I Switch to Digital, Have You ???

[Kwajdiver]

Today I drop by Radio Shack to use my two $40.00 government coupons  to purchase 2 DTV Converter Boxes. This is an digital to analog converter.  It goes in-line between your antenna and TV.  It takes the new digital signal and converts to analog which older TV's need.  The unit is small (6 5/8 x 4 x 1 1/4) and comes with remote control.    Once hooked up, (the package came with everything you need, cable, remote and batteries) and turned on, it perform a channel search.  With the click of the button and setting my old TV to channel 4, I have more channels than ever before and they are really really really clear.    All this for $52.00 (without the coupon).  My price was $12.00 plus tax each.    Sweet.....

Bill

[jjrbus]

Just sent for my coupon.  I cant get excited about local TV. I already have 125 channels of commercials and 20 channels of 30 year old movies. Why do I need local TV?

[kd5kfl]

In a bus, "local" is a variable.

[cody]

We went for a promotional thing by direct tv where we got 200+ channels and 2 dishes and 2 recievers, one for my daughters house and one set of the bus for 35 a month and it's locked in for 2 years. So far I watch about 3 channels but I like the idea of the system, now if I can figure out all the little things like assembling the bus dish, it's in a big cardboard box lol. We also got an LCD tv with the digital tuner so we shoudl be ok for a while.

[Tom Y]

JJRBus, Heard on the news the coupons are all gone.

Bill, How far are you from the towers? I tried mine and can't get a signal. Uhf  does not carry as far as Vhf I am told. Now I am afraid I will lose my only local channel.  Tom Y

[FloridaCliff]

Tom,

The locals on who are currently on VHF are running at lower power on the UHF until the 17th of Feb.

This is because they are usually on the same tower as the VHF, plus they may be going to a frequency that is used in an adjacent area by another broadcaster and have a max output restriction until the change.

The good, you will have a crystal clear picture, the bad, it is either great or nothing, no more faded signal but watchable.

This has been a major project for me on the commercial side......But I am ready.........I think...

Cliff

[FloridaCliff]

JJRBus, Heard on the news the coupons are all gone.  Tom Y

The funding for the project has been used up.

But as the ones not used expire, they are reissuing them to new applicants.

I think I read they expect to reissue 300,000 or some number like that.

Cliff

[Kwajdiver]

As the crow flies,,, I must be about 20-25 miles from the tower farm in Riverview, Florida.

Bill

[Dreamscape]

We're still waiting for our coupons!

[John Z]

I made the switch a couple months ago. As stated, the picture is very clear. But the weak thing about digitial is the all or nothing manner in which it works, just like the digital cell phones.

For some reason when a train goes by my house, the reception is poor becoming all pixalated and the audio goes away.

You would think if digital tv was as great as we are being told, that the stations could agree on a common audio output signal so there was not such a huge varience in volume!!! I cannot believe how loud some of the commercials are!

Digital? So far - ho hum!

[cody]

Thats what I'm finding, when a commercial comes on a person dives for the remote to turn it down before waking up our ancestors.  I pmmed nick and he says that probably there is a way to level the volume in the tv's sound controls but I'm still looking for it, I bought jamie a 47 inch Philips LCD HD tv for the house and probably got the only one that doesn't have that option.

[white-eagle]

Cody, leave the volume alone and go get me a beer during the commercials.  that's what the loud volume change is for ... so you can hear it in the kitchen!!!

[cody]

Tom, getting you a beer is going to pose a problem lol, no beer here, I'm alergic to hops so nope, no beer in the frige, got a well stocked bar tho, and if you want you can get first in line for a descent single malt, at least if you can get ahead of bob lol. (don't tell fran lol)