No free t.v.?

[ricky w.]

I read in the paper today that t.v. via antenna will not be available after February 17, 2009. What a bummer. One of my favorite things to do is what a college football game at my campsite on a crisp fall evening. I've camped for the super bowl and the world series. It said in the article that this would really affect the elderly and shut-ins on a fixed income that cannot afford cable and, for alot, their only contact with the outside world. Tell me this isn't true.

[Bobbie Mayer]

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007...digital_tv.html

You'll still be able to get free-TV, just not with your current equipment.

[ricky w.]

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007...digital_tv.html

You'll still be able to get free-TV, just not with your current equipment.

Thanks Bobbie, I feel alot better now.

[Bobbie Mayer]

I don't like it- I don't have cable at either house, and I think only my newest television is digital. But if these converter boxes work it may be okay. I really do not want to have to get cable or any new television sets.

Bobbie

[Brian B-P]

We worked through this issue earlier this year in the topic "Buying T.V. for Trailer, Watch out". In summary, if your TV is old enough to have only an analog tuner, you will eventually need an inexpensive converter, or a new TV.

I have learned one thing from today's shot at the subject: don't go to ConsumerAffairs.com for information. While the writer of the article must have had some correct reference material, and seems to have stumbled across approximately the right answer, the headline is blatantly misleading and technically nonsensical statements are littered through the article.

[Darwin Maring]

Everybody says there will be an inexpensive converter box however there is no such item for sale at this time. Inexpensive depends on what your income is and may be expensive for those on fixed income or out of work. There R allot of out of work trades people here in the US due to the housing market. Need tools, we have them at the pawn shop.

I sell Used TV's in the Pawn Shop and Some of the older TVs do not have the red/white/yellow connections and they require a converter box for people to connect the new DVD players and the converter sells for $15 to $30 USD depending on where you purchase them. This drives a Used $30 TV up to $60 in price and simply is not worth it.

I have a HDTV and I get over the air programming from all the networks and it comes through a DirectTV Tuner where the Satellite and the over the air antenna are both connected to the box. Should I not want satellite, I could connect the antenna directly to the TV.

I sure hope someone jumps on the bandwagon with a converter very soon.

[Kevin K]

Some facts------> http://dtvfacts.com/converter-box-coupons/

[Brian B-P]

I don't know if there are any converters available today which are exactly what the ultra-low-income customer needs, with DTV antenna in and analog RF out, priced within the U.S. federal government's coupon limit; however, we're talking about a requirement over a year in the future. In this game, a year is a long time, and I'm not ready to declare that there's a problem for anyone yet.

If you get locked out by not having the right equipment, just drag the egg up here: Canada's transition will complete much later.

[Ed Harris]

Here is just one converter box.
This distributor has several others as well.
I would not worry just yet,the FCC has yet to meet or force a deadline about this whole deal yet.



http://www.skywalker.com/dealers/catalog/i...=4&UseNav=0

[peterh]

Two things worth noting about converter boxes and on buying a new TV.

First, the converter boxes are akin to a cable or satellite TV box: You tune the TV to channel 3 or 4 and use a separate remote to control the converter box. If you have a combo TV/AM/FM/DVD player or an off-brand TV, the controller that comes with the converter may not be set up to control all your TV functions, meaning you may need multiple remotes to enjoy your older TV.

So, if buying a new set appeals, it's good to know that stores are supposed to have clear and prominent warnings on their shelves and ads warning potential buyers when an analog set isn't set up to receive the new digital signals, but I've seen numerous occasions where these warnings were not present in online advertising or hidden behind "Sale!" tags on the shelf. And it makes sense for retailers not to tell you, because after a short while all their large inventory of analog sets will be essentially worthless stock, so its better to sell you a set now and have several months pass before you realize that it isn't all you thought it was.

Then they get to sell you another TV or converter box! Whadda deal! So make sure any set you buy clearly says it has a "digital" or "ATSC" tuner. (Some sets on store shelves have both digital/ATSC and analog/NTSC tuners built in.) Several Target ads online neglect to mention when a TV they're selling is "analog only." <grrrr>

--Peter

[Gerry]

This was first told to me by my Brother in law about a month ago and I said "no way" but it was "Yes Way".
I can't believe it. We do not watch that much TV but I was in the mind to buy a new flat screen this comeing year.
BUT.... while sitting in the hot tub last night looking at the stars, I started to rationalize...will it work????
We do not have cable in this area (hard to believe in this day and age) nor do we have a satilite due to our income does not allow for such luxuries but 3 local chanels do come in prety good with the antena that we have.
I can see it now a 32 inch flat screen HD LCD on my wall with the rabbit ear antena comeing up from behind and just a bit of tin-foil for that "little better" picture look.
Tell me is this box, I will need to purchase, going to make my picture come in any better????
Gerry the canoebuilder

[Ed Harris]

This was first told to me by my Brother in law about a month ago and I said "no way" but it was "Yes Way".
I can't believe it. We do not watch that much TV but I was in the mind to buy a new flat screen this comeing year.
BUT.... while sitting in the hot tub last night looking at the stars, I started to rationalize...will it work????
We do not have cable in this area (hard to believe in this day and age) nor do we have a satilite due to our income does not allow for such luxuries but 3 local chanels do come in prety good with the antena that we have.
I can see it now a 32 inch flat screen HD LCD on my wall with the rabbit ear antena comeing up from behind and just a bit of tin-foil for that "little better" picture look.
Tell me is this box, I will need to purchase, going to make my picture come in any better????
Gerry the canoebuilder

If you buy a new flat screen just make sure that it has a Digital Tuner built-in and you will not need a converter box.
The entire point here is that your TV either will or will not tune the new digital channel spectrum and if it will not then a box is required to do so.

Many areas already have digital broadcast running so it may be practical to determine right now if you will be able to receive the broadcasts.

With the new digital the reception it will be a lot more simple to determine and tweak than it is now.
You will either get it and it will be near perfect looking or you will not get it at all.The matter of reception will be a lot more "Black and White" (sorry I had to).

The entire electronics manufacturing community has already decided for you that this is prefferred to what we have now and they also have determined that we will be happy or even eager to tolerate any digital artifacts of poor reception as we already do with cable and sat. broadcasting.
Our elected representatives have co-signed these conclusions and despite the realities of the normal people being stranded with this they have changed our broadcasting world to free up channel spectrum for other short sighted plans they have.

The problem is that cable and sat. at least deliver a decent signal level so the digital we see is at a strong level......broadcast will just be,well, mediocre!

If you watch digital cable or sat. now maybe you have noticed the picture jerking or tiling(freezing) from time to time? Maybe you also notice in dark,low contrast scenes that you can see bizarre moving blocks that have nothing to do with the picture you are watching?
These are the result of digitizing or compressing the signal so they can squeeze more material into the smaller bandwidth of the digital signal.
In theory they could deliver better quality all the time or alternative programming due to the ability to compress the signal.
In practice they have degraded the signal to the point of a terrible product capable of producing more revenue for the government and the broadcasters all under the guise of knowing what is better for us since we can not tell the difference anyway.

There are high performance antenna's for the digital broadcasts that work fairly well to improve the signal and since they receive in the UHF band they are very small compared to what we are used to for broadcast antenna.
In my experience they rarely work if you are distant from the tramsmitter or they may deliver just one of many signals from your area,

This whole mess will not really affect most people it turns out.The numbers of us that do not pay for TV is so low that we are being overcome by the event and have no real voice in it at all.

I tried to warn you....don't get me started!

Ed

[james kent]

What a bummer. We have a little "cottage at the lake" where w e like to spend some time when the weather is HOT in the summer. I have put up a tower and can get about 20 stations so that the wife can watch her special shows on a small tv. New tv... new satellite... new converter. For the use we'd get out of it I don't think that it's worth the expense, BUT when have I ever had a say in it?
PS
I am the boss, but then she's not here right now.

[Alf S.]

Hi: When the "Government" our representatives... want to change the regulations who are We the "PEOPLE" to say anything!!! If you wish to talk to someone with a little authority "I have as little as any one p.s. There's no free lunch either
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Patrick M.]

What a bummer. We have a little "cottage at the lake" where w e like to spend some time when the weather is HOT in the summer. I have put up a tower and can get about 20 stations so that the wife can watch her special shows on a small tv. New tv... new satellite... new converter.

I suspect all you will need to do is spend the net $10 or $20 on the converter and you'll be good to go at that little cottage.

Digital reception is soooooo much better, sooooo superior to analog. The future is here, and we're alive to enjoy it!

[Brian B-P]

... I was in the mind to buy a new flat screen this comeing year.
BUT.... while sitting in the hot tub last night looking at the stars, I started to rationalize...will it work????

Yes, because the new flat-screen TV will have an ATSC tuner - it would be hard to find one which doesn't, and now you know to check for that feature.

We really are talking about a little antenna (more likely a bowtie than "rabbit ears") sticking up from the back of the high-tech TV.

[Brian B-P]

What a bummer. We have a little "cottage at the lake" where we like to spend some time when the weather is HOT in the summer. I have put up a tower and can get about 20 stations so that the wife can watch her special shows on a small tv. New tv... new satellite... new converter...

With that many over-the-air channels, I suppose some might be from the U.S. (Detroit? "SW Ontario" is not specific enough...) and those stations will go away - maybe even on schedule in 2009. The Canadian stations will still be available in VHF and UHF analog form for at least a couple of years longer, so there's no imminent problem here.

[Patrick M.]

and those stations will go away - maybe even on schedule in 2009.

Not necessarily. In Tucson we current have 14 over the air digital signals, and as far as I know, those will of course continue after their analog equivilents "do" go away (and good riddance!). Set up free account here and see: http://www.titantv.com

Detroit currently has about 9 digital signals. Another source of info - http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

[james kent]

It's not the amount. It's the cost.
It just seems that there is always someone scr..messing things up just as soon as we get settled.
I LIKE the KISS system and "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Yes I understand that digi is better for you But why do I have to have it FORCED upon me. Right now the wife is watching TV while I'm here in the other room messing with your head.... or getting mine done instead.

[Donna D.]

It's not the amount. It's the cost.
It just seems that there is always someone scr..messing things up just as soon as we get settled.
I LIKE the KISS system and "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Yes I understand that digi is better for you But why do I have to have it FORCED upon me. Right now the wife is watching TV while I'm here in the other room messing with your head.... or getting mine done instead.

But it is "broken." See Why Are Broadcast TV Stations Switching to All-Digital? for more info.

This is the biggy: "In addition, all-digital broadcasting will free up many frequencies to be used for public safety, such as police, fire, and emergency rescue, and for the provision of advanced commercial wireless services for consumers."

hummm James, typewriters work just fine, but aren't we glad for computers!