DTV transition..are you ready? (US only--sorry!)
By scorpiobabes
@scorpiobabes (7225)
United States
May 6, 2009 9:20am CST
As myLotters in the US are aware, there has been months of talk about the DTV transition set to take place next month (originally in February). How many people are actually ready?
I bought 3 TVs in January 2004--they'd be considered new, right? WRONG! None of them were able to be used without a converter box. I sold two and the third I've still got. My roommate has cable (and pays for it), so we don't have to worry about it. I previously had DirecTV, but not everyone can afford that luxury (I know I can't !).
So how many of you are prepared (either through converter boxes, cable or satellite)? I feel like this is being forced on us...too many are actually unable to pay the electric bill, let alone buy a converter box or cable! And after the government ran out of the coupons in the first round, I never heard of them again! I feel that if the government wants to reserve the current analog signal for emergency use, perhaps they could have paid for the converter box? Or maybe the government got the VHF stations, while smaller stations got the UHF (weaker) stations, so at least everyone had the opportunity to watch something? I just feel like it's a bit unfair to those of us who have lost our jobs.
Your opinions please.
1 person likes this
4 responses
@psychotaz206 (2086)
• United States
6 May 09
i hate the converter boxes they don't give you good reseption even with the right antna i have to keep playing with it.
@scorpiobabes (7225)
• United States
6 May 09
Oh wow...I'm glad my roommate pays the cable bill! I NEVER got good reception through an antenna (at my home with the rabbit ears on the TV, or at my dad's with the large roof antenna). I think this whole DTV snafu is something cooked up by tv manufacturers, cable tv providers and satellite tv providers...I mean, are they going to come up with MORE programming? I mean, last I heard, humans only have TWO eyes to watch with!
@psychotaz206 (2086)
• United States
19 Jun 09
it's a big pain when you get it to work on 1 channel then the rest dont seem to work so you have to keep playing with it , it's bull things should of stayed the way they where people where better off and things worked better for every one
@luvstochat (6907)
• United States
6 May 09
I have cable so will have no worries alof of the channels I get have already gone digitial and we have had no problems with them so far. The rest of the channels will go digital in June. My mother in law just called for her converter box coupon but the boxes are sold out in the stores.
@scorpiobabes (7225)
• United States
6 May 09
Wow, I was wondering why I hadn't seen any commercials for the coupons lately--now I know why! Isn't it strange--four months ago they ran out of coupons and four months later they ran out of boxes! Will your mother in law get cable, or not watch TV for a while?
@arcidy (5005)
• United States
6 May 09
Well even though this should of happend in febuary dont know why they delayed the tranition. But im already ready because I already have digital cable so I dont think that they can make my cable any better even though I wounder if where going to loose cable for a certin amount of time.
@scorpiobabes (7225)
• United States
6 May 09
It was delayed because so many people requested the converter box coupons--and then never used them. Then the government spent billions (upon billions) bailing out a lot of companies with bad business models (and are still doing it!). When the economy began a freefall, a lot of folks (including me) lost their satellite/digital tv subscriptions, and began scrambling. You are very fortunate to be able to afford digital cable, but I don't believe you'll lose cable; it's only analog channels that you can't receive within most cities that will be offline.
@crazyredhead (954)
• United States
6 May 09
They originally tried to pay for the converter box, they had coupons so you didn't have to pay for them. They however did not have enough money. Now I thought that new TVs didn't need a converter box. So that's why they don't need to be used with one. From what I was told it was either get a new TV OR get a converter box - not both. I work in a hardware store so people are constantly coming in asking questions about DTV and I have a hard time answering them.
@scorpiobabes (7225)
• United States
6 May 09
I think that all those people that DID request converter box coupons and never used them should be forced to help those of us shut out from the program to buy US one! I'm not stupid, but the program wasn't presented in a way that folks could understand. My understanding is that you don't need a TV if you have cable or satellite (digital) TV, but I'm thinking that it's the television industry's idea to make us spend MORE money!
