The very few CECB ATSC Set-top-box that has S-Video output.

$59.99 + tax ($10-20 cheaper)

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Great for building poor-man's DVR. The CM-7000 outputs in full screen for both HD and SD digitial programming. Together with the S-Video output, it has the best recording potential (for 16:9 TV owners)

(Update: Frys is now qualified to accept coupons and TiVo has also announced that it will support the CM-7000 for its Series 2 customers)

Dude, get an HDTV and an HD TiVo or other HD DVR. It is 2008, time to get rid of the 1968 Philco TV you are using .

Dennis

Dwynne said:Dude, get an HDTV and an HD TiVo or other HD DVR. It is 2008, time to get rid of the 1968 Philco TV you are using .

Dennis

Dude, stop thread crapping. Do you have any idea how many people have analog TVs which will not be able to get an OTA signal in less than a year?

These CECB boxes are designed to receive digital TV signals and convert them to analog for display on analog TVs. I have 3 HDTVs, but I also havee 3 analog TVs. I get OTA TV only. In other words, I don't have satellite or cable. Did you know that OTA HDTV is superior to the compressed HDTV provided by cable and satellite?

This Channel Master CM-7000 appears to be an excellent unit. Not only does it have s-video output, but it can be controlled with Pioneer set top box IR codes. This means if you have a PVR with IR blaster capability, your PVR can change the channels on the CM-7000. I have a Panasonic Showstopper (Replay), and I plan to do just that.

Crap! You are right. I just called them. Frys is not certified yet to take the coupons.

There maybe a very slight chance of getting the ad price matched. But I wouldn't count on it.

I went to a Fry's in San Jose, and they don't take the coupon either. The manager called the district manager and said no. They have like 300 in stock though. He said they are setting up their system, so maybe in the future the coupon will work.

I bought one at frys on May 24 in the Atlanta area. $59.99 and they accepted the $40.00 Government coupon but sales taxed at the $59.99 price. The only thing good about it is the s-video. doesn't make much of an improvement over composite on my 27" RCA. The reception is choppy, drops audio, pixelates. The channel display is unreadable. I do not recommend the channel master CM 7000 unless you ONLY have s-video. I also have a Zenith DTT900 that performs MUCH BETTER on the same TV same antenna. No problem reading channel display. You can also control your TV with the remote. Can't do that with the CM! I bought the CM for the s-video and the Zenith to use with my VCR. Think I'll switch and forget the s-video. I also have two HDTV's for regular usage. Hope this helps those who haven't purchased yet. PS circut city has the Zenith. Same price.

rich123 said:You can get the new Zenith DTT901 (new model replacing DTT900 with analog pass-through) at Radio Shacks (that have it in stock) using $10 Entertainment Book coupon and Gov't $40 coupon for a net of $10 + tax. This model is highly regarded in AVSforum.

Thanks for reminding me of the Radio Shack coupons in the Entertainment book (there are two of them for $10 off $40).

ronbron said: The only thing good about it is the s-video. doesn't make much of an improvement over composite on my 27" RCA. The reception is choppy, drops audio, pixelates. The channel display is unreadable. I do not recommend the channel master CM 7000 unless you ONLY have s-video. I also have a Zenith DTT900 that performs MUCH BETTER on the same TV same antenna.

Unfortunately what you are saying is COMPLETELY contradicted on AVS forums where there are some serious fanatics who test everything to death. One of the people there tested the CM7000 against the Zenith and picked up several more channels and also said the CM7000 likely has better error correction as the poor reception channels were handled much better. They also said the super-video makes a significant, noticeable difference over the composite of other boxes.

rrrrrroger said:
Here are my results with Zenith DTT900 versus the Channel Master CM7000:

- Rabbit Ears = 4 stations versus 5 stations.

- CM4228 = 8 stations versus 13 stations.

- Amplified settop antenna = Same number of stations for both boxes (5), but the Zenith experienced breakups, whereas the CM7000 was a solid 99-100 the whole time. No freezing or macroblocking.

IMHO the CM7000 is the better box, with the ability to display stations as low as 10 on the strength bar. At 10 the picture sometimes "smears" like a water-color painting, but at 20 it looks near-perfect. I was able to watch an entire episode of Cold Case from Philadelphia 50 miles away and it hovered between 15-40 on the strength bar. It appears the CM7000 has better error-correction, and thus can pickup the weaker stations.