It looks like a digital converter box and works like one, but the brand name will have you scratching your head.
Just because you’ve never heard of them, however, doesn’t mean they aren’t good, according to Consumer Reports, which recently reviewed the new line of converter boxes that some TV viewers will need for the 2009 switch to all-digital broadcasting.
In fact, the best of the converters aren’t from the most-recognized makers at all, but from manufacturers whose expertise is just as good, the review found.
Consumer Reports’ top four: Tivax followed by Lasonic, Sansonic and Microgem.
Hardly the household names of electronics, but CR said they all have pictures that are close to “a good quality DVD.”
And the Tivax STB-T9 and Lasonic LTA-260 have superior audio compared with the other two.
Better still, the boxes aren’t the most expensive either, though most are available only via online vendors such as .
So who are these guys? Tivax is made by Michley Electronics Inc., which is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, and in California. Its specialty had been the LCD displays in automobiles.
Lasonic is part of an electronics company of the same name based in Irwindale, Calif.
Prices on average range from $50 to $80, which is convenient since the federal government is offering each household a pair of $40 coupons toward the boxes if you’re still watching free television and have managed to resist cable or satellite.
Still, if you want to stay with the more recognized players, each ranked in the acceptable range and were brand names that people will know, such as Magnavox, Zenith and RCA. They’ll be carried by big-box dealers such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Circuit City as well as Radio Shack.
With more than 100 models available, some converter boxes were essentially identical except for the brand and model name, suggesting they were made by the same company, CR found.
The biggest downside: None of the boxes tested has a VCR timer to automatically switch the box to a different channel for recording shows while you are away.
David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost
