Product By Zinwell(230 customers reviews)
Technical Details
Customer Reviews
2010-02-27
By Kyung W. Lee
I'm really disappointed and frustrated with this one. it was wate of my money and time.Also disappointed to amazon.com.I have ordered this on 17th of Feb. and they ship on 21th FEB, delivered 26 FEB. Took unusual 10 days.It only support poor resolution(480x480) in this High definition world.Also the image and text are out of focusing - blurred image.I don't understand about amazon.com selling this kind of poor product and it does not allow return too.If you buy this, it's just waste of money and time.
Thank you!
2010-02-26
By Vanessa Au
It was great for a few months. It didn't pick up a lot of channels but I guess I wasn't expecting much. What made it unusable was when the sound became all garbled. I tested out the sound on the TV by playing a DVD and the sound was fine so it wasn't an issue with the TV so it must be the converter. The picture would be okay but the sound was just a garbled staticky mess.
2010-02-24
By David McEldery (Plains, MT USA)
I kind of chuckle when I read reviews by people who don't realize you need antennas if you don't have cable or satellite TV. I'm over 60 and was about 10 years old when we got our first TV. You haven't lived if you haven't endured years of grainy, B&W reception in the 1950s. I couldn't afford a color set until 1980! I limped along on a hand-me-down 1959, 19" B&W Admiral. Remember the old, TV reception term "snow"? Anyway, now that we're above the 1980 poverty level, we have a downstairs satellite-fed, modern set, but upstairs I've still got a 13" color CRT in my office. I don't watch much up there, but used to pick up 4 channels on a bow-tie antenna. A 1902 farm house with chicken wire, lath, and plaster walls isn't conducive to great indoor reception, and for some reason, the bow tie antenna was about the only thing that worked with both UHF and VHF channels. Over the years I accumulated a real collection of both outdoor masts and antennas, boosters, 300 ohm flat lead and 75 ohm converters, so I'm well equipped for antique viewing. I let the analog-digital deadline slip by last year and my coupons expired. So hey, I don't really use the 13" set much, so no big deal, right? Then the Olympics came along, and I wanted to work in the office and maybe listen to the Olympic chatter at the same time, so two days ago I went to amazon for a converter box. I was surprised to see so few offerings. Not much need anymore, I guess. After reading the reviews, I ordered the Zinwell - never heard of them - sounds like "Brand X" to me, but what the heck. It came today and I was amazed at how simple it was to set up and run, right out of the box in about 60 seconds. I was dreading it a bit, because of the un-fun experiences over the years of programming various VCRs and TV sets. You know the drill, the lists in the instruction never have your model number, so you have to walk through various button settings ad infinitum until you find the one that works. And when you upgrade to a different brand gizmo, you go through it all over again. I was loathe to get the converter, because I anticipated this sort of thing. Was I surprised when I got the converter! I didn't even use the instructions - pulled the 300 ohm flat lead to 75 ohm converter off the TV, stuck it on the RF-In on the box, screwed on the included 75 ohm co-ax leads to the box's RF out and TV Input jacks, put batteries in the remote, turned everything on, the TV to channel 3, let it spend a minute or two searching for channels, selected language and time zone, and voila! I was shocked to find that I was picking up 5 network channels and 5 public channels! Since when? The picture quality is vastly improved, and I don't have to constantly dink around turning the antenna for various channels. Yes, you may occasionally have to use two remotes, but I'm used to using 3 or 4. There's always a missing function on the omni-control remotes. The remote is no more flimsy than most others, just small, light, and simple. The converter is small and takes up little space. I'd have given the box 5 stars, but I haven't had it long enough to determine its durability. If you're a TV troglodyte like me, with old, analog CRT sets you can't bear to take to the land-fill, this is the ticket. For those of you bent on acquiring the most energy efficient TV, here's something to consider before tossing the old CRT. The extra heat they give off can warm a small room on a cold winter day, so you don't have to run a heater! I'll probably get one of these boxes for the old 1980 "state of the art" behemoth that now resides in my workshop in the barn so I can watch football while sawing off a finger or two.
2010-02-22
By Andrew J. Horton (Providence, R.I.)
It's been a while (over 25 years) since I've viewed a television with a broadcast reception. I never quite realized how the major demographic using these converter boxes are seniors. I've been bombarded with ads for scooters, medicare, Life Alert, and the occasional catheter supply warehouse since hooking up the Zinwell converter box.For me, this Zinwell converter box has been a blast from the past. I get all channels in my broadcast area with ease, but I need the help of an antenna to get most of them. I get HD reception for most channels; however, since I'm not a fancy pants like most people my age, high definition can wait. This Zinwell box has the option to convert the picture to either 4:3 pan & scan or 4:3 letterbox. For sports, shows, and movies on HD stations, we do the letterbox. You will need an antenna for this box.It's easy to use, but the buttons on the box feel like they're going to either fall out or stop working with repeated use. The remote is standard issue. I've heard complaints about the remote build quality, but I haven't endured any problems with it.What I don't miss is paying $50 a month for basic cable. I am essentially living off the land while my friends pay $50-$100 a month for cable or fiber optics. That to me is satisfying and worth the price of Zinwell's admission to TV land.
2010-02-21
By John Ingram (Austin, TX, US)
The converter arrived early, was easy to hook up without reading the manual, setup required a little reading. Using the converter is better than the Apex unit it replaces. The features are great, especially the ability to use the unit as a programmable tuner for my old VCR. The video seems less sharp than the Apex unit's. The Zinwell is running much cooler than the Apex. I'm hoping this means it will last longer. I'm well pleased with this purchase.
- Support Analog Pass-Through
- Convert Digital TV signal to Analog
- Multi-lingual support
- Digital Parental control
- Remote control included
Customer Reviews
2010-02-27
By Kyung W. Lee
I'm really disappointed and frustrated with this one. it was wate of my money and time.Also disappointed to amazon.com.I have ordered this on 17th of Feb. and they ship on 21th FEB, delivered 26 FEB. Took unusual 10 days.It only support poor resolution(480x480) in this High definition world.Also the image and text are out of focusing - blurred image.I don't understand about amazon.com selling this kind of poor product and it does not allow return too.If you buy this, it's just waste of money and time.
Thank you!
2010-02-26
By Vanessa Au
It was great for a few months. It didn't pick up a lot of channels but I guess I wasn't expecting much. What made it unusable was when the sound became all garbled. I tested out the sound on the TV by playing a DVD and the sound was fine so it wasn't an issue with the TV so it must be the converter. The picture would be okay but the sound was just a garbled staticky mess.
2010-02-24
By David McEldery (Plains, MT USA)
I kind of chuckle when I read reviews by people who don't realize you need antennas if you don't have cable or satellite TV. I'm over 60 and was about 10 years old when we got our first TV. You haven't lived if you haven't endured years of grainy, B&W reception in the 1950s. I couldn't afford a color set until 1980! I limped along on a hand-me-down 1959, 19" B&W Admiral. Remember the old, TV reception term "snow"? Anyway, now that we're above the 1980 poverty level, we have a downstairs satellite-fed, modern set, but upstairs I've still got a 13" color CRT in my office. I don't watch much up there, but used to pick up 4 channels on a bow-tie antenna. A 1902 farm house with chicken wire, lath, and plaster walls isn't conducive to great indoor reception, and for some reason, the bow tie antenna was about the only thing that worked with both UHF and VHF channels. Over the years I accumulated a real collection of both outdoor masts and antennas, boosters, 300 ohm flat lead and 75 ohm converters, so I'm well equipped for antique viewing. I let the analog-digital deadline slip by last year and my coupons expired. So hey, I don't really use the 13" set much, so no big deal, right? Then the Olympics came along, and I wanted to work in the office and maybe listen to the Olympic chatter at the same time, so two days ago I went to amazon for a converter box. I was surprised to see so few offerings. Not much need anymore, I guess. After reading the reviews, I ordered the Zinwell - never heard of them - sounds like "Brand X" to me, but what the heck. It came today and I was amazed at how simple it was to set up and run, right out of the box in about 60 seconds. I was dreading it a bit, because of the un-fun experiences over the years of programming various VCRs and TV sets. You know the drill, the lists in the instruction never have your model number, so you have to walk through various button settings ad infinitum until you find the one that works. And when you upgrade to a different brand gizmo, you go through it all over again. I was loathe to get the converter, because I anticipated this sort of thing. Was I surprised when I got the converter! I didn't even use the instructions - pulled the 300 ohm flat lead to 75 ohm converter off the TV, stuck it on the RF-In on the box, screwed on the included 75 ohm co-ax leads to the box's RF out and TV Input jacks, put batteries in the remote, turned everything on, the TV to channel 3, let it spend a minute or two searching for channels, selected language and time zone, and voila! I was shocked to find that I was picking up 5 network channels and 5 public channels! Since when? The picture quality is vastly improved, and I don't have to constantly dink around turning the antenna for various channels. Yes, you may occasionally have to use two remotes, but I'm used to using 3 or 4. There's always a missing function on the omni-control remotes. The remote is no more flimsy than most others, just small, light, and simple. The converter is small and takes up little space. I'd have given the box 5 stars, but I haven't had it long enough to determine its durability. If you're a TV troglodyte like me, with old, analog CRT sets you can't bear to take to the land-fill, this is the ticket. For those of you bent on acquiring the most energy efficient TV, here's something to consider before tossing the old CRT. The extra heat they give off can warm a small room on a cold winter day, so you don't have to run a heater! I'll probably get one of these boxes for the old 1980 "state of the art" behemoth that now resides in my workshop in the barn so I can watch football while sawing off a finger or two.
2010-02-22
By Andrew J. Horton (Providence, R.I.)
It's been a while (over 25 years) since I've viewed a television with a broadcast reception. I never quite realized how the major demographic using these converter boxes are seniors. I've been bombarded with ads for scooters, medicare, Life Alert, and the occasional catheter supply warehouse since hooking up the Zinwell converter box.For me, this Zinwell converter box has been a blast from the past. I get all channels in my broadcast area with ease, but I need the help of an antenna to get most of them. I get HD reception for most channels; however, since I'm not a fancy pants like most people my age, high definition can wait. This Zinwell box has the option to convert the picture to either 4:3 pan & scan or 4:3 letterbox. For sports, shows, and movies on HD stations, we do the letterbox. You will need an antenna for this box.It's easy to use, but the buttons on the box feel like they're going to either fall out or stop working with repeated use. The remote is standard issue. I've heard complaints about the remote build quality, but I haven't endured any problems with it.What I don't miss is paying $50 a month for basic cable. I am essentially living off the land while my friends pay $50-$100 a month for cable or fiber optics. That to me is satisfying and worth the price of Zinwell's admission to TV land.
2010-02-21
By John Ingram (Austin, TX, US)
The converter arrived early, was easy to hook up without reading the manual, setup required a little reading. Using the converter is better than the Apex unit it replaces. The features are great, especially the ability to use the unit as a programmable tuner for my old VCR. The video seems less sharp than the Apex unit's. The Zinwell is running much cooler than the Apex. I'm hoping this means it will last longer. I'm well pleased with this purchase.
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