The DTV Blues

[Thomas Linton]

"Be sure that you buy a digital conversion box for your analog TV, or you will have no TV after the changeover in February."

Ya, except, now that I bought a conversion box, I find that my three good, two pretty good, and six somewhat fuzzy stations are one (1) pefect station - sometimes -- and none the rest of the time.

Turns out digital is a Y/N technology. You either get good enough signal reception and you get a perfect sound/picture OR you don't get strong enough signal and you get zilch. Here in the "fringe" zone (antenna codes "blue" and "violet"), that means a 65' antenna tower (Beauty! and $$$$$$$$) or cable/dish TV ($$$$$$$). Applies equally to conversion boxes or brand new DTV sets.

Or I could try to blow a gap through that ridge west of here. I suppose the folks living up there would think that uncool.

Thus into the brave new world. Should be a big boost for the "consumer economy."

Oh, the FCC has no advice on antennas. Don't even mention the issue. Just keep floggin' those converter boxes.

 

[Yvsa]

Tom the way they've been advertised about it necessary to have one, or more, by February 2009 when all of the stations switch to digital broadcasting I assume they wouldn't do any good until that date and after.
In that case I would indeed think they would no doubt screw things up, and royally, if it was installed before then.

I've long thought about getting rid of our cable hookup and going with Dish Network or another satellite provider because of cable raising their prices so often, b-u-t cable is 99% reliable and it seems the satellite providers are considerably less....
To be fair cable always adds new channels or services when they raise their costs, helluvit is 9 times outta 10 they're channels I won't or don't watch anyway.
We have advanced cable so we can get the few channels we do watch but with them comes beau-coups of channels we don't watch and never will.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Most of our station are already broadcasting in digital, as well as analog.

We are in the "Blue" or "Red" areas for all of the stations.