Insignia NS-DXA1 Digital-To-Analog Converter Box

[indysteve]

This evening I found the Insignia NS-DXA1 in stock at the Best Buy in Kokomo, IN. I bought one out of curiosity to compare it next to the Magnavox TB100MW9, purchased last week at Wal-Mart (Avon, IN).

Reception-wise, the two seem to be very similar. The Insignia allows you to watch and use the signal meter PRIOR to the station decoding, which is not possible with the Magnavox.

It appears the Insignia was designed by LG, because the menu/signal
meter/etc. are almost identical to my older LG LST-3100A. The Insignia
allows you, through the MENU button, to bring up the signal meter and then scroll through the true RF channel numbers, one after another.

Some of the additional controls via the remote: TV POWER; SAP; VOL +/-; CH up/down; FAV; MUTE.

Some of the MENU features: TV Aspect Ratio (Set By Program, Letter Box, Cropped, Squeezed); Auto Off (Off, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours); Audio Output (Stereo, Mono)

OSD pics posted below:

1) DISPLAY button
2) SIGNAL button
3) MENU button > then OPTION
4) MENU button > then SETUP > then MANUAL TUNING

More info as I have more time to use it.

Steve Rich
Indianapolis, IN

[indysteve]

Just after 9 am ET, I tested the Insignia next to the RCA ATSC11 using WLWT-DT-35 (5.1), Cincinnati, OH @ just over 100 miles. The station was just barely decoding from time to time for a few seconds. The Insignia always decoded ahead of the RCA. Sometimes the Insignia decoded a full video screen while nothing decoded via the RCA.

One thing I've now noticed with the Insignia is that after it decodes the station for the first time (going from true RF channel 35 and then remapping to 5.1 for WLWT-DT), it does not store the call letters. With the initial decode, the OSD indicates the calls, but then when the signal fades out, and then when the signal comes back later to decode again, it simply indicates 5.1only, with no call letters. I've found that there has to be video decoding and then when you press the DISPLAY button, it will display the remapped channel number along with the call letters. I've attached some screen shots of this below.

The other thing I've noticed relating to the display of call letters, when you go into MENU and bring up the signal meter so you can scroll through the RF channel numbers one by one, it does display the call letters after a station is decoded, but the readout is soooooooo faint you can barely read it. Example of this below with pic (look above the signal meter graph, just above "good"). I believe this is all related to the Channel Editing feature, but haven't had time to investigate that yet.

More later as I have to head out to work.

Steve

[indysteve]

To date, I still own both of these units, but I'm thinking about returning the Magnavox unit to Wal-Mart. The Insignia is currently $10 more, but overall I like it better.

The Insignia unit is made of metal with plenty of ventilation slots, while the Magnavox unit is made of plastic with only a few tiny holes for ventilation which makes the unit quite warm after an hour or so.

I like the signal meter functions much better on the Insignia than on the Magnavox. If anyone owns or has owned an LG/Zenith unit, I think you will quickly recognize the look and operation of the signal meter functions. With the Insignia, you are able to see and use the signal meter PRIOR to the station decoding, so at least you know there is a signal on that channel. The Magnavox does not offer this flexibility. Plus, the signal meter reading responds immediately on the Insignia while the Magnavox signal meter readings are very slow to come up on the screen, and then it can take 10-15 seconds or longer for the readings to give the true maximum signal reading. That seems very strange.

I like the way you can bring up the signal meter screen on the Insignia and then scroll through the true RF channels, one by one, checking to see if there is any signal showing up on any channel number. This screen will time-out on the Insignia, just like my older LG LST-3100A, but as long as you are using it, it will not reset.

BTW, I did discover that if the channels are auto-scanned by the unit, when you then go to the signal meter screen (via the MENU button), it will display the station's call letters brightly. If the station was not previously auto-scanned but rather found via the manual RF entry, the call letters are displayed via the same screen setup but this time very, very faintly.
http://www.wtfda.info/showpost.php?p=4311&postcount=2

Within the next day or two, prior to probably returning the Magnavox, I'm planning to stop at a friend's house in Kokomo, IN to compare these two units next to his RCA ATSC11. They will all be connected to his Channel Master 6-ft. UHF parabolic antenna on top of a 48-ft. tower that he and I installed back in 1975. It's been through a number of ice storms but has survived. The rotor and preamp were replaced in 1985, and then just a few weeks ago the second rotor died. We won't be able to turn it right now for our tests, but I'm curious to see if the two newer units have the same kind of reception edge over the RCA that they have at my location. I'll report back.

Steve

[Robert Grant]

Thank you.

This information will be very useful to all of us as we make our choices in DTV converter boxes.

I wonder if I could trouble you to compare the performance of these units to each other with regard to their performance under *multipath* conditions (e.g., with an antenna aimed the wrong way when the STB is tuned to a strong, nearby station).

It will be the ability of a DTV chipset to decode a station under multipath (more than sensitivity) that will determine how many stations we can log with it, especially with regard to DTV signals received by sporadic-E skip (which usually produces multipath conditions).

Rob

[tshart]

Steve -- Did you attempt to tune WLWT with the magnavox unit? And if so, what were the results. How did the insignia do in tuning the PBS station you mentioned in one of your other maganavox posts? Have you used any of the units over a couple of weeks time span with changing weather etc. on the weak signal stations?

[indysteve]

Steve -- Did you attempt to tune WLWT with the magnavox unit? And if so, what were the results. How did the insignia do in tuning the PBS station you mentioned in one of your other maganavox posts? Have you used any of the units over a couple of weeks time span with changing weather etc. on the weak signal stations?

Yes, I did. The tuning abilities of the Magnavox and the Insignia are virtually the same, from what I've been able to observe to date, with virtually no tropo. After owning the Magnavox for 2 weeks and the Insignia for 1 week, I prefer the Insignia over the Magnavox.

More info below.

Steve

[indysteve]

After having a chance to compare it with a few other DTV receivers and with various antenna connections/locations, I'm quite impressed with this Insignia box.

It's much better with strong local signals and/or multipath issues than my various older STBs. I am located just 3 miles from the tower of one of my local DTV stations, and it's cranking 1000kW. With the Insignia, as well as the new Magnavox, I can rotate my outdoor antenna (2-Triax Unix 100 UHF antennas horizontally stacked @ 30 ft. with the CM 7775 on the line) in almost any direction and still receive the station. With my other older receivers, antenna aim is VERY critical for this and other local stations. These new receivers are much more forgiving when it comes to signal issues (too strong, too weak, interference, multipath).

The EPG works very well and easily. And if you like to scan for stations, this one will allow you to scan, and then if you need to turn your antenna to receive stations from another direction, it will allow you to perform follow-up scans without deleting the previously scanned stations. Nice feature.

This receiver does not require you to initiate an auto scan prior to viewing any channels. Stations can be scanned and added or deleted from the unit's channel list, or you may manually add them by simply entering the true RF channel number. This is a great option for DXing.

When it comes to channel surfing, I much prefer the Insignia because I can see the signal meter prior to the station decoding. In this area, the Insignia operates almost totally like my older LG LST-3100A STB. Also, the signal meter is much faster and responsive with the readings than the Magnavox.

Between 8 and 9 a.m. ET today, while messing around with the
RCA ATSC11 and the new Insignia NS-DXA1, I kept
noticing some DTV sniffs on RF channel 49 from the
southeast. The Cincinnati DTVs (just over 100 miles)
had been in and out this morning. Around 9 I parked
the two units on ch. 49 and at 9:11 the Insignia very
briefly (a couple seconds) decoded WLFG-DT-49 (68.1),
Grundy, VA @ 307 miles. I've seen this station
several times, but on a morning where I'm barely
getting out 100 miles, it was quite interesting, plus
watching this station decode with the Insignia and not
with the RCA. One extra brownie point for the
Insignia.

Yesterday, around noon, while checking DTV reception
in Kokomo, IN using a CM 6-ft. UHF parabolic antenna @
54 ft. AGL, I was able to receive WNDU-DT-42 and
WSBT-DT-30, South Bend, IN @ 80/81 miles quite easily.
WSBT-DT was quite strong and steady, per the signal
meter. The Insignia was even able to receive
WNIT-DT-35, South Bend @ 80 miles while the RCA ATSC11
was not. This station is operating with 50kW @ 1,092
ft., much lower power than the other two. It did cut
out from time to time, but not bad for 80 miles in the
middle of the day.

For the money, this is a great little receiver.

Steve

[Danny]

Steve, thanks for the excellent information.

[Mark]

Thanks for all the info on this box, I have question you may not know the answer to yet since DX conditions haven't appeared great since you got it.

Will it simultaneously store more than one virtual channel per RF channel? (WXXX-1 / WYYY-1 etc.)

One of the tuners I have does unless they are exact RF/Virtual matches, the other (SamsungTV) only holds one at a time. When I tune to a given virtual channel and another station is coming in on that that RF channel it will "flip" and change to the newly received virtual channel and change the call letters, deleting the old one till I rotate the antenna back over to it then it flips back. BTW sub-channels do track with the changes.

[indysteve]

Mark, great question but no answer for you at this point. The lack of any good tropo has not allowed me to test that situation with the Insignia. I'll report back as soon as I have an answer.

I do remember seeing the RS Accurian merging two different stations with virtual channel 8 all together. It was neat the way it stored the two stations, with all the subchannels, too.

Steve

[Mark]

The Samsung will store matching virtual channel numbers like a sandwich IF they have different RF channels. The HD3150 I have stores everything it's ever received except for RF/Virtual matches where it only stores the last one received. For example RF channel 28 is virtual 3 for KATC-Lafayette, KTBS-Shreveport, & WREG-Memphis so only the last one received will be stored. Both tuners easily change the PSIP call letter display and sub-channels when tuning between these three "3's"

Now if we'd only get some tropo, it's deadsville here. :(

[Robert Grant]

Here's a good question:

Do either of these products pass through the RF from the antenna jack when turned off, allowing one to watch analog channels without pulling any plugs?

A customer review on the Circuit City website said the Zenith DTT900 does not pass through (I'm 99% sure this is the same product as the Insignia)

This would be more of note for Detroiters than those elsewhere, as Windsor stations will still be available until 8-2001, but only in analog!

Another thought - will any boxes be operable on batteries or DC plug? Many video devices (e.g., RF modulators and video games) already are DC-operated and come with power supplies, and can be run with a car cord (even if not particularly intended to do so).
DC operation would be useful, not only for hilltop DXing, but the general public a well, for portable use when not in motion.

73, Rob

[indysteve]

Rob,

From what I've read and from my own tests, the Insignia and Magnavox units do not pass through the antenna RF signal from the DTV receiver to the analog tuner. I believe there are only four units on the coupon-approved list that do allow this pass through.

So far, I have not read of any of these new boxes working off batteries or DC plug. I carry a very inexpensive (around $22) car power inverter in my car. I can plug it in the cigarette lighter outlet and power a small TV/VCR monitor, DTV receiver and preamp when checking mobile conditions.

Steve

[indysteve]

From what I've seen so far, these new, inexpensive (coupon-approved) SDTV receivers are very good relating to OTA reception. Between late last night and early this morning, thanks to a little tropo enhancement, several of the Cincinnati DTV stations (just over 100 miles from my location) were in ( and out at times). Using my outdoor antenna setup (2-Triax Unix 100 UHF antennas horizontally stacked @ 30 ft. AGL and the CM 7775 preamp) which is quite directional, and then splitting the signal via an indoor 2-way splitter, I fed the Magnavox TB100MW9 and the Insignia NS-DXA1, two of the new SDTV receivers. With the Cincy stations, the Insignia was almost always a little ahead of the Magnavox in locating, decoding and diplaying audio/video. With the local stations, the two units were almost identical with the same process.

Then I moved the Insignia next to my two-year-old Sony 60" 1080p SXRD projection TV (KDS-R60XBR1) with built-in digital tuner. Using the Sony's split screen feature, I connected the Insignia to the Sony so I could watch (monitor) both receivers on one big screen. The $59 Insignia was making the Sony look stupid, with both distant and local reception. The Insignia was always decoding the weak Cincy stations ahead of the Sony, and then when the signal strength would drop a little, the Sony was almost always the first to drop the audio and video. And with local stations, including one station with its tower only 3 miles away (WTHR-DT-46 @ 1000kW), the Insignia was MUCH better at dealing with multipath. I could rotate the outdoor antenna in various directions and only occasionally see a few dropouts and/or pixelation with the Insignia, while the Sony would quite frequently display "No Signal."

The newer chips and technology have really improved OTA digital reception.

Supposedly, a few manufacturers, like LG, are using this latest technology in some HDTV models.

Steve

[indysteve]

From Fred in SC.....................

"Did some DTV scans and nifty manual tuning with the recently
acquired Insignia NS-DXA1 STB ($59 at Best Buy in North Charleston -
lots of
boxes stacked up.
The cashier said to come back with the coupon for credit after
receiving it
in the mail).
I am very pleased with the sensitivity and dx friendly functions (much
better display,
manual tuning and signal meter, etc).
Nothing new logged, but 30 different DTV channels were
logged from FL/GA/SC/NC, with the furthest being 31-WRDW-DT FL Ocala
(301).
I also noted that it displays both remapped ch 7's & subchannels for
Charleston (WITV-DT)
and Jacksonville (WJCT-DT), similar to the RS Accurian STB."

Thanks, Fred........

Steve

[tubaloth]

I would just like to add my review to what has already been said. (some of the stuff well be the same).

I was kind of tired of this whole hassle of figure out which of this converters were the best. I didn’t want to buy the Magnavox one at wal-mart (and boy do they have a lot of those). I didn’t try Radio Shack, so I was left with Best buy for now.
But best-buy only sells the Insignia NS-DXA1. I think the reason that is, is because Insignia is a best buy brand (Best buy is the one that is having this made, now maybe LG is the company making it for Best buy I don’t know).
The other problem with this is it has a little higher price then I would expect!
After the use of my coupon it came down to just over $24. (Its 59.99 in the store which is 10 more then it should be)
I also got this one, because I have already ordered the Digital Stream that has a Universal Remote, and analogy pass through. I didn’t want to wait for that one to come in the mail.

Setup:
Setup is way easy! When first turn it on, it tells you need to scan. (I think it asks you for the dimensions of your screen, 4:3 or 16:9) It goes to another screen; you then have to press your center button for it to start scanning. It goes through this process really quickly. (Faster then it is done on my computer HDTV card, or on a HDTV).
After that, you select your time zone, and I was done from what I can remember. I seemed to even get more stations then the HDTV got.

Controller
The Controller is really small, and light. It only takes One AAA battery that is included. (Well see how long that one battery lasts). It has all the features you want on a controller, even being able to turn your TV on and off. This surprised me because I didn’t see this feature before. Setting the Remote to control power on your TV is really easy. You just hold down the TV power button and you start pushing UP on the channel button. It selects different codes from the different manufactures. (you don’t see anything on the screen) Once your TV turns off your are set. I had to push up maybe 15 times for it to finally work for my JVC TV.

The other feature I enjoy is how channels are selected. When you start to type in your stations you end up getting kind of like search box (from a web browser) . So if I type in 5 it shows me all the channels that start with 5 (in utah that is 5-1 and 5-3) with 5-1 already highlighted. I could just end here (Pause for a second) and 5-1 would be selected) or I can use the arrow keys and move down to 5-3 and select that) meaning switching between all the sub stations is actually really easy. (If there is only one sub station it selects that, no need to type the full channel)
Also, I use the PREV channel function a lot (to go back to the last station you viewed). When you hit that Prev button it does switch you to the last station you where at, but also brings up a box that shows the last 10 stations you were at. So even switching between 3 stations is way easy. I hope more TV’s start to use this type of feature. (so in a way you can kind of go back through the stations you were at, and check up on them again)


Features.
Nothing really added that makes this box go above and beyond. You only get the basic info of shows. The guide button just shows you what the current show is, and what the next show is. But you can also scroll between all the channels in the guide and select any station from it. (The program on my computer isn’t even this good).
I haven’t figure out the FAV button yet. Like the other guy said, you can Zoom on shows that end up showing up in 16:9. This does cut off the sides of the picture, but makes better use of your screen. The good thing is you can do this per channel. So some stations you might like the full 16:9, but others you don’t. I’m glad its this way.
The menus are easy to use, and setting up the V-chip function seems as easy as everything else (I haven’t played with this much). The first time you go to access the V-chip it asks for a password. Make sure you type something you well remember because its set.

I do like the signal bar that you can pretty much check how good of signal you are getting. There is also a beeping sound when this happens. The more beeps the better your signal is. I guess this is good if you can’t see the TV screen when you are trying to adjust the antenna. But after a while it does get kind of annoying. But I guess it shows they though of everything to put into this box.

Good/Bad:
Good. Signal come in great where I’m at in utah. I’m about 25 miles from SLC where most to all the Broadcasts come from. But I am in a basement so some stations do skip a little. I have switched to a different antenna and seem to get a little bit better signal. Over all its what I would expect with being a basement and being 25 miles way. If I wasn’t in the basement I would be getting every channel beautifully.

The only complaint I have so far (and this is only having this for 24 hours) is the Volume. You can control the volume through the box, and it is pretty fine tuned. But you kind of have to set some level through your TV. For some reason it seems like my TV volume is pretty high, even though through the converter I’m in my 30’s. (this is kind of hard to explain). For the most part this works okay. But I do hear a small hum from my TV because the volume is set so high (even though the converter box doesn’t have it that high). But this small hum you hear doesn’t effect much unless you are trying to watch TV in a really low noise room. The other problem is switch over to my Xbox 360, when I switch over I am now using the TV volume and it a kind of loud so I’m turn that back down. I’m sure its something I’ll get use to. I guess where the problem lies is how fine tuned the Converter Box volume is. I’m just not use to it being that fine tuned.

Over all I’m glad I bought it! It has every feature I would want in a box! The price is a little high, but that’s best buy for you! If your coupon is about ready to expire, I would suggest you go and pick on of these up. You well be pleased.

[Waterfallguy59]

I just bought this Insignia from the West Lansing Best Buy on Friday (I just got the $40 cards in the mail & used a Christmas BB giftcard for the balance). They had about 50 of these stacked up near the TV accesories. Got it home and it picks up more stations that my LG HD TV or my Hauppauge 950 USB. Just for fun, I took it and tried it in my wife's Venture Van which has the DVD player with a/v inputs. Using only a single telescopic antenna which came with the Hauppauge USB and a power inverter - I picked up 17 stations in my driveway. Now, I just have to figure out how to install the antenna and not get the wife mad at me from installing another electronics device - (XM radio) in her van.

Best to all
Joe
Grand Ledge, MI

[NN2E]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for all the info on the Insignia box.
I've borrowed one of them to do a road test. (I'll probably buy one with the "Gubbment" coupon) In the first week I logged 58 DTVs. I've kinda hit the wall here as I haven't logged a new one for a week. Waiting on a good tropo opening. I haven't logged any E-skip with it yet but I have seen the S meter flicker a few times so I guess it's only a matter of time until it grabs one.
What I really like about it is it's ability to DX while I'm not even watching. I like to set up a channel, in the manual mode, and just let it ride. When I come back I access the menu to see what it's found. I've snagged a few of them this way.
The box seems to require about a 1/2 scale reading on the S meter before it will decode a signal. It's REALLY frustrating to watch the signal strength go to something less than 1/2 scale but never decode. There are several stations, I have yet to log, that will do this.
73, Ed NN2E

Update June 27, 2008
I've run the Insignia for about a month and still like it. It's logged 78 DTV stations. Best Tropo is Tulsa, Ok. Best, and only, E-skip is KOTA-DT 2 Rapid City, S.D. It's grabbed this one several times. My first DTV pest? :-)

Log total 1131
73, Ed NN2E
Owner / Operator - Murphy's Law Test Site & Thunderstorm Proving Grounds

[NN2E]

Just got back from Best Buy.... I called them to see if they had the Insignia boxes. They said "yes." I went there and found that they did NOT have the Insignia in stock. Insert swear words here (X%#*X!!!). A fifty mile round trip for nothing.
However...I got on their website when I got home and it appears that they now offer an Insignia box WITH analog pass through. It has the same part number as the original with an "APT" suffix. These, too, were out of stock.
FWIW... after 7 weeks with the borrowed Insignia box I'm up to 93 DTVs logged.
73, Ed NN2E
Owner / Operator - Murphy's Law Test Site & Thunderstorm Proving Grounds

[GeneJ]

Hello Indysteve:
I have a question, not about the converter, but the channel numbers you quote.
You mention a channel 35 and then (5.1). I am only familiar with the channel numbers shown by the stations. What is the meaning of virtual channels, and the two numbers associated with each channel?

Also, I have just bought the Insignia converter, after reading your comments. It is working fine.

Thank you.

Gene

[Robert Grant]

A virtual channel is a channel number by which a station prefers to be known, and the channel displayed on a DTV receiver when a station is tuned.

WLWT-DT actually transmits it's signal channel 35 (596-602 MHz, in particular carrier frequency 596.310 MHz), but they've built a reputation for decades of (at least, in their opinion) fine service to the Cincinnati area known as channel 5 (their analog channel).

It's impossible for a station to transmit their NTSC signal and their ATSC signal from the same location on the same channel (they would interfere with each other), so, (oversimplified) they transmit a PSIP signal on channel 35 that repeatedly says " I'm channel 5.......I'm channel 5.....I'm channel 5......"

Pre-transition, virtually every station uses the channel of their home analog channel as the virtual channel of their digital station (saving WDIV from having to change their call sign to WDXLV, perhaps)

Post transistion, many digital stations will go back to their analog home and their virtual channel and actual channel will be one and the same.

Most lowband (2-6) stations, however, will not go back to lowband for their digital transmissions, they will continue to use their virtual channel to preserve their known brand and reputation.


Rob, N8NU

[cjradloff76]

i brought one of those boxes for expierementing with e-skip from hawaii or guam on channels 2 to 6. ill post the results when ive completed my dx-ing.

thanks
Clinton

[cd637299]

Clinton,

E-skip on DTV is no easy trick. Only a handful of DXers here in the US have succeeded. Keep in mind that channels 2 to 6 are not wanted by broadcasters as DTV channels.

Check Doug's site www.w9wi.com for DTV channel allocations in the Pacific. I doubt that ch 2 Honolulu or Hilo will be using DTV 2, nor will the 4's be using DTV 4, etc.

I do believe that KUAM in Guam *will* use DTV 2, however. I could be wrong.

cd

[Mike-CT]

The lowest DTV channel in Hawaii is on ch8. There won't be any lowband DTVs in Guam either. I think there's one (KUAM DT) on 2 right now but it moves to ch8 after transition. I got this from rabbitears.info.

[cd637299]

Well, it *is* summer in Australia now, so Clinton has 32 days to aim for KUAM.

I just read on another site that all Hawaii stations went to digital today......So maybe that other thread I started is all smoke and mirrors? I'll be glad to say I'm wrong..... :)

cd

[Kaimbridge]

I've had the Insignia since October and am satisfied with it.
One quirk I've noted, is the time/clock activation: When you shut the DTV tuner off (the light changes from purple/blue to red), it resets to 12:00am when you turn it back on (as well as you lose the "PREV" channel memory), until it decodes a signal, which then sets the time.
What is weird, is if you turn the tuner on, on an empty channel, and leave it on that or another empty channel, without the time being updated, after 5 hours it will start to keep time, from that 5 hour point: E.g., if you turn it on at 2:15pm, at 7:15pm it will still be "12:00am", but then, at 7:16 it will be 12:01, 7:17 = 12:02, etc.
Why after 5 hours? Why not right when it resets, like any other digital clock that loses power without memory backup?

~Kaimbridge~

[cjradloff76]

yep, so i am. im impressed with the insignia. its a dx'ers box. well recommended

[dyoungen]

I know this forum hasn't been active lately but does anybody know where I can get a new Zenith DTT 900 or 901 and also a Insignia NSDXAI or NSDXAI-APT? Also I have 2 of the coupons to use before Sept 28.

[pjdyer]

A while back (mid-June) Sears still had the DTT901 listed online. Best Buy seemed to be the source for the Insignia brand variations. Given that my May 2008 DS DTX9900 died this past Apr (DTX9950 replacement) one almost feels like stocking up on "spares". :)

73, Pat - WA5IYX

[swampman]

A while back (mid-June) Sears still had the DTT901 listed online. Best Buy seemed to be the source for the Insignia brand variations. Given that my May 2008 DS DTX9900 died this past Apr (DTX9950 replacement) one almost feels like stocking up on "spares". :)

73, Pat - WA5IYX

Good point Pat. I actually purchased 2 online. The Insignia and the Zenith DTT901(one as a spare). I have to wonder what happens long after the transition is over. I dont see these manufacturers continuing to build these DTV boxes forever.

[antennanut]

Good point Pat. I actually purchased 2 online. The Insignia and the Zenith DTT901(one as a spare). I have to wonder what happens long after the transition is over. I dont see these manufacturers continuing to build these DTV boxes forever.

It will be a shame that these boxes are not likely to be manufactured any longer. It will also be a shame if work does not continue on even more sensitive boxes/tuners. Or at least tuners/boxes that are able to display those weak signals we see on our "signal" meters that just won't decode.