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About the digital TV transition...

Janie

By Janie,
in General Education Discussion Board

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What are your plans for the digital TV transition?  

  1. 1. What are your plans for the digital TV transition?

    • I already have a digital TV.
      45
    • I plan to buy a new digital TV.
      5
    • I already have a converter box.
      29
    • I plan to buy a converter box.
      13
    • I do not have a digital TV or converter box and plan to do nothing.
      29

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but we don't have satellite and we can't get cable (probably wouldn't have it if we could). We also have an older TV. So, the few of you all out there that are likewise, what are your plans?

 

Do you intend to buy a new digital TV?

 

Do you intend to buy a converter box?

 

Do you intend to do nothing?

 

I cannot decide exactly what to do. Our TV is perfectly fine and it seems a waste to spend money on a new one. BUT, buying a converter box for the current who-know-how-long-it-will-last TV doesn't seem to make a lot of sense in the long run.

 

I'd love to hear you plans.

 

I think I'll add a poll. :) That would simplify things.

 

Thanks!

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TraceyS/FL

TraceyS/FL

Posted
Posted

We currently have.....

 

My in-laws RV satellite box because they feel DH "needs" to be able to watch more channels :glare:

 

Basic cable - with 99 channels - in the school room because HE won't move the cable at the entrance to run it out here :glare:

 

AND we got 2 convertor boxes with the coupons.... haven't hooked them up yet.

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Pamela H in Texas

Pamela H in Texas

Posted
Posted

Janie, you know you can get a coupon for the boxes, right? The coupon is $40 and many stores have $40 boxes.

 

Anyway, our tv is on it's last leg (like doesn't work half the time), but I'm certainly not going to go spend hundreds of dollars on a tv at this point, especially when I can get the box for a couple dollars tax.

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JFSinIL

JFSinIL

Posted
Posted

When our old big bulky set died last year we got a flat screen that is ready to go with the digital changeover. The cable company assures us all is well and that the magic box by the tv that brings us our shows is already a converter thingie. Whatever. I was a FILM major in college, not this new-fangled media, and KNOW it is really teensy weensy people living in my tv that make all the shows. Really flat teensy weensy people.

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JoyfulMama

JoyfulMama

Posted
Posted

I have no intention of buying an HD TV at this point. We are moving, and I have no idea what our options will be for TV. I would be quite happy just paying for the converter box, and accept basic broadcast, however I think DH will have a very different opinion!

This year he had to go out with buddies to watch Monday Night Football, and I think it was good for him to get out of the house and meet some friends.

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East Coast Sue

East Coast Sue

Posted
Posted

Just kidding....

 

But really, we don't fit into any of the responses. We bought a converter box but it didn't work for us. We returned it to the store and bought a very small digital TV, but it didn't get any reception either. Apparently if you live far away from a city- than no converter box/antena combination will work. We talked to some digital TV switch experts and they told us that people out in the country without cable or satellite are unable to receive any signals. It is not in our budget to pay for cable or satellite. Also, we don't watch TV during the day, but I enjoy watching the news & weather at night when the kids are in bed. Come Feb. I will have to find something else to do....

 

Sue

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JoyfulMama

JoyfulMama

Posted
Posted
Apparently if you live far away from a city- then no converter box/antena combination will work. We talked to some digital TV switch experts and they told us that people out in the country without cable or satellite are unable to receive any signals.

 

This is what I am afraid will happen to us. So my alternative is to make sure I have a great internet connection... and utilize that for new and such instead, and increase my NetFlix and load up my queue with all the great PBS and NOVA dvds.

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Tammyla

Tammyla

Posted
Posted

We purchased a converter box for $10 with the coupon. We have cable, but with our weather felt the need for one.

 

I'm not purchasing another TV, I'd love to chuck the cable and live free of it...But I'm outnumbered, and didn't want to choose this hill to die on iykwim. Dh wants to purchase another TV, but we had a storm blow out the ones we have and he feels guilty when they are under 2 years old. I think he's hoping I'll start to really want one.:lol:

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Michelle in MO

Michelle in MO

Posted
Posted

will probably get a converter box. I've been told that as long as we have a TV that can accept digital signals, we shouldn't have to do anything. But, since our TV is also high-definition, I think we need to get the digital converter box in order to get high-definition.

 

Sometimes it's all so confusing. Maybe things were easier when we just had 4 channels plus PBS. ;)

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hillfarm

hillfarm

Posted
Posted

We live out in the country and could not get "regular" television via our old antenna. Rumor had it that the box might improve our signal. It did not. We do not have the option of cable and I refuse to cut down trees for satellite. (Our friend did, and then the company came and told him they had changed satellites and he had to cut down more trees. I don't think so!)

 

Dh finally bought a small outdoor antenna that looks to me like an oven rack interlaced with hot dog forks for the campfire. That plus the box gives us between 7 and 12 channels, the most we've ever had here. The only problem he had was that when he first tried to dig the little ditch for the cable to run from the antenna to the house, the chickens kept digging in the dirt and filling his ditch back in. Then after he got everything just right and all covered over, the chickens keep digging his ditch back up.

 

As I understand it (dh works in media broadcast), from now until at least February, probably a little beyond then, companies the previously had one channel are able to operate multiple channels on their new hunk of "bandwidth". This will continue to shift and change. So the fact that we can sometimes get 12 channels now may not be cause for celebration. It could change again.

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Colleen

Colleen

Posted
Posted
Do you intend to do nothing?

 

Yes. I plan right now on doing nothing because I don't understand any of it and don't want to have to figure it out. "I'll think about it tomorrow", as Scarlett would say. It's not as if it's a pressing issue since we rarely watch television. We use the television (not digital by any stretch of the imagination!) to watch DVDs, but we do also have a satellite which we only have hooked up during certain sporting events (World Cup soccer and Winter Olympics, for example). I don't have a clue whether that satellite is sufficient as far as this transition is concerned. Maybe reading the responses here will help me figure that out.

 

Without the satellite, we'd have to use rabbit ears. But the only couple of channels we get are Canadian, and as far as I know, Canada isn't doing the transition along with the States. I guess we could still watch those channels. Again, I dunno.

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Aubrey

Aubrey

Posted
Posted

We had rabbit ears at some point in the past, but we lost the cable to plug them in when we moved a yr ago & haven't used the TV for TV since then. I figure radio & internet will still suffice when the TV becomes nothing more than a dvd player (which it already is). Ok, ok, you got me. We play VHS tapes, too. :D

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Cedarmom

Cedarmom

Posted
Posted

We bought a t.v However, the tv we were using had been given to us by our mom, because it was dying.

 

But, we don't have cable and now our reception is worse. We don't live in the country, so I don't know why our reception is so awful. Some people said the hd improved their reception. Apparently, that is not the case for us. So, I guess we're going to get an antennae that is supposed to help hd transmission.

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Harriet Vane

Harriet Vane

Posted
Posted

Like you, we have an older TV. We watch primarily mysteries and Britcoms (adults) and educational stuff. My kids watch almost no children's programming most weeks. For those reasons we thought a converter box made sense. However, the picture quality on our current TV is pretty poor, and dh had an itch to celebrate passing the CFA by getting a good TV. We figure since we are likely to not buy another one for many years it was worthwhile to get a decent one for when we do watch something.

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Parrothead

Parrothead

Posted
Posted

I do plan on buying a new TV at some point. I've already got a six-outlet full for all the electronics (TV, DVD player, Nintendo, PS2, and satellite) so I don't have any place to plug in a converter box. But since I have satellite, the new TV will be purchased far in the future.

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TraceyS/FL

TraceyS/FL

Posted
Posted
Like you, we have an older TV. We watch primarily mysteries and Britcoms (adults) and educational stuff. My kids watch almost no children's programming most weeks. For those reasons we thought a converter box made sense. However, the picture quality on our current TV is pretty poor, and dh had an itch to celebrate passing the CFA by getting a good TV. We figure since we are likely to not buy another one for many years it was worthwhile to get a decent one for when we do watch something.

 

One of the mom's i know online posted that their picture really really improved with the convertor box. They were shocked at the difference (and they had a new flat screen to compare it too).

 

I'm pretty sure we will need an antennae with our boxes, and the old one i have won't cut it. It's down on the list to buy....

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mazakaal

mazakaal

Posted
Posted
I voted no plans for changing. We do not watch t.v. only vidoes or dvds so I guess this does not affect us at all.

 

Caryn

 

 

This is our situation too. No tv reception so it doesn't affect us.

 

Megan, blissfully ignorant of yet another technological advancement. ;)

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nmoira

nmoira

Posted
Posted

We have an old TV (well over 20 years), but only watch DVD's and Neflix via a Roku. We'll replace it when it dies with the cheapest option, be it a monitor or a TV set.

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Krista in LA

Krista in LA

Posted
Posted

Our old tv of 19 years died earlier this year so we replaced it with an HD digital tv and it works great with just the rabbit ears. We did use the $40 coupon to buy a converter box for the smaller tv we have in our room and it works great too. We do have one channel that has never come in that great in analog and we have problems getting it in digital sometimes - the problem there is at least we could watch it in analog even though the picture wasn't great but with the digital, we get nothing but a blue screen. We have found that there are lots of other channels that we didn't even know existed with the digital though.

 

Our next purchase will be a dvd/hdd recorder with a built in digital tuner so we can record shows when the analog goes away. Our vcr only has an analog tuner.

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Tree House Academy

Tree House Academy

Posted
Posted

We do not have cable here (by choice) nor do we have satellite. All of our TVs are older and "box style" and are not digital. We will most likely purchase 1 digital converter box as we were told you will get around 8 stations once the transition is made even without cable. However, I will only buy the 1 box and if I don't get the 8 or so channels, it will go back to the store where it can stay.

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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

Posted
Posted

We have Tivo (but no cable or satellite, just antenna), and if there were not a way to make it work (it has to be able to change the channels of the converter), I was going to do nothing and subscribe to Netflix instead. But my dh informs me they have a "fix" so we can continue to use our old Tivo (for which we have a lifetime plan - so if we bought a new one, we'd have to start paying monthly).

 

So, guess we're getting the converter.

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StaceyinLA

StaceyinLA

Posted
Posted

we already did - today.

 

It was a long time coming. We have been planning and researching. The tv we've been watching was 15+ years old and didn't even have good connections for a dvd player. It was time for us...

 

My dh got his Christmas bonus and it was double what it was last year, so he took the unexpected extra and bought us a new Sony Bravia this afternoon. He'll be mounting in on the wall and building a nice new cabinet to set under it for the satellite box and surround sound he says he is buying next.

 

FWIW, my ds animal sits for various neighbors of ours and saved up his own money last year and bought an HDTV for his room (to hook his Wii and X-Box to) so we were really behind the times...

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T Baer

T Baer

Posted
Posted
Just kidding....

 

But really, we don't fit into any of the responses. We bought a converter box but it didn't work for us. We returned it to the store and bought a very small digital TV, but it didn't get any reception either. Apparently if you live far away from a city- than no converter box/antena combination will work. We talked to some digital TV switch experts and they told us that people out in the country without cable or satellite are unable to receive any signals. It is not in our budget to pay for cable or satellite. Also, we don't watch TV during the day, but I enjoy watching the news & weather at night when the kids are in bed. Come Feb. I will have to find something else to do....

 

Sue

At times it would be nice to watch news on TV, but at least with the XM, I can take it with me whereever I go.

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Melissa in FL

Melissa in FL

Posted
Posted

Well, I fit in more than on catagory. We do have a digital TV and we are on cable, so it shouldn't effect us. But, I would love to give up cable. And we have two TV's in the house that are not digital. So, I ordered the $40 coupons from the fed government (yeah, my tax money at work). I got two of them for our two TV's, but I just found out that MIL got them way back at the start of the program and let hers expire. They will not send you any more. She does not have cable and has old TV's. She was able to get one coupon from her BIL, but will have one useless TV, so she is getting one of my coupons in her stocking. It will be worth it when we go visit her to have a TV in her bedroom so my kids can get away from everyone. Walmart has converter boxes for $45 so I'll get one incase I can ever convince everyone else to ditch the TV's. It's only $5 plus tax.

Melissa

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choirfarm

choirfarm

Posted
Posted

Hey, Sue...I haven't read all of the responses, but I am in rural Texas as well. Let me say that the type of converter box makes quite a difference. We don't have cable or satellite either just a big antenna. Our first try at a box got NOTHING but 3 channels. The Zenith one we just bought helps us get TONS of them. We are now getting Shreveport as well as Longview/Tyler stations. It was 59 bucks at Circuit City so it cost us 19 dollars. It was the one recommended by Consumer Reports for rural customers. I hope that helps you.

 

Christine

Just kidding....

 

But really, we don't fit into any of the responses. We bought a converter box but it didn't work for us. We returned it to the store and bought a very small digital TV, but it didn't get any reception either. Apparently if you live far away from a city- than no converter box/antena combination will work. We talked to some digital TV switch experts and they told us that people out in the country without cable or satellite are unable to receive any signals. It is not in our budget to pay for cable or satellite. Also, we don't watch TV during the day, but I enjoy watching the news & weather at night when the kids are in bed. Come Feb. I will have to find something else to do....

 

Sue

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CookieMonster

CookieMonster

Posted
Posted (edited)
Just kidding....

 

But really, we don't fit into any of the responses. We bought a converter box but it didn't work for us. We returned it to the store and bought a very small digital TV, but it didn't get any reception either. Apparently if you live far away from a city- than no converter box/antena combination will work. We talked to some digital TV switch experts and they told us that people out in the country without cable or satellite are unable to receive any signals. It is not in our budget to pay for cable or satellite. Also, we don't watch TV during the day, but I enjoy watching the news & weather at night when the kids are in bed. Come Feb. I will have to find something else to do....

 

Sue

 

Yeah, I'm so thrilled with my new digital TV reception - having just switched from analog. Not. You either get a station or you don't. Period. There's no chance of "watching through fuzz," "getting a spotty reception" or anything of the like. One of my major network channels simply doesn't come through 50% of the time. If I switch over to the analog signal for the station, which is still available until February, I can hear, see, and participate in the programming. But the digital channel is a pixilated freakazoid picture of gobblygoop with no sound.

 

Whose bright idea was this anyway?

 

-----------------

To answer to OP: we opted for a new TV instead of a converter box for our old TV. We had been saving up for a new TV.

 

We will purchase a converter box for the old TV, as it is still good, and use it in the guest area of our home. Not that I ever wanted to be a 2 TV household...

Edited by CookieMonster
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CookieMonster

CookieMonster

Posted
Posted
Hey, Sue...I haven't read all of the responses, but I am in rural Texas as well. Let me say that the type of converter box makes quite a difference. We don't have cable or satellite either just a big antenna. Our first try at a box got NOTHING but 3 channels. The Zenith one we just bought helps us get TONS of them. We are now getting Shreveport as well as Longview/Tyler stations. It was 59 bucks at Circuit City so it cost us 19 dollars. It was the one recommended by Consumer Reports for rural customers. I hope that helps you.

 

Christine

 

Piggybacking on this...the antenna you have also makes a difference in how many channels you get. We not only bought a new TV - we upgraded our antenna. With our old antenna we would only get 70% of the channels we get now over the airwaves, even though we had a new flat-screen TV.

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