Channel Master D2A Digital Analog Converter
The third of my Digital to Analog Converter reviews for the digital television conversion is the Channel Master D2A Digital Analog Converter Model CM-7000.
Ease of Use, Performance: 18/25, Look & Feel: 20/25,
Features 18/25, How much I enjoy 15/25
Total: 71/100
The Channel Master D2A Digital Analog Converter is the third converter box I have received for reviewing for the DTV conversion in the United States. This converter box is also certified for your $40 government coupon but seems like it does not do the job that would be promised by this government certification.
Although it does do the Digital to Analog conversion and receives the channels I receive just like the other converter boxes or even my digital television I am a bit troubled by a few things with this converter. The mislabeling on the package and the front of the converter is one point against it but the converter does perform well for the most part and even has one major feature other converters did not have, the S-Video out.
I am a bit disappointed at some of the features and even the advertising and packaging of the CM-7000 as they are using terms on the front of the converter box that may be misleading. The front of the CM-7000 digital to analog converter has two labels on it that may have buyers thinking they are purchasing a high definition device but it only gives you standard definition television out to your analog TV.
The two labels are the HDTV label and the HD label which are usually found on devices that output in high definition or above 480 resolution. High definition is usually thought of as an image resolution above the standard 480 or 480i, this is the screens actual pixel size that we receive on our TV screen as termed 480 or 480i.
A standard screen resolution is around 720x480 pixels while a high definition will be from 1024x768 to 1920x1080 pixels, the second number of the image size or resolution is this 480 and 1080 that you often hear about . Most of our analog televisions are only capable of showing us a standard definition or 480/480i resolution unless labeled specifically as an enhanced or high definition.
While this is not a big deal it can be misleading to people who do not understand that this device does not output high definition but they are talking about the input. The Channel Master converter does output standard 480i television for viewing your high definition input and scales it down so your analog television can display it properly.
Now that I have gotten the HDTV and HD labeling out of the way I will give the main points of the review, the Channel Master converter is a real mixed bag of features. The CM-7000 has some features that work great and are a definite bonus but others are a bit of a disappointment. The Channel Master does a great job of converting and receiving the signals but the signal strength bar is a waste.
On the menu of each channel you have the channel information and things like the time and date, rating and current program but the signal strength bar is about an inch long on my TV screen. The signal strength only changes when the channel is not watchable, kind of useless for actual signal strength and adjusting the antenna.