So I've posted here a number of times about the digital television cutover and how I was really opposed to it and so forth.
I finally got around to connecting the tuner card to my mac again. It's connected to a huge multi-element VHF/UHF tv antenna mounted high in a tree on my property.

Pre DTV, I could get, with varying degrees of static, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and two PBS stations out of Philly area, plus two Allentown stations and one other station I'm not sure where it was. I could also get NBC, ABC and Fox out of NY.
All in all, I had something of a selection.

Post DTV, after a re-scan for channels, I get:
WFMZ Allentown
69.1 - local programming/infomericals
69.2 - blank
69.3 - infomercials
69.4 - weather

Channel 39 (can't recall call sign)
39.1 PBS
39.2 Blank
39.3 Blank
39.4 Weather/other odd infomercial like stuff

Channel 60 (some local station)
60.1 Religious Programming
60.2 Color Bars
60.3 Color Bars
60.3 Color Bars

Channel 3 (WKYW)
3.1 Intermittent CBS programming (signal drops constantly)
3.2 Nothing
3.3 Nothing
3.4 Nothing

So....looks like we lost out big time.

Hearing a lot of similar reports of folks who had screens just go blank after the cutover and a rescan found no signals. Seems to be MUCH worse when it rains.

A darn shame.

Found this link about the issues around here.

This may help those here Link .

Lee

Yeah, I used their site and they claim I can only get channel 69 and 59, so in some ways I'm doing better than they suggest.

You know, I think this is hardly an improvement. In fact, I have this vast pile of technology that was working FINE until june 11th. Brilliant.

On a side note, on June 13 I tried my old analog mini portable tv just to see if there were still any channels I could receive. I got three: how to change over to DTV by buying a converter box (English version), how to change over to DTV by buying a converter box (Spanish version), and the Home Shopping Network. I got a pretty good chuckle out of that.


Anyway, I'm not sold on the whole DTV thing. It's like when they switched cell phones over from analog and analog/digital combo to strictly digital. In the city it makes little difference, but when you're out in the country the analog phones would still get reasonable signal at the expensive of battery life. Digital phones, forget it, they never get any signal. I imagine TVs work in a similar matter, where you could at least get a fuzzy picture before, you now get nothing.

same thing with my folks. Before the switch, many channels, since the switch...it varies. First they tried a converter. Got 2 channels. Bought an antenna and got one more. Bought a digital TV, back to 2 channels. Bought an expensive antenna, now have 7 channels but most with either no signal, or it is intermittent. They lost their favorite channel and have spent hundreds. They live in the suburbs and not very far out.


I've felt like we got sold down the river since they first made the digital announcement. Poor testing resulted in poor info on which to make a major decision by people who have no expertise (our politicians). End result, less communication. You're doing a heckova good job, Brownie(s).

I haven't bought a converter to even try. We got only 1 fuzzy analog signal before the conversion (we have cable) and I am sure that there is no digital signal. We live in the suburbs, a bit far from the xmitters, at the bottom of a ridge line with lots of tall trees around. We can't "see" a satellite to go that route, and digital cell phone is intermittent. I think we are in one of the "dead zones" they talk about on TV.

I guess the conversion will be a windfall for the cable providers.

and the tv set manufacturers.

It sure sounds like a lot of people aren't scanning for the digital channels to me.

The new tv's need to have the digital channels entered into them to work properly, you may have to scan for existing channels several times in order to get them to work.

All of the descriptions I'm reading here are very reminiscent of what my new HD digital tv was doing before I scanned for the channels. After reading the manual and actually doing the scan, like magic I now get more channels than I even want.

Please. I know that a rescan is needed. I understand that the bandplan shifted channels and frequencies to and from VHF-lo and VHF-hi and UHF bands. I understand that the signals have different propagation patterns. I also understand that VHF-lo is a bad band for the ATSC signal, and that they also cut back the ERP of many transmitters from 100KW and more to under 50KW because they expected to be able to save power costs.

I also know what a decent antenna looks and works like - I've built more than a few myself.

This was nothing less than bad engineering, bad politics and bad economics for everyone who isn't in the business of selling content and hardware.

Imagine we did the same thing for telephone service. Would it be acceptable for 5% of the people who don't have a digital telephone to lose their phone service after a cutover?

Hi all,

Sounds like my experience is unusual. Before DTV our reception stunk on the 3-4 channels we could sort of get. Lots of snow, wavy lines and double/triple images (yeah, I know it is a multi-path problem). We did cable but hated paying for it since we only wanted the local channels. DTV comes along and the cheap little converter boxes pull in awesome pictures and sound on 6 channels. I add a $20 in-line amp to the antenna and now I have 10-12 channels available. The last couple do drop out during really heavy rain but I can live with that since I shouldn't be getting them without trading up to a much better antenna.

Same basic story with my dad who lives about 2 hrs away. Only difference is that we had to get him a new omni-direction amplified antenna ($50?) for his roof since his "local" stations are located all around him.

- Eric

Martin,

I feel your pain but the "bad engineering" was probably mostly due to the bad politics. Engineers don't always (or even regularly) pick the top level requirements. Someone in the big corner office said - make it do thus and such and the engineers probably whined and complained the whole time they tried to do a good job with that horrible requirement set pushed on them. If the corner office wants something stupid the engineers are usually stuck with it no matter how they explain/simplify the basics to someone who doesn't have an understanding of the technical impacts, just the business ones.

Hmmm - I think the above may be a bit slanted but what the heck.

- Eric

It sure sounds like people jump to conclusions. <grin>

Seriously, we all know there are folks who think the CD tray is a drink holder. However, this isn't a localized problem. It is a widespread problem and has been for some time. The govts own hacks have admitted they had poor study, poor implimentation, and that many people will no longer even get what they had. It's been an issue for long before the equipment was widely available. It's been on local and national news, radio, and the web. Surely one or two of them attemped to autoselect channels on their DTVs???

I sooo am not happy with this "digital" conversion. before the conversion i could get about 19 channels on a good day.. now any that come in come in intermitinly. I keep rescanning and that doesn't even help.. and i keep moving the darned anttena.. Cable tv soo isn't in my budget.
Ya I thought it was kinda of wierd that the Home shopping network didn't go digital.

All I'm saying Marty is that everything you've described so far matches exactly what happened to me until I repeatedly re-scanned the new television. It was worse when I originally failed to scan it properly and it was bad until I rescanned it twice now since the official changeover.

I'm not defending poor engineering or antenna designs nor am I maligning your own abilities to fix the problem. Simply relaying a different experience than you're having.

It's the nature of digital systems that you either get a perfect picture or you get nothing. Gone are the days of just a watchable signal. It's all or nothing now.

It was kind of a wash for me. I hooked up the converter a while back before the switch over and got the same basic channels plus a few new sub-channels. After rescanning I got the same ones I think. At least the ones I watched anyway.

We usually use the satellite box for main TVs but have one in the Master bedroom that we watch the local news before bed. We have another in the screened porch that we can watch either a repeater of the satellite or local OTA channels. Again, most of it really isn't worth watching, but sometimes the local news is of interest especially for the local stuff.

As someone who works for a cable company, I assure you - there is more to DTV than meets the eye.

The basic package may be small, but digital transmission allows for a large number of specialized channels for those inclined (travel channel? home improvement anyone?). DTV (at least ours) also supports interactive features, TiVo equivalent decoders and an increasing number of HD channels.

All in all, there's absolutely no comparison for a slightly elevated cost. Then again, it is my understanding you Americans are used to getting your cable... for free? o_0

Does the antenna have a rotator?

I have one and there are three different azimuths I use most often and it took me a considerable amount of experimentation to discover the best antenna facings.

In perfect conditions I can get all the channels pretty reliably pointing directly at the weakest station and letting the stronger stations use the weaker receiving lobes. But as soon as clouds and storm show up I start to have to point directly at the sending antenna to receive channels. Sometimes it takes a bit of tweaking to make a channel come in.

Rarely, mostly when there is a storm between my antenna and the transmitter, I can't get a channel.

So far the digital change has been fairly worthwhile. Reception is all or nothing but, so far, for the most part, I get all the channels, several more than I used to, all the time.

It wasn't free. I had to get a digital converter. Had I not already had them I would have had to have bought antenna, pole, and rotator. Roughly $250. On the other hand the same money only buys you about four months of cable so I'm ahead of the game.

I took the whole darn mess down and gave the stuff away. Phooey. Enough with that.

Ha! My '81 Panasonic Floor Model gets me through the Stanley Cup Finals every year, with the help of great set of rabbit ears.

Thanks for the heads up from the south. "Upgrades, we don't need no stinkin' upgrades".

I believe we have another year until the change-over here in Canada, next years playoffs will be watched at a buddy's!

Yea Pens!

i believe ONN News has some new information on the new converter boxes.

click here if not at work

Perfectly accurate.

We actually have more channels with much better picture here. I feel bad for you that you don't--like you, I don't want to pay for cable, but still like to have the local news.

Last check I had 25 channels, and only 2-3 require antenna adjustment. Once adjusted, they come in perfect too.

Most likely they'll get if fixed someday; by then, a lot of people will have either used their TV's for target practice or bitten the bullet and paid for cable.

If it makes anyone here feel better, Israeli DTT (the free kind) only has 5 channels, all boring as hell.

Best laugh I've had in days...truth in reporting, it's scarce!!

Thanks man!