Are your televisions prepared for 2009?

[bicker]

We are hoping our CW affiliate hasn't yet switched to digital because that's the only channel we don't receive with the new converter boxes.

Here is a website on which you can enter your address and it will tell you what broadcast coverage you can expect now, and what broadcast coverage you can expect after February 2009.

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

As far as I can tell, and what I was told when we purchased the coverters; If you have cable, satellite or a brand new tv, you do not need a converter box.

The February 2009 date indeed has nothing to do with cable or satellite, but cable can switch to all-digital if they'd like, whenever they'd like (and the FCC is actually pushing them to do so), and satellite already requires every television to have a converter box.

 

[bicker]

At midnight on February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting. Digital broadcasting promises to provide a clearer picture and more programming options and will free up airwaves for use by emergency responders.

Just a reminder that there are less than six months left before the transition.

 

[Mickeyistheman]

I am a bit confused we used to have cable several years ago, but we now have Direct TV for all of the TVs in the house, they each have their own box (converter?) So does that mean we have to go out and spend $1000 on brand new TV's?

Mine is only about 6 years old, my grandmother has a smaller older TV but she is hooked up to the box. The dish is right outside her window.

Are we okay?

 

[Charade]

I am a bit confused we used to have cable several years ago, but we now have Direct TV for all of the TVs in the house, they each have their own box (converter?) So does that mean we have to go out and spend $1000 on brand new TV's?

Mine is only about 6 years old, my grandmother has a smaller older TV but she is hooked up to the box. The dish is right outside her window.

Are we okay?

You're OK!

If you get service from CABLE or SATELLITE, which pretty much dictates using their box, your service will not be interrupted. The ONLY thing to be concerned about is the local channels. I don't know how that's going to work out.

 

[bicker]

I am a bit confused we used to have cable several years ago, but we now have Direct TV for all of the TVs in the house, they each have their own box (converter?) So does that mean we have to go out and spend $1000 on brand new TV's?

As Charade pointed out, as long as you have a converter box from your service provider (cable or satellite) on every television, you're all set. Furthermore, with regard to the February 2009 broadcast television digital transition, you don't even need to worry if every television is hooked up to cable even without a cable box -- the February 2009 digital transition only affects televisions hooked up to antennas.

Do note, though, that digital televisions are not all $1000. There are dozens of high-definition digital televisions in the $200-$250 range (15"-19"), but keep in mind, in the smaller sizes, that you don't really need high-definition (labeled "720p", "1080i" or "1080p"), but instead, in those smaller sizes, you can do very well with a standard-definition ("480i") digital television, and some can be found in the $150-$200 range.

 

[jnykly]

I have a question....especially with Gustav heading this way.

If power goes out and you have a little battery operated TV, how can you get news updates if analog signals are no longer available?

 

[bicker]

Hopefully, soon, there will be more portable digital televisions.

At this point, I pop my digital tuner into my laptop computer and can pick up stations in a power outage from Boston that way.

 

[bicker]

Here's a battery-operated, portable, digital television:

http://www.radioshack.com/sm-buy-th...-tv-on-http-wwwradioshackcom--pi-2855063.html

 

[Barbossa]

We don't watch over-the-air broadcasts, and our cable company provides around 70 channels in analog format which our old TV's are compatible with. The rest of the channels are digital, either standard or high definition, which we need cable boxes for (at $10.00/month each ).

I disagree with the premise that digital television necessarily provides a clearer picture. Some of our digital broadcasts show a lot of "pixelization" during fast changing scenes. HD can be especially bad, the Olympics broadcasts were dismal. Our cable company is Time Warner, I've talked to people who have other providers who don't have this problem.

 

[bicker]

Do keep in mind (though unrelated to the February 2009 transition) that cable companies are going to be having their own digital transition, over the next few years. Comcast, for example, has announced that 20% of their network will be "all-digital" by the end of the year (2008). That will require a cable box on every television (just like you need a box on every television for RCN, FiOS, AT&T and the satellite services, now) to receive anything other that the local broadcast channels. (And even those channels may end up digital-only someday, probably after 2012.)

 

[Villain-lover]

I live in Wilmington, NC and we are going digital in September as a trial run for the big switch in Feb. We are ready, the local news reminds us every day! It is kinda neat that this city was picked as the trial run for the country!

 

[bicker]

The Feb. 17 transition from analog to digital television broadcasts looms and as many as 8 million households are still unprepared, but the government program that subsidizes crucial TV converter boxes is about to run out of money.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28472546/

​

This poll is closed, but are there any of you who rely on over-the-air television and are still not yet ready to switch to digital?

 

[Charade]

I can't believe how difficult this seems to be for a lot of people.

 

["Got Disney"]

I was told by my cable company...COX...that as long as you have cable coming out of your wall and hook up to an older TV it will work fine. That if you have a TV where you use Rabbit ears than it will no longer work. Because the analog channels will no longer be there to get that way. So if you have cabel or satalite service....it is a non issue...so they told me

WE have 4 TV's that are fine but our 84 y.o roommate has a TV that is about 10+ years old but is hooked up to cable. They said he is fine.

Seems to me that is more logical. If your TV in the back does not have a cable hookup and there for can only use ears than yes...you will need a box...but if it does have a hook up in the back than it is cable ready.

I went and did some research and this is one thing amoung many i found......

How does the DTV transition affect me?

If you have cable or satellite, it does not affect you. Only older, analog TVs hooked up to an over-the-air antenna will go blank next February. The DTV transition has nothing to do with cable, satellite, FiOS, or any other pay-TV service. However, cable has business interests, separate from the DTV transition, that may affect analog-only cable subscribers.

If you don't have cable or satellite, you don't need to buy a new TV. Despite what the salesman in the TV store may say, or what you may read elsewhere on the Web, you can continue watching free, over-the-air television on your current TV, no matter how old or non-flat it is. Here's how.

 

[TwinsinCA]

We have DirecTV and from what I've understood we should be fine next month. However, I was watching the news on our local FOX affiliate a couple weeks ago and now I am a bit worried. They ran a test for viewers so they can see if they are ready for the conversion or not. Well , I got the screen that said I was NOT ready for the conversion. We get FOX through DirecTV, so I don't see how we can't be ready.

Our receiver is 11 years old now. But shouldn't it still be all digital??

 

[Carl]

We have DirecTV and from what I've understood we should be fine next month. However, I was watching the news on our local FOX affiliate a couple weeks ago and now I am a bit worried. They ran a test for viewers so they can see if they are ready for the conversion or not. Well , I got the screen that said I was NOT ready for the conversion. We get FOX through DirecTV, so I don't see how we can't be ready.

Our receiver is 11 years old now. But shouldn't it still be all digital??

No, your receiver would not be digital if it is that old. As to the message you saw - DirectTV transmits two Fox channels. One is what is being transmitted on the analog Fox channel and the other is what Fox is transmitting on the digital station. You were probably tuned to the channel that was showing the Fox analog channel. That channel will not exist after the conversion.

 

[TwinsinCA]

No, your receiver would not be digital if it is that old. As to the message you saw - DirectTV transmits two Fox channels. One is what is being transmitted on the analog Fox channel and the other is what Fox is transmitting on the digital station. You were probably tuned to the channel that was showing the Fox analog channel. That channel will not exist after the conversion.

We only get one FOX channel in with our local channels. Where is the other channel you are talking about?


Does anyone else have an old receiver? Did you have to buy a new one? I really didn't think I'd have to deal with this since I have DirecTV.

 

[bicker]

[quote="Got Disney";29469331]I was told by my cable company...COX...that as long as you have cable coming out of your wall and hook up to an older TV it will work fine. That if you have a TV where you use Rabbit ears than it will no longer work. Because the analog channels will no longer be there to get that way. So if you have cabel or satalite service....it is a non issue...so they told me[/quote]And that is supposed to be the case through mid-March. After that, the cable companies will be able to resume moving channels to their digital service, with proper notice. So the folks at Cox are correct, at least for now. The February 17 date that this thread is about has nothing to do with cable.

 

[bicker]

They ran a test for viewers so they can see if they are ready for the conversion or not. Well , I got the screen that said I was NOT ready for the conversion. We get FOX through DirecTV, so I don't see how we can't be ready.

It depends. Is Fox provided to you via satellite, or via analog pass-through? If via satellite, then you're okay -- the problem you saw during the test was DirecTV's and they have to fix it. If via analog pass-through, then you may have a problem: I do not believe DirecTV receivers from 11 years ago had digital pass-through. So you may have to upgrade to a later receiver. However, I'm not sure about that.

Here's a link to an article about the DirecTV local channel confusion: http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/06/directvs_digital_transition_ad.php

 

[Free4Life11]

I REALLY hope the TV stations "up their power" or whatever they need to do to increase reception. The digital stations are great...when they come in! ABC will come in perfectly on some days and other days it's a black screen, or will show a scrambled image for a few seconds. Thing is I haven't moved my antenna one bit!