Channel Master CM-7000 D2A Digital Analog Converter Box

[Jim Thomas]

PRODUCT REVIEW
This is a review of the new DTV converter box, the Channel Master CM-7000 D2A. The following information is courtesy of Channel Master's product brochure. At the end of the Technical Specifications section, I have included my own personal review comments.

The Channel Master by PCT CM-7000 is a high quality digital ATSC high definition (HD) to standard definition (SD) television converter box for direct terrestrial FTA HD reception allowing the user to view HD programs on standard definition TV sets. The combination of a CM-7000 Digital Analog Converter with a Channel Master digital antenna is a perfect solution for terrestrial reception in a very wide range of reception conditions and landscape relief. For energy saving, which is in compliance with NTIA recommendations, the Auto-Sleep Function activates Standby mode four (4) hours after last user entry from the remote control, but not before the end of a currently viewed event.

Key Features:
- Converts all HD video formats into SD format
- Easy installation and operation
- Automatic and manual programming
- Electronic Program Guide (EPG) support
- On Screen Display (OSD)
- Closed Caption (CC)
- Full function remote control
- Low power consumption
- Auto-Sleep function

Specification
TUNER
Frequency Range: 54 ~ 803MHz
Input Impedance: 75Ohm
Input Connector: F-type, Female
Channel Bandwith: 6 MHz
Input Dynamic Range: -83 ~ -5dBM/SNR; 15dB

Demodulator
Type: 8VSB/ATSC A/53 compliant
Performance: ATSC A/74 compliant
Input Video Formats: 1080i, 720p, 480i, 480

Video
Output Format: 480i
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 / 16:9 with letter box pan ans scan

Connector:
Video
Composite Video: RCA
Component Video: S-Video
Audio
Left/Right: RCA

RF Modulator
Output RF Connector: F-Type, Female
Channel: 3/4, selectable

POWER Supply: 120VAC/60Hz

Weight:4 lb

S-Video advantages:
First and foremost, you must have a T.V. that has an S-Video Input Jack. Most newer/higher end T.V.'s have such an S-Video input. Look in the back of your T.V. If you see anything with the words "S-Video" on it, you're in business. S-Video is one of the high quality methods of transmitting a television signal from a device such as CM-7000 D2A CECB. It separates the color information (Chrominance) from the brightness (Luminance), which prevents nasty things like color bleeding and dot crawl,and helps increase clarity and sharpness. You can greatly improve the image quality of DTV viewing experience.


My Personal Review

I have had the opportunity to try one of these units, courtesy of a friend who is a master electrician, who happens to have a distributorship to Channel Master. His CM representative was nice enough to send him a DEMO unit and some brochures. My friend wanted me to try it out and give him my thoughts on the unit.

When I first powered up the converter box, I did NOT get a boot-up sequence or anything similar. I had a Channel Master slide on the television screen momentarily, then the screen went black. I waited for awhile to see if it was going to do anything, but it just sat there. FINALLY, I pushed the MENU button on the remote, which brought up five sub-menus: Channel Edit, Channel Scan, Set Up, Closed Captioned, Parental Control. I first chose to go to Set Up, which includes six categories: Clock, Language, Audio, Defaults, Version, Auto Power Down. I set the clock, with date and time settings for Mountain Daylight Savings. Then, I exited the Set Up menu and went to the Channel Scan, which brings up a subheading Terrestrial. The user has the option to do a Rescan or Update. Rescan wipes out any channels saved in the converter box; Update is the function to Add channels, without effecting the saved list of channels.

Obviously, I chose to run the Rescan, even though there was nothing saved in the channel list. I have been using both a Zenith converter box and an Insignia converter box. The CM-7000 D2A box scanned in every channel that I already had loaded into the Zenith box. It did take a couple times to scan everything in (Update), as some of my semi-locals are still weak signals and I had to adjust the 8 bay UHF antenna that I currently use for the Zenith.

Observations:
There is no DIRECT way to access the RF channels (virtual channels). An example would be - my local channel 9 remaps from RF 16 (UHF). There is physically NO WAY to view RF 16. You can use the RC to attempt to access any channel that IS NOT programmed into the converter box and it will do absolutely nothing. It stays on the channel you're currently viewing. There is no settings in the main MENU that will allow you to access the RF channel numbers. Even when you run the RESCAN or UPDATE functions, you simply see a percentage progress bar. It does not show which channel numbers it is currently scanning.

Also, this unit does not have an analog pass-thru function.

On the RC, there is a button called INFO. When this button is pushed, you get an INFORMATION BANNER across the top of the screen. This is where you see the remapped channel number, Channel name and Program name, clock, time length of program in progress, a description of the program (if one is given). Across the bottom of this banner box is where you find the signal strength bar for the channel tuned, a numeric indicator of the level of the digital broadcast (1080i, 720p, 480i), as well as all of the Ratings information for the current program.

There is another button on the RC called GUIDE. This is the EPG. This is probably the one thing they did right. It shows a continuous program guide for each channel, meaning, however many hours of program content the station is including in their digital stream, you will see it. If there is 2 hours of program information, it will be there. If there is 12 hours of program information, it will be there. It appears from the Wikipedia list, this unit is limited to a 12 hour EPG. I did not note that information in the User's Manual.

When I tested the CM-7000 D2A against the Zenith DTT-900 on the morning of July 30th, I had marginal localized tropo to Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs is 100 miles due south of my home. I noticed on the Signal Bar that all of my locals (Denver channnels) were measuring 100%, with the exception of KRMA-DT 6-1 (a PBS affiliate), which was showing 72-88% signal strength. On the Zenith all of the channels typically show around 85%, with KRMA-DT about 60%. I believe how the CM-7000 D2A measures its signal strength is questionable. I was able to get the Zenith converter box to decode KKTV-HD 11-1 Colorado Springs (@ 105 miles) several times. When I ran the UPDATE function on the CM-7000 D2A at the same time KKTV-HD was present on the Zenith, the CM-7000 only decoded the PSIP (data) information once, but never did show a picture. This is a very limited test, due to the fact living in the West means that most DTV's are further apart and thus not that many opportunities for real DTV dx.

From a dxers perspective, the inability to access the RF channel is a major minus. From a casual viewers perspective, this unit is awesome. I would definitely have one of these units for the family, but not for myself as a dxer.

I hope this information helps you in your research to find the right CECB converter box.

If you'd like to review the product manual, here is the link to the PDF document:
http://www.channelmasterintl.com/pdf...a_20080408.pdf