Home > Consumer Reviews > Tivax STB-T8 Digital to Analog TV Converter Box

The previous reviewer was upset about the high price Amazon charges - not about the converter's performance. I purchased two of these from another online vendor using the coupons and ended up paying an additional $45.00, so about $60.00 a piece. If you want quality, you have to pay for it. This model received high praise from Consumer Reports and I agree with them. The picture is as clear as a DVD and the sound is really good too on most stations. The stations without super sound probably has more to do with the broadcaster than the box. The remote has a number of useful buttons. Very simple to set up. The colors are a bit more intense so you may need to adjust your TV set again. I received about 30 stations initially, but deleted ten or so since they were in other languages. Very happy with my puchase. Highly recommended.

My first converter box was a Zenith DTT900. It died exactly 92 days after purchase which was 2 days after the full warranty expired - very displeased. Instead of paying Zenith the $35 they wanted to fix it, I ordered a 2nd coupon and bought the Tivax. Wow, the color is brighter and the picture is noticeably more sharp than the Zenith on the same TV. My whole family noticed it right away. Almost made me glad the Zenith died - almost. I'm very pleased with the Tivax. The only thing the Zenith has over the Tivax is that the Zenith remote can be programmed to turn on the TV so you don't need 2 remotes to watch TV. Of course, that doesn't help much if the box is dead.

I must add that although I love Amazon and their service, this box is overpriced here. It's available for less elsewhere.

After much research, including the previously mentioned Consumer Report recommendation as a best buy there, we ordered and installed this converter box about a week ago. Even with just an indoor amplified rabbit ears antenna, the quality of the picture of the channels is DVDesque and the other functionality such as the Signal (strength measuring) button are extras that help get the antenna oriented right, depending upon which channel you are trying watch. After getting everything hooked up (well illustrated in the User's Guide) I ran the Automatic Scan for the first time and instantly had more channels than before (4 PBS channels compared to one before, along with four of another Network that previously only had one using just analog). Then I pointed the antenna towards the one major city we live to the east of, ran the Update Scan and pulled in more channels without wiping out the previous channels found. Point the antenna towards the other major city we live west of, and more channels appeared rerunning the Update Scan. In all, about 26 channels with an indoor antenna that we've had for close to eight years. This converter also comes with both AV and RF cabling, unusual for most of these units. All and all, this a great solution to those who don't want to sell out... er... shell out a weekly food budget to cable every month.

I've read CNET, Amazon and several other reviews prior to my purchase. I bought this unit and the Zenith DTT901 so I could compare the two. The Zenith feels like it's built better, has a better remote, better on-screen guide and seems to produce a better picture - HOWEVER, the Tivax receives more channels (~30 compared to ~20 with the Zenith--in my area) - I've compared both units connected to the same TV with the same "rabbit ear" antenna. Also, the Tivax has a switch on the rear for Channel 3 or 4 output - with the Zenith this option is software controlled. Zenith's technical support was Outstanding - I haven't had to call Tivax. I paid $10 more for the Zenith - so overall I'd say I'm happy with both considering what I paid - I enjoy using the Zenith more.

After extensive online research. These 2 boxes consistently came up top in ratings and reviews. I knew I would not be happy with a unit that could demonstrate any compromise in video quality vs getting a unit with a programmable (VCR) timer, best program guide, or universal remote to simply turn my TV on. I could not decide which of the 2 boxes to purchase so I purchased both. Upon receipt - I tried both units. For all practical purposes both units have similar performance characteristics. The CM-7000 had the slight edge with S video output being slightly better. Features between the units were basically the same, even the size, feel and functions on the remote felt the similar. Both are great units and are recommended. If I had to pick one, I would select the CM-7000 because it had slightly better video quality with S out, channel changing seemed a tiny bit faster, and the one marginal station in my area seemed to lock in better - though different atmospheric conditions at the time may be the only reason for that. Note that all the stations in my area are all broadcasting in digital so the analog pass thru feature of the Tivax was not needed.

Both units have buttons on the converter box so you can power up and change channels without your remote. On either unit there was no instructions on if or how you get access the menu from those buttons - so I do not know if that is possible or not.

One more thing to mention: I purchased 2 units (one CM-7000 & one STB-08) to have one as a backup. Using govt coupons and low priced shipping, paying a total $7 out of pocket is a cheap backup and is cheaper than paying postage and handling in 2 directions should one unit fail in the future. I read stories on how hard it was to exchange broken units. I purchased the Tivax form Amazon. The first Tivax unit I received did not power up. It was ONE email to Amazon and a replacement unit was at my door the very next day - plus Amazon emailed me a return prepaid shipping label to return the unit to them via USPS. Zero extra cost. What a pleasurable surprise.

So for everyone grinding over the reviews and features and trying to figure out which one to get -- you can purchase either of these two units and know it was a smart choice with no regret.