NationStates Jolt Archive

If you live in the USA, you probably heard that in Feb, all broadcast stations will switch to digital.

Hawaii, is switching over today. so for the rest of America out there (and international folks as well...) who here still relies on Analog signals for your telly?

and do you agree with the government mandating a switch to Digital reception (being that you either need 1) cable 2) Satellite feed or 3) a converter box all of which requires you to subscribe to/purchase from a privately owned business.

Well, when I moved in May, I got got cable. No worries for me.
My parents have their converter box so -- no worries for them either. Funny enough, though, they're getting cable too now.

Apparently this has been in the works a long time because they need the bandwidth....

The fact that people are still confused after the marketing blitz blows my mind.

it needs to be done but its going to be messy for those poor souls who never paid attention to the almost constant messages appearing on their tvs.

i have satellite. im a bit too far from albuquerque (75 miles) to get good reception.

Who does this really affect? I mean, people who use bunny ears, right? It doesn't affect those with cable, or satellite, which I think most Americans have, ya?

If you live in the USA, you probably heard that in Feb, all broadcast stations will switch to digital.

Hawaii, is switching over today. so for the rest of America out there (and international folks as well...) who here still relies on Analog signals for your telly?

and do you agree with the government mandating a switch to Digital reception (being that you either need 1) cable 2) Satellite feed or 3) a converter box all of which requires you to subscribe to/purchase from a privately owned business.
I was under the impression that the government was helping to buy converter boxes?

I havent known anyone to use bunny ears for decades. I cant believe there are to many out there that actually use them.

I havent known anyone to use bunny ears for decades. I cant believe there are to many out there that actually use them.

I used them first semester freshman year because BU didn't offer cable untill the second semester.

I've never known anyone else to use them. Ever.

I was under the impression that the government was helping to buy converter boxes?

you get ONE or TWO $40 card(s) that can only be used to buy certain brands. and it's one card per unit. so if you were lucky enough to get two, you have to buy two and those cards expire 90 days after you get it.

considering the cheapest was $49... I ended up still paying $12 for one. :p

Yes, I use rabbit ears because I grew bored with cable and decided to get rid of mine.

I'm a cable customer. Just bundled all my services with Comcast, which I'm sure I'll regret soon. But since I bundled recently, they went ahead and switched me from the old cable (whatever it was) to the digital cable at no extra cost. Nice of them, huh? :rolleyes:

Eh it's a bit of crap but it's still good to see the government cut down on the number of signals going through our heads.

I could care less though, I just don't watch TV. My parents got the converter boxes, and it is kind of neat that you can get HD through the air.

I have HDTV's so it's not really going to affect us and even if I didn't have them my co-op has free cable.*

I really like digital television, before we moved into the co-op we received digital broadcasts and it was really cool, so cool we didn't care that we didn't have cable. There are like 6 PBS stations.....awesome.








*not really free, I mean we pay HOA dues, but whatever.

Meh. Why watch a bunch of dumb, moronic shows on TV, and pay for it, when you can watch a bunch of dumb, moronic shows on Youtube, for free?

The fact that people are still confused after the marketing blitz blows my mind.

Stop criticizing the poor and elderly.

Poor Americans! Analog, terrestrial television was the standard, which was the least problematic. It seriously bugs me not to have a picture on the screen immediately and that I have to wait when switching channels until the picture and sound appears. What was worse: I lived on the edge of reception area and thus quality just plainly sucked. Not in the way it sucks when you do not get a good analog signal, but with a converter box, you see or hear nothing for a while until it works again.

So it's great that America goes this step. It'll ween people off the idiot box!

Stop criticizing the poor and elderly.

Don't forget the lazy. What have the lazy ever done to deserve criticism? Nothing, that's what.

Why is the government stealing my tellyvision?

a converter box all of which requires you to subscribe to/purchase from a privately owned business.

with one you not all ways going to pick up stations if the weather sucks or some other thing messing the tv signals

I'm a cable customer. Just bundled all my services with Comcast, which I'm sure I'll regret soon. But since I bundled recently, they went ahead and switched me from the old cable (whatever it was) to the digital cable at no extra cost. Nice of them, huh? :rolleyes:Ummm.... the current switch only applies to TERRESTRIAL signals. People who had so-called "analog cable" before will still have service.

Comcast is scamming people into paying for the "digital cable" service.

with one you not all ways going to pick up stations if the weather sucks or some other thing messing the tv signals

same with analog signals. :p

same with analog signals. :p

so we don't win no matter what we use

same with analog signals. :p

But analog signals ... decrease the quality of the picture gracefully, it doesn't cease to show anything most of the time.

Went home last night and turned on the telly. the Stations are all broadcasting on their analog system, an infomercial on what to do if you are watching the infomercial. :D

meanwhile, on the digital side... I watch all my shows with mosiac squares as the Digitization effect took place.

does "converter box" = freeview (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeview_(UK))/DVB-T? free to air?

cuz there's been no real difference for us moving over. we bought new TVs, they came with digital tuners, we had digital tv. simple. even my grandma has been watching freeview for the last few years lol

Well, I have cable so it doesnt really matter to me...

But, I dont think that the Government should be able to tell Broadcast Stations anything...they should get to broadcast in whatever format they want...

Went home last night and turned on the telly. the Stations are all broadcasting on their analog system, an infomercial on what to do if you are watching the infomercial. :D

meanwhile, on the digital side... I watch all my shows with mosiac squares as the Digitization effect took place.

oh those squares are fun, when you can't see the show

I have satellite TV, but only because it came with the place that I am currently renting.

Honestly if I didn't have satellite for free, I would just stick to my netflix, and hulu, and not really care about television.

TV has sucked as of late anyways...

I have satellite TV, but only because it came with the place that I am currently renting.

Honestly if I didn't have satellite for free, I would just stick to my netflix, and hulu, and not really care about television.

TV has sucked as of late anyways...

Anyone that can point a dish in the sky can get free sat. Use a FTA box and download the proper program and you too can be a pirate!

Anyone that can point a dish in the sky can get free sat. Use a FTA box and download the proper program and you too can be a pirate!

LOL! no thanks. I don't want to pirate something that sucks.


Unless if there was a way to pirate just CNN, Comedy Central, The History Channel, Discovery, and Sci Fi....:D


I think they should come out with a television service where you pay for the channels you want, and only the channels you want. I would pay money for TV if i got just the channels I wanted, not 500 channels of garbage.

I don't like it. It doesn't need to happen and in bad weather it can be dangerous. Analog signals snow out slowly but a digital signal will just freeze and stop completely. What's next, replacing tornado sirens with digital radios?

I don't like it. It doesn't need to happen and in bad weather it can be dangerous. Analog signals snow out slowly but a digital signal will just freeze and stop completely. What's next, replacing tornado sirens with digital radios?

I think it is a dumb idea as well, but like most dumb ideas (like blu-ray), it might not last long.

I don't like it. It doesn't need to happen and in bad weather it can be dangerous. Analog signals snow out slowly but a digital signal will just freeze and stop completely. What's next, replacing tornado sirens with digital radios?

I noticed that when my old roommate had an LCD tv w/ digital tuner. Clear->a brief moment of giant pixels->black. I hated it. When it worked, it was cool. It never worked for long, though.

i like how they tell us they switching to digital with out asking if we want to

We've had digital in Finland for a few years. IIRC, there were some problems in the beginning but it's quite good now.

i like how they tell us they switching to digital with out asking if we want to
Rpresentative democracy ftw! :p

If you live in the USA, you probably heard that in Feb, all broadcast stations will switch to digital.

Hawaii, is switching over today. so for the rest of America out there (and international folks as well...) who here still relies on Analog signals for your telly?

and do you agree with the government mandating a switch to Digital reception (being that you either need 1) cable 2) Satellite feed or 3) a converter box all of which requires you to subscribe to/purchase from a privately owned business.

Here the last Berlusconi cabinet (2001-2006 term) enforced switching towards digital tv. Most places in Italy already receive DVB-T signal, and the analog signal has already been turned off in Sardinia; other regions will shut down the analog in the next 5 years iirc.

We have to buy the converter box (or a TV equipped with a digital receiver), but we don't have to subscribe to private tv companies - the major tv corporations (RAI state TV, Berlusconi's Mediaset, La7-MTV Italia) air their digital signal for free (at least the most viewed channels in Mediaset's and La7's cases).

Anyway, I think that the transition from analog to DVB-T has been messed up by Berlusconi; we already pay about a 120 €/year tax on owning a TV, the Authority for Telecommunications could have enforced the major TV channels to give us the converter box for free, or at least with a sharp discount.

LOL! no thanks. I don't want to pirate something that sucks.


Unless if there was a way to pirate just CNN, Comedy Central, The History Channel, Discovery, and Sci Fi....:D


I think they should come out with a television service where you pay for the channels you want, and only the channels you want. I would pay money for TV if i got just the channels I wanted, not 500 channels of garbage.

Yes it is every channel. They do this in the third world. You think people in poor countries pay anything to watch sat other than the box and sat itself? People in the west subsidize everyone in the world. We are real suckers in the west. Anyway I learned how to do it in Africa to get tv at our home in the north of Morocco. It isn't illegal there obviously. I have seen it done here in the states too. It takes about an hour if you have the equipment.

There is a little pirate in everyone just trying to get out.

does "converter box" = freeview (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeview_(UK))/DVB-T? free to air?

cuz there's been no real difference for us moving over. we bought new TVs, they came with digital tuners, we had digital tv. simple. even my grandma has been watching freeview for the last few years lolyou're safe. ya bastard

I don't like it. It doesn't need to happen and in bad weather it can be dangerous. Analog signals snow out slowly but a digital signal will just freeze and stop completely. What's next, replacing tornado sirens with digital radios?
reminds me of those Digital Cells. last power outage, alot of phone services got cut! :D