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Zinwell ZAT-970A

The Zinwell Zat-970A converter box is government certified and coupon eligible.  This converter box is small, compact, and converter digital signals so that they can be viewed on your analog television.

Where to Buy

Zinwell ZAT-970A
MSRP $49.99
Release date January, 2001
Brand Zinwell
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Pros & Cons12
Reviews4
Details
Buy It
Competitors13
Comments1
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Pros & Cons

ProSCORE
4 reviews
62
negative
mixed
positive
2 positive
1 mixed
1 negative

[i] How is the ProSCORE calculated?

show me!

Pros:
Do you agree?
•
analog pass-through
+3agreedisagree

•
It Also has 8 programable event timers that allow you to keep using your VCR.
+3agreedisagree

•
Rated in the top category for picture quality by the leading consumer magazine
+1agreedisagree

•
affordable price
+1agreedisagree

•
upgradeable firmware
+1agreedisagree

•
displays signal intensity/quality for each channel
+1agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?
•
Amount of Electronic Programming Guide content is less than average.
+1agreedisagree

•
remote control is extremely cheap
+1agreedisagree

•
doesn't hold time correctly
+1agreedisagree

•
lacks a M-F scheduler
+1agreedisagree

•
short power cord
+1agreedisagree

•
No Analog Pass-Through
-2agreedisagree


4 people added to this review by submitting or voting on pros and cons. Add your say!
See individual votes »

Details

 

Features

  • Analog Pass Through
  • Aspect-Ratio Control  16:9 / 4:3
  • Built in Event Timer for DVR / VCR recording w/ 8 slots
  • RCA Stereo Audio Out
  • ATSC Dolby AC-3 audio decoding
  • Electronic Program Guide
  • Advanced parental lock function

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This report was started October 1, 2008 at 12:56 pm by DTV Transition Guy
with the last edit occurring June 23, 2009 at 11:04 am by Yale
This page has been viewed 5994 times, with 53 edits by 5 contributors.
See the full report history »

Buy It

Zinwell ZAT-970A

• Zinwell ZAT-970A Digital to Analog TV Converter Box

UPC: 874409000899

EAN: 0874409000899

MPN: ZAT-970A

Competitors

Zinwell ZAT-970A is ranked 2nd among it's competitors.  See the top picks in DTV Converters »
Channel Master CM-7000

Channel Master CM-7000

MSRP  $70.00    Released  January, 2008
Pros
  • Electronic Program Guide (EPG)
  • Digital Audio and S-Video Out
  • S-Video Out
Cons
  • doesn't have analog pass-through
  • Still $30 with government coupon
  • Doesn't actually output HD like the box says it does.
ProSCORE
5 reviews
59
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A 0% vs. vote Channel Master CM-7000 100%
Zenith DTT901

Zenith DTT901

MSRP  --    Released  January, 2008
Pros
  • analog pass-through
  • great tuner can pull in stations other boxes miss
  • easy to use
Cons
  • average video quality
  • fairly expensive (without the coupon)
  • small remote control
ProSCORE
2 reviews
62
Vote! (0 votes)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A   vs. vote Zenith DTT901  
Insignia NS-DXA1-APT

Insignia NS-DXA1-APT

MSRP  $59.99    Released  October, 2008
Pros
  • Analog Pass-Through
  • Decent compliment of features
Cons
  • Good but not superior picture quality
ProSCORE
1 review
67
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A 100% vs. vote Insignia NS-DXA1-APT 0%
Tivax STB-T8

Tivax STB-T8

MSRP  $74.99    Released  --
Pros
  • Comes with analog pass-through
  • Rated in the top category for picture quality by the leading consumer magazine
  • Smart Antenna Support
ProSCORE
2 reviews
100
Vote! (0 votes)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A   vs. vote Tivax STB-T8  
Tivax STB-T9

Tivax STB-T9

MSRP  $69.99    Released  January, 2008
Pros
  • Best Picture Quality
Cons
  • No Analog Pass-Through
ProSCORE
0 reviews
N/A
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A 100% vs. vote Tivax STB-T9 0%
Sunkey SK-801

Sunkey SK-801

MSRP  $49.99    Released  --
Pros
  • Fair Price
Cons
  • Cheaply Made
ProSCORE
1 review
50
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A 100% vs. vote Sunkey SK-801 0%
Philco TB100HH9

Philco TB100HH9

MSRP  --    Released  January, 2008
Pros
  • Excellent Picture Quality
  • No Analog Pass-Through
ProSCORE
1 review
100
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A 100% vs. vote Philco TB100HH9 0%
Goodmind DTA1000

Goodmind DTA1000

MSRP  $69.99    Released  March, 2008
Cons
  • No Analog Pass-Through
ProSCORE
1 review
0
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A 100% vs. vote Goodmind DTA1000 0%
COShip N9900T

COShip N9900T

MSRP  $49.99    Released  --

The Coship N9900T is the older brother of the N9988T.  The N9900T came out first and has been upgraded to the N9988T. The N9900T is still government certified and can still be purchased with the $40 off government coupon.

ProSCORE
0 reviews
N/A
Vote! (0 votes)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A   vs. vote COShip N9900T  
Dish Network DTVPal Plus

Dish Network DTVPal Plus

MSRP  $69.99    Released  --
Pros
  • Comes with analog pass-through.
Cons
  • Expensive
ProSCORE
2 reviews
33
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A 100% vs. vote Dish Network DTVPal Plus 0%
Apex DT250

Apex DT250

MSRP  --    Released  --

The Apex DT250 is government certified and eligible for the $40 off government coupon.

ProSCORE
0 reviews
N/A
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A 100% vs. vote Apex DT250 0%
RCA DTA800B1

RCA DTA800B1

MSRP  --    Released  --
Pros
  • Comes With Analog Pass-Through
ProSCORE
1 review
100
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A 100% vs. vote RCA DTA800B1 0%
DISH Network DTVPal

DISH Network DTVPal

MSRP  $60.00    Released  January, 2008
Pros
  • Eligible for $40 government coupon
  • On-Screen Program Guide
  • Small size
Cons
  • If the unit is on for too long it will freeze, starting with the video, then the audio, after it is totally locked it will power off for about 20 seconds, then go through a full restart, including downloading the program guide. This means that you will be without use of the unit for about 5 minutes, a disaster when you are recording from the unit. If you don't catch it quick enough when it starts to lock up you can NOT force it to recycle.
  • More expensive than some other DTV Converters.
  • There are only 5 timers, the timer display does not show the start time, & the unit doesn't shut off when the timer ends. The worst thing about the timers is that they don't always turn the unit on!!!
ProSCORE
3 reviews
36
Vote! (1 vote)
vote Zinwell ZAT-970A 100% vs. vote DISH Network DTVPal 0%

Suggest a new competitor to add to the list of competing products.
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Comments

1.  avatar NFLfan_JN84JW82 said:

Have seen many comments about the great video quality of this box. In the independent testing that I've studied, it has only been bettered by the Channel Master CM-7000 when using the Channel Master's S-Video output (N/A on the ZAT-970). Another cool thing about the box is the event timer - handy for use with DVR/VCR recording. Most other converter boxes don't have this, and this is the only one I know of that both has an event timer and is also among those rated in the top tier for video quality. Also, the event timer on this model is more capable than most if not all of the others...

Mar 30, 2009 12:15am
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Reviews

Sort by: Most helpful  •  Newest  •  Most positive

NFLfan_JN84JW82

avatar
March 29, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • analog pass-through
  • It Also has 8 programable event timers that allow you to keep using your VCR.
  • Rated in the top category for picture quality by the leading consumer magazine

Cons

  • Amount of Electronic Programming Guide content is less than average.

Comments

"

Have seen many comments about the great video quality of this box. In the independent testing that I've studied, it has only been bettered by the Channel Master CM-7000 when using the Channel Master's S-Video output (N/A on the ZAT-970). Another cool thing about the box is the event timer - handy for use with DVR/VCR recording. Most other converter boxes don't have this, and this is the only one I know of that both has an event timer and is also among those rated in the top tier for video quality. Also, the event timer on this model is more capable than most if not all of the others...

"

Competitors

NFLfan_JN84JW82 prefers Channel Master CM-7000 over Zinwell ZAT-970A
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

bb1024

avatar
January 17, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
2 pros
0 cons
have ithave it
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • analog pass-through
  • It Also has 8 programable event timers that allow you to keep using your VCR.

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Yale

avatar
June 23, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
56
negative
mixed
positive
5 pros
4 cons

Pros

  • analog pass-through
  • It Also has 8 programable event timers that allow you to keep using your VCR.
  • affordable price
  • upgradeable firmware
  • displays signal intensity/quality for each channel

Cons

  • remote control is extremely cheap
  • doesn't hold time correctly
  • lacks a M-F scheduler
  • short power cord

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

DTV Transition Guy

avatar
October 1, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
0
negative
mixed
positive
0 pros
1 con
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Pros

Did not agree with any pros

Cons

  • No Analog Pass-Through

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

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This product is also known as:

ZAT, 970, A, ZAT970, 970A, ZAT970A