Digital Converter, Ematic Digital TV Converter Box with Recording, Playback, & Parental Controls [ AT103B ]

No instructions are included so prepare to spend some time getting it to work. Plug it into your HDMI, then plug the antenna into the box. You'll turn on the box and do a scan. If you get no channels, you probably didn't plug the antenna into the box. It reads directly from the antenna, not the TV so no antenna means no channels. Most important; make sure you have a good antenna! Not all antennas are created equal, and if you get a cheap one, you won't get that many channels and this will be a waste of time and energy. The farther away from the city you are, the more long range antenna you will need. It won't cost that much more, and it will be worth it since it's an initial investment. This box improves the antenna's signal and I've noticed I get more channels. I use the Mediasonic Homeworx HW110AN Super Thin Indoor Antenna with this box.NOTE: Setting up is probably the hardest part, moving forward, if you can read, you can pretty much figure the rest out. Here are a few helpful pointers:PVR - this is the DVR function and it can pause live television. I use a 16 GB memory stick which is about 6 hours. If you watch your shows pretty quickly then it's fine. If you like to record movies or know you won't get around to watching your hows, then get a higher GB stick. To record, you have to press EPG (program guide), and find the show, hit OK, and choose the record option. From there there are arrows to select daily/weekly/and so on. To play it back, you press USB. It won't list the show, just the channel. When you select a show, it will have a preview, and you can press HOLD to push it to full screen.EPG - The program guide. Has a day's worth of programming listed. I jump on in the morning if there is an evening show I want to record. Sometimes, I jump on when I get home from work.USB - For the PVR (aka DVR) playback. Pretty easy to use.Happy viewing

Update 10/26/15: Remote stopped working two months ago. Mfr wanted $15 plus shipping to fix it. Um, no. Make electronics that aren't a piece of throw away garbage, and until you do, you will get one star and not another cent of my money.I was looking for a cheap tuner to allow me to watch live TV on a basement projector. We got rid of our cable boxes and are down to a fairly basic cable package. I just connected my coaxial cable from the wall to the back of the unit, ran an HDMI cable from the Ematic to my projector, did an auto search with signal set on cable, and modulation set to loop through. It took probably 15 or 20 minutes and found 180 stations. Unfortunately, as others have mentioned, it uses its own numbering system, so the channels are not intuitive. Also, about 2/3 of them were scrambled. Many of the channels had high and low def versions. I went through the somewhat labor intensive process of deleting all the low res channels and scrambled channels, and now I have about 25 nice high res channels including CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Food TV, CW, ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, PBS, and a bunch more. Almost all are in 1080i or 720p which both look great on my 720p projector.The remote is clunky and not backlit. For the life of me, I'll never understand why all remotes are not backlit. This is a cheap and easy feature to add. Full star reduction for that stupidity. Another star reduction for general clunkiness, making me jump through numerous hoops to edit channels instead of just having an add/delete button on the remote. Auto resolution setting is nice, allows the program to set the resolution. I couldn't get the program guide to work. Maybe this only works with antenna? I also didn't know what the power setting was for antenna, but figured since I was using cable it didn't matter.I added a 64 gig USB flash drive http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A35X1BM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 from Amazon but have not yet played with the PVR function or tried to update the firmware or access files on USB. I will update my review after I do. But $65 for a tv receiver with 64 gig recording capability is pretty awesome.A couple other mentions, the program info stays on the screen a bit long. That is kind of annoying. I do like that it provides the broadcast resolution for each channel, though it doesn't detect the real channel/program info. I also was also unable to figure out how to rename a channel. I pressed the designated button, but nothing happened. Not being able to rename the channels will be a major annoyance.All in all, a decent unit, considering the price, about $40 shipped. No idea of long term reliability as I just installed last night, but if you are looking for a way to bring live tv to a tuner-less display, such as a projector, this is a pretty affordable, though somewhat clunky solution, and it handles high def quite well, as long as you have adequate signal. It would be great if this unit could be controlled by a universal remote. Unfortunately, unlike my other remotes, this one needs to be pointed right at the unit, which is behind the couch. My projector and Roku 3 remotes can be pointed at the opposite wall, where the picture is displayed. A mixed bag, but not a bad little unit.

These little boxes really do what they are made for.

My initial review is positive (long term to be determined).Pros - I am able to pause live (antenna TV) and record TV programs daily (news), or weekly (shows) and watch at my convenience while skipping commercials.Cons - There is quite a learning curve, but once in play, it does what it is supposed to do. The owner's manual is devoid of easy instructions. I learned most of the functions through search, trail and error. The user interface is clumsy and not user friendly. To begin, you must insert and format a USB-C to be able to pause/record shows. Doable, but not without searching and finding the correct steps. The remote control is small with numerous very small buttons, making hitting the right one hit or miss sometimes. The names of the buttons do not align with functions that you are seeking. For example, to setup recording you must push a button called EPG and then navigate through several options before landing on the right process; and it is a process. The remote must also be pointed directly at the unit to function. I have placed mine below the TV but we tend to naturally point at the TV when using it, and it simply does not respond unless the remote is pointed down and directly at unit. Fast forwarding and rewinding is also clumsy. It either goes really slowly (2x) or really fast (32x) and is slow to stop/play, and catch the program correctly after commercials. There are a few other issues, but overall, it gets the job done. Many reviews have said it only lasts about a year, so I will see in March 2026! If that is all I get I may change the rating.