Magnavox Digital Converter Boxes JUNK!!!

[Stargazer]

These Magnavox Digital Converter boxes are complete junk!!! I bought two using the $40 government coupons and one of them quit working (no standby light) after it was plugged in for a while and made a weird smell. The other one did not work right out of the box. A friend of mine bought two. The first one worked and the second one did not work right out of the box. This is absolutely the worst failure rate I have ever seen in any electronic item ever sold. When I bought these Wal-Mart told me that I could get no refund on these things if they did not work. I paid around a $10 difference at their store. I tried different outlets and it does not power up from any of them.

I do not want anymore of these piece of junk units. Since Wal-Mart cannot issue a refund and I am out my coupon can they be held responsible for selling such lousy pieces of junk? I should not be forced to have to keep taking these things back over and over and I do not trust that these units will last long-term seeing how their failure rate is. This was the only one in their store that they offer. They sell RCA units west of the Mississippi from what I have been told but they do not have as good of sensitivity when it comes to picking up channels and I need good sensitivity. I always thought Magnavox devices were good but now my opinion has completely changed.

What are my options? Sue Wal-Mart or Magnavox if they wont give me a refund? Contact the FCC telling them that these things are nothing but junk and now I have no coupon to buy a different brand? I am out $80 in coupons plus over $20 in cash because of this fiasco. This is totally rediculous!

 

[zenithtv]

Magnavox = Funai cheap crap from china!

 

[digiblur]

Their junk even if you get a working one.

 

[Cegarrett]

why not exchange it for a new Magnavox one(only for a fresh receipt) then a couple of days later take that back for a gift card. It's kinda like playing CSR Roulette. But it might work.

 

[jegrant]

If you want to contact a government agency, it might be useful to contact the NTIA, who actually issued the coupons, not the FCC. If it can be demonstrated that the failure/return rate is high enough, NTIA might be persuaded to remove Magnavox from the compliant box list they maintain (CECB).

NTIA: Digital TV Transition and Public Safety

 

[kb7oeb]

From what I've read on the magnavox its extra sensitivity is another flaw because it is unable to reject strong signals from other stations.

 

[zenithtv]

The box is Funai NOT Magnavox. Magnavox does not make any Converter Boxes only in name for the old magnavox tv line! Like the zenith converter boxes made by LG Electronics for the old zenith made tv's.

 

[Stargazer]

I live 40 miles from the television stations so I can use all the sensitivity that I can get.

 

[mastermesh]

only problem I've had with mine is that it gets a little hot. I keep it above the desk it's on by a few inches to combat that problem... I have it sitting on top of an old plastic container that a bunch of dvds came in... the cylinder tube thingy. Since I used all the dvd-rs that were in there I cut the plastic box with several holes to let air in and out and all around... so the little box sits on top of that plastic thingy... a little ghetto but it works fine. I just really, really, really wish these little magnavox boxes had a frequency meter so I could tell how strong signal is. As it is you have to more or less blind scan... and it does that for all analog and digital signals... you can't manually load in one channel at a time... which is a pain, but once you get signal all is well.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I would buy a new one at full price, and return the old one with the fresh receipt!

 

[jamesalan9]

What is a good converter box? Anyone buy a good one that your happy with? RCA maybe?

 

[jegrant]

Personally I avoided the Magnavox and bought two Insignia units from Best Buy (store brand Zenith/LG boxes). I am very happy with them. I really wanted the E* DTV Pal, but the Insignia units have performed very well, pulling in stations I thought impossible with a simple pair of rabbit ears.

 

[goaliebob99]

The magnavox are junk as I posted in my review, I liked the insignia one better also as it has worked perfectly. Im awating the arrival of my Echostar boxes too, to see how they perform.

 

[Zorak]

Digital Stream at Radio Shack works very well with a nice guide. Insignia/Zenith/LG work well also. Channel Master OK but pricey. Venturer very small and cheap at Target and works well but the guide is very limited.