Hands-On Review: Zenith DTT900 digital-to-analog converter box

I don't know how many of you have experienced the same thing as me, but the government-issued DTV coupons are taking forever and a day to arrive in my mailbox.  I applied on the first day of the program, and still have not yet seen my coupons.  My girlfriend, however, got hers a few weeks ago and she applied several weeks after I did.  Go figure.  In any event, getting her set up with a new DTV converter box has given me the opportunity to write my first hands-on review of one of these units.

    After doing a bit of online research, it appears that most of us in Northeast Wisconsin will have a small handful of choices if we choose to walk into a local store and buy one in person.  So far, there is a Digital Stream-branded unit at Radio Shack, a Magnavox unit at Wal-Mart, a house-brand Insignia model at Best Buy and this Zenith DTT900 model available at Circuit City and Radio Shack.  Reportedly, the Insignia and Zenith units are mostly the same, with both being manufactured by electronics-maker LG.  With my girlfriend's first DTV coupon, we purchased this Zenith DTT900 box at Circuit City in Grand Chute.  The store only had two in stock at the time, and they were tucked quietly away on the back bottom shelf of a free-standing display in the home video electronics department.  There was a small selection of antennas on a shelf above the box, but none appeared to be more than basic or amplified rabbit ears.  Depending on their location, most people in Appleton might get weaker results than expected.

    We installed this on her bedroom TV, an older Emerson TV/VCR combo with only a coaxial cable input.  The antenna is a standard set of retractable rabbit ears.  We already had a RF modulator box connected to this TV, so we connected the antenna to the DTT900, then a coax cable connected to the input on the RF modulator, which was then connected to the TV.  While this sounds like a complicated setup for such an old television, I know we're not the only ones that make connections such as these when you're stuck with an older analog set.  Surprisingly, the daisy chain of accessories didn't degrade the picture on either broadcast TV or the DVD player, even though we're only using the cheap RG59-style coax cables that came with both the DTT900 and the RF modulator.  The apartment is on the top floor of a three-story complex in Green Bay, near Highway 41 and Hansen Road, about 9-11 miles from the broadcast towers.  The line-of-sight to the towers shoots through several other adjacent apartments.

    Unboxing the DTT900, it comes with everything you'd expect to come with a quality converter box -- a remote and single AAA battery, all necessary A/V cables, a quick-start guide and a user manual.  The power cable is permanently attached to the unit.  While I, a relatively electronics-savvy fellow, connected the box to the TV, I would highly doubt anyone would have trouble connecting this box to their TV.  The quick-start guide is adaquate to walk you through the process, however if you've ever connected a VCR or DVD player to your TV, this should be pretty much the same drill.  There's five jacks on the box -- a coaxial antenna input, a coaxial output (which connects to the TV), and the standard audio/video composite outputs you can connect to an auxiliary jack on your TV or VCR, if you are so equipped.  If you connect to the TV using a coaxial cable, it uses Channel 3 like a standard VCR would, but you can alternately set it to use Channel 4 in the on-screen setup menu if it works better for you.

    Plugging it in for the first time, it greats you with a very easy-to-understand step-by-step setup process.  Most will be able to go through this process without even having to unwrap their user manual.  The font size for on-screen text is a little small if you have a smaller screen, as is the text size of the on-screen program guide and info.  If you're seriously getting a DTV converter for a TV smaller than 13 inches... you may want to hit Craigslist for a cheap used TV in a bigger size.  I doubt they'll be hard to find these days!  The process is fairly self-explanatory, but those not familiar with digital television might wonder what it means on screens like the one asking what your TV's aspect ratio is (don't worry, it defaults to 4:3).  Oh yeah, if this is your first foray into digital TV, don't freak out when it says 0 channels found after it passes Channel 2, 5, 11 and so on when scanning for channels.  It will look for physical channels first, then will automatically "map" them to the familiar 2-1, 2-2, 26-1, etc.  The first "physical" channel you should be seeing it recognize is Channel 21, which is WIWB's (The CW) digital frequency.  All told, the step-by-step setup took all of 30 seconds. 

    Setting up the remote is a breeze as well.  It will do basic functions for your TV, meaning it will turn it on and control the volume.  Note that it won't control your television's volume, but the volume it outputs through the box itself.  I would recommend setting the volume on your TV to a moderate level and then controling the DTT900's volume instead.  The beautiful part of the remote is there's no complicated codes to program into it.  You hold down a button and repeatedly press the TV Power button as it cycles through 45 internal codes.  When your TV turns off or on, release the button and hit the TV Power button again.  If it cycles on or off again, the correct code is already locked in and ready to go!  As the existing remote for this Emerson TV was broken, a working remote power button becomes quite a novelty on an older TV!  If you are installing this for a senior citizen, note that the remote might be a tad small and the print on the remote might be less than suitable for those with sight difficulties.

    (By the way, if you are installing this in a bedroom where you are bothered by extraneous light, be aware the DTT900 has warm glowing "power" light on the front.  It glows red when its off and blue when it's on, but I wouldn't think it's bright enough to disrupt sleep.  Bear in mind, though, I'm a deep sleeper so your experience may vary!)

    Once the setup is complete, you should see 13 channels if your signal strength is good and the setup found all available channels in our area.  Not only will you see the ones you're used to seeing for years, but there will be two additional WBAY channels and four additional WPNE channels.  Navigating through the channels is as easy as hitting Channel Up or Down, as you are used to.  This unit also allows you to cycle through subchannels fairly easily.  If you enter the channel number 38, it shows a list of WPNE's subchannels and you can arrow down to the one you want.  As you flip through the channels, the simple program guide gives you the name of the program currently airing, plus the one coming up next.  That is the extent of the DTT900's program info, and is similar to most lower-cost DTV converters.  You have the ability to cycle through the program info on all channels while staying on the one you're watching as well.  There is an information button that gives you an expanded program synopsis and information.  If a channel's reception seems sketchy, there is also a Signal button that allows you to see a bar meter of signal strength, however the unit emits a bizarre beeping noise while the meter is on-screen which can be annoying.

    The picture quality from the DTT900 is fantastic, albeit standard-definition.  HD channels downconverted to SD look very sharp.  When you watch HD-formatted channels such as WBAY 2-1 or WGBA 26-1 during a non high-definition program, you will likely see the 4:3 picture window-boxed in the middle of the screen with black all around it.  That is because that channel is formatted in the 16:9 ratio of HD.  When this picture is viewed on a widescreen HDTV, it would appear as a square picture sandwiched between two side black bars.  This picture format makes non-HD programs look shrunken.  The remote features a Zoom button that allows you to cycle through various modes that will expand the picture to fill the screen.  Sound quality is decent, depending on which output you use.  There are no digital audio outputs on the DTT900 so surround sound is not an option, but stereo sound from the composite jacks sounds good.  Audio quality through the coaxial jack may be fuzzy depending on the volume of the TV and the sound level of the program you're watching.  If you can connect this using the composite jacks, do it.  Otherwise using the coaxial output will still serve you quite well.  For the hearing impaired, the DTT900 features digital closed captioning (the CCD button on the remote).

    There is an on-screen menu which allows you to set various features including manual tuning, auto-shutoff and parental controls.  The unit draws less than 8 watts while on and less than 1 while off, and is Energy Star rated, so using the auto-shutoff feature is somewhat moot.

    SUMMARY.  All told, the DTT900 is a highly-capable basic DTV tuner that should work well for most folks looking to add digital tuners to their analog televisions.  Currently retailing at $59.99, it is a modest $20 and change after the government-issued $40 coupon.  While some may have expected a "free" box with the coupon, no units on the local retail market are totally free after coupon, yet.  EchoStar is expected to roll out a $40 model this summer, but I certainly wouldn't hesitate spending $20 on a unit like the DTT900.  While it may seem basic to those already experienced with digital and HD television, for those who have only known analog broadcast TV, this model is certain to open up a whole new world of free TV with the added channels it will bring in.  I have yet to test its "forgiveness factor" with more distant signals (ie. for those of us not in Green Bay), but if you get reasonably good antenna reception, the DTT900 is a well-designed, responsive upgrade to an older television.  It comes with everything you need to hook it up to almost any TV, it is easy to connect and setup, and the picture quality is fantastic compared to analog.  If you have a DTV coupon burning a hole in your pocket and want to buy a box in store today, the Zenith DTT900 is a solid buy.

REVIEW SPECIFICS (scale of 5):
Design/Construction: 4 (unit feels, acts like quality product)
Documentation: 4 (quick start guide and manual easy to understand)
Ease of Setup: 5 (setup of unit, remote was quick and easy)
Features: 3 (program guide is simple and remote control of TV is limited, but is still an improvement over analog TV)
Video Quality: 4 (video is sharp and clear, and downconverted HD looks great)
Audio Quality: 3 (audio is very good but could be even better)
Suitability for the "non-technical": 4 (non-technical users will find it easy to set up and pretty easy to use)

OUR OVERALL RATING: 4 (Very Good)