QOTD: Were You Prepared for the Switch to DTV?

[jkeelsnc]

I think that the digital is a good thing. I am not sure why people are so resistant to change sometimes. In fact, in my case I get more channels and better reception on digital than I ever could have hoped to before. And I live in a place that is far from the nearest TV stations and in mountain terrain no less. It is so much better. I refuse to pay the exorbitant fees to the cable and satellite companies for TV I don't like anyway. Most of it is rubbish including over the air anyway. I watch a bit of news and I like PBS. So why would I throw away money on cable or satellite. Instead, I invest in good quality internet service which I use all the time.

 

[jkeelsnc]

There are still millions who use OTA TV. LOL Not everyone wants cable or satellite even if they can "afford it". Affording doesn't equal want or especially not need. Then again there are some people who really cannot afford cable so the converter box route is the only way assuming they want to keep their TV reception anyway.

 

[mavroxur]

I haven't used broadcast television since the 80's, so yeah, i've been ready for a while now.


@p05esto -

The main reason the gov't justified the coupons for the DTV boxes, from what i've seen, is for people that don't have access to or can't afford cable/satellite, so they're still able to recieve basic channels in the event of severe weather / natural disasters / other emergency television comminucations.


However, that being said, the government could've done a HELL OF A LOT BETTER JOB screening who recieved coupons, instead of handing them out to anyone and everyone that asks. I'd venture to say that

 

[mavroxur]

Thanks Tom's Forum for cutting the last half of my last post off.

I *was* going to say that probably less than 10% of the coupons handed out actually went to people that needed them, the rest probably went to people buying them to sell after the coupon program ends. The Gov't should've been a lot more strict on who got them.

 

[Darkk]

I *was* going to say that probably less than 10% of the coupons handed out actually went to people that needed them, the rest probably went to people buying them to sell after the coupon program ends. The Gov't should've been a lot more strict on who got them.

They couldn't because the government sold off the public spectrum for private use so the money had to go back to the public. Sucks I know but that's the way it is.

 

[IzzyCraft]

I was i liked it too due to more hd channels, i don't pay for service although i did pay 100 bucks for my antenna i get every channel i used to get and more.

 

[doomtomb]

So aren't the only analog TVs these rabbit ears? So unless you have rabbit ears on top of your set, you should be fine? I mean I expect most people to have cable and satellite by now christ people. So much fuss.

 

[matchboxmatt]

Why watch TV when you have the internet and can watch anything you want?

 

[zerapio]

[citation][nom]CaffeineCarl[/nom]I couldn't have said it better myself. So long as there's people watching on analog, why not keep it rolling? At the same time, advertise new DTV's with built in ATSC/QAM tuners and converter boxes as a cool new way of watching TV, just better. Once market penetration has reached max and nobody uses analog anymore because they're all on convertor boxes, HDTV's or cable or satellite, just pull the plug then. Then sell off the spectrum without a hitch. Just like black and white to color![/citation]
But it IS the market that decide the switch. Companies have been wanting to use the analog spectrum for some time. The government simply agreed to it. The freed space will be used by new services that'll benefit the general public.

 

[anamaniac]

Ha.

I only know one person who has their old antenna out to watch TV, and that`s my 70+ year old uncle who loves far from any town...

I haven`t used plain signals pulled by an antenna for 10 years. Went to satellite because in the country, it`s better (though certainly not free, hense the hacked satellite recievers every owned).
Went to cable, and have been with didgital cable for a couple years now.

Though it is questionable if my cable providers digitl ``HD`` channels are actually even 480p... it`s pathetic. I see better picture from 600x300 dvd rips sometimes...

I understad how some people could become luddites about this though, but it`s not a pricy upgrade.
Seriously, 27`` used TVs for less than $100. My neighbor just bought a good TV from a pawn shop for $15. Ha.

 

[tipmen]

Wow, lets say 2 years ago. Doesn't really bother me when they switch i watch 90% if not more online now.

 

[Nik_I]

Canada only switches over in february 2011 so i don't have to worry for a while, but none of the tv's in my house get their feeds from an antenna, so i'm ready!

 

[brendano257]

Honestly, this only affects people who have very old TV's with antennae. This should be considered a public service for people who have such old TV's.

 

[radguy]

I used to work as a tower technician I knew about this well over 2 years ago. My old boss is pretty busy at the moment removing antennas. Cell phone companies need the bandwidth. So yeah I was ready.
I have cable but I also use a basic antenna because I can pick up some stuff that I don’t get on cable. I don’t really like the you get signal or you don’t and I definitly lost a few channels.

 

[Guest]

I installed the DB8 antenna in my attic with a good pre-amp.

Previously, we only got two channels which were relayed through the Mount Greylock relay station. UHF channels 19 & 38 (10 & 13 VHF). The quality was Ok for 19, but 38 depended on weather conditions and was usually snowy.

For something like two months now, we've been able to get 19.1 19.2 & 19.3 (WWCDC-HD Channel 10, WCDC-SD WTEN Weather Channel & Retro TV)

Channel 38 went off the air about a week ago and a couple of days ago (6/11) they came back on the air as 13.1 13.2 & 13.3 (WNYT-HD Channel 13, WNYT-WX Weather Channel & WNYT-SD Doppler Radar)

The channels are all crystal clear and now we get 6 channels compared to the 2 channels we were able to receive previously.

Hopefully the Mt. Greylock relay station will eventually carry more channels as our home is kinda in a blind spot what with the contortions of the mountains around us.

Cable TV is too expensive and what we have now is better than nothing and especially better than paying the cable conglomerates.

 

[AdamB5000]

Who wasn't ready? The government handled this about as poorly as possible, which seems about right.

 

[tipoo]

Well, your asking a bunch of people who frequently visit Tomshardware and other such tech sites...I would be surprised if anyone from here was unprepared, at least unintentionally.

 

[ssguy24]

Been ready for my entire life, seeing as I havent seen a TV with bunny ears in my house ever.

 

[duanes1967]

Who the heck uses broadcast TV?

I think they should just save the electricity and have a basic cable service that is free but only provides the stations available at current over-the-air power levels.

I, for one, only use Netflix and Hulu. I have a great 62" TV and PS-3/Blueray. We ditched Dishnetwork 3 years ago, don't watch broadcast TV and haven't looked back. - Except for the Superbowl.. 🙁.. But Flip'n Dish doesn't carry the Superbowl in HD here anyway.

I was spending $130/mo on TV, now I spend $20 on Netflix and nothing on Hulu. Plus, kids don't have $50-$90/mo each cell phones. they have a $25/mo VOIP line with unlimited calling anywhere in the US. (itp4u.com ).

 

[cloakster]

lol, i don't think this is going to affect anyone who visits this site. If you can afford internet and like technology then i really doubt that you don't have atleast basic cable.

 

[Shadow703793]

[citation][nom]p05esto[/nom]Sure, I wish 5 years ago. I just wish the govenment didn't spend my tax dollars to give out coupons to others. Since when is TV an essential survival tool that the government needs to hand out to people? WTF. No wonder the economy is crap, our lawmakers don't have a clue and spend money on the dumbest things.[/citation]
Agreed. It should have been done WAY before. I see why the gov't is giving away free cupons, but I think that it should have been given out on a need to basis (ie. such as to the seniors; being homeless/jobless is no excuse, you should be trying to find jobs not watching TV!) and NOT to some random people who have MORE than enough money.

 

[matt_b]

I was ready the first time around. Like previously said, were the extra millions that lawmakers spent postponing it a few more months worth it? I myself do not have cable/satellite tv. I just can't justify that kind of money when I don't watch broadcast more than 5 hours a week.

 

[MU_Engineer]

[citation][nom]p05esto[/nom]Sure, I wish 5 years ago. I just wish the govenment didn't spend my tax dollars to give out coupons to others. Since when is TV an essential survival tool that the government needs to hand out to people? WTF. No wonder the economy is crap, our lawmakers don't have a clue and spend money on the dumbest things.[/citation]

It's not dumb at all to the lawmakers. People who don't watch TV aren't guaranteed to see very many political ads. So it is an easy decision for the politicians: spend the taxpayers' money to ensure everybody can watch TV so that you have a better chance of getting re-elected.

 

[marshallladd]

I have been using cable for the past 15 years or so, so the switch was never a concern. I don't know anyone who needed the switch. None of my friends use basic OTA broadcast TV.

 

[nachowarrior]

have been for a while now... but the thing that ticks me off is that one of the highest selling and highest rated tv tuner cards has some of the worst drivers i've ever encountered... constantly crashing when trying to scan qam channels via SEVERAL different types of software... sad really. but all that aside they finally released some beta's that work okay with sage tv i guess... still crashes on autoscan but after a manual scan of 200 and some odd channels it works fine. over the air ATSC on the other hand is AMAZING much crisper than qam chans and soooo much easier to program. For the first time in my life i watched a hockey game where i could actually see the damned puck flying over the ice without that ridiculous orange highlight thing on it.