Digital TV Converter Box, ATSC Tv Tuner - ZJBOX for Analog HDTV Live 1080P with Recording&Playback,HDMI Output, Timer Setting TV Tuner Function Digital Channel Free

I am using the ZJBOX Digital TV converter box with my ancient (23 y/o) 50” 1080i NEC plasma screen monitor to pull in OTA channels utilizing a roof mounted VHF/UHF Yagi antenna as my monitor still works like new and is also sometimes still used as a large screen monitor for my laptop (laptop is connected via VGA and the ZJBOX is connected with component to the plasma monitor since the old style HDMI input on the monitor would need an additional dongle to hook up to the converter box which has the newer smaller style HDMI output jack). As a side note, it is absolutely amazing how much technology has advanced and how much prices have come down (my 50” NEC 1080i, not even 1080p, plasma monitor was $12,000 23 years ago with no tuner, and I just bought a 4k 75” microLED smart TV for under $1000 😮!).Audio goes to a 7.1 channel home theater Denon A/V receiver via L/R coax RCA on the converter box. Picture quality (even at 1080i) on the plasma is excellent although some of the settings on the plasma were adjusted (brightness, contrast, gray/white level curves, etc) for the best possible image. Audio output is also very good with the Denon doing the surround processing. Out of the box, the image was clear but somewhat “muted” in impact on the major HD OTA channels grabbed by the converter box. Even though I live in a hilly canyon area, since my outdoor antenna is mounted on a second floor roof, the converter box was actually able to pull in OTA channels just as well as my new large screen smart TVs (about 125 channels!) so the converter box gets 5 stars for its ability to scan and pull in channels, although I only keep about 9-10 of the digital HD channels on my favorites list. Speaking of the “Favorites” list, the UI, although fully functional, is somewhat “clunky” and outdated in appearance. The provided printed manual is not particularly well detailed in how to navigate the converter box, although anyone with just a rudimentary amount of experience with various UI’s can easily figure out the menus with some trial and error exploration.Compared to some of the slightly even lower priced converter boxes available, I liked that this one has a metal housing (there are a number of reviews of other boxes that state that overheating is one suspected mode of failure of those other boxes, many of which are housed in plastic boxes). This one seems to be well made (for a relatively low priced converter box) and comes in a metal case which appears to have reasonable air circulation vents. Because cooling is passive and not active cooling, there is no fan noise which is a plus as due to the IR sensor being located on the front panel with no plug-in provision for a wired extended IR sensor, this converter box will likely be placed within line of sight next to your TV or monitor. To get around this, I placed my converter box into a my enclosed A/V closet for a nice neat, hidden install, and utilize a RF transmitter in the converter box remote control (the rechargeable type that replaces one of the AAA batteries in the remote) so that I do not have to have line of sight for remote control. I use a RF to IR remote control extender made by Next Generation for this. The converter box is quite responsive to the remote control and I like the convenience of not having to point the remote towards the converter box and not having to have a box sitting next to the monitor with exposed cables (good for the WAF 😂).I assume that all the internal electronic tuner/converter chips are pretty much the same between all these low priced Chinese converter boxes as the pictures of the UI on all these low priced boxes are the same so I went with this one specifically due to it having a metal housing (I set up a small DC computer fan next to the unit to prevent any overheating, although I did not notice any excess heat coming off the the box even before setting up the fan. Another reason impacting my choice of this unit over the others was that it also had component outputs in addition tot he HDMI and composite outputs (some of the lesser priced ones had only HDMI and composite outputs). For those of you connecting this to an older analogue TV with an analogue tuner and no composite, HDMI nor component inputs, there is also a coax antenna pass through on the back of the unit.So, overall, I am very pleased with this unit and give it 5 stars, especially considering its very low price. Only time will tell if the unit holds up but in the meantime it has allowed me to continue to use my plasma screen for a very low price as an OTA TV in addition as a large computer monitor (only about a $40 investment to keep a $12,000 screen working 😝)!

Despite having a tuner in my TV, this receiver solved my problem.All television tuners are NOT created equally. Digital television channels come on both VHF and UHF bands. Some televisions, either don't get at all, or do a poor job of receiving VHF channels (Samsung in particular). Where I live, I wanted to receive channel 8–2 because it shows Weather radar. The tuner inside one of my televisions could not receive this VHF band channel.Generally, I watch television using my DIRECTV TiVo receiver. But terrestrial television offers additional choices.My ONLY complaint is the display on the webpage shows the digital display to be red, mine is green. I would prefer to have red. (At least it wasn't blue, that everyone hates.)I'm getting a beautiful 1080p picture. You will always get best results with an antenna on your roof, attic is your next best choice.(Please ignore the messy wires, my set up was temporary, to see if it worked.)

I purchased this converter box so that I could get local channels with my antenna on my TV. After reviewing several I decided to purchase this one and I am glad that I did. The set up was easy and the instructions were easy to follow. I can now get all my local channels plus many more. The only downside is that the remote takes two triple A batteries and they do not come with the box. It's not a huge deal but it would have bene nice if they came with them. Nothing that a trip to the store could not fix. Overall, I am really happy that I found this converter box and purchased it.

I was having difficulty with TV channels breaking up. I had an antenna attached to my wall but it was not helping. A friend suggested I purchase this 'box'. It works. I did find it's better to leave it on all the time rather than shut it off. I am only giving it 4 stars because I cannot figure out how to get the captions turned on. I use captions as I am trying to control the volume (apartment life) and I watch a lot of British TV and with some of their accents it can, at times, be a problem to understand what is being said...frustrating.

Great tuner for over the air signals to TV interface. A must have if TV does not have a tuner. Very easy to set up and control.