What do I need to know about the digital TV transition?
Starting today, people in Hawaii will need a digital converter to watch television over the airwaves. Concern about an endangered bird is forcing Hawaii to make the digital switch earlier than the mainland, but I suspect that the government is also using Hawaii as a test case to see how smoothly (or not) the transition goes.
The U.S. government has a program to supply all households with a coupon to purchase a digital converter for their televisions. My mom was recently asking me a lot of questions about this digital converter, and although I consider myself a tech-savvy guy, I didn’t have any answers for her. So we turned to Yahoo! Answers.
For a thorough overview of who will be affected and what they need to do, be sure to read mediamanmail’s explanation. You can get a coupon for the digital converter from the government’s website at https://www.dtv2009.gov, but-as many people on Answers have pointed out-the coupon program is out of funds so there’s currently a waitlist. For those of you who already have a coupon or have already purchased a converter, R T suggests checking out http://www.antennaweb.org for antenna recommendations, as well as a list of local stations broadcasting digital signals.
What do you think about the way the government is handling this issue? Are you ready for the digital transition?
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I think the easiest thing at this point is probably to just get cable and that way, you don’t need the converter boxes.
I don’t understand the hubbub. Stations here in Chicago have been broadcasting in digital for some time. I hooked up my converters in May, and talked my dad (1000 miles away) through the process several months ago. Digital works better than analog with the same antenna. My formerly shaky channels are now perfectly clear.
Given that we’ve been beaten over the head with advertising for more than a year, I conclude that the only people left who haven’t done it are a)people who don’t watch much TV and don’t care b) those too dumb to live unsupervised or c) terminally cheap procrastinators.
Now that I think about it, I do understand. TV commercials are only effective on category ‘b’, so broadcasters and advertisers desperately need these people hooked up.
i totally agree with you
what if I only use my TV to watch dirty movies?
It wouldn’t matter if they waited for another year for everyone to get analog boxes. The same morons that never pay attention to months of warnings are the same ones that won’t have a clue ! It’s happening exactly as predicted-20,000 didn’t bother to get the boxes !
Me and my friend have been waiting for this day since we were 9 years old! (22 years old now)
We are going to have a huge party and watch their old black and white TV quit working.
Then we’re playing some super mario brothers 1!
It’s shouldn’t be as hard as you think. Also check out
http://www.dtv-hdtv.com
There is a discussion forum where you can find some helpful info and converter box reviews.
the whole country is due to change in febuary. if you have a digital tuner on your set, nothing is needed. Hawaii is not a test case. because of a very important operation going on on Mt haleakala during febuary, hawaiis is moving it up 1 month. cable t.v will cure it though.
I’m not happy about the way this conversion is being handled. Not everyone can afford to purchase new equipment or pay for cable. The converter boxes that were available when I got my coupons didn’t have event timer capabilities, but I had to use the coupons before they expired. So now I’ve got to try to find converters that have the event timer feature, and pay full price, which isn’t easy because I’m disabled. I’ve seen only one box, so far, that has that feature, but the reviews for it aren’t good. If I want to continue recording TV programs on my VCRs I’ll have to spend money I can’t afford on inferior converter boxes that may not always work, and that I’ll probably have to replace (spending more money I can’t afford) when something better comes out.
This whole thing was very poorly planned. The government agency that set the date should have made sure that whatever equipment people needed for the transition was available as soon as the announcement was made, and there should have been more help for those of us who can’t afford to replace our old electronics.
This is nothing that is not going on with anyone. I am sure that the bird is not the sole main reason. Go to Target or Walmart and get the converter up under $45 dollars…or decide to not watch t.v. and save money on your electric bill.
Stpehanie is right; just get cable and that will get you a digital signal.
For us, we ditched our TV cuz it was an old heavy one and now we use our laptop for everything. It’s digital, and whatever we want we can look up on the internet or the library. (We never were much of TV fans anyhow). This works pretty well for us, and the stream on the internet is great, and it’s all digital. ☺
I’m in Wilmington, NC and we finished the digital transition as a test market back in September 2008. You can read about it http://aftercancernowwhat.blogspot.com/2009/01/digital-tv-conversion.html
Believe it or not It went pretty smoothly.
i think that this is a bunch of nonsense that the gov. is doing. this is just another way for them for help some one make more money for no reason. the t.v. work fine the way they’re now. another thing that people think it needs to be bigger and better but really it’s going to be a mess.
u need to go to the store and ur self dtv or an antana
The best part about it I wont have to see the stupid commercials about it that have been on for 2 years!
ive already gotten three one of which doesnt work properly dont know why. hoping the switch will happen soon. saves money on cable and satellite bills and you get more channels that if u were using a regular antenna. so far its ok but lets see what happens after the switch.
save the birds!!!
nothing
The process has already begun in the UK – some parts of Scotland have had there analogue service switched off. It hasn’t been too much of a problem though – digital ‘set-top boxes’ can be bought for as little as £15 (I know the pound is weak just now, but that’s still cheap!)
Dear Jim,
“Given that we’ve been beaten over the head with advertising for more than a year, I conclude that the only people left who haven’t done it are a)people who don’t watch much TV and don’t care b) those too dumb to live unsupervised or c) terminally cheap procrastinators.”
I think you should reconsider the above statement as it is a bit crass, arrogant and unfair. You are failing to consider a very large part of the population who are elderly and dont have a clue about such things. Not everybody climbed out of the cradle with technology all around them as i suspect you did. There are many people that have not taken any steps to remedy this situation simply because they dont understand it. You should be more thoughtful before making such blanket statements…
I think the world that Ray Bradbury invisioned
in his book ‘Farenheit 451′ has come true.
Before people were quite satisfied with their
simple b/w tvs,and then along came color,
(which wasn’t so bad),but then the tvs began
to get larger and larger,and then you had to
start buying all kinds of gadetry i.e.Cable,
Satelite Dishs,and TiVo ect.,just to try and
keep up or to simply buy all that crap because
you needed to feel up-to-date.And now there are
64″inch tvs and wall tvs.in Ray Bradbury’s
book (you do know how to read,right?),
the tvs are floor to ceiling and interactive..
if you send in enough cereal box tops,the
stations will add your name to the characters
list and ask you on occasion what the actors
should do.It is so wonderful,that people like
Montag’s wife,Mildred,try to commit suicide,
and when that doesn’t make them feel something,
they will go out driving in the country and run down
animals.Or maybe,the world will become like the
way life is in Star Trek:The Next Generation,where
people,like the crew of the Enterprise,prefer to
interact with the computer on the Holodeck,
instead of with each other.People are doing that
now.And the only reason that the government
wants to go digital is to free up more space for
the commercials.And as for people being dumb
or lazy,that may account for some,but not many
people can afford the 40 or 60 dollars to buy a
converter box.Or to buy a new tv with a digital
tuner. : (
I think the whole op is shady. The whole reason behind this transition is the control of our television set. This new and better digital signal will be able to control your television experience.
Google “there’s little right with today’s copyright laws”
This new signal allows drm be encoded into the program. Now the government can control what you watch, what time you may watch it, and if you may record it or not.
Only people too cheap to buy cable or Dish are the ones who will have a problem, I enjoy all the stations I get on my cable and no problems.
The “Digital Transition” was lobbied for by cable and satellite companies and they (I believe) purposely gave underestimated numbers of of terrestrial (antenna) views in order to create the back-log and get more customers. I think it has been poorly handled and was and is completely unnecessary.
I’ve been hearing a lot of people freaking out about this, and almost no one understands the situation. Almost everyone I know thinks that either they have to buy a new TV or they need to upgrade to digital cable. I think the government is largely to blame by not explaining things simply. Here is how it works:
You use cable or satellite? OK, you are all done. You still receive a signal over an antenna signal? Sign up for a coupon, go to Best Buy, and pay $20 for a converter box. Plug it into your TV like you plug in a VCR. Done.
The complaint that some people are too poor to pay $20 makes me angry. If you can’t afford $20 for a converter box you probably should be doing something with your time other than watching TV. Look for a job, learn new skills, or do things around the house that help you save money (sew, learn to cook with raw ingredients, etc.).
The elderly and handicapped are the only ones that I think might have a legitimately difficult time. Please do your grandmothers and grandfathers a service by making sure that their TVs are ready. I bought two converters at Best Buy for my grandparents’ TV. Plugged them in, showed them how to use it, and they caught on surprisingly fast. They especially like how it has a guide built-in and how they get a LOT more PBS programming.
On the other hand, what’s on TV anymore that’s really worth watching? The few programs I enjoy are on Hulu or Netflix.
The digital conversion is confusing for a lot of people…because it seems many believe HDTV and digital television are the same. They are not.
Here’s a good article to explain everything and who needs to take action, and who can sit back and relax (and watch tv)!
http://www.ehow.com/how_4676209_prepare-digital-television-dtv-switch.html
Seriously, are there that many people left in this day and age that don’t have cable or satellite TV? In my area, all we would get is fuzz on every channel if we didn’t have cable (digital or not) .
Roger: “Only people too cheap to buy cable or Dish are the ones who will have a problem…”
It has nothing to do with being “cheap.” Not everyone can afford to buy new equipment or pay for cable or dish service: the elderly, the disabled, anyone who’s poor. It’s a shame you can’t see beyond your own circumstances.
I signed up for one of those coupons back in October.
It still hasn’t came. I heard that the GOV. ran out of money for them and Obama wants to postpone the switch cause 300,000 are still waiting for the coupons.
someone told me the radio stations are going to go the same way
and all radios will need to be replaced
is this true???
Some people don’t need to have 10,0000 channels and only watch tv occasionally.
It will clutter the set and there is some kind of noise comes from the converter, beside that the signal quality is good, and another thing I am missing my favorite channel ABC I don’t know if it is not already transmitting on digital or God knows why. Hey if you are like me you can not afford the $2000 TV this is the best you got and give a thanks for the contribution to the Gov (which is your self). on the other hand don’t you wish the health care was as simple like that?
to all of the people saying “just get cable and you won’t have to worry about it”. my parents live in a rural area, and cannot even get cable. why the eff is the government FORCING them to buy a converter? they payed taxes on their tv when it was bought, on their electricity they use when they watch tv, and probably will have to pay taxes for this darn converter. sounds like communism is creeping into our lives, and nobody even cares.
it has nothing to do with hidden agenda’s or government conspiracy’s. that fact is that there is a finite amount of space for analog signals, and on 9/11 communications overloaded. the government now wants everyone on digital so they can use analog for communications. digital doesnt require a new tv, or subsribing to a cable company or paying monthly. all it requires is for you to buy a converter box (for less than $50). the company’s arent making a profit off of this.
I think this is funny because I live in Wilmington, North Carolina and “the big switch” happened in this area in September. The area was picked as a test site and I can’t tell you how many times we were informed. Billboards, radio ads, tv ads, phone calls, newspaper ads. EVERYWHERE you looked, they talked about the big switch. After if happened, they called all households to see how it went, etc. I haven’t met anyone who had an issue with it. Basic cable is 10 dollars a month, so even my broke friends could afford it if they really wanted it.
I signed up for the coupon several days ago. It’s not because I’m poor, technologically ignorant, cheap, a procrastinator, or stupid. I just don’t watch much TV. The only TV I have in my house hasn’t been on for at least 2 mos. And I don’t see any point in wasting money on DirecTV/DISH when I don’t watch much of anything. I’d rather read books and play with my pets, which is exactly what I do. I watch TV and get my local/world news on the internet. If there’s something important going on, like the inauguration, I’ll go to a friend’s house.
Just buy a TV manufactured in 2007 or later. It has a digital tuner and does not require a converter or a paid service. If you what cable or satellite it will work with no problem. My ‘converter box’ is a DVD burner with a digital tuner.
I signed up for one of those coupons back in October.
It still hasn’t came.
Whoever posted this did NOT sign up properly. I signed up AFTER Christmas and received a coupon on Jan 10. That is EXACTLY the day I was told to expect it the MINUTE I signed up.
Interesting article, though it lacks a lot of facts. First, on 17 Feb. 09 only about 1/3rd (major network so called high power stations) of the US TV stations will go digital only. The other 2/3rds will still be sending analog signals on their assigned channels. Some of them (like PBS) may even continue to transmit both signals. PBS has been doing so for several years now. Then the vacated channels (as the majors move) are to be auctioned off by the FCC for the new “onair” wireless internet services. Those with HD TVs will find a far better reception from their HD stations than from cable, dish or sat., as they all compress their signals. The wise move is to get a converter (or a new TV) that can receive both analog and digitl ssignals with as good an antenna as your reception area needs. That could be a simple pair of rabbit ears or a roof top beam type antenna.