[Grovenet] Digital Electronics
Geri
g-g-steele at comcast.net
Wed Mar 26 18:52:12 PDT 2008
> One guy told us that all the local stations are already
> broadcasting in both digital and analog. (They are not.)
I believe they are, Katie. We receive them all digitally.
They also broadcast in HD (which we don't have).
Geri
----- Original Message -----
From: "Katie Allnutt" <allnutt at verizon.net>
To: "Forest Grove local interests list" <grovenet at rdrop.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 6:07 PM
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] Digital Electronics
> Thanks Vickie,
>
> I feel like the plot is thickening. We did get the coupons and
> we used the spring break days to go out to learn more since we had to
> head into Portland anyway. Of course each 'expert' we talked had a
> different story about what is or is not going to happen.
> One guy told us that all the local stations are already
> broadcasting in both digital and analog. (They are not.) One guy
> told us that the converter boxes will send out all the channels and
> your regular VCR will work (It will not.) Etc.
> I would wait and not buy an HD receiver until you know that you
> really do need one. If you have an antenna and an HD ready TV it
> seems like that should do the trick.
>
> What we finally decided to do was to buy the basic box, they call
> them STBs for set top box, and hook it up to see what it would do.
> We did hook it up and it only sends one channel out of the box at a
> time. It does split the channels into the original station and the
> substations that come with it. (Example channel 22-1, 22-2, 22-3, etc
> but it still only sends out one at a time ie only 22-2.) That is
> also when we discovered that channel 22 exists. Before we only got
> 2,6,8,10 and 12.
> The set top box would only get channel 8 (sub channels 1&2 but
> poorly) channel 12 (1&2 but poorly) and channel 22 wonderfully (1,2
> &3) We called some of the TV stations and they said that they are not
> yet broadcasting in digital. They will start sometime between now and
> the Feb deadline but didn't say when. That is probably why 8 and 12
> were not great.
> And I might add that when I say poorly, I mean that the picture was
> wonderful but it acted like a computer that had buffer problems. The
> nice clear wonderful picture would freeze then become pixellated for
> a few seconds, then pick up again and look great. Channel 22 on the
> other hand looked great, it made the TV look like it was an expensive
> set. When all the stations convert to regular digital they will
> likely all look great.
>
> We took the box off the TV so we could get the regular channels
> back. We'll hook it back up again later when we need it and in the
> mean time work on the recording issues.
>
> Since most people get their TV from cable only about 15% of
> households use antennas for their main hook up. There are however a
> number of people who only pay for one cable hook up and use an
> antenna for a secondary TV so they will have to figure out what to do
> also.
>
> I don't know why the powers that be decided to make the coupons
> expire 90 days after you get them and encourage people to hurry up
> and get them since supplies are supposedly limited, all the while
> knowing that stations aren't broadcasting yet. Maybe the whole thing
> is the secondary economic stimulus plan (chinese electronics
> version) that will be hyped just in time for Christmas.
>
> Katie
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mar 26, 2008, at 2:35 PM, Vickie Madeoneup wrote:
>
>> Katie
>>
>> I have an HD-ready TV, but what I have come to understand is that I
>> needed to buy an HD antenna, which I got at Radio Shack ($130 I
>> believe) and then I also need to get an HD receiver, then my TV
>> will work Feb 2009 when this change takes place.
>>
>> The US government is giving away $40 coupons (2 per household) good
>> towards a converter box, which you do not need if you have cable or
>> satellite TV. The coupons expire May 23rd 2008
>>
>> Be careful about HD enhancer receivers. I too am an ignoramus when
>> it comes to all of this but from what I gather an HD enhancer just
>> takes an analog signal and gives it an extra kick to simulate HD,
>> but it will not help you after Feb 2009.
>>
>> The website that came with the coupons is
>> www.DTV2009.gov/lowpower
>> www.DTV2009.gov
>> 1-888-DTV-2009
>>
>> IF you do decide to go cable or satellite, keep in mind that they
>> will try to sell you the option of local stations (at least they
>> did when I signed up before), anyway, I just told them that I was
>> not willing to pay for local stations that I have always gotten for
>> free and they did not charge me for them.
>>
>> Good luck
>>
>> Vickie
>>
>> Katie Allnutt <allnutt at verizon.net> wrote: Thanks for the site Chuck.
>> What we need is a digital converter box that takes the soon to be
>> digital incoming signal, converts all the channels (or multiple ones)
>> into analog and then spits all the channels out the coaxial line all
>> at once so the VCR/TV can work as it does now.
>> Everything I've seen takes in all the digital signals but only spits
>> out one channel at a time. That is why they claim each TV needs its
>> own box. Other wise people would just buy one box, plug it in next to
>> their incoming antenna and let their existing wiring do its thing.
>>
>> I know they want us to switch to a paid service but I won't go to
>> cable/satellite because it seems wasteful to pay every month for a
>> signal that comes free over the air.
>>
>> And I'm not totally in disagreement with why the switch is going to
>> happen. After all there is only so much bandwidth for broadcasting
>> and switching to digital does free up a lot of space for other uses
>> (some of them necessary, the others merely commercial). I hope some
>> good comes of it, but according to the site you gave 15% of us are
>> still antenna only and there will be lots of people who are miffed if
>> we have to convert to new TVs or extensive equipment purchases.
>>
>> Katie
>> I was grousing about the whole thing and my wonderful spouse did
>> tell me that there is still a market for 8-track tapes among the few
>> nostalgia buffs. So I guess the old technologies never really die
>> they just shrink to the status of being an oddity. If I ever have
>> grandkids I guess the little ones can call me granny analog...
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mar 25, 2008, at 5:18 PM, chuck wrote:
>>
>>> Sounds like a real pickle Katie. Unless you convert to Cable/
>>> Satellite
>>> - which of course is what they want. I was at Blockbuster Sat
>>> night -
>>> and the place was packed - guess Comcast was out due to someone
>>> stealing
>>> some copper line - glad I don't have Comcast.
>>>
>>> Verizon has also been pushing their packages on us. Of course if you
>>> accept the digital telephone deal, you can no longer use the old
>>> fashioned analog phones (the ones that don't need an outlet) which
>>> really come in handy during a power outtage (as in they still work
>>> just
>>> fine).
>>>
>>> I'm no expert - so I turned to google - and found this. Hope it
>>> helps.........
>>>
>>> http://dtvfacts.com/digital-tv-converter-box/
>>>
>>> chuck
>>>
>>>
>>> Katie Allnutt wrote:
>>>> Has anybody come across this dilemma yet?
>>>> We are simpletons. Not that we are dumb, but we live a simple life.
>>>> We have an old fashioned antenna on the roof and get out TV for
>>>> free.
>>>> But I do like to tape the Sunday morning news programs and watch
>>>> them
>>>> at my leisure. (One is on channel 6, one is on channel 8 and
>>>> sometimes I'll record channel 2 or 12 also depending on what time
>>>> they come on since I can only record one channel at a time.)
>>>>
>>>> Right now life is good. I can program the recorder to turn itself
>>>> on,
>>>> change the channels at the appropriate time, record what I want and
>>>> turn itself off. All of this can happen with me in a different city
>>>> if I wish.
>>>>
>>>> With all the new conversion to digital stuff coming out, we
>>>> understand that we will have to get a converter box and all that.
>>>> But
>>>> we have talked to the young bucks at the electronics stores (they
>>>> can
>>>> hardly fathom life with an antenna) and for the most part they have
>>>> no clue how to solve the dilemma without replacing all our
>>>> electronics.
>>>> How in the world with a converter box do you get the different
>>>> signals to come out of the converter box? It appears that the
>>>> digital
>>>> boxes will only send out the signal of one channel at a time. If I
>>>> want to record 2 or three shows on different channels, I have to
>>>> manually tell the converter box to change the channels.
>>>>
>>>> Analog pass through does not seem to be the answer because come Feb
>>>> '09 the signals that I want to send to the VCR will not be
>>>> analog, so
>>>> they won't pass through. And the box seems to only convert one
>>>> signal
>>>> at a time.
>>>>
>>>> Short from buying a recording device that has a built in digital
>>>> tuner (expensive!) does anybody have any a clue how to deal with
>>>> this? Besides stop watching the talking heads of course....
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Katie
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
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