Craig CVD506 Digital TV Signal Converter

This product was inexpensive and has done the job. Occasionally it trips and has to be reset, but that is very easy to do.....just press a little button. I would recommend it to anyone not wishing to invest in a new TV.

The Craig CVD506 DTV converter box works fine - if you know what you are doing with the antenna. Antenna reception has always been a science and that science just got harder now that we are picking up digital signals.With a little cajoling this converter gave all the traditionally analog local channels, and then some. All with a pair of rabbit ears and bowtie antenna on a 20 year old 13" color Panasonic! I tested this with a similar Radio Shack antenna with VHF loop. The signal isn't as strong as a Channel Master CM-7000 on the same antenna. 20 to 40 percent vs 70 to 80 percent respectively. But even the Channel Master benefits from a better antenna.The Craig CVD506 is unique as it has the "smart antenna" plug. I could not locate such an antenna but is supposed to be better at discriminating multi-directional signals for more channels and better signal strength. Perhaps this is where this unit truly shines. Scan time with such a smart antenna is said to take 50 minutes or more. Worth it if it works.The remote control has obscure placement for the channel and volume buttons. The arrow keys double as channel and volume changers, so that improved the functionality.Unlike some other units, you must go into the menu to set the picture for 16:9 or 4:3. No simple function on the remote control. I opted for 4:3 for the old set simply to keep a nostalgic full screen image.The overscan might be wider than normal. The PBS channel logo is partially cut off at the end. While that is no great loss, if the picture is cropping more than it should, it could really effect the framing and enjoyment of shows. Some TV sets may have controls to adjust for overscan. Other channels appeared to frame fine. Must be the framing on PBS.It does let you skip channels you don't want. Simply scroll down the favorites list, cursor left once and press the OK button. It does have an electronic program guide but you have to wait for it to update each time you bring up the favorites list. Depending on signal strength this may take a minute.It does give the current show name and next show information on the banner each time you change the channel. It also shows a little antenna strength guide which you can see anytime by pressing the Info button. The channel banner is large and lingers too long for my taste. So I learned to press the Info button to close it immediately. No biggie. On the other hand, visually impaired people actually benefit from the banner size and post time.In short it is a very workable unit with the proper antenna, positioning, and bit of patience. You may need to rotate your antenna and do an update scan to find new channels without losing the original ones. It is nicely sized for the top of smaller tv's. Plus the black plastic really goes well with my old black Panasonic. I am glad I have it for the potential of the Smart Antenna. A likeable unit.Just for fun:I connected my Craig CVD506 to some portable TV's. Using some spare parts I adapted a coax connector to an RCA yellow composite cable then to a mono 1/8" jack. (Like an F-Connector) This allows me to plug into the external antenna feed of a 1983 Bently 5" B&W portable TV. Just roll the tuner to channel 3 and viola! Crystal clear digital image on this 26 year old set! Had a bit of audio noise and a smidge of picture artifacts. Worked even better on an RCA B&W portable of about 5 years with the same cable. Finally, using the RCA jacks to a stereo adaptor, I plugged into my portable 4" color LCD TV. Phenominal picture for size and definition. It just goes to show what these TV's are capable of doing. They just never had a clean enough signal to benefit - until now!

works great

I bought a Craig Converter box without shopping around thinking they were all pretty much similarly capable of converting to digital. Lucky me when the thing finally stopped working after about six months of lousy, unpredictable reception, and I went out and bought another( a Digital Stream at Radio Shack). I couldn't believe how much better the new one was, how clear all the channels were, how smoothly the remote worked,and how many more features the remote offered (like Previous Channel.)The Craig converter was really a waste of money, a source of frustration from using their unresponsive junky remote, and a waste of six months of watching fuzzy TV. I thought that because we live out in the country the digital conversion was'nt going to give us good reception so it's a huge relief to find that we can have a great picture, that we just never considered that there could be so much difference between converters.

I installed a couple of these and feel you could do better. There evidently is NO feature to add/delete channels, that means you cannot shut out all those foreign language and religious channels that many people want to. The buttons on the remote are small and not good for an elderly person with reduced vision. The remote must be pointed directly at the box to be effective. Sure this is a cheap box, but have a contingency plan to return it for something better.

The 250 MHz 32-bit CPU in the Craig Digital-to-Analog Broadcast Converter CVD506 runs HOT! That may explain some of the short lifespans of this device that many owners are experiencing.The chip runs so hot that one can literally feel the heat by holding their hand over the top of the unit while it's in operation. It's far hotter than, say, a L G Electronics LGDT1111D chip, inside a DigitalStream Model DTX9900 Digital-to-Analog Broadcast Converter.That's not good. All it takes is an unusually hot day, or direct sunlight, and this unit is cooked. But read on.To correct the problem, I removed the cover and fashioned a 3/4" x 2-1/4" piece of aluminum flashing, and with two right angle bends, formed it into a "U", 3/4" x 3/4" at its base, to fit directly on top of the Broadcom BCM3543KPB5G CPU. To ensure a good heat transfer, the 3/4" x 3/4" base was surfaced (using a chalked file) until it was perfectly flat, and then aligned and glued on top of the chip with no more than two or three drops of runny super glue.Super glue, while not a specialized heatsink glue, will work just fine in this case since we're only dealing with a plastic-to-aluminum junction anyway.And to get the CPU to run even cooler, I bored a 3/8" hole in the black plastic cabinet, directly underneath the CPU, to draw in cooling air directly to the circuit board.And while others have dismissed the Craig Digital to Analog Broadcast Converter CVD506 as a piece of junk, I'd like to point out that it has an internal 120VAC-to-12VDC converter: Open Frame Power Supply Model #ADS0125-S120100 Input: 100-240VAC, 50-60Hz, 0.5A Output: 12VDC, 1.0AAnd this feature alone gives the unit, when easily hacked, versatility. That is, it can be easily rewired and powered by a 12VDC power source.Check out this link this guy posted, detailing the simple procedure: InstructablesDotCom and search: "Digital-TV-Converter-Hack"And while he features modifying a RCA Digital to Analog Broadcast Converter, the unit uses the same internal 120VAC-to-12VDC converter, as well as the Broadcom BCM3543 CPU.This simple modification will breathe new life into those old portable analog color TVs and video projectors.I went one step further and completely removed the clumbsy OEM 120VAC cord-plug, and replaced it with a flush mounted 120VAC panel jack, as well as a 12VDC panel jack. I now have a lean-and-mean unit that will function anywhere.As for the unique "smart antenna" jack on the back of the unit, the concept never completely took off: Only a few versions of these "smart antennas" were actually manufactured, and none of them can hold a candle to the pull-in power of the traditional rooftop VHF-UHF rotating, co-axial cabled TV antennas of yore.Some may rightly feel that this post is inappropriate for Amazon.com, and should be posted instead in one of those hackers' forums. But I feel that those who are contemplating buying a Craig Digital-to-Analog Broadcast Converter CVD506 -or who are already stuck with one, will now be better informed, to consider their options.

I disconnected cable from my bed room and bought a flat screen antena and hooked up the craigcvd that i bought years ago this unit works great i get a lot of stations.R S