much more attractive than comparably-priced RCA boxes available at WalMart and other retailers & the attractive grey finish is a perfect match for our Sony Trinitron TV. The box is super-easy to set up and features a highly intuitive on-screen menu that's easy to use. We love it--elegant simplicity & a great Amazon price! Don't forget to get your government coupon to receive your $40 discount at checkout...