Last Updated: April 1, 2023 (Refresh Now)
Mediasonic ATSC Digital Converter Box with Recording Media Player TV Tuner Function HW130STB
Last Updated: April 1, 2023 (Refresh Now)
6.2
SCORE
/10
Total Reviews
1000
Old Reviews
725
Unverified
21
Spam Test
!
Full HD 1080p
RESOLUTION
Yes
HDMI
Yes
VIDEO
2
NUMBER OF USB PORTS
Review Analysis - 254 recent, verified reviews
Detailed Mode
Usage
60button, easy to set, user interface, set, easy to use
+75%
-25%
" ... Easy out of box hook up. ... "
" ... Took less than five minutes to install and have more station stations than just using the Set’s tuner ... "
" ... Easy to use and durable enough, obviously. ... "
" ... Easy set-up, great picture. ... "
" ... Even from 12 feet away! ... "
" ... Works great, the manual is not perfect but this was easy even for me me to set up, took about 10 minutes - and voila! ... "
" ... Secondly, the instruction booklet font size was TINY. ... "
" ... The overall user interface is best described as clumsy and non-intuitive. ... "
Reliability
56stopped working, died, working, lasted, quit
+13%
-88%
" ... just stopped working, no lights nothing ... "
" ... Both died within 3 months. ... That died too. ... Wish it lasted as it works well . ... until it just dies. ... "
" ... Wouldn’t power up after 2 years. ... "
" ... My first unit died after 13 months and they sent a replacement. ... The replacement stopped working after 5 months. ... "
" ... It worked well until yesterday. ... They will stop working. ... "
" ... Don't buy, I've owned three and all have died within a year! ... "
" ... Although I purchased the box in September of 2020 and it has recently stopped working, trying to find return information has been like finding Waldo. ... "
" ... The picture was very good but the mediasonic HW130stb DIED after 7 months of use ... it completely went dead as if unplugged. ... "
Remote
44control, buttons, directly, remotes, frustrating
+36%
-64%
" ... But the interface and using the remote made it so cumbersome to use I gave up. ... "
" ... Only remote functional is the on/ off button. ... "
" ... Really cheap remote, it takes a firm and usually more than one press for the remote to function. ... "
" ... The second problem is the number pad on the remote quit working, none of the numbers will work, but other functions all seem to work fine. ... Emailed Mediasonic, They agreed to replace the box but would not replace the remote, strange. ... So now I have two boxes that are not functioning and one broken remote. ... Bought a box at Walmart had to pay more, $40, but I get all the channels with HD quality, just so happens the remote control is identical and the one for this box even works on the new box, however the number pad doesn't work because it was broken before and the seller refused to replace the remote but did replace the box with another defective box. ... "
" ... the remote is too small, it is half the size of the 1st model. ... "
" ... Cheap remote which takes an act of Congress to recognize what buttons I'm pressing. ... "
" ... Buttons on remote falling off. ... "
" ... BUT, BUT, "the remote control is a joke" it looks and feels like a child toy - small bouncing keys that repeat entry digits, "very frustrating" weak IF signal, and worst of all universal remote controls can"t be programed for this HW130STB, unless maybe you purchase one that will cost as much as this Madiasonic ATS. ... "
Connectivity
40hdmi, usb, hdmi cable, antenna, usb drive
+60%
-40%
" ... This one has the external converter. ... "
" ... Great tuner, I got it as I didn’t want to see any wires going to TV and it connects to prewired HDMI cable. ... "
" ... We use the HDMI port and get reasonably good reception on a wide range of channels, despite being in nowheresville, Maine ... "
" ... I like the HDMI and standard AV outputs. ... "
" ... This works great for my non smart tv. ... "
" ... It did allow me to hook up by Visio TV ... "
" ... easy connects with my hdmi cable, good remote and basically is a DVR when you connect a USB drive. ... "
" ... The HDMI port passed along all audio perfectly, and the RCA out worked fine to a speaker bar in terms of sound. ... "
Picture
25quality, tv, picture quality, hdmi, excellent
+100%
" ... Great picture quality with useful features that won't overwhelm you. ... "
" ... High quality picture ... "
" ... With this converter I have about 30 channels with good picture quality. ... "
" ... Signal strength and picture quality are great. ... "
" ... If you're in a good range of towers beautiful pictures ... "
" ... I did find out that the HDMI cord is the beat to use for sound and picture. ... "
" ... It provides exactly what you expect from 1080p HDMI in terms of picture and sound quality with OTA ... "
" ... Picture quality could be a little better but it works as it should. ... "
Marketplace
24return, one, amazon, advertised, replace
+50%
-50%
" ... It seems to have been made for a short amount of time with little to no help in trying to return it. ... "
" ... Says it'll do it but you can't see the picture it is so bad ... "
" ... Did not work straight out the box. ... "
" ... Purchased October 2019. ... "
" ... I'm past the return window, and I'm literally going to throw this in the trash - I wouldn't wish this thing on my worst enemy. ... "
" ... This product did work at all was unable to return product. ... "
" ... Unit only cost about $30 dollars, but still disappointed I can't return it. ... "
" ... My first unit died after 13 months and they sent a replacement. ... "
Resolution
22tv, hdmi, digital, tuner, picture quality
+77%
-23%
" ... It provides exactly what you expect from 1080p HDMI in terms of picture and sound quality with OTA ... "
" ... 17 OTA digital channels. ... "
" ... The HDMI output translates to an amazing view on my old awesome TV. ... "
" ... I had a Vizio 4K wide screen with no tuner. ... "
" ... With this converter I have about 30 channels with good picture quality. ... "
" ... I have a 20 + year old plasma TV. ... "
" ... Purchased this to specifically allow use of a 2017 model Samsung U28E510 4K monitor as a 1920x1080 over-the-air TV. ... For watching live broadcast TV with a better than average antenna, it was 'good'. ... "
" ... got lots of channels. ... "
Network
20antenna, reception, signal strength, digital, channels
+75%
-25%
" ... Pulls in slightly stronger signal than my TV's internal tuner did. ... "
" ... I now have stable reception on all of the channels. ... Signal strength and picture quality are great. ... "
" ... I bought this to record a handful of random shows on major networks. ... "
" ... Very strong reception. ... "
" ... It handles low signal strength very well. ... "
" ... I had the antenna to connect to it too. ... "
" ... It usually gets very good reception. ... "
" ... When a station was dropped the tuner alerted me it was searching for the signal then it was restored. ... "
Software
17format, interface, ui, video, take
+35%
-65%
" ... Having said that, the interface is a little clunky. ... "
" ... UI is not good, but once you get used to it and the confusing remote you can massage it into doing what you want. ... "
" ... but the app it comes with is a giant headache to figure out . ... "
" ... On my unit, the HDMI input was faulty, the picture kept tearing and freezing, the UI looked like something from the 90's. ... "
" ... It's really annoying because I primarily got this to record some shows that are not available for streaming, so when this thing decides to be moody I've lost the show. ... "
" ... 1) When playing back a video file or a recorded show the tv will just go blank. ... "
" ... All makes seem to use the same firmware with minor differences but ALL seem to have the same problem in remembering which programs one has selected for recording. ... "
" ... You can watch avi or mpeg formats. ... "
Price
16money, waste of money, worth, low, going
+75%
-25%
" ... Does what I need for a reasonable price. ... "
" ... I agree with those who say this is a great product for the money, but it just doesn't last. ... "
" ... and for a very good price . ... "
" ... Great converter for the price. ... "
" ... Is a good product by a quite affordable price. ... "
" ... It would cost over $50 to get it fixed. ... "
" ... Worth the purchase? ... "
" ... The price is great and I can edit the commercials out later, or just FF through them. ... "
Marketplace / Marketplace
12advertised, works, worked, one, described
+58%
-42%
" ... It works as advertised. ... "
" ... on time and as advertised. ... "
" ... Company made it right, thank you. ... "
" ... Finally found one that worked as advertised ... "
" ... Works as described. ... "
" ... Worked as described. ... "
Storage
11record, flash memory, disk drive, western digital, ntfs
+64%
-36%
" ... I don’t use the DVR functions and don’t have any external storage devices connected, so I can’t comment on that. ... "
" ... We are using a 128GB USB 3.0 flash drive for recording without any issues. ... "
" ... I used them to record Over The Air digital programs to a 2 TB portable disk drive. ... "
" ... A 3.0 version thumb drive works just fine. ... "
" ... I really liked the old box until the flash memory stopped working. ... Instead the DVR schedule has an eleven day week and zero working flash memory to hold schedules. ... I am really hoping that the new Mediasonic will have better quality flash memory. ... Ask me in three years how the flash memory is holding up. ... I have been using old model USB 1 Western Digital disk drives for DVR storage. ... The old model Western Digital units arrived formatted as fat32. ... To use them for DVR storage I had to reformat them to NTFS. ... I did not need to use this, the USB 1 Western Digital drives transferred to the new box without a hitch. ... If you want to get rid of a disk drive and hide your data, use the above procedure. ... A 1TB disk drive can take 8+ hours to format. ... "
" ... I like that it can record programs with the addition of an external hard drive. ... "
" ... I use an inexpensive 1TB WD Elements NTFS drive for ample program storage with the Mediasonic. ... "
Body
11small, quality, product, design, could
+64%
-36%
" ... Lightweight small box for the entertainment center. ... "
" ... Its lightweight and low-profile design make it easy to transport, which I have done on several occasions. ... "
" ... It is really small and lightweight, but so far it has did exactly what it advertises . ... "
" ... Find product to perform electrically very well, mechanical build quality could be slightly better. ... Position of the two f fittings on back of unit are very close and f connectors quality could be improved. ... "
" ... This was a replacement for one I spilled water on. ... "
" ... This model is about half the size of the old, but does the same thing. ... "
" ... Compact design and functionality. ... "
Cable
10tv, cut, cord, satellite, quality
+80%
-20%
" ... Cut the satellite cord a while back. ... "
" ... Picture quality is very good, no noticable difference between cable quality. ... "
" ... Great tuner, I got it as I didn’t want to see any wires going to TV and it connects to prewired HDMI cable. ... "
" ... The picture quality is as good as cable. ... "
" ... It is so nice to cut the cable & be able to watch local tv for free with the Mediasonic Converter Box. ... "
" ... I will update this review once I have the sata cable. ... "
" ... Nevertheless, it saves me at least $50 per month for cable or satellite DVR. ... "
" ... I bought this for my mom so she could cut cable and watch tv over the air. ... "
Marketplace / Returns
9replace, sent, return window, one, amazon
+11%
-89%
" ... I'm past the return window, and I'm literally going to throw this in the trash - I wouldn't wish this thing on my worst enemy. ... "
" ... This one was worse than the other box i returned. ... "
" ... I will now have to pay to replace it but I will not buy this brand or model. ... "
" ... It seems to have been made for a short amount of time with little to no help in trying to return it. ... "
" ... This product did work at all was unable to return product. ... "
" ... My first unit died after 13 months and they sent a replacement. ... "
" ... Unit only cost about $30 dollars, but still disappointed I can't return it. ... "
Performance
7recording, good, overall, delay, tried
+57%
-43%
" ... For the price it does a great job and I am quite content with it. ... "
" ... But, overall it does the job I bought it for. ... "
" ... It does a very good job. ... "
" ... It functions well does its primary job. ... "
Marketplace / Product As Described
7works, worked, described, says, picture
+86%
-14%
" ... It works as advertised. ... "
" ... on time and as advertised. ... "
" ... Finally found one that worked as advertised ... "
" ... Works as described. ... "
" ... Worked as described. ... "
Features
7feature, red, features, timer, time
+71%
-29%
" ... I don't love when it is off there is still a bright red light. ... "
" ... Easy to program and the remote has good features. ... "
" ... Not having this feature is not a deal breaker, but is greatly desired. ... "
" ... That, I found, was a useful feature. ... "
Size
6antenna, watch, vent, tv, small
+83%
-17%
" ... Lightweight small box for the entertainment center. ... "
" ... Its lightweight and low-profile design make it easy to transport, which I have done on several occasions. ... "
" ... It is really small and lightweight, but so far it has did exactly what it advertises . ... "
" ... This model is about half the size of the old, but does the same thing. ... "
" ... Compact design and functionality. ... "
Marketplace / Delivery
6received, one, working, days, arrived
+83%
-17%
" ... The new box works perfectly! ... "
" ... Good little box gifted one. ... "
" ... it is going into my spare electronics box. ... "
" ... Worked great when received. ... "
Sound
4picture, volume, tv, lag, good
+25%
-75%
" ... However the volume needed to be on max for the box and tv to hear anything. ... "
" ... The device can be a bit buggy and actually crash during play or have sound lag. ... "
" ... One of the most annoying thing is that if I leave this on for about a day, the picture and voice lags. ... "
Display
4tv, menu, works, tuner, quality
+50%
-50%
" ... And the other for the older TV it replaced, that we gave to a friend who has a much smaller screen and failing eyesight. ... "
" ... No menu screen, nothing. ... "
Comfort
4hurt
+50%
-50%
" ... I have large hands and diabetic neuropathy, so it is very difficult to operate. ... Don't do what they say and you will be hurt. ... Do what they say and you will be hurt less. ... "
" ... It does get a bit hot which makes me wonder if that was the issue for the device breaking down. ... "
Battery
4see, lasts, remote, aaa
+75%
-25%
" ... Now it's just a matter of see how long it has for a life span. ... "
" ... This is with new batteries so that is not the issue. ... "
" ... Time will tell if it lasts. ... "
Scan
3simple, scan
+67%
-33%
" ... Re-scan is fast and simple. ... "
" ... I would recommend doing a few video scans. ... "
Design
3design, compact
+67%
-33%
" ... Compact design and functionality. ... Just how Tiny will print fonts go? ... "
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Specifications
Connectivity
HDMI: Yes
Number of USB ports: 2
USB: Yes
Camera
Video: Yes
Memory
Memory: 2097152 GB
Display
Resolution: Full HD 1080p
Recommendations
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