Feb18,2009 no more rabbit ears

[MrBern]

$40 Govt Coupons for old school TVs.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/01/01/digital.tv.ap/index.html

Beginning February 18, 2009, anyone who does not own a digital set and still gets their programming via over-the-air antennas will no longer receive a picture.
Viewers who have satellite or cable service will not need a box.
Congress, in ordering the transition to digital broadcasting, set aside $1.5 billion for the coupon program, which will fund 33.5 million coupons and other costs.

To request a coupon, consumers can apply online at www.dtv2009.gov. The government also has set up a 24-hour hotline to take requests, 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009).

 

[Sefton]

They'll have to pry them from my cold dead fingers first!-CRA (Cathode Ray Association).

 

[Lady Day]

Part of me thinks this is stupid, but part of me understands. I havent owned a TV for going on 4 years, but I have a dongle (I never use now that I can get The Daily Show Via iTunes for my flat screen computer monitor, so I guess Ive already made the transition...

Still, the picture tubes will make great fish tanks

LD

 

[KilroyCD]

They'll have to pry them from my cold dead fingers first!-CRA (Cathode Ray Association).

Sefton, you'll still be able to use your vintage television, but you'll have to hook it up to a converter box to pick up the new digital signal. Since I don't subscribe to cable or satellite, I just applied for the coupon so I can continue to pick up broadcast signals when they switch to digital. The website makes it very simple.

 

[Feraud]

It is the end of an era!

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Thanks, MrBern. The site is so easy and they even used the correct grammar for 'none'. I ordered 2 coupons but need one more, one of the pugs likes to watch television on the little TV in the kitchen.

 

[Twitch]

On a side note it's too bad satelite companies are charging so much extra for HD. I won't be switching to HD until it is the majority of sets in use and they don't boost the bill.

 

[Dr. Shocker]

keep the ears......

new Rabbit Ears you can buy in the stores are HD compatible ....

I actually use an old early 70's console with hd rabbit ears and all my electronics it just looks too kool to kill before it dies......may mount a flat screen in it when it does die

 

[MrBern]

VCR?

BTW, keep in mind if you are still using a VCR to record thru rabbit ears, the vcr's tuner wont work either.
Tho there are some newer VCRs w/ digital tuners.

if you didnt read the article:

Congress ordered the transition to digital broadcasting to make more efficient use of the publicly owned airwaves.

On January 24, the FCC will auction off the spectrum currently used for analog television. That portion of the airwaves will be sold to wireless providers and is expected to bring in as much as $15 billion. A portion of the spectrum will also be dedicated for use by emergency responders

 

[Mike in Seattle]

As I understand it, the converter boxes only let you connect a TV that's not cable-ready/digital (in other words, has screws to attach rabbit ears or leads from a roof-top antenna) to your cable. It doesn't let you receive digital TV signals through the air.

So if you have a little portable TV you might take outside to watch out on the deck some warm summer evening or use when you're traveling, you're going have to tether it to the converter box, with the converter box connected to cable in order to watch it.

Or in other words, our wireless TV's are going to have to be attached to a cable...while our telephone & computers, which we used to have to attach to a phone cable coming out of the wall are now almost all wireless... [huh]

So going wireless with phones is a step forward but going wireless with a TV is a step backward?

 

[Flivver]

I'll be ordering several of these converter boxes as I have no intention of purchasing a digital TV with a 16:9 format screen. Most of my VHS tapes and DVDs are in the old 4:3 format and I would prefer to continue watching them on a 4:3 format television.

I don't want cable either so will continue to use a rooftop antenna with a rotator. But what I'd like to know is will I be able to receive all the channels I presently receive with analog broadcasting when the switch to digital broadcasting is made in 2009? In other words, I'm wondering if the coverage area of my local stations will be the same as now when the switch to digital broadcasting occurrs.

I'm 40 miles from the nearest TV transmitter so it should be interesting. The websites all imply that if you get a decent picture from your antenna with analog, you'll still get a decent picture with digital. But no one addresses the question of fringe area reception (over 50 miles). I presently can get stations as far as 120 miles away, albeit with a snowy picture.

Does anyone here have any further information on this?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Digital schmidgital

I have no doubt that this switch is designed to screw more money out of the consumer. All talk of "advance" is marketing spin. It's only TV!

But then, i speak as someone who broke the shackles a good 5 years ago.

bk

 

[Miss Neecerie]

I'll be ordering several of these converter boxes as I have no intention of purchasing a digital TV with a 16:9 format screen. Most of my VHS tapes and DVDs are in the old 4:3 format and I would prefer to continue watching them on a 4:3 format television.

I don't want cable either so will continue to use a rooftop antenna with a rotator. But what I'd like to know is will I be able to receive all the channels I presently receive with analog broadcasting when the switch to digital broadcasting is made in 2009? In other words, I'm wondering if the coverage area of my local stations will be the same as now when the switch to digital broadcasting occurrs.

I'm 40 miles from the nearest TV transmitter so it should be interesting. The websites all imply that if you get a decent picture from your antenna with analog, you'll still get a decent picture with digital. But no one addresses the question of fringe area reception (over 50 miles). I presently can get stations as far as 120 miles away, albeit with a snowy picture.

Does anyone here have any further information on this?

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html

 

[Flivver]

Thank you Miss N. That's the most concise explanation of this situation that I've seen.

As I think about this further, I don't think a specific answer to my question is possible, however, since reception at a given location is so dependent on the terrain between the transmitter and the receiver. Here's what the website said:

While picture quality will vary according to whether you watch digital programming in high definition (HDTV) or standard definition (SDTV) format, over-the-air digital programming provides a better viewing experience than over-the-air analog programming, as long as you have good quality reception through your antenna.

"Good quality reception through your antenna" is the key here. Given that digital broadcasting takes place in the UHF band, I think I may be out of luck since my UHF reception on analog is somewhat sub-par. And that's with a fairly large UHF antenna.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Thank you Miss N. That's the most concise explanation of this situation that I've seen.

As I think about this further, I don't think a specific answer to my question is possible, however, since reception at a given location is so dependent on the terrain between the transmitter and the receiver. Here's what the website said:

While picture quality will vary according to whether you watch digital programming in high definition (HDTV) or standard definition (SDTV) format, over-the-air digital programming provides a better viewing experience than over-the-air analog programming, as long as you have good quality reception through your antenna.

"Good quality reception through your antenna" is the key here. Given that digital broadcasting takes place in the UHF band, I think I may be out of luck since my UHF reception on analog is somewhat sub-par. And that's with a fairly large UHF antenna.

Nods...their advice seems to be....get a better UHF antenna.....

I have snowy tv anyhow...since I mainly got it for dvd purposes...so will get the converter box and see if it improves things...but not too bothered if not...most people look better in soft focus anyhow

 

[Sefton]

I have no doubt that this switch is designed to screw more money out of the consumer. All talk of "advance" is marketing spin. It's only TV!

But then, i speak as someone who broke the shackles a good 5 years ago.

bk

I'd love to break those shackles myself but my spouse wouldn't go for it. When it comes to shackles I'll be keeping them both (pause) just kidding...I love my sha-I mean my wife,it's the tube I could do without.

 

[Flivver]

Nods...their advice seems to be....get a better UHF antenna.....

I have snowy tv anyhow...since I mainly got it for dvd purposes...so will get the converter box and see if it improves things...but not too bothered if not...most people look better in soft focus anyhow

As I understand it, with digital, you either get a perfect picture or no picture at all. So if the signal strength at the antenna is insufficient, it's no picture at all! And with the snowy UHF signals I get on analog, I fear it will be no picture at all for me.

But I think your advice is absolutely right...with a better UHF antenna, optimised around the digital broadcasting frequencies, I should be able to make it work. I'm 750 feet above sea level and have an unblocked line of sight to the Boston area where all the transmitters are.

 

[KilroyCD]

My coupons arrived today!

I just received the coupons, or should I say cards for the new converter boxes. What the government sends is in the style of a credit card, so there is no paper coupon. They also send a list of dealers withing a certain radius of your address and a list of approved converter units. Be advised that all units are not approved for coupon redemption. Interestingly enough, there are a few models that also pass along the analog signal, so one is able to get things set up and running (so to speak) before the changeover.

 

[MrBern]

Federal deadline extended

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/business/media/05digital.html

Last month the Nielsen Company estimated that 6.5 million households were unprepared for the switch, meaning that no televisions in those homes were equipped to receive digital signals.

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to extend the deadline for the signal switch until June 12, ending a monthlong debate about the technology upgrade. The Senate passed similar legislation last week, and President Obama has indicated that he will sign the bill.

 

[LizzieMaine]

They're only just now beginning to realize that for rural people and people living in areas with a lot of mountains that the digital changeover is going to be a lot worse than first thought: fringe reception areas in the analog system will likely get no reception at all on the digital system, boxes or not. I know this is true where I live -- there's barely any over-the-air TV as it is, and no digital reception at all. My neighbor has a huge rooftop antenna and can sort of get the VHF channels from Portland, but forget about UHF.

The cable and satellite companies, of course, love this. Which makes me suspect that was the idea all along.