ZapperBoxZapperBox M1 ATSC 3.0 OTA Dual Tuner + DVR + Gateway with 4K, HDR, and Channel Guide

There were no issues encountered in viewing and recording the 6 NextGen TV ATSC 3.0 channels in our area. The DVR tuner is easy to use and is dependable. The channel guide works well. The remote has a wonderful design, and can be programmed for other devices. The tuners are very sensitive with both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 signals. I have zero complaints other than I wish it had 4 tuners. However, they designed the software to easily determine and resolve scheduling conflicts.A couple of months ago I had a hardware issue with the unit. Their support was one of the best I have ever experienced, and they promptly sent me a new replacement unit. In my opinion, the true test of a company is in providing superior support when unlikely issues arise. So the purchaser can buy this product with confidence in knowing that ZapperBox has a great support team behind their products.Personally, I want to see this company succeed. This unit does it all, does it well, and there really are no comparable units on the market with the functionality they offer. This ATSC 3.0 roll out has been miserably executed by the broadcasters. We had an HDHomeRun Flex 4K ATSC 3.0 unit that became partly useless when our local CBS and NBC broadcasters encrypted the signal. ZapperBox has elegantly solved this issue.I’m sure that some of you were wondering why I’m not sticking with ATSC 1.0. The reason is that I get spotty reception on some key channels, because I’m located behind a hill, which blocks these signals — receiving these only on a tropospheric bounce. ATSC 3.0 signals are located on the same tower. And ATSC 3.0 signals yield a more stable signal without break-ups.

Sorry Zinwell ZAT-600B, your out of here.Zapperbox M1 Duel Tuner, your a keeper and here is why.Easy setup and easy to use.The unit walks you through the setup process. Including updating the unit before first use (we connected unit to internet with supplied cable at initial instal of the unit). A two page user manual was included. We did not need it.The supplied internet and hdmi cables seem to be high quality.TV menu/guide (that cost about $30/year with first month free) is an absolute must add on. Not needed as you can use the OTA guide. Just not as useful as it is limited on how far ahead you can look at what is on in the future.We connected a 1tb external hard drive into the usb 3.o port. This allows us to record shows and use the extended pause buffer taking the buffer from default 5 minutes to 1 hour (must change setting in menu after hard drive is connected).A slight one to two second delay when tuning into 1.0 channels. A second or two more for 3.0 channels.ATSC 3.0 must have internet connection. Hopefully this will change in updates to the unit.Hopefully when broadcasters wake up and remove digital rights management from their 'free' over the air broadcast.Plenty of options for recording shows. Watch one and record another. Record two but must watch one of the two recording sucks but understandable because it's only a two tuner unit.Signal meter is very useful if setting up a new antenna.Can add new channels and keep whats already been scanned. Can hide channels if you do not want to see them.Youtube app is already installed. More apps expected in the future.Additional updates to the unit are expected and details of what is expected can be seen on the zapperbox website. This shows the dedication the company has behind their product.

I bought the dual channel Zapperbox back in March of 2025 (along with the recommended 1T Western Digital Elements SE portable SSD for data storage) as a replacement for my Amazon Recast, which was buggy and no longer supported by Amazon. The Zapperbox is expensive but it does have ATSC 3.0 tuner capability, which will be the new standard as ATSC 1.0 is phased out (supposedly in 2028). I live in an area where I have line-of-sight to Mt Wilson (where most of the transmission masts are) in Los Angeles so have a lot of very strong TV signals. I use an attic antenna.I had some initial problems with the box in that the picture and sound would keep freezing on ATSC 3.0 channels for a minute or so on both live viewing and on recordings, which was annoying to say the least! I contacted the Zapperbox technical help and found Curt to be very responsive in addressing my problem. It turns out my box came with a 5 volt power supply (oval shaped plug) that only had a 2-amp rating. Curt sent me a 3-amp rated power supply (rectangular plug) and this immediately solved the freezing problem.Another issue I had was with inaccuracies in the channel guide (which costs an extra $30 a year). Specifically, one of the public broadcast channels I watch (58.1 here in Los Angeles) was simply not correct a good bit of the time. I didn't check the myriad of other channels I can receive. This was a bit annoying, particularly when the free Amazon Recast guide was accurate! Curt says that Zapperbox is working on that with their guide provider.More recently I encountered another problem that turned out not to be associated with the Zapperbox at all. A few days ago I found I could not get any broadcasts from the ATSC 3.0 channels, even though the ATSC 1.0 channels all worked. I thought the 3.0 tuner had died and contacted Curt. He told me that all the ATSC 3.0 channels broadcast from Mt Wilson had been off the air recently. Apparently, at the moment, they all share a common transmission mast and that was down. And sure enough, a few days later all the ATSC 3.0 channels re-appeared!I have a minor issue with my TV initially not recognizing the Zapperbox signal when I first turn both on. That problem is usually cleared by turning the TV off and on again. If I keep the Zapperbox on all the time (not in standby mode) then that also solves the problem. It seems the Zapperbox has to be on for a while before turning on my TV, in order for it to work immediately.All in all, I'm happy with the Zapperbox - the software works much better than that for my Recast. And the Zapperbox team is continually working on adding more software features in free updates!