DISQUS

Dave Zatz · 1 year ago

You're right, it's all about money. Seeing how well the wireless industry is going, the gov wanted that spectrum to lease at higher rates. Ask Verizon. ;) And now that we're stuck with this mandated OTA conversion, the TV manufacturers all want their cut by selling new TVs many folks with STBs may not want (or need). "Why buy that crappy converter box? I've got a service plan and HDTV to sell you."

It's Y2K all over again! Planes will crash, reactors will leak, anarchy in the streets! ;)

Jean L · 1 year ago

If you're tired of all the government sites here is one written in plain English! http://www.ezdigitaltv.com/index.html

John Paul · 1 year ago

You mention that the coupons probably won't be able to help the lower income or fixed income TV users...So what are they suppose to do? Is it aceptable for us to sit back and say "well you're poor so you don't need television or you're old and on a fixed income so you don't need television either?" Apparently these Americans don't count....I should think there would be a lawyer out there smart enough to bring some litigation on behalf of the poor? How about denying access to freedom of information?

Jorge · 1 year ago

You can also check out reviews at http://dtvconverterboxes.blogspot.com. This helped me to pick out the best converter box for the features that I wanted.

Steve ('Gator) KImble · 10 months ago

All the DTV hype never mentioned that existing antennas, like mine, might be woefully inadequate to the task. My Radio Shack antenna provides me with excellent VHF reception. When I reconnected it through the converter box I bought, I followed the initial setup menu, only to see a "NO SIGNAL" display on my TV.

I live in a mobile home that's completely encased in steel sheetmetal--siding and galvanized roof. When I first moved in, I found my "rabbit ears" to be entirely unsatisfactory. I bought a Radio Shack "stealth" bar antenna, since local regulations prohibit adding new external antennas. Life was good, but my reception of UHF signals was variable.

Since DTV is broadcast entirely in UHF, and since digital signals are essentially received or not, I find that I must add the cost of a new antenna (estimated at about $100) to the $35 I already spent for each of my two converter boxes.

Since I'm "between jobs" at the moment, and since my TVs are analog-only, I'm really glad we're making this wonderful transition which will let me see what I've been getting since the color transition.