ATSC Digital TV Converter Box Dongle with TV Tuner, TV Recording, USB Multimedia Function, 1080P HDMI Output, Clear QAM by Mediasonic HomeWorx (HW135STB)

Great HD antenna signal converter with tuner. I previously had a bulky TV tuner box and it just burned up. I bought this as it’s a much smaller footprint in the equipment rack. At first it kept just turning off after 20 minutes and I thought it was overheating. As it turned out the USB plug I had was not enough power so it just ran out of power. Once I had the proper plug this thing pushes a 120” projector all day with super clarity. I love the little LED display and the favorite options. Def recommend this if you have a tuner need for your digital antenna.

So easy to set up and get going! I only needed the manual to learn the remote functions.I haven't tried the DVR feature yet, I wanted to be sure it worked well first before buying an external hard drive. Now I can't wait to get one and try the DVR! I can't believe how great it works for the low-low price! Every channel that's available in 1080 HD actually PLAYS in full HD! Super Satisfied!

After a couple hours of troubleshooting and Help from ChatGPT, I finally figured out what my connection issue was.Initially, I connected everything to the HDTV antenna as well as the homework’s unit to be powered by the television USB. This created the initial scanning errors and constant rebooting of the unit. ChatGPT gave me a list of troubleshooting options, one of which to connect directly to a powered outlet using a phone charger or something similar that has a 5V/2A wall adapter.And that was the key; changing the power source was critical to fixing the issue. Once I did that it immediately began finding tons of channels.I read through the users manual, though I’m not sure there is a specific recommendation of power source potentially being cause of issue, but it would be helpful to include that in the manual.The unit does run a little hot. So definitely don’t leave it on if it’s not in use. I’m a bit concerned about the longevity of the unit because of this. Otherwise, aside from the initial set up issues everything works as described. You just need a little patience to figure out and troubleshoot any issues.Also you definitely need to plug in the infrared receiver (IR) device to control the unit with the remote control. (Batteries not included with remote) That wasn’t immediately obvious to me though it does come with a double sided sticky pad if you want to attach it to the TV or somewhere it can be unobstructed from the remote controller.

This should be avoided for many reasons, but I’ve listed the most important ones below:• This device is made from the cheapest possible components available. It will without a doubt fail in under a year. If you’re lucky, you’ll make it past the return window, when you can no longer return it.• You’ll definitely have signal issues, even with 100% quality and strength. Nothing you do will fix this because it’s due to using an ultra cheap tuner/receiver chip inside.• GUl (menu) is painfully slow and unresponsive due to lack of memory.• Remote is flimsy and slow to respond. Even if you do actually manage to figure out what the buttons do, you’ll just be waiting and waiting anyway.• Menus are confusing, and remain on-screen too long- like 60 seconds too long. If you don’t press exit, you’ll be waiting a full minute for them to go away.• Sound quality is poor, and sometimes doesn’t exist at all. Again, cheap components.• Don’t bother programming anything as it will reset itself to factory defaults in a day or two on its own. When this happened a third time, I boxed it up and returned it.This could be a great product, if they would’ve used ANY decent quality components, but when EVERY SINGLE COMPONENT is cheap, something will just inevitably fail. I’ll never understand why they don’t just use decent components and make a solid product…Anyway, do yourself a huge favor and just keep looking. Unless you just have time and money to waste, you don’t want this device.

The HW135STB performs very well as an OTA tuner and OTA video recorder. Pulls in all OTA local stations just like my Samsung TV. After a bit of a learning curve (not any more than on any TV!), I find the user interface quite intuitive for channel surfing and recording/playback of OTA recordings. The instruction booklet guided me through all the features. I did encounter one problem. The unit would not fast-forward when watching recordings. A very necessary feature for skipping past unwanted segments of a broadcast recording. But the issue was successfully resolved when I contacted MediaSonicUSA's support via email. They provided a firmware update which was easy to install. Much better than returning to Amazon! Good customer support.

My Big issue with this TV Tuner is the quality of reception. Homeworx previous model TV tuner which was a square box and was powered by an 120V wall outlet (instead of USB powered) got much better reception. For us, all four major networks broadcast from an antenna farm about 45-55 miles away, We use an amplified 8 element Bow Tie array antenna which has served us well. With Homeworx old model tuner we'd only lose reception during severe weather, with this new model we lose reception far more frequently, I'd say at least 3-4 times per week, and it can be frustrating when it happens at the wrong time. I noticed the difference in reception immediately after installing this tuner.HOWEVER what I really do like about this model is that IT DOESN'T FAIL AFTER 6 MONTHS LIKE THE OLD MODEL!!! With the old model I was literally buying a new tuner for $25 every 6 months or so which is why I was so glad to see this one.So... better reception and buy a new one every 6 months, or mediocre reception and only buy once. Decisions, decisions....

The remote is very reactive and works flawlessly. The small dongle is easily hid behind the tv and the wired IR digital readout is great. Easy function recording that works nicely. I would highly recommend this. Make sure you set the correct time zone and daylight savings, and it will work as scheduled. Nice Media Sonic....

Works great easy to install

Does the job.

Muy bien, cumple lo que promete, ademas trae unas tiras de pegamento para colocarlo donde lo necesites y se oculta dejando solo una mini pantallita donde ves el canal sintonizado

Sort review is: it works fine for OTA. Longer review is: it took a while to set up. It unfortunately isn't HDMI CEC compliant so that caused some time delay during set up (I tried to hook it to the receiver but that was a waste of effort because of the lack of CEC). I thought it might be an issue with the supplied HDMI cable so I swapped the cable out but no luck. That's sort of a drag if you're trying to integrated it into an existing HDMI setup (TV, Receiver, Blue-Ray, etc all linked and talking to each other). So it's now connected directly to the TV and it works from there (with the extra step of changing the Input on the TV settings). As far as unit's remote goes, I added it to a SofaBaton. But because SB doesn't have a preset configuration for this particular Mediasonic unit I had to teach it some commands - including (because the CEC thing) a macro to get the unit, the TV and the Receiver to turn on and off at the same <-- jaded headache.As far as picture goes I did end up swapping out the supplied HDMI cable because it didn't seem to feed properly when I set the resolution to 1080P 60hz. After that, the quality was nice and clear.Other than the above the unit works fine. It scans signals well, it has the added advantage of being able to scan individual stations in case you had to move the antenna, it's got an EPG for stations that provide it, it's user friendly, and it's IR receiver is fairly unobtrusive. There is a slight delay when switching channels but no big deal.I haven't tried the PVR stuff but other reviewers have so have a look there for their thoughts on it. One last note, if you're using an older TV (and components) with no USB connection available you'll have to get yourself an USB AC adapter because they don't provide one in the kit (look for a 5volt 3amp adapter).Would I buy the unit again, no, probably not. I'm too used the the convenience of HDMI products talking and co-operating with each other. But am I complaining about getting OTA back (I bought the unit because I blew out the antenna input on my TV), nope, the unit definitely got my OTA back.

Nice converter unit, simple to connect and set up.

I gave it 3 star not friendly userI returned it.