Quit your whining until a few months *after* the transition when most stations will be transmitting their digital signals on their final channel assignments and at their final power levels. Many are currently transmitting digital on temporary channels, at low power from temporary transmitters, from temporary antennas and in some cases from alternate tower sites.
I hope it's better than Bill's. His was way overpriced, and the relevant books could be contained in a bathroom stall and still be in proper memory, proper tribute, and in the proper place for the man.
At least Bush's books will have words in them.
if you had perfect analog reception you will probably get good digital reception
if you got ghosty, noisey or marginal analog reception you will likely not get usable digital reception as reported by lots of friends and internet postings
Most stations are on their final channel assignment, and final power level. nearly all stations moved from VHF to UHF slots. VHF propagates much better than UHF and UHF channels were traditionally muich higher power than VHF. Trouble is the new digital UHF channels are lower power than the VHF ones they replaced, done to cram more stations in a smaller space.
The new digital channels arent going to expand number of channels for free. They can have one flawless high def channel or up to 5 mixed definition channels. perhaps 2 low def and one better def advertised as high def. but not true high def.
performance of converter boxes isnt necessarily worse than a brand new digital tv, but isnt necessarily better either.
where airplane flutter left a ghost on a analog channel on digital it mght be a bunch of blocks, or a blank screen at intermittent times.
down in the carolinas they turned off analog early and found viewership declined 20%. these people couldnt get service for one reason nor another.
cable isnt everywhere and there are definetely places that cant get satellite service, because of trees or other obstructions.
sadly people who have cable, or satellite dont appear very sympathetic for those who are losing tv.
local stations have big plans for digital once the conversion is complete
they are planning of getting together as a group, and offering pay programming with the second generation of digital conversion boxes.
All thery must offer FREE is a single regular definition channel.............
So they have perhaps 4 spare channels per station.
In a area with say 10 stations they could offer a pay cable like service of 40 channels for profit.by subscription.
theres no requirement they offer high definition at all!
if your unhappy with any of this call your federal representives, congress and senate since they are the ones who passed this #@!$%^% idea.
I have satellite but sent for my coupons, if a satellite outage occurs I still want to be able to watrch TV
Why is that sad? If I have sympathy for you will you get better reception? I have cable because I can't get decent reception with an antenna here. Nor does broadcast TV have most of the stations I like to watch. TV's have been made digital capable for a couple of years now so some will not need a converter. As of March 1, 2007, all television receivers shipped in interstate commerce or imported into the United States must contain a digital tuner.
This may be of passing interest. Ware are not the first to change
formatting link
first country to make a wholesale switch to Digital Over-the-Air (terrestrial) broadcasting was the Netherlands, in 2006. This was followed by Finland in 2007. [1] After February 17, 2009, full-power television stations in the USA will broadcast in digital only. In Canada, this is scheduled to happen Aug. 31, 2011. China is scheduled to switch in 2015.
Competition to the cable and sattelite companies? That may be a good thing.
Yes, there is even if it is not law. If they don't they will lose viewers.
None of it makes me unhappy. One of my TVs is HD and I like the improved quality.
how long do you envision it taking you to produce a suitable replacement and thus have someone new you can blame for your misery, shortcomings, failures and overall unhappiness?
$174,000 X 535 senators and representatives = 93090000 dollar laugh...
...and the manufacturers get to sell new,
using the public's natural desire to covet and crave coupled with their gluttonous inherent appetite for the newest toys has long been the means by which industry has been able to keep the cash flowing into their coffer.
here in hilly pittsburgh the hills make regular TV difficult, hills cause reflections on analog tv thats ghosts, on digital tvs that can be a blank screen/
I have satellite but nearly didnt because of neighbors trees. they were very large till a storm came thru some years ago. heck a neighbors larger home may block the clear view for satellite. Incidently I was a installer for awhile. the newer multi slot dshes just make things worse, and trees can blow in the wind:(
doi tell if I were your neighbor would you mind me trimming your trees or offer to mount my dish on your home?:(
people who have satellite or cable arent very sympathetic.
One time I HAD to run a saTELLITE LINE A 150 feet to clear a grove of trees for a elderly couiple, cable was willing to service them if they paid 2 grand to extend the cable line
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.