Digital T.V. - want some info

[Maine-ah]

I've caught some conversation here and there about digi tv, and how things are going to be affected by the switch. I unfortunately don't remember the conversations about this. Can some of you bring me up to speed?

[Xithras]

1. In a nutshell.

If you have cable, satellite, or some other paid for TV service, it doesn't mean a thing to you. Ignore it.

If you have rabbit ears or an aerial on top of your house, it does. In February 2009 all over-the-air analog TV broadcasts will be ended. If you want to keep watching TV after that point, you will either need to purchase a new TV with a digital tuner, purchase a DVD player with a digital tuner and use it to switch channels, or purchase a dedicated digital TV tuner box.

The good news is that the tuners aren't going to cost you a huge amount. They will be priced between $70 and $80, and it's a virtual certainty that you'll be able to purchase them online from discounters for as little as $50. That's still a lot of money for some people, so the fed gov is now issuing $40 discount vouchers (up to 2 per household) to bring the cost down even more. Depending on the who's and where's, a digital tuner will probably end up setting you back $10-$30.

On edit: Oh, I nearly forgot. There is one big downside. Many people still have old mini-tv's floating around that they use for camping and tailgating. If your TV doesn't have an input to allow you to connect an extra antenna, it won't work anymore.

[bain_sidhe]

5. Ack. I type too slow... ignore the post below. n/t

[Maine-ah]

7. ok, I get it

there really is nothing"bad" about it then.(I mean like tinfoil hat bad) It does suck for those with antennas though.

[sueh]

9. If you opt to keep using your analog TV, the tuner box you'll need

does not produce a digital signal for the tee-vee. The tuner box coverts the digital signal back into analog.

[Xithras]

11. Yep. As a bonus...

...it will be the absolute CLEAREST picture your old analog TV has ever displayed. My grandmother still uses an antenna and replaced her old set with a newer SD digital set last year (not HD, but she's cheap and it was less than $200 new). Even though it wasn't HD, she was amazed at the picture...all of the fuzz and snow usually associated with antenna's was gone, and the picture easily matched that of SD cable. Even without the high definition, the digital transition has markedly improved the quality of the broadcast. An analog television working alongside an external digital tuner should see the same improvement...just make sure you have a high quality cable connecting the two.

[LiberalHeart]

35. Since getting a digital TV and an antenna, my picture comes and goes.

I haven't minded it much, but I haven't been in the middle of something important when it happens. When the wind blows, the picture is very iffy, but great when it decides to come in.

[cynatnite]

21. Okay, let me ask you this...

I heard that there are some cell phones that take analog signals and they'll more or less be paper weights when this happens. Any truth to that?

[Xithras]

26. None whatsoever.

Cell phones run on a different frequency band. The cell companies won't be abandoning analog anytime soon, since there are still vast rural areas in this country where analog is the ONLY cell signal you can get.

[cynatnite]

27. Cool! Thanks! n/t

[jmowreader]

41. Actually...it's completely true

Verizon, AT&T and Alltel are the three largest carriers that run analog networks beside digital ones, and all three have been given permission to terminate their analog networks in 2008. Hence, they're gonna--they can more effectively use the analog bandwidth for digital services.

I have been told that some small carriers who serve the middle of nowhere will retain analog systems alongside digital ones because the signal travels farther, but if you're on a nationwide carrier the analog cell phone you're too cheap to replace will no longer work.

Worse: OnStar started out life as an analog system, and the only way to upgrade that is to get a newer car.

[LiberalHeart]

22. Do you know....

...if DVD players/recorders can be controlled by the converter? I have digital TVs, but my DVD player won't let me tune in digital channels.

[Xithras]

29. Sort of.

You can plug the converter into your DVD recorder, but the channel will have to be set on the converter. I have an old Toshiba DR-5 with the same problem. If you don't mind changing the channel on the converter instead of the DVD Recorder, it will work, but a converter won't let the DVD recorders analog tuner change the channels itself.

You'll either need a universal remote (I LOVE my Logitech Harmony) or you'll be adding another to your collection.

[LiberalHeart]

33. Thanks. I won't mind using the converter to change channels. But...

...the recorder operates on channel 3. Channel 3 isn't a digital channel here. I'm wondering if that's going to be a problem.

[Elspeth]

23. Xithras, how about emergency TVs

I have one of those connected to emergency radio, flashlight, weather, with hand crank if batteries run out. Is there an attachment for something like this?

[Xithras]

31. Unless you have power, it won't work.

Emergency TV's like that will only work if the TV has a connector for an external antenna AND you have power to run the converter box. In my experience, those emergency TV's are only capable of using their internal antennas, so you're probably out of luck either way.

[NMDemDist2]

2. here's a decent article explaining the switch

http://www.news.com/FAQ-What-does-the-digital-TV-switch-actually-mean/2100-1041_3-6210037.html

[bain_sidhe]

3. chiming in on the info-request

We rarely replace anything that is working, as our t.v. is... but does the switch mean that we *have* to get a digital/HD tv, if we have cable? (I was assuming the cable box would take care of it, but... not sure.)

[Xithras]

6. No, you can ignore it if you have cable.

The switch only impacts people who use antennas.

[elizfeelinggreat]

8. almost

If you have cable then when they switch their signal they will give you a box, even if you have a perfectly good TV that's not HD, because they've changed their signal and you now have static where you used to have stations. They will charge you RENT for this stinky box.

This also means a new remote that stinks.

And as a bonus you can no longer tape The Daily Show while watching Countdown (when the strike is over and you start watching again) because every device now has to go through this box, including your recorder.

[Xithras]

10. Oof. Who did that to you?

Our cable company here broadcasts in both analog and digital, and AFAIK they haven't announced plans to drop the analog signal anytime soon. There are some digital channels that cannot be viewed without a digital tuner, but the basics and most of the expanded packages are still there.

You do have an option, by the way. The new Tivo's support Cablecard, and your cable company will have to provide one if asked. A Cablecard-equipped TV or DVR will work fine on all digital cable networks without a box. I didn't say that it was a cheap option, but it's there.

[elizfeelinggreat]

13. Charter in Texas

And I didn't have an option according to the company -- and I called THREE separate times to confirm that. To add insult to injury they wouldn't even give me a firm date that the switch was made, they said when my TV went blitzo I'd know I had the wrong kind of TV. (I knew that!)

They did tell me if I rented another box for our second TV and bought another recorder THEN I could record TDS while Countdown was on. Sweet, huh?

(We do not have TIVO since we really only recorded those two shows and educational programs. I have no idea how much TIVO is but if we're going to spend the money we might as well get a new HDTV, right? )

[SoCalDem]

14. Just get dish.. you won't regret it

:)

[elizfeelinggreat]

16. well that's not an option for me

cable has the best internet service for me right now.

But thank you for the thought. :)

[SoCalDem]

17. I use a cable modem for internet and dish for tv

I know it costs mroe, but I am a Luddite at heart :)

[Xithras]

19. Cable companies are required by the FCC to support CableCard.

They cannot force you to rent a box if you have a cablecard equipped TV or DVD/DVR. The CableCard allows the equipment to decode internally.

Of course (and I don't know why I didn't think of this before), if your equipment supports CableCard, it probably already has a digital tuner.

[elizfeelinggreat]

20. And the cablecard

comes with the Tivo, right?

Our TVs (both over 20 years old) and a few appliances had to be replaced when we had a close lightning strike a few years ago. The brand-new, expensive digitals didn't seem like the right choice at the time. Hindsight, etc. :(



edited for wine-enabled spelling

[Xithras]

25. You can get a digital for under $200

Don't make the common mistake of confusing digital television with HDTV. There are still lots of standard definition televisions available, at normal television prices, that have digital tuners included. My grandmother bought one at Walmart for under $200.

[elizfeelinggreat]

36. thanks !!!

I was making that mistake.


(I hope I have another choice though, I won't go in Walmart)

[Maine-ah]

12. they already charge for my current box

[elizfeelinggreat]

15. Probably

You have pay per view or some other service I didn't have that necessitates the box?

[SoCalDem]

4. get cable or dish and you won't have to worry a bit

keep your old tvs until they croak, and by then the newfangled ones will be cheaper

[LSK]

18. I have cable but it is not digital cable

It is old fashioned kind. Will I have to make a change?

[ChazII]

24. Dinosaur here

Ordered the coupon from the gov't to get $ off the converter box. Don't plan on getting cable or dish due to lack of funds. Guess I will have to get a new tv as my two are about 13 years old and use rabbit ears. (Told you I was a dinosaur :D)

[Liberal In Texas]

37. You don't need new TVs as long as yours are still working.

All you need is the converter box. (Or two, one for each room.) The output of the converter box inputs to your TV. (Video and audio in hook-ups in the back.) Rabbit ears bring in the signal from over the air to the box.

[ChazII]

39. Thank you, LibInTexas

With recent $$$ medical bill as well as car and insurance payments.....you get where I am going....TV set is not a priority.

[onenote]

28. kudos to Xithras for a good explanation -- with one caveat

Xithras post (#1) provides an excellent, succinct summary of the digital transition. I'd only add one comment:

While you can apply for your $40 off coupons (two per household) now, I'd think about waiting. Once the coupon is mailed to you (and they will start mailing them next month), you have to use it within 90 days or it will expire (and you won't be able to get another one). Most retailers don't have coupon-eligible boxes in stock (the coupons only are good on the low-end digital converters) and while they hopefully will begin carrying them soon, the chances are that the price will drop as we move later in the year, so waiting until the end of the summer (so you can get it during the holiday sales period) might be sage advice.

[zalinda]

30. So, what the hell are those people who are

living paycheck to paycheck or on social security or POOR, supposed to do. A forty dollar coupon means nothing when you have to get up another thirty dollars to keep your old tv going. The government did this, they should be handing out these boxes for free. You have no idea how many million people this is going to effect.

zalinda

[Xithras]

32. Not watch tv, apparently.

No, there is no provision for assisting those who cannot afford a converter. If you can't afford the converter, don't have a paid television server, and don't have a newer TV you will not be able to watch TV after February 2009. At this point there isn't much that can be done about it, unless you can convince Congress to underwrite new TV's for poor people. I doubt that will happen.

[LiberalHeart]

34. Also, you can get the coupons now...but...

...they'll hand 'em out only as long as they last, then you have a very short window of time to make the purchase before the coupons are no good. So you can't hold out till prices drop.

[LTR]

38. The rest of the world is going digital

Much of Europe is already in transition or has already abandoned analogue. We're far from the only ones doing it.

I do think the transition was botched somewhat. All TVs should have been compliant several years ago, and converter boxes should have been in stores long ago as well. Now, we're playing catch-up, and there may even be a shortage of converter boxes this year.

[Ganja Ninja]

40. Here's a link to the government info page and ...

the second link is to the coupon info page.

http://www.dtv.gov/

https://www.dtv2009.gov/